Rocks In My Dryer

Shameless Plug

Yes, it's my third post today. Can you tell we're a little cooped up around here?  But this is too good not to pass on...

My blogging buddy KimC and her family have launched an on-line business, Geneva Bible Pages, from which you can purchase an original, framed leaf from a 1599 Geneva Bible, "the Bible of the Puritans; the Bible of Shakespeare; the Bible of the great Reformers; the Bible of the common man."  Exciting stuff!

It gets better.  Post about it on your blog (using the banner, above, and a link to their site), and you can be entered in a contest to win a free framed Geneva Bible Page.  Click here for the site, and here for more details about the contest.

Status Report

The pajamas-inside-out trick, evidently, works.  (And yes, they really slept that way).  We awakened to a winter wonderland, no school, and a weather map that looks like this: 

Yikes.  When the forecasters talk about "making sure you have a several-day supply of essentials", you know it's serious.  Woo-hoo!

Car Talk

Last week the kids and I were doing the after-school dash when Stephen leaned forward and the following conversation ensued...

Stephen:  Mom, what's "puberty"?

Me:  [in my head] Really, Lord?  Do we have to do this now?  I thought this conversation would happen between Stephen, Hubs and me in front of a roaring campfire on a Special Occasion sometime in the distant future, NOT on our way to karate with a two year old singing in the backseat and...wait a minute, was that a peanut butter cracker that just flew past my shoulder?

Me:  [aloud]  Puberty is when you reach a certain age and your body starts changing.

Stephen:  Oh.  [Thoughtful pause]  I think I'm going through puberty.

Me:  Really?  We'll you're only seven, Stephen.  I kind of doubt it. 

Stephen:  But my shoes are getting tight.  That's a body change.

Ah, now if only the true woes of puberty could be solved with a trip to Payless...

Old Man Winter Arrives In Oklahoma

It was in the mid-sixties when I put my kids on the bus this morning; right now, it's 35 and pouring freezing rain, with yuckier weather in the forecast.  My kids exploded off the bus, cheeks rosy and voices breathless with the anticipation of a snow day tomorrow, and they informed me that if you sleep with your pajamas on inside out, there's a better chance of snow (and therefore no school).  Who knew?

So, I will be sleeping with my jammies on inside out tonight right along with them, in hopes that tomorrow I can put the live-in help kids to work putting up the tree.  And, of course, drink some hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies, cuddled up on the couch.  It's hard to think of a better day.

May your night be toasty, wherever you are.

Works For Me: One More Christmas Idea

I'm re-running an idea I shared over a year ago, but it's such a good one it warrants dusting off out of the archives.

Last Christmas, my sister-in-law L (who, by the way, took up all the thin, beautiful, artistic genes in our family, but I love her anyway) made the most incredible gifts for my children.  A month before Christmas, she asked them to draw and color a picture of a character--any character.  Adam drew Mario from Nintendo, Stephen drew SpongeBob, and Joseph made up something all his own.  We mailed them to her, and she used their drawings to create patterns...and then she re-created their little creatures in pillow form.  My kids went nuts for them and they still love them.  Here's a picture: 

I wish I could show you Joseph's original drawing (and I suppose I could, if I wanted to spend two hours digging through last year's keepsake box, which I do not.)  If you could see it, you would be amazed at how faithful L's sewn rendition was to Joseph's original. 

Have an idea you'd like to share with Bloggityville?  Leave a link below!  WFMW guidelines can be found here.  And yes, you're more than welcome to grab this new WFMW graphic off my site for use on your own.

(By the way, I've had several people e-mail me recently for the links to my Jesse Tree posts from a few weeks ago.  If you're looking for them, you can find them here and here.)

I Should Be Happy About This, But...

...Only 98%?? Where did I go wrong?

Your Language Arts Grade: 98%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

Birthday Blogger!

In keeping with Dryer family birthday tradition, my guest blogger today is Stephen (about whom I have written here and here and here, and, oh sweet Heaven, here.)  So without further ado, here is my newly eight-year-old boy:

Yo!  Whassup?  My name is Stephen.  And I'm going to start my own blog in a couple of years.  Maybe even this year.    Ummmmmmm.......here's some of the things that I like:  Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course, more Star Wars.  And I love soccer and my position is mid-forward.  I hope that I will be a famous soccer player someday--you might watch me on the Fox Soccer channel.  Oh, yeah, and I like Star Wars!

Hey, do you want to hear about my family?  It's sometimes kind of raggedy in the house.  Trust me, you don't want to come.  My little sister Corrie, you'd never guess what she does every day.  She takes my Gameboy and Adam's DS.  And speaking of DS-es, I'm going to get mine later today.  Back to Corrie messing with my stuff, it drives me mad.  Trust me!  So, enough talking about my sister.  Let's start talking about my brothers.  Well, me and Adam like to play video games.  We are swe-e-e-eet at it.  Do you know what?  Right exactly now I'm playing my  brother in Super Smash Brothers.  In the finals.  Me and Joseph play football, like, everyday.  We share a room.  My dog Ginger sleeps with me every night.

And, of course, my parents.  They kiss and hug a lot and it makes me want to hurl.  They're still really, really nice. 

Well, see you later, alligator.  On my birthday next year!  May the force be with you. 

What a ham.  We'll be celebrating all day, starting with cinnamon rolls for breakfast and ending with macaroni and cheese for dinner.  And when we're done we'll sit around our raggedy house and I will kiss and hug on my husband.  Indeed.

WFMW Is Back In Town

Works-For-Me Wednesday will be back in business this week.  Holiday-related ideas are welcome, but so are ideas that would knock our socks off any ol' day of the year.  Guidelines, should you need them, can be found here.

Just for fun, I'll be unveiling a new WFMW graphic you can use on your post, if you'd like (though it's fine if you like the old one better.)  Clearly, my being content with the current graphical state of my blog is an impossibility.  If you'd like me to send you a copy of it ahead of time, just send me an e-mail at the link to the left.

It's Cute In a Two Year Old

It's been a few years since I was the mother of a toddler, but Corrie is graciously re-initiating me into the delightful quirks of having a two year old in the house. 

These days, it's critically important to her that we all stop whatever we're doing to verbally acknowledge whatever she's talking about.  If we do not, she will repeat herself over and over, the volume dramatically increasing until we do.  For example, when we're outside, she says (growing louder with each word), "Sky.  Sky.  SKY.  SKY.  SKY-Y-Y-Y-Y..." until I say, "Yes, darlin', I see the sky."

Or, whenever our dog walks into the room (EVERY time):  "Woof.  Woof.  WOOF.  WOOF.  WO-O-O-O-F...."  And we answer "Yes, Corrie, the dog says woof."  I truly think she would continue barking all afternoon until we acknowledged her.

The greatest infraction is if we do not stop the rotation of the very Earth itself and run to the TV with her EVERY time Joe finds a clue:  "A cwoo.  A cwoo.  A CWOO!  A CWOO!  A CW-O-O-O-O!...."  "Yes, darlin', praise the Lord in Heaven, Joe has found a clue."

As with all toddler behavior, I laugh to imagine what it would be like if we never outgrew these tendencies.  Can you imagine if every time I went into Wal Mart I said, "Bath towels on sale.  Bath towels on sale.  BATH TOWELS ON SALE.  BATH TOWELS ON SA-A-A-A-ALE!..." until everyone in the store ran to agree with me? 

Though as I write those very words, I have to wonder if that tendency isn't just a little bit responsible for my desire to write a blog.  I sit here typing in my kitchen, in my sweats, saying, "My kids are cute.  My kids are cute.  MY KIDS ARE CUTE.  MY KIDS ARE CU-U-U-UTE!"  Agree with me!  Leave a comment!  Affirm me! 

Alright, so maybe I haven't outgrown it after all...

Product Review: Swiffer Carpet Flick

I've promised you honest product reviews, even if they aren't great--so that's what you're getting today.

The folks at Swiffer let me try their new Carpet Flick.  It looks a lot like a mini-vacuum, though it's not electric.  You simply put a Swiffer cloth in the bottom and roll over your carpet messes.  It's designed for "carpet crumbs"; everything from glitter to food crumbs to grass clippings. 

I was a little disappointed in it, honestly.  I let the kids take a handful of potato chips, smash them up, and drop them on the living room carpet (the look of wonder on their face was truly worth the trouble).  To get the Flick to work, I had to go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth so many times that it probably would've been simpler just to have leaned down and picked up the chip crumbs with my fingers.  And it only worked when I pressed the Flick very hard into the carpet. 

In fairness, I tried it on a few other items--some leaves, some dirt and some beads.  It does do as it advertises, but it requires so much elbow grease that I'm not sure it's worth the trouble and expense (refills cost $5 for 12 cloths, and the Flick itself costs $14). 

I'm giving the Swiffer Carpet Flick a 3.5 Rocks rating:

The good news is that Swiffer is conducting a sweepstakes that looks like fun.  You can find more details here, but the general idea is to fill out the entry form for a chance to win.  The prizes are as follows:

1.        Grand Prize Winner: $3,500 toward a home makeover
2.        25 First Prize Winners: A Swiffer WetJet
3.        6 Weekly Winners: A year’s supply of Swiffer Products

If you'd like, you can send them a photo of your "clean interior holiday decorated home" (they lost me right there) and they might include it in their on-line photo gallery.

My product review policy can be found here.