Monthly Archives: January 2009
Update on the move
Hey! I’m so excited my move to wordpress is almost finished. You can actually visit there now by going to this address: www.inthedailies.wordpress.com.
You’ll notice the site is a little different … different colors, different menu, different pages … but it’s still just me. I’ve moved most of my posts over there, so you won’t miss a thing! I’m still trying to figure out how to transfer a couple things like my bookshelf and community memberships. In the meantime, I’m thrilled to finally have an updated “Writing” page and a better “Contact” page over there. Also, I like the header showing the sites title and not my name. No one cares about me anyway; we’re here to glorify God – right? I want to focus to be on Him, not me. I’m just a tool.
Anywho, you can find me here and there. I’ll post identical stuff on both sites until the move is complete and my domain (www.TanyaDennisBooks.com) is transferred. Thanks for your patience!!
Comment me some love. Let me know what you think of the new design!
Fabulous
I love that word. Taryn recently gave me a “Fabulous Award.” (By the way, her blog is protected for privacy, so you may or may not get there through that link.) I’ve known Taryn since third grade. Is that twenty-five years? Oh, my. To avoid further dating myself, I’ll simply say that I am very honored and humbled to receive this from such a wonderful person. I may have to step it up a bit to prove myself and this blog worthy.
As with most of these awards, this one comes with requirements. I don’t like requirements. This one says I must “award 5 others and also list 5 addictions” I have. I’ll comply with the addictions.
- God. (I can’t get enough of Him! I’m not talking about reading the Bible incessantly, though reading Scripture is a manifestation of this addiction, but simply discovering God in creation, in life situations, in my children … all around me. I am addicted to finding Him in unexpected places.)
- Relationships. (This includes God, Rick, my kids, my extended families and my friends. I shrivel without interaction with each and every one of these every single day.)
- Reading.
- Starbucks.
- My computer. (I need it! For writing, email, research, games, social interaction, an adult vocabulary and more.)
- Williams-Sonoma. (I LOVE kitchen gadgets and am totally obsessed with cakelet pans lately. They’re so cool!)
Just for good keeping, I’ll throw in an extra.
I know I’m supposed to tag others, but I’m not going to. My rebellious nature surfaces here.
In line with #5 (my addiction to the computer), I’ve recently joined twitter. (If you want to “follow” me, click here.) Probably not the best idea since I already spend too much time online. The good news: I’ve found a ton of super cool blogs! Well, that’s kind of good news except that now I spend even more time online following all these people and reading all their great posts.
So, instead of passing on this award, I’m going to list some of my new favorite blogs. All of these I’ve visited before on different occassions, but lately I’ve realized how consistently they excel and how much I look forward to what they’ll write next.
Enjoy!
Whether we like it or not
It is officially cold.
Five years ago (while pregnant with Ellie) I started storing water bottles and snacks in the car, you know, to prevent dehydration and insatiable hunger attacks that can strike while in NYC traffic. This habit continues today. This morning I found all four of my water bottles completely frozen. My nut bar shattered like glass. Of course, that was after taking a hammer to it because I wouldn’t dare inflict that punishment on my teeth.
Other signs of winter? Ellie finally stopped asking to wear sundresses and sandals to school and Zach has a new meaning for “aggrieve.”
“Mama, what aggrieve is it outside?”
“Twelve degrees, baby.”
Yes, after dropping Ellie off at school, doing some grocery shopping and driving home, it was still only “twelve aggrieves” outside. Can we say “BRRRRRRRR!!!” (Yes, I know there should be a question mark there, but don’t you think the exclamations are more important?)
On a related winter note, do you remember the whether/weather rhyme? I tried teaching it to the kids this week, not an easy task since Ellie still suffers from a speech impediment. It sounded something like this:
“Wheffvuh duh whatevuh is cold,
wheffvuh duh wheffvuh is hot,
Whatevuh duh wheffvuh, we’ll wheffvuh duh wheffvuh,
wheffvuh we like it oh not!”
Quite the tongue twister when you can’t pronounce the “-th” sound. I’ll have to see if I can get it on video for you. It’s pretty entertaining.
Works (and doesn’t) For Me Wednesday
Don’t you love tips? Works For Me Wednesday (hosted by Rocks in my Dryer) is a weekly carnival devoted to the fun little tricks and tips that make life easier, more organized or simply more fun. I seldom participate, but I love reading through all the entries. This week I actually have two tips to offer!
Stuck Votives: I adore candles. I use them all the time, almost on a daily basis. What do you do after you’ve burned through a votive? You’re stuck with the little, round metal wick stand and residual wax around the base of your holder. How do you get it out?
Stick in the freezer. After an hour or so, take them out and turn them upside down. The leftover candle will pop right out. I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation of how temperature causes molecules to condense or something like that. All I know is it works.
Too Much Salt: I learned this from a friend last week (who happened to be quoting Martha Stewart). If you add too much salt to a recipe, you can fix the problem by dropping in a piece of potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt. Problem solved! Once your recipe is back to a preferred taste, remove the salt-sponge potato and discard.
Now I want to hear from you. Anyone got tips on making kids move faster? We have not been on time to school since snow descended on our state. I’ve tried waking up earlier, bribery, coersion, faster breakfasts, packing bags the night before … you name it! None of it works for me. This morning I even tried (idle) threats of “If you don’t hurry, you’ll have to go to school with no socks and shoes!” That didn’t faze them either. I cannot get my children to move quickly in the mornings and I would LOVE to know what tips y’all have for me.
Mama Loves: "Coincidences"
I’ve quoted this here before, and here it is again: “Coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous.”
Mama loves coincidences.
Like when you’re struggling with something and find loads of encouragement on that subject on four different blogs on the same day. Or when an old friend calls right when you’re remembering a wonderful time you shared together. Or when you “stumble” upon just the perfect verse for that moment. That’s what happened for me this week. None of these are “coincidences.” They’re all details orchestrated by God. A God who orchestrates details like this is just awesome. I love it.
If you’ve followed this blog for long, you know Mama Loves intends to point out the positive even in less than ideal situations. Parenting is tough. It’s a humbling journey and yet such an honor. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. We work to help our kids reach the next milestone, but then mourn how quickly they grow.
I’m hardly qualified to give advice on anything, least of all parenting, but one nugget I eagerly share: Don’t wish away your days. When I first had Ellie someone told me “The days are long, but the years are short.” Rarely have I heard such a true statement. Yes, it’s exhausting. Yes, we look forward to a rest, but that will come and this time, this wondrous, never to be replicated time, will be gone in the blink of an eye. Never, ever wish away your days.
Here is the verse I found. Rather, it found me.
“Teach us to number our days right,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
- Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Some random thoughts
Prepare for a random stream of consciousness. A lot of things have been floating through this brain of mine, but none cohesive enough to make a full blog post. This is my mental goulash.
What is the lifespan of appliances? Within the past week I’ve started fires in two appliances: the microwave and the toaster. The toaster I can’t explain. It is ten years old, but I couldn’t find a cause of the sparks, and it worked fine after the fire was put out. (Yes, I did use it after the fire.) The microwave, however, I understand. I attempted a cool new trick from my friend Karen who suggested putting store-bought frosting into the microwave then pouring it over cakes to get a fondant-like smoothness. I didn’t exactly get all the foil off the top of the canister before nuking it, thus the sparks. A bit of frosting burnt, but that was easily remedied. I just scooped it out and continued with our project. I can’t exactly scoop out the section of countertop now singed from the toaster.
How long do you think my kids will be obsessed with Christmas? When do the in-home pageants stop? Not that I mind, but the stories grow more bizarre with each passing day. Today the baby Jesus was played by Eve (from WALL-E). A very hiccup-y Ellie delivered the babe while a sunglasses-clad Zach ran around with ribbons shouting “I’ll marry Jesus!” I also overheard a discussion about how babies don’t have wheels and moms can’t be shepherds.
Two people have tagged me on Facebook for a 25 Things meme. I’m supposed to make a list of twenty-five lesser-known facts about me. I can’t think of any except my French fry OCD: I only eat the perfectly shaped ones. I can’t eat a French fry with a pointed end. It needs to be rectangular with ninety-degree corners forming a perfect square on each end. Weird, I know. I also can’t eat mushy or cold French fries. Friends tell me I exude quirks, so why can’t I think of any?
Last Friday morning I met Angie Shaghaghi. She spoke at our MOMS group at church. She’s very cool, and I would love to be her friend. I’m trying one of her recipes tonight. She made it for us on Friday. It was fabulous! I hope my version turns out just as well. I realized that morning that I have a TON of very cool kitchen gadgets like a mandolin, creme brulee torch, and immersion blender, but I don’t have a food processor. Isn’t that weird? (Hmmm … maybe that could be one of my 25 things?) I also realized I don’t use all my cool gadgets often enough. Maybe that’s because I have to store much of it in the basement. Someday I’ll have a huge gourmet kitchen and then y’all will be so impressed with my culinary expertise!
Ellie loves tea parties, but she doesn’t like tea. Instead she just adds a ton of sugar to lukewarm water. This piggybacks well on my nutritional apathy of blueberry pancake days, doesn’t it, Dale? *grin* For the record, I use the 80/20 diet. We eat healthy 80% of the time and refuse to feel guilty the other 20%.
Speaking of Ellie, she has recently decided that is her name. If you don’t know me personally, you may not realize Ellie is not our daughter’s given name. It’s what we’ve called her since birth, but it’s not her name. When she turned three, she insisted we call her by her “real” name. If we wanted to use her nickname (Ellie), we must preface it with the proper title of “Princess.” Well, in a new development, she has embraced her nickname and, as of last week, even introduced herself as “Ellie.” Interesting – huh?
Children will play nicely together and independently for hours if you ask them to clean their rooms. My kids have occupied themselves all day because of that one simple request. Their rooms aren’t clean, but they’re quiet and happy. And I’m okay with that.
Free Children’s Books!
We’re doing another giveaway on my other site: Christian Children’s Book Review. Check it out! Just by leaving a comment, you can get two excellent, excellent picture books.
Here’s a direct link to the giveaway.
The deadline is January 14th, so hop on over there and enter.
It’s a blueberry pancake day.
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I never understood that.
For years people have been forcing me to eat when I wake up. In the absence of others (my mom, mother-in-law or sister) who would make me breakfast, the omenous, but never identified “they” still guilted me into grabbing something before leaving the house. If I’m not hungry, why do I need to eat? If I already have energy, what’s the point of stuffing more in my mouth?
This morning I woke early planning to post about how important eye glasses are. (Last night before bed I almost smeared Butt Paste all over my dry, cracked hands. It and my hand cream come in containers of identical size and shape, and both were resting on the same shelf in the bathroom.) I planned a loquacious recounting with pictures, but my camera is broken and, after spending 15 minutes trying to get my camera phone to work, I gave up.
Blog post abandoned, I now had plenty of time to make a nice big breakfast for my family. Blueberry pancakes reign as the favorite.
I think “they” are right! I won’t talk about the nutritional or health benefits of breakfast. I’m sure someone out there will be happy to fill me in regardless of my apathy. But this is what I noticed: my whole day forms differently when we have blueberry pancakes. We sit together as a family. We take time to enjoy one another’s company before starting the day’s activities. We make sure we’re rested and ready before we become active. The benefits continue throughout the day. The kids play nicely together. They’re not as clingy or whiney as on other days. They don’t ask for TV as much. And me? I’m more productive. Everything just seems better.
Now all this certainly does not hinge on blueberry pancakes. If only it were that easy! Rather, it’s about finding center, remembering why I’m here and what I’ve been called to do. If I start my morning by being still, even for just a twenty minutes or so, I can evaluate the situation and prepare for the day.
Some mornings I jump on my computer and, before I know it and before I’ve showered, my interests have sprawled in fifty-six different directions, the kids are fighting over what to watch on TV, the house is a mess, I’m frustrated and irritable. On my deliberate days, my blueberry pancake days, time moves slowly. I get showered before the kids wake up. I have quiet time to reflect. I get the breakfast dishes done before 6pm. (I know, shock and awe.) On my deliberate days, I keep my priorities straight: God first, family second, personal ambition third.
I really like those days.
Mama Loves: Answered Prayers
I am, oh, so tempted to write about how Mama loves the times she is not interrupted every 30 seconds, but this exercise is supposed to encourage positive thinking, not ranting. So, for the moment (or however long it takes me to get through this post), I’m going to try to forget that I started this blog entry three hours ago. I’m going to remember that I love my children more than anything and, while I do want to teach them patience and courtesy, it really is more important that I am available to them than that I — well, now I don’t even remember what I was trying to do. On with the show.
If you’re new to In the Dailies or Mama Loves, you can get all the details HERE. In short, it’s an exercise in gratitude and positive thinking with the purpose of glorifying God. Philippians 4:8-9 serve as the foundation. Feel free to join in! Just sign in with Mr. Linky and be sure to include a link from your post to mine. Thanks!
Mama loves answered prayer.
Our son has had eight double ear infections in his rather short life. He’s also had some single ear infections, but I’ve lost count of all those. He’s never had pink eye. Our daughter, being consistent with their polarized natures, has never had an ear infection, but has had pink eye at least once a year since birth.
Two days ago she started rubbing her eyes, saying they were itchy. At first I thought “allergies”, but then I remembered we still have snow; it’s thirty degrees outside. I watched and waited. By last night the symptoms were obvious. Her iris was slightly raised and outlined by pink. The whites of her eye was grainy and the yellow gunk formed in the corners. Ugh. I told her we would pray about it. “We know God can heal your eye and take this away if He wants to. But if He chooses not to take it away while you’re sleeping, we’ll have to go to the doctor and trust God to use the doctor to make you better.” She wasn’t happy about it, but prayed any way. This morning her eye was completely clear.
God doesn’t usually answer prayers like that. At least not for me. I usually have long painful waiting periods of lessons in trust and patience before we get answers so obvious.
Lynn Mosher wrote recently about ebenezers, memorials of God’s goodness. It’s so easy to forget how often and how perfectly He answers our prayers, how He provides for us. I think of the Israelites. God parted the Red Sea, saved them from plagues, caused Jericho to collapse and yet it seemed they continually forgot these amazing things. He miraculously fed them in the desert, brought water forth from rocks and blessed beyond all other nations, yet they forgot. They whined and complained. I don’t want to be like that.
My favorite answered prayers (of course):
My favorite answered prayers from 2008:
There is so much!! So much. I’ve only just started the list; my heart overflows with the goodness of our God. What’s on your list of favorite answered prayers?
