Tips & Tricks »

Our last phone survived 2 years.  That’s a miracle around here.  The drop rate in this house is a little on the extreme side.  For instance, my cell phone made it 3 weeks before my daughter dropped it in a cup of Dr. Pepper.  DP ain’t kind to a  Sony Ericsson.  And the fault does not lie completely in the hands of my children - I’m a tad tough on electronics as well. 

So after 2 years of constant droppage, our last phone could take no mo’ and bit the dust with much internal rattling.

Father’s Day we went to find a new one and stumbled across this treasure.  And they’re not even pimpin’ it to families of small children.  What’re they thinkin’?   It’s waterproof, heavy, rubbery.  Awesome.  I’ll keep you posted as to how long it lasts around here.  But it’s submersible, people!

Hello, Uniden, for a small fee, I’ll be your poster child.

WeekendWishes »

as absolutely carefree!

Much O' Nothin' »

Okay - In case it’s been hard to decipher, I’ve moved some of my categories to different sections of the same blog, moved SystematicChaos over here, moved the kiddos’ blogs to here, made 2under2 it’s own blog, and created AccidentalDesign - a place to show off and hopefully start selling stuff soon (in process of creating my Etsy shop), oh, and a place to swap recipes.

Why?

Because I’m going to try to earn money from ads and selling stuff.  I’m going to try to increase my blog traffic in order to help mamas who are struggling like I was (and am still!).  And because if some of you only want to see the sewing, recipes, or the homeschooling stuff you can get a direct feed to each of those blogs.  If you, like the grandparents!, want to know when the kiddos blog, it’ll be obvious. 

And I’ve tied it all together with the front page navigation.  These will link to each of the sections and will feature a new picture and excerpt when I have something new on that particular blog.  So you won’t have to wonder where to go - I’m trying to make it a little easier to follow me! 

This has been a dream long in the making and almost as long in making it happen!  It’s been a long month at this screen.  And it’s still a skeleton of what I hope it to be.  There will be sidebars with ads, slideshows with “Confessions”, “Keepin’ It Real”, “CurrentReadAlouds”, “CompletedReadAlouds”, “Lapbooks”, “ProjectsInProgress”, “FailuresInTheKitchen”, and more!  I will link to all you wonderful people that I haven’t kept up with for a month, and I will fill in all those cool “links and resources” pages.  I’ll also be featuring one of y’all’s cool posts on the front page (where that annoying plain gray square is now), I’ll steal your picture and excerpt of your post and put it there for the whole world to see!  And buttons!  I’ll make buttons!  So stay tuned, spread the word, and come back often!

And keep on eye on that front screen - thejoyfulchaos.com - when you see a new picture in one of those squares - that’s a good sign that I have something to say there, as Christina said -follow that crumb!  It may just lead to some marvelous “cookies”!

Sew »

and once again, remember these?  my kids came across them the other day and asked that i add to the batman outfit and make it interchangeable with a darth helmet, removable light saber, and a new cape that isn’t “pointy”.  and so here he is.

Understanding »

is just about to wear me out.  good grief. 

ever since he learned to do this…

and this…

it’s been ridiculous around here.  we have to keep all the chairs pushed away from the table.  i’m constantly running to get him down before he falls. 

and he’s currently crying it out in the night.  for good this time.  the other night after i had brought him to my bed in the middle of the night i awoke to him crying.  and not in the same room as me.  i was instantly awake and scared to death.  there he was in his favorite place on the top of the kitchen table, stuck and scared.  so to his own bed he goes.  at least until he figures out how to climb out of there. 

and he’s a waterbug.  flips and flops around in the pools like it’s nothin’.  and now he tries constantly to climb into the bigger pool. 

wearin’ me out.

and in addition, at his one year well-child visit we confirmed what i already suspected: his 10th percentile weight had dropped.  to the 3rd percentile.  argh.  but he’s already a small boy.  and then add early walker which equals an early runner/climber.  and 3 siblings that he must keep up with, and many people at meal times to entertain instead of actually eating, well, whatcha gonna do?  he hates pediasure.  hates carnation instant breakfast.  hates milk of any kind, other than mine.  so i just rearranged when i nurse him and when i give him “real” food.  which led to a quick (and rather unexpected) drop in demand.  but supply was in abundance.  therefore, i had to deal with mastitis.  again.  first for this child, just not the first time for me.  can you say “flu”?  ugh.  but the z-pac is the hook-up and we’re all feeling much better.  still nursing.  just pain-free now.

that boy is makin’ me tired, i’m tellin’ ya.  good thing he’s so darn sweet.  not to mention kinda cute.

HeSays »

After smushing a bug at the back door the other day, one of my older boy children said, “what did ya kill mama?”  “A dirt dauber,” I replied calmly (my utter terror of spiders does not apply to any other creepy crawly, by the way.)  “Why would a dirt dauber want in our house?” he so innocently asked.  Oh, the laughter that erupted from my husband. 

“What on earth would a dirt dauber want in this house?!  I bet he looked through that glass window and said, ‘Ooh, just look at all that dirt in there, I gotta get me some of that.’”  And on and on he went.  Amusing mainly himself with all the jokes that he could possibly think of to go with “What would a dirt dauber want in our house?”

Understanding »

As you’re probably well aware of by now, I’ve had 2 babies under the age of 2 a couple of times around.  Here I share a little of what I’ve learned.  And if you’re a long time friend you’ll find all those “HowIDoWhatIDo” and “2under2″ posts here.  I hope you find comfort, words of understanding, and a little laughter.  If you know of anyone struggling with their 2 little ones, send ‘em here.  We could all use a new friend.  And if you have advice for me - I’m all ears - I need all I can get!

TheBlog »

yes, i’m still alive.  and i miss y’all dearly.  as do my husband and children miss me, who have only seen the back of my head sitting at the computer screen for the last, like, 2 years, it feels like.

no, the site’s not finished, but we’re close.  hoping to launch in the next couple o’ days.  and even then it won’t be polished - i’ll continue to add the glimmer and shine after i have your attention again.  but i’m finally to the redoing of the main page here so i’ll be takin’ down all that you know.  in doing that - i then have to get my butt in gear - since i’ll have nothing for you lovely friends to read except this one boring post.  and that’s no good for anybody.

and, fear not, i not only have the new site to launch, but i also have several posts in the queue (my trusty notebook of quotes and marvelous ideas), so there’ll be no lack of reading material once i get this thing done. 

soon.  people, soon.  hang in there.

and DONNA?!  Are you serious?!  First of all, i’d like to give you a public apology of my past stupidness and betrayals.  my past seems to be overrun with those.  and you, like many others i’ve loved, have been at the receiving end of it.  I’m Sorry.  and i didn’t get that email address.  suzannerparker (at) gmail (dot) com

Tips & Tricks »

These are a few of the sites that I’ve found helpful (or at least entertaining!).  Please let me know if you have any that would help others (or myself!).

Poison Control

WebMd

Household Products

TheOldest »

My ogre brother is real green.  We are also ogres!  And we like ogre babies.  I wish there was a dronkey baby in the family.  And I wish there was a Boots baby in the family too.  I like Shrek movies.  They have a lot of ogres and dronkeys and Puss’NBoots.