All Rileyed Up

Green Works – It Works

I recently sampled Clorox Green works laundry detergent and spray on stain remover on behalf of MomCentral. It smells delightful and cleans everything I throw at it, including but not limited to, mud, grass, spaghetti sauce, markers, hard candy bits, a mushed piece of something that may or may have not been on the foor, something green that may or may not have come out of someone’s nose, all variety of juices, and oh, whatever else exists in this world that has color. Can you tell I have children in the house?

Here is my latest tale of laundry woe:

Yesterday at school, the children put on a dance performance. School ended at 3pm, then they were going to have a pizza and fruit punch party and play around until the actual performance, which took place at 6pm.

The requested outfits of all students were a white shirt and blue jeans.

So, to be clear: white shirt and blue jeans AND pizza party and red fruit punch.

The teachers were wise enough to add to the notice – do not send your child to school DRESSED for the show, just put the white shirt in their backpack.

The Boy and Little No Limit were among the lucky few (and by few, I mean half), who had spots of red fruit punch and other such stains on their clothes, which made me very happy that I packed their brand new white shirts in their backpacks. I specify they were brand new because the only kinds of white clothing we own are brand new. White doesn’t last very long in our house.

So we got them dressed up in their dazzling white shirts, they did they dance thing (sooooo cute, but my Flip decided to freeze up so I couldn’t tape it. Soooooo lame).

After the dance, the kids were rewarded with a piece of chocolate cake.

And now, I have no brand new white shirts.

Ah, children. They should spend their allowance buying stock in Green Works.

***

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox Green Works and received a bottle of Green Works Natural Detergent and Stain Remover to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate.

I’m taking a class right now on literacy instruction and the last discussion question requested we write a song/make up a poem/create a collage that indicated what we’d learned about literacy and some of our thoughts on it. I wrote new lyrics to the tune of It’s the End of the World as We Know It by REM because let’s face it, no one ever knew the lyrics to that song anyways (except “Leonard Bernstein!”). I included the video for you to press play so you could follow the lyrics along with the song (plus, it IS a good song…)

“The Whole World’s A Good Book, Let’s All Read It”

Reading, it starts with the parents, kids, and time for storylines
Twenty minutes every day.
Then the kids come to school, listen to their teacher
Who meets the kids’ needs, individual and group needs,
Checking on their phonics, spell this, rhyme that,
Also check on fluency, reading words, sight words,
On to work on comprehension where it helps to know
that having any background knowledge means so much.
If that isn’t coming in a hurry don’t get worried, you can build - it - up.
Team by team the readers read aloud and discuss.
Look at them analyze!
Fine, then,
Uh oh, student’s slow,
regulation for the group, this we’ll do:
modify! modify!
School serves the kids’ needs,
Wanting to see them succeed
Tell me ‘bout the teacher and the students they did right — right.

It’s academic, episodic, teach, read, read, teach,
feeling… pretty… bright.

The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
Now start page one.

All o’clocks – reading hour, time to increase reading power!
Your turn, their turn, now let’s check what students learned.
Teaching by modeling and scaffolding, writing time.
Don’t forget to escalate when you take the tests from State!
Teach them science, social studies
Background, background,
Don’t be in a rush, rush.
Uh oh, this means wait time – give them time, question them and steer clear!
A student needs, a student needs, a student needs your faith!
Offer them solutions, offer them alternatives for them to read!

The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
We’re half way through.

(repeat)

If you asked me what I thought of literacy I would say,
Reach them while they’re young,
Expand knowledge,
Always keep an open mind, kids are kids, you’ll need patience.
Draw them in with real life connections, boom!

It’s academic, episodic, teach, read, write — right? Right.

The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
The whole world’s a good book, let’s all read it.
We’ve reached the end.

Four months ago…
I moved to a completely new area.
I got a job in a completely new field.
I went back to school for a completely new degree.

Four months ago…
I had a big transition.
Well, I had three big transitions.
And I had a family going through similar transitions.

Four months ago…
I had things I no longer have now.
I didn’t have things I do have now.

Four months ago…
everything was unclear, and I didn’t like it.

That was four months ago.

Now…

Now is different.
It’s a time for meeting other people’s needs.
And I have met so many people whose lives are so different from mine in ways I never considered.

Now, many things from four months ago are much clearer to me. And better.
Things weren’t so bad after all.
Now, I feel very lucky.

And tomorrow?

Well, to quote another drama queen,

Tomorrow is another day!

My nephew drew this. My brother sent it to me with the remark, “Too many Tim Burton films?”

You be the judge.

*This picture also submitted to Magic Marker Monday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

The Plan for the Weekend:

Drive to Orange County on Saturday. See family and friends. Spend night at friend’s house. Attend baby shower on Sunday. Enjoy food and conversation at restaurant. Drive home.

The Reality:

It’s never good when your car starts to sound like a lawnmower, I suppose. It also isn’t comforting when the speedometer swings back and forth between 0 and 120 like it’s been possessed. Least exciting of all is when these two things happen simultaneously and you are precisely halfway between home and your destination with no friends or family nearby, nor anything besides a stretch of interstate going through the heart of California ag country (ie, middle of nowhere).

I called AAA for a tow which cost me $4 a mile after the first seven miles, and when your starting point is BFE, you go well over that free seven miles (to the tune of $84 – that’ll teach me for not buying the premier membership).

After dropping my car off, I went to the airport where the only open car rental places in Bakersfield were located. They refused to rent a car to me. I didn’t have a major credit card. I had a credit/debit card. Using a debit/credit card required an additional $200-400 deposit (depending on the car rental place), but that money wasn’t on the card because it was in my wallet. Did that help? No. You remember that old song by Wu Tang Clan where they say “cash rules everything around me”? Well, I don’t think car rental places thought much of those lyrics. Three separate car rental places told me they didn’t accept or handle cash. I had two people (husband, mother in law) willing to give their credit card over the phone and receive and sign and fax back an agreement to them, but no, that’s not acceptable either. Talk about uber-lame.

The tow guy gave me a ride to a hotel which had no problem using my debit card and I suddenly found myself with a free night to myself. Hey, a silver lining! I was looking for that! I spent my free-for-a-night evening vegging out and watching The Express and Sex in the City on HBO. I also discovered a TV show on MTV called America’s Best Dance Crew hosted by the guy on Saved By the Bell (the one whose character dated the girl who went on to star in Showgirls) which was entertaining for about 15 minutes before I got irritated by all the commercials.

This morning, I woke up, enjoyed my free breakfast, went swimming, and watched a lot of CNN talk about health care coverage – can I just say that I love James Carville and Mary Matalin?

Husband and the kids drove 3 hours to pick me up and when we neared home, the kids asked to go to the movies, and I thought to myself, why not. Guess what we saw? G-Force. Guess what else? I laughed. On a weekend like this one, you have to take the laughs that come to you.

Funnier than you’d expect. Assuming you expected it to be stupid.

Did you ever get into a lull where you hadn’t posted for a while and then when you tried to get back into your posting habits you felt compelled to write something of substance, a decision that ultimately resulted in prolonging your ability to post something because nothing you wrote was good enough to be that oh-so-special return post, and then you had to tell yourself to quit overthinking things and just write whatever the hell you wanted because it’s your blog and you do what you want and how much substance went into your old posts anyway?

That dilemma – in addition to moving and organizing the new home, repairing the new home (rather, watching Husband repair things), preparing for my new job, studying for the CSET, dealing with the financial aid office of my college, having both kids home all day long with no new acquaintances out here yet for them to play with, figuring out the new juicer, and considering adding sit ups to my nonexistent exercise regimen – has been occupying my thoughts and time.

It’s certainly those things conflicting with my ability to write and concentrate and not the fact that I have TV again. Oh yeah. Husband signed us up when he hooked up our phone. It has led to me watching lots of silly things which is exactly what I promised myself I wouldn’t do. Among the less silly things I’ve watched was Highlander the original movie. Oh wait, did I say less silly? I don’t deny I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, though I favor the TV series more, but I must point out a ridiculous scene that in addition to pushing the limits of my suspension of disbelief (in a movie that, let’s face it, requires a good suspension of disbelief) indicates what the 80s man considered ideal in an 80s woman: if a man puts a knife in your hands then stabs himself with it while your hands are still on the handle then appears to die then stands back up and explains that he is immortal and cannot die, your reaction would just NOT be to start making out with him. It just wouldn’t.

And now for something completely different: the deer here have a death wish. I swear, I have slammed on my brakes more times in the past three weeks to keep from hitting a deer than I have in the entire rest of my life. Of course, that latter number is zero, so any number would have beaten it. Regardless, the deer here have a death wish. GET OFF THE ROAD!

You talkin’ to me?

Congrats to Robin, commenter #2, who won the giveaway. If you didn’t win the giveaway, you can still take advantage of this discount:

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 by logging onto Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000 and entering the coupon code: MOM. Enter code in the “MC Promotion Box” on Ticketmaster. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Not valid on VIP, Front Row and Circus Celebrity seats or combinable with other offers. Service charge, facility fee and handling fees may apply.

Show Dates:

Los Angeles
July 8: 7:30pm
July 9: 7:30pm
July 10: 12:00pm, 7:30pm
July 11: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 12: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Anaheim
July 15: 7:30pm
July 16: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 17: 10:30am, 7:30pm
July 18: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 19: 1:30pm, 5:30pm
July 20: 1:00pm
July 21: 7:30pm
July 22: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 23: 10:30am, 7:30pm
July 24: 1:00pm, 7:30pm
July 25: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
July 26: 1:30pm, 5:30pm

Ontario
July 29: 7:30pm
July 30: 7:30pm
July 31: 7:30pm
Aug. 1: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
Aug. 2: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

My review of DO-OVER! by Robin Hemley is up at the Hayden’s Ferry Review blog. Give it some love.

DO-OVER! was a totally fun read that I find myself constantly telling people about because the subject of bad childhood memories is apparently quite popular with my circle of friends. Some of my favorite parts of the book that didn’t make it into the other review include these three babies:

1. A lot of people out there regret stopping their piano lessons.

2. David Hasselhoff is a jerk to his high schol alma mater. There’s a surprise.

3. If you take the SAT, you can have your test scores sent to the Vice President of the United States. Excellent. One look at my scores and he’ll totally bring me in on helping him misread how bad the economy is.

Hope everyone had a good Fourth! Enjoy patriotic artwork courtesy of The Boy:

Family Cooking & Recipes

Emma presents What is your child eating? posted at Baby-Log, offering reasons to cook especially for your baby.

Make it from Scratch presents Mason Jar Peach Cobbler posted at Make It From Scratch.

Family Crafts & Activities

Kevin Heath presents 4th of July Festivities for the Entire Family posted at More4kids, sharing many of the ideas and tips “we used to plan our own Fourth of July activities.”

Ben Dinsmore presents Fun Campsite Games and Activities posted at Northern Camping, a collection of some of the author’s favorite competitive campsite games with modified rules that make playing them in a campground even more challenging and fun.

Keith Tusing presents Top Ten Fun & Free (or almost free) Things to Do This Weekend posted at CM Buzz.

Education

Donald Latumahina presents Learn New Skills With Project-Based Learning posted at Life Optimizer.

Family Humor

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Harried Spouse posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

sugarpuff mommy blog presents Preparing For July 4th and Sweetheart’s B-Day posted at sugarpuff mommy blog.

Tracy Dear presents Worst Mom EVER posted at higher education about a family ear-piercing adventure.

Jenny presents It’ll Never Happen To Me posted at the so called me.

SmallTownSim presents What stands up- sometimes falls down posted at Joy’s Journey To Wellness.

Family Finance

Barry presents Learn To Survive On A $100 Grocery Budget posted at Associate Money.

freefrombroke presents Do You Keep Money Secrets From Your Spouse? posted at Free From Broke, offering some reasons why you shouldn’t.

Ray presents First Time Home Buying and Networth Update posted at Money Blue Book.

The Dough Roller presents freecreditreport.com versus annualcreditreport.com–Where to get your free credit report posted at The Dough Roller.

Manshu presents Sticky Wages posted at OneMint.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Get Out of Debt With A Debt Repayment Plan posted at The Digerati Life, suggesting a debt repayment plan for families who “want to get that debt monkey off their backs!”

The Smarter Wallet presents Learn How To Invest: Develop An Investment Plan posted at The Smarter Wallet.

Super Saver presents Good Intention - Unintended Consequence posted at My Wealth Builder.

The Liberty Bell

Family Health and Wellness

Aparna presents Rubbing nails cures hair loss? posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming. “Most Acupressure Therapists believe that rubbing the nails of both the hands can reduce hair fall and give you dense, thick and strong hair,” according to Aparna. “It can also prevent hair from turning gray.”

Parenting Tips & Advice

Len Penzo presents Parents: Before You Name Your Baby, Learn How to Spell. posted at Len Penzo . Com.

Jipson Musundi presents Baby Planet Solo deluxe stroller posted at Baby Stroller Consumer Reports.

Family Relationships & Self-Improvement

GP presents Focused or Frazzled — Musings from Montana posted at Manely Montana. “Slow down to go faster,” writes GP.

Rich Bordner presents Fatherhood, Anyone? « The Pugnacious Irishman posted at The Pugnacious Irishman, saying, “Thoughts from a future husband and father.”

Rick Schiano presents What? You Gave Him the Silent Treatment? posted at Rick’s Victory Blog.

Family Travel

Amy presents 5 Family Favorite Outdoor Adventures Around Atlanta posted at Atlanta With Kid Travel Blog.

Amy presents 10 Fun Aquariums for Family Sleepover posted at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog.

Tom Tessin presents Best Bargain Vacation Spots for Families posted at FAC Travel Blog.

Next month, August 3, 2009, Jenny will be hosting the Carnival at the so called me. Click here to submit a post for the August edition of the Carnival by 4:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific Time on Sunday, August 2, 2009. Be sure to include both the permalink to and relevant information about your entry. Should you have questions, the Carnival guidelines can be reviewed by clicking here before submitting your post. If you would like to host a future edition, drop a note to familylifecarnival@comcast.net letting JHS know of your interest!

(This post submitted to Magic Marker Monday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs)

Earlier today, I came across the book Imagine a Night by Sarah L. Thomson and illustrated by Rob Gonsalves.

While the cover gave me the slight heebie jeebies, the rest of the book is visually stunning, filled with illusory, surreal images that remind you of the many possibilities the imagination has to offer when given the chance.

Coincidentally, when I visited Maternal Spark today, Heather referenced her love of Dr. Seuss and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think, and asked as her Monday’s Muse that readers take the time to ponder.

At the moment, I’m thinking about those Rob Gonsalves images and pondering an essay in Literary Mama, Motherwriter by Barbara G.S. Hagerty, about her coming to terms with her identities as a mother and a writer. About her love of writing, she wrote:

“What’s so mesmerizing about spending the whole day in a room alone, with just the company of words? It’s the limitless, unpredictable meander of the imagination, the infinity of possibilities, the surprises delivered from various regions of the brain: memory, hunch, and inspiration.”

I love that phrase, the unpredictable meander of the imagination. Indeed, I find that to be my favorite aspect of writing – the journey from what I intended to write to what I actually wrote. I love the feeling in the middle of a freewrite when the story takes over for itself and I think to myself, whoa…

I didn’t see that coming.

Maybe the reason I like the unexpected twists and turns of bringing a story idea to fruition is because I love the unexpected twists and turns of life itself. My mother once me that I’m her unpredictable child. You just never know what I’ll come up with next. And for those of you who know me, you know this fact about me couldn’t be more apparent right now.

See, I’m in the middle of a huge change. It’s so huge I still can’t grasp it enough to write about it. From the outside perspective, I’m moving, I’m starting a new career, and I’m going back to school. When I delve a little deeper, though, I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m scared, I’m confused, I’m unsure, I’m completely sure, and then some. So in order to be manageable with all these different emotions vying for attention within me, I have to take a step back and look to the bits of wisdom I’ve learned from others. I have to let my mind wander… let it bask in the anticipation of the unexpected.

See this and other Rob Gonsalves pictures here.