Thursday Thirteen - new sentences

Every once in awhile, one of us says a sentence composed of words combined in a unique way. We usually stop and say "Hey, I've never said that before."

Here are a few:

1. Don't burp dog food in my face. (Said to the dog. Thankfully.)

2. Don't bark at your food. (Sadly, this I said not to the dog, but to a child. Recently.)

3. You are not allowed to toilet paper your brothers room. (Ditto.)

4. Why does your backpack smell? (Ditto.)

5. It's not nice to change your brother's stuffed animal display so that only the hineys show. (And again, recently said to a child.)

6. Don't put your burfe into your lassi. (Said to child years ago at Indian restaurant.)

7. Please don't paint your stomach red. (Said to child when he was a toddler. He painted red over surgery scars and for a few seconds really scared me.)

8. Don't lick the window.

9. I don't have time to count your dandelions.

10. I saw the salt shaker on top of the dryer. (We don't know why.)

11. Make it stop raining. Now. (From a toddler who thought his mommy had way more control over the universe than she actually does.)

12. Hangers make great light sabers.

13. Is there anything that rhymes with United States?

Wednesday Writing Links

Here's some links for writers:

Some ideas for getting over writer's block, and some interesting sounding podcasts on writing.

what writing should do

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it ís raining, but the feel of being rained upon.
-E.L. Doctorow

Happy Mother's Day

I thought I'd compile of a list of helpful sites for mothers who write - turns out Writer's Notes already beat me to it. AND my blog is on the the list! I'm looking forward to exploring some of the other sites.

But for now - it's time for pancakes.

Thursday Thirteen

13 things that have gone through our laundry:

In my defense, our family of five averages about two loads a day. A few months ago I thought the kids were old enough to do their own laundry. I've since rethought that, but I wonder if that was their evil plan....

1. rocks
2. dandelions (we pay the kids a penny for each one they pick - sometimes the dandelions get forgotten in the pockets)
3. worms (I really can't say if these began the laundry cycle as live wiggling worms or dried up worms - I only know how they ended up)
4. leaves
5. notes from the teacher (who knows what they said....)
6. money
7. a super ball
8. crayons
9. ink pens
10. candy wrappers
11. my teenager's ipod headphones (they actually still work)
12. my teenager's passport (these are incredibly washable - they come out a little warped, but the ink and pictures hold up fine to the laundry process)
13. cell phone (Alas, this one was mine and my fault. For the record - cell phones don't launder well. Does this mean I'm not old enough to do my own laundry?)

Yikes, is it May?

I've got a great creative site to share today:

Bitsy Birdie. My blog friend Shannon was very upset by all the toy recalls and the thought of her twins ingesting lead paint. So she decided to do something about it. She started her own online store selling natural toys. The toys are gorgeous, really special, and lend themselves well to imaginative play. Take a look at the wood tea set and the Kathe Kruse dolls. The store also has books, clothing, and bath products.

I love that Shannon didn't just gripe about the problem of lead paint in toys but did something about it.

Saturday Links

Life is getting back to normal. We even have a few bulbs blooming in the yard. My husband and oldest opted out of a camping trip at The Sand Dunes this weekend. Lingering coughs and wind, freezing temperatures,and sand didn't seem like a good mix.

Here's some fun links for the weekend:

StumbleUpon is a fun (addictive) way to find new websites. Click here and give the page a thumbs up and they will plant a tree. They are almost up to 25,000!

Read what children's author Leo Lionni says about finding ideas and developing them into work.

cough, cough

Believe it or not, we are still recovering here. Three doctor appointments, and one chest x-ray later (negative!) we are feeling better. All of the kids went to school yesterday for the first time in two and 1/2 weeks. We've only got a month left of school. Eeek.

I'm in a very dry, dead place as far as creativity goes. Feeling as empty as our cough syrup bottles and kleenex boxes.

Maybe this summer?