Tag Archives: works for me wednesday

Family matters

A little elvish magic goes a long way

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Dear Keebler: Please don't sue me.
Dear Keebler, Please don't sue me.
Works-for-Me WednesdayI love to read.

My kids love to read.

My kids are homeschooled.

I hate to spend money.

This adds up to one thing: I check out a lot of library books.

I’ve tried all sorts of techniques to stay organized with them, from having a designated Library Book Basket to writing down the due dates on the calendar. Somehow, though, these things never seem to stick. And so I end up with library fines.

My local library doesn’t cut you off until you’ve racked up $20 in overdue fines, so I generally wait until I reach that milestone to pay. The last time it happened, the librarian told me about what has become one of my very favorite internet services: Library Elf. You need your library card number and PIN number to set it up, and then it sends you emails to let you know when your books are due. I haven’t had a late fee since I signed up a few months ago!

So! Library Elf works for me. Check this list of libraries to see whether if could work for you, too!

Family matters

In retrospect, rocks and sticks are pretty great

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Works-for-Me WednesdayYoungMe always got the same response when I told my mom I was bored: “Only boring people get bored. When I was a kid, all we had to play with were rocks and sticks, and we were happy that way.” (seriously). Poppy has only recently started telling me that she’s bored, and I have tried very hard not to tell her to go play with rocks and sticks. Instead, I usually tell her that if she’s lost interest in the 10 million toys in her bedroom, I will help her pack them up to take to a child who will enjoy them. The threat usually results in a teen-worthy rolling of the eyes from her, but she does generally find something to do.

I tell you this because today’s theme at Works for Me Wednesday is “Mom, I’m Bored – Summer Edition.” I’m not great at having on-the-fly ideas for entertaining the small folks. Here are a few things, though, that I have turned to in the past:

  • Spoons, cups, small toys and a big bowl of water. I haven’t actually done this in awhile, but it’s a nice diversion for a hot day.
  • Art time. The kids love art of all kinds. The simplest for me is setting them loose on their chalkboard, but their favorite is probably painting.
  • Story time. We usually have a chapter book in progress, and Poppy is almost always willing to cuddle up for some reading.

    • I’ve focused on Poppy here, because Pete is 2 and a half. That means he doesn’t have time to be bored. He’s far too busy scrappin’ and yellin’ and mixin’ it up.

    In other news, I have a problem. It is almost entirely of my own making, and I’m not sure how to fix it. Your input would be appreciated. Please click here to read all about my (in the scheme of things, rather insignificant) plight.

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    Rockford don’t lose that number

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    Works-for-Me WednesdayRockford was in (or on his way to/from) Brazil for work for seven days last week. I’ve tried not to get too specific about exactly where we live here at Butterscotch Sundae, but I do feel comfortable sharing this: We’re far, far from the southern hemisphere. It was definitely the longest he’d been away from us, and I think it was probably the farthest away he’s been.

    It was a tough week, but there was something that made it infinitely easier on all of us: We were able to talk to him nearly every day, despite the fact that he was on another continent. Before he left, we both signed up for Skype accounts. You can buy credits to use Skype with a phone, but we used the free computer-to-computer calls. The sound is incredibly clear, with only the very occasional hiccup. There’s also a video function, so Rockford was able to see the kids while they chatted. (He doesn’t have a webcam, so we weren’t able to see him. We’ll be remedying that!)

    I’d rather he didn’t have to travel at all, but I know that when Rockford’s out of town Skype works so very well to keep us connected.