Owner: Callapidder Days URL:http://www.callapidderdays.com Join Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:53:50 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Callapidder Days contains the musings of a wife, mom, and writer who is still changing and still growing. Site statistics:Click here
WFMW: What to Expect When You Are Remodeling 2008-07-08 23:00:00 This year was our Year of Finishing the Basement. We moved into our home a little more than three years ago, and from the beginning, we knew we wanted to turn half of the concrete block "cellar" into a finished "basement." (Doesn't "basement" sound so much nicer than "cellar"?)
2008 was the year to do just that. You can check out my boring, but picture-filled, progress updates at my Basement
Read more:Expect
, Remodeling
Yes, another photographical tour 2008-08-07 23:01:00 Well, it's been five days since we got back from our most recent mini-trip and I haven't even posted a re-cap. I just know there are a ton of readers relatives waiting for pictures of Camden and the screaming/crying toddler Logan on vacation.
So here you go. For context, this trip was to the Middle of Nowhere. Or at least somewhere extremely rural.
We started with a stop at a portage railroad
Enough with the trickery 2008-08-06 23:00:00 I've about had it with sneaky deception. Allow me to elaborate.
We're rearranging our various home technology services (i.e. TV, Internet, phone) in order to take advantage of pricing deals and, hopefully, trim the budget by a little bit every month. But we're never going to trim the budget with the way these companies are handling things.
First, the TV company. The technician came, did the
Read more:Enough
Wordless Wednesday 2008-08-05 23:00:00 Summer Fun
To visit more Wordless Wednesday
participants, click here.
Listening and breathing 2008-08-04 23:00:00 Yesterday was really just a normal Monday. We're recovering from a short vacation, so there was laundry to deal with. The usual mess of toys and noise. Piano lessons. A bunch of phone calls to make that I'd been putting off.
I put in a significant amount of screen-time, too -- playing around on Facebook, catching up on some blog-reading, answering emails. The TV was on too much. I made dinner,
Read more:Listening
, breathing
I had no idea 2008-08-03 23:00:00 Last weekend, I attended a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Kara. My husband comes from a big family, so baby showers are a somewhat regular occurrence. But it's always exciting to watch someone who is about to become a mom for the first time open gifts and gather supplies that will be much-needed and -appreciated once the little one arrives. Pack 'n Plays, newborn diapers, baby shampoo,
Game winner 2008-08-02 18:09:00 Okay, I am now convinced that Blogger needs to incorporate Numbered Comments!
The winner
of the game Ka-Ching! is:
Comment #103, which, according to my counting, is Kathleen. Congrats, Kathleen!
Wordless Wednesday 2008-07-29 23:00:00 Future Lawn Mow-er in Training
To visit other Wordless Wednesday
participants, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.
What's on My Nightstand? 2008-07-28 23:00:00 The gang over at 5 Minutes for Books is hosting a new monthly carnival called What's on Your Nightstand?, an opportunity for us to chat about what we're currently reading. Click the graphic to get more details, and then join in the fun!
So, what's on my nightstand? Here you go:
My current fiction read is The Cure, by Athol Dickson. My friend, Jennifer, sent me this book, and it looked
Giveaway: Ka-Ching (2-Player Card Game) 2008-07-28 06:00:00 Melanie from Bloggy Giveaways is hosting her quarterly Bloggy Giveaway Carnival this week, a chance for the rest of us to have some fun giving away (and, of course, trying to win!) lots of cool stuff. Be sure to visit the carnival headquarters to see the many items that are being given away this week.
But while you're here, let me tell you about my giveaway.
I'm giving away a new,
Read more:Ching
Itchin' for a Fight 2008-07-24 23:00:00 It's funny how I can read a verse, chapter, or book of the Bible, and discover things that I never noticed before. Recently, Ecclesiastes 7:9 jumped out at me:
Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.That first line, in particular, really got to me. Do not be eager in your heart to be angry. In other words, Don't go lookin' for a fight.
It
A post that is not a post 2008-07-24 06:34:00 I would have had a post for today, except Camden and I spent most of last evening playing with a computer game I downloaded: Spore Creature Creator.
If you're looking for something to entertain your kids for a while, go download it. From what I gather, there's a video game coming out in September called Spore, which has you make creatures and set them free in an environment to see how they
Coming soon... 2008-08-22 23:00:00 As much as I love fall, I honestly can't believe it'll be here in less than a month! But it's true...it's coming. And quickly.
Of course, that means Fall Into Reading 2008 is coming quickly too. Fall and the reading challenge will begin September 22, 2008.
Check back here September 8th for all the challenge details. In the meantime, here's this year's button.
And here's the code for a
The wisdom of a second-grader 2008-08-21 23:00:00 Camden starts second grade next week, and I think he's a tiny bit apprehensive. His two best friends are in the "other second grade," and although he does know several kids who will be in his class, there's always the whole who-will-be-friends-with-who thing to work out at the beginning of the year [Grammar note: I know the final "who" should be "whom," but what 2nd-grader says whom?]. So
Kids' Book(s) Blog Tour and Giveaway 2008-08-20 23:00:00 Today, I'd like to introduce you to three new kids' books from Waterbrook Press. Each is a charmingly illustrated hardcover targeting preschoolers and their parents.
What the publisher has to say:
God Gave Us Heaven
by Lisa T. Bergren; illustrated by Laura J. Bryant
Little Cub awakens one morning with some important questions on her mind: What is heaven like? How do we get there? Will we eat
Wordless Wednesday 2008-08-19 23:00:00 My husband's idea of "fun."
[A brief, non-wordless note: This is Chad, in front, wrapping up a Century Ride -- that's 100 miles. Straight. Behind him are his brother, Wels, and their dad. Craziness Bike-riding runs in the family.]
To visit more Wordless Wednesday
participants, click here.
Thermostats 2008-08-18 23:00:00 I'm a bit of a freak about our home's thermostat. It seems I'm constantly adjusting the temperature. We have one of those nifty programmable ones, and I do have my "winter" and "summer" programs set for optimal home enjoyment (balanced with optimal budget enjoyment, of course). But I still can't leave those little buttons alone. If I feed Logan in the middle of the night and his feet feel
"It smells like something died in here..." 2008-08-17 23:00:00 Note: What follows is a long and boring account of a run-in I had this week with an unpleasant occurrence in our basement. Some parts may be gross. Many parts are long-winded. So if you manage to stick with me, thank you. You are a truly dedicated blog-reader.
So, on Tuesday Logan turned 2 months old, and in celebration, I took him to the pediatrician's, where the mean nurse poked his cute
Read more:something
Bloggy Break, Etc. 2008-08-15 17:29:00 The first day of school is quickly approaching. As is a 2-day getaway we have scheduled. As is a crazy 24-Hour Mountain Bike Race my husband will be participating in.
And quite honestly, I am in need of a break from the screen. So for the next two weeks, I'll be scarce.
Fear not, I have some wonderful scintillating classic old posts of mine lined up to re-run. So if you've found my blog within
Read more:Break
Things I noticed or thought about while shopping for school supplies 2008-08-13 23:00:00 1. Trapper Keepers are back. They went away for a long time, but they've recently reappeared. I have fond memories of my own Trapper Keeper -- I felt so cool when I got one. Unfortunately, Camden doesn't need any kind of binder this year, just gobs of colored folders. So no Trapper Keeper for him.
2. I am rendered helpless when I see the sign for "10 1-Subject Notebooks for $1.00," and
Read more:thought
, supplies
Wordless Wednesday 2008-08-12 23:00:00 Getting Ready
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participants, click here.
Cleaning in Advance? Not so much. 2008-08-11 23:00:00 Before we had kids, I had it all worked out. If we were planning to have people over for a "major event" (a.k.a. party or similar gathering) and I wanted to have the house in decent shape, I had a standard plan:
I'd clean the house two or three days before the event and then I'd spend the last day or two cooking, baking, arranging, etc. I knew that Chad and I (and even the cat) could keep
Read more:Cleaning
, Advance
Let the little children... 2008-08-10 23:00:00 A few months ago, Camden (9) asked us when we were going to tell Logan (then 1) about God. "When will we teach him all about the Bible, and when will we talk to him about asking Jesus into his heart?"
I loved that Camden was concerned about Logan's spiritual well-being. It was so sweet and tender-hearted, and I especially liked that he said "we" -- he wants to be part of the process.
Chad and
Read more:little
Tired of being other 2008-09-14 23:00:00 "You know, I'm getting really tired of being 'Other.'"
This declaration came out of nowhere from my 9-year-old the other day while we were running errands.
Before responding, my mind raced in circles, trying to figure out what he could possibly mean.
Did he feel like he wasn't fitting in somewhere? In the family? At school? At church?Was he getting teased by classmates for some natural
Please avoid my closets for now 2008-09-11 23:00:00 Summer is not kind to the various closets and cabinets in my house. While I manage to keep the visible areas of the home somewhat picked up and cleaned, "things" and "stuff" seem to accumulate behind every closed door.
Twice in the last several weeks, the kids have had family-member babysitters while Chad and I attended meetings at church and school. Twice I mopped the floors, dusted, cleared
Read more:Please
Want an advance copy of Brandilyn Collins' upcoming novel? 2008-09-11 05:00:00 Hey everyone -- I have an exciting offer for you from one of my favorite Christian authors, Brandilyn Collins
. If you're a reader and a blogger, read on...
Attention bloggers! Would you like an early read of Seatbelt Suspense® author Brandilyn Collins’ next novel
, Dark Pursuit? Her publisher (Zondervan) will send galleys to the first 100 people to respond to this offer. Zondervan is asking on
Wordless Wednesday 2008-09-09 23:00:00 "Would you like a cookie, Mom?"
[Okay, a very non-wordless note: He was actually concerned by the M&M's baked into the cookie and felt I should somehow remove them from the cookie itself. So he could eat them separately. Eventually, I convinced him to just eat the stinking cookie, M&M's & all.]
To visit more Wordless Wednesday
participants, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.
Overheard at Borders... 2008-09-08 23:00:00 So, I was sitting at Borders
the other day, paging through a book or two, when the following conversation occurred mere inches from where I was sitting:
Customer (Male, 50-ish, well-groomed) to Borders Employee: Excuse me. Could you point me in the direction of your books on Atlantis?
Borders Employee (slightly caught off guard): Oh, um...sure. What type of book are you looking for? There
Fall Into Reading 2008: Are You Ready to Read? 2008-09-07 23:00:00 Though the leaves are not yet changing color, and though it was in the 80's here just a few days ago, it is -- nevertheless -- time to decide on some reading goals for the (3rd annual!) Fall Into Reading
challenge!
For those of you who are new to this whole Callapidder Days reading challenge thing, or for those who just need a quick refresher, let me elaborate on what it's all about.
Who: Fall
Over at 5 Minutes for Books... 2008-09-07 11:53:00 I'm honored to have my post, Books
& Tears, featured over at 5 Minutes for Books today. Even if you already read the post here, you might be curious (as I am) to see which books brought the commenters over there to tears.
Also, the 5 Minutes for Books gang is always looking for guest posts for their On Reading and Books on Screen columns. Check out those regular columns, and if you're so
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