Half-Pint House

Valentines Tea Wallets

You know I had to make some tea wallets with this cute fabric, right? Ordering info on these can be found here.

Cute Travel Tissue Holders

These cute travel tissue holders make great gifts! I'm currently making these from this selection of Valentine's Day fabrics, but if you'd like to see some other fabric options just let me know.

They are $5 each with includes shipping, but not the tissues. Email me to order!

Craft of the Week

K-soon-to-be-8 had one request this year. Okay, she had two. She wanted a pillow with her name on it and a new pair of tennis shoes.

Check and check!

Also, I'm still making a bunch of these:

I decided to scrap the solid lining and go with the matching heart/lining. Still really loving these cute bags!

There's still time if you'd like one. I'll take orders until Wednesday, February 10. That will allow two days for arrival (hopefully packages mailed on Thursday would get to you by Saturday!). Just let me know. You can still choose your fabrics or I can do it for you.

Also, for evidence of crafting of a seriously different kind, go here. Craig tells a story about us that is both hilarous and heartbreaking. (Yet as heartbreaking as it is, I still crack up when I see that dumb party invitation I made...).

Tomorrow I will be crafting cupcakes. Loads and loads of cupcakes. Friday is the big double birthday for Craig and K8. He rolls his eyes that I make him take cupcakes to school for his students, but I do it anyway.

Night!

2010 Booklist

Okay, I said I was going to read more this year and I have been. So far, so good, though it is ALL fiction. But I do not apologize for that. Not one bit.

January

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - This was a book club selection from last fall sometime. I was unable to make it to book club that month (come to think of it, I think I've only even ever been ONCE...) but still wanted to read the book. I'm not sorry I did. It is hard for me to name exactly what struck me about this story, but something did. I think it has to do with the third culture idea and the hope mixed with confusion mixed with bitterness mixed with loneliness mixed with...something. Anyway, the writing is good and the story is captivating. We just watched the movie tonight and it only made sense in light of the book. Had I not read it, the movie would have just been this collection of fragments.

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson- This is a reread for me. A friend asked me to read it several years ago for my stay-at-home-mom take on the working mom story. I'm hosting the book club this month (yes, the one I've only attended ONCE so far...) and this was one of my choices for everyone to pick from. Here's my little disclaimer: I'd forgotten just how much shocking language was in the book, but the story was still very powerful for me to read. And even more so now, probably seven years after I first read it. I think it has something to do with the fact that I do carry a part-time job now that I didn't even dream of seven years ago. Granted, my part-time job is right here on the computer and done at night at home. But there is still a pull it puts on me and that pull (tiny though it is) identified more with Kate's pull than it did seven years ago. There is a tension there that is worthy of discussion and I'm looking forward to hosting it in a few weeks.

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett - This was another one of my selections for book club this month and though not the one chosen, one I still wanted to read. My word. Ann Patchett can tell a story. I read Bel Canto many years ago and really only remember liking her writing, but thinking it took me forever to read it. Not so with The Patron Saint of Liars. If you are the type of reader who must have the story tied up neatly with a pretty bow on the top by the end, then skip this one. It isn't for you. But if you are in the mood for a story that will make you race to the finish and then be sorry it is over, then this may be something you will enjoy. In short, the main character, Rose, is headed from California to Kentucky to a Catholic home for unwed mothers who plan to give their babies away after birth. Problem? Rose is married. She lives a life of secrets and lies, hence the title of the book. Worth reading.

The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson - This was read out loud to the girls in conjunction with Sonlight's Core 5 program. I'll be honest - some of the school readers we read put me to sleep. Not this one. It was a very interesting story and we all enjoyed it. The girls kept begging me to keep reading after I'd read our daily 2 chapters. I held them off until the very end when there were only two chapters to go to the finish - we read four that day. Paterson also wrote Bridge to Terabithia which we didn't realize until the end of the story, but made sense. The writing is very good.

Next Up:

The Brothers K by David James Duncan - At 645 pages, I asked Craig if I could count this one as two books. He laughed at me. But so far? So good. 

Linky Slinky

I've had open tabs all day for links I want to go back to. You might want to check some of them out too.

Tulip Girl: Restoring Gently and Carrying Burdens: This was on my mind this week, after a conversation I had. . . I keep praying that the Lord will show me how to “restore gently” as the boys are getting older, as we are instroduced to new struggles.

Wistful Wrists: No Apple iPad for this Mom! Seriously. If you are a mom blogger, you need to read this. The new Apple iPad is not for you. Sure, they make be marketing it with a catchy name that is sure to catch any woman’s eye <insert sarcasm here>, but I’m pretty sure this thing is really for the Kindle set, which is my politically correct way of saying the geriatric demographic...

Amy's Finer Things: Rice Krispy Roll: Wanna ramp up your Rice Krispy Treats a chocolaty, peanut buttery notch?  Look no further!

Me at WORLDMag.com: Count it all joy: A couple of nights ago I had trouble sleeping. The next morning, I woke up and began praying that God would allow me to find joy in all the things that normally drive me crazy...

Inspired to Action: Perfect Mothers vs. Balanced Mothers: How many of us fall into the trap of believing that we need to be “perfect moms” who raise “perfect children?” That we need to mother a certain way, dress a certain way, keep our homes a certain way and discipline a certain way. That our kids need to behave a certain way, look a certain way and speak a certain way... (hat tip to Amy).

Second Drafts: Live-Blogging POTUS State of the Union Address: He took out my, "We're good enough, we're smart enough, and doggone it, people like me" line. The president didn't say that, but he came very very close. I think it should have a place in Craig's list of mentionables...

Hello? Anybody Out There?

I guess it's me who left. So sorry.

Well, life resumed pretty quickly after the black hole that was December. We're back to school, back to Classical Conversations, back to the Dunham version of normal.

Except for this one tiny thing: the blog.

A friend asked me if I was going to post my book list for 2009 and I didn't have the heart to tell her that my reading list for last year looks like this:

Facebook by Everybody

Twitter by Everybody Else

Yep. I think aside from books I read to the girls (and I do still read to them for school, but they have taken over the nighttime portion of their reading these days - I keep thinking I want to start reading to them at bedtime again. I need to do that), I read one or two books all year.

All. Year.

It could have been more, but I don't know. So to make up for that, I've been reading again this year. And I know myself well enough to know I need some easy stuff to remind myself that yes, I do indeed know how to read. I've been overdosing on fiction and liking it. I'm on my third book so far which is nothing for most of the true book gobblers out there, but for someone going through a Facebook/Twitter-as-literature detox, three works of fiction in three weeks isn't too shabby.

I've been saying no to good things. I've been listening a teensy bit more to what the needs are at home.

I'm a long way from perfection. I know. I just shocked every single one of you. But I'm not giving up and that's the key for me.

Someday I will write about why we're planning to put the girls in school in 7th grade. Someday I will write about how we've restarted our weekly Sabbath meals and 24 hour technology fasts (which have contributed to the increased reading...funny how that works). Someday I will finish my series of posts on our church experiences. 

But for now I'm going to sign off and go tidy up something because that's what the need is.

Thanks for hanging in here with me even when it's quiet. Truly, you are a friend to the introvert. Even the ones on the web.

The Zippy Bag Winner!

I just remembered that I was giving away some zippy bags! Random number generator to the rescue!

The winner is Becky of The Blue Hutch! Congrats, Becky!

But wait! There's another giveaway going on. Check it out here. $1 gets you one entry into a drawing for 2 zippy bags. There will be 2 winners! So really $1 gets you two entries! And the donations are all going to help those in Haiti. There are other raffle prizes as well - I've entered a few of them myself. Go on now, and check it out!

If you just want to go ahead and place an order, check out the info here!

A Few More Thoughts on Haiti

Thought #1: Here at WORLDMag.com.

Thought #2: Hope for Haiti Raffles - I'm giving away two sets of two Valentine's Zippy Bags all for the cost of a $1 raffle ticket. 100% of the proceeds go toward Haitian rescue efforts. There are a lot of other (better) offers for raffle prizes, so this would be a good way to donate.

Thought #3: Unless you've been hiding under a block (blog+rock), you already know about the integrity and work of Compassion. 

All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.

You can provide immediate relief today.

• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.

Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.

Haiti Earthquate

Hope for Haiti

I sit by and watch.

I weep inside.

I do not have any idea of what is really going on.

I see pictures.

They make me cry.

I will eat breakfast in the morning like I usually do.

My kids have no concept of 100,000.

One said, "Oh, so more than 10?"

Another one said, "No, silly, it was 100,000,000."

More than 10, less than 100,000,000.

Still devastating.

I want to do something.

What?

It isn't much, but it is something.

What are your plans?

Disney Live! Rockin' Road Show at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis

The Disney Live! Rockin' Road Show is coming to St. Louis! You can win a family 4-pack to go!

(Details on the giveaway at the end of this post.)

First, the pertinent details:

Where will the show be? At the Chaifetz Arena at St. Louis University

When will it be? There are four performances:
Saturday, February 20 at 12:30, 3:30, and 6:30 PM
Sunday, February 21at 1:00 PM

Can I get a special deal? Absolutely. Use the coupon code: MBLOG to pay $18 per ticket (Additional service charges, facility and handling fees apply). This is a savings of up to $13/ticket!

Where do I go to buy tickets? Funny you should ask...click here and purchase away!
 

 

What do I do to win FREE tickets? Oh, funny you should ask that too. Here's what you do:

Tell me in the comments who your favorite Disney character was when you were a kid. Personally, I've always been Mickey Mouse kinda girl.

That's all there is to it. The free tickets will be for the Saturday 6:30 PM performance. That's the one we'll be at too so we can wave at each other from across the arena.

Can I get more chances to win? Really? You want to go that much? Okay, you can have more chances to win. Here's what you do:

Post a link to this giveaway somewhere online. You can put it on Facebook. You can post a link on Twitter. You can send the link to 10 of your friends by email. Just do something to spread the word. For every extra thing you do, come back and leave another comment telling me what you did. It's that easy.

You have one week to get your entries in. I'll choose a winner next Tuesday night.

That's it! Good luck!

Congrats to Amy Bates for winning the tickets! Amy, I just sent you an email about it!

*The fine print: My family is receiving 6 tickets to enjoy this show in exchange for this promotion space on my blog. Thank you, Feld Entertainment, for this rockin' opportunity!