Wordless Wednesday: {Messy Play Date}

Wordless Wednesday Link:

An InLinkz Link-up

Why Sleep Away Camp is the BEST!

So, pretty much my post is over at TODAY Parents this week!

If you've ever been nervous about sending your kid to sleep away camp, far be it from me to calm anyone's nerves.

But still, here's a little something that might make you feel better:

Seven Ways Sleep Away Camp is GREAT for Kids

And since you're over there anyway...you might as well click on the "vote" for me.  Because why not, I ask you?!?

Wordless Wednesday {Back Yard in Summer}

Link party will return next week!

Do You Want to Get Staples in Your Head AGAIN?!? (15+ Picture Books that Help Teach Manners)

Post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure here.

"Sit down in your chair! Do you want to get staples in your head AGAIN?!?!"

"Food needs to stay in your mouth!"

"You don't reach into other people's plates for food! You eat the food off your OWN plate!  This is MY plate!"

This is every single meal of my life these days.  And yet, somehow I already grew two kids into near adulthood who are pleasant to eat with, so I know that one of these days a meal with the Head of Demolition will consist of something other than barking direct orders while attempting to swallow.

I frequently turn to picture books to help teach manners.  It has the advantage of distance: children can discuss good or poor manners while not in the thick of things, so they can learn at a time when they're not busy feeling defensive or blamed.

For example, upon seeing David flee down the street naked in the book No, David!, the Head of Demolition offered a clear verdict on its appropriateness:

"I wanna do DAT!"

She knows what she wants, at any rate.

Wordless Wednesday {Bubbles}

An InLinkz Link-up

No Computer, No Internets...but I do have a cute video of my cat who hates stickers

Hello all. My computer has decided not to accept any internets. So rather than a post, I offer you a video of my cat who hates stickers.



Or loves them. It's actually kind of hard to tell.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sorry for the totally unrelated title photo. It's hard to fix things like that with no internets.

Wordless Wednesday {Rain Boots}

Link Wordless Wednesday here:

An InLinkz Link-up

You Might Live in a Flood Prone Area If Your Friendly Neighborhood Pychic Operates From a Boat: Houston Flood A Week and a Half Later

I thought, you know, that you might live in a flood prone area if your friendly, neighborhood psychic operates on a boat:

But what my boy said was that they DIDN'T operate off a boat.  They just knew when to pack up and get on one sooner than the rest of us.

Also, your kid may have been raised in and around Blogsilvania if while he's helping sort through the rubble and debris, he stops to snap a picture of a FEMA disaster preparation booklet which has been ruined by the flood:

Seriously though, the devastation here in Houston is just horrible, horrible, horrible.

And I am incredibly happy to say that the reason is that my boy was able to find and photograph that booklet was because his school excused high schoolers from taking their final exams as long as they are assisting with the flood relief.

I love my boy's school.

In all seriousness, things are bad in Houston right now, especially in the southwest part of town, although we were lucky not to have any damage at all.  Normally it's a pain in the neck to live so far out, but this time it happened to be a benefit.

Because much of Houston looks like this:

Some of the more narrow roadways look like the parting of the Red Sea.  Except, instead of water, it's the flood debris that parted:

This is road after road, house after house.

If, by chance, you're interested in helping out, here are some ways:

Texas Equusearch - nonprofit search and recovery organization
10 Ways to Help Houston Now - Very geared toward Houston locals
Houston Flood Relief Fund - geared toward anyone

I'm also having a Jamberry fundraiser to benefit Equusearch.  So if you needed nail wraps or nail polish or hand cream stuff, this is a GREAT cause.

In totally un-flood-related news, I have had a few posts on other websites, if you'd like to look around:

TODAY Parenting Team: Daddy's Home!  We're SAVED!

On Mom Babble, I explain why I don't have the energy to shelter my children from music.  Oh...wait...no...it's not that I don't have the energy!  

I mean...I actually DON'T have the energy, but my kids' exposure to music is still very deliberate.  Read about it here!

And that's about it for this week.  Hope you are having a good beginning of summer! 

Wordless Wednesday {Oops!}

With the end of school and the flood stuff and trying to figure out my boy's summer, I sort of forgot it was Wordless Wednesday.  It's kind of late to do a whole link up thing now. But here's a picture at least!