Comments on MotherReader: November Carnival of Children’s Literature and Tip...

When you spend too much time doing things you pref...

2007-11-16T01:59:27.377-05:00

When you spend too much time doing things you prefer, and company is coming, just pick things up and blow, instead of dusting. Looks better. Just be sure to put things back in the same place. Wonderful tips like these often make me realize that it takes nearly as long to do it the crummy way. Maybe I'll think of a real tip later. I'm off to think about the carnival!

Oh I love that violin tip. I am going to do that f...

2007-11-10T14:37:58.552-05:00

Oh I love that violin tip. I am going to do that for sure. (I have a five year old begging for a violin). Now can you get a good violin teacher on ebay? Just kidding. I would never say that about a teacher. I AM a teacher. I wouldn't want anyone looking for one of me on ebay.

Oh what a great theme! I was laughing and feeling ...

2007-11-08T23:35:50.622-05:00

Oh what a great theme! I was laughing and feeling better myself just reading your comments. I'm floundering in so many places and so many ways that I don't feel like I have any tips worth sharing.

All I've got for now is that having breakfast for dinner is often a lifesaver for me.

Okay, I get it better now. I am going to really h...

2007-11-08T22:50:51.812-05:00

Okay, I get it better now. I am going to really have to think on it, but I will come up with something.

My favorite recently found cleaning tip: to clean ...

2007-11-08T22:28:26.500-05:00

My favorite recently found cleaning tip: to clean the microwave, put a cup of 1/3 lemon juice and 2/3 water in a glass and microwave it for a minute. beep. then simply wipe down all the surfaces inside the microwave. WAA LAA-- Easy Clean Microwave.

Make that another Woo-hoo. Consider my post submit...

2007-11-08T17:59:16.922-05:00

Make that another Woo-hoo. Consider my post submitted. Okay, I'll run over and do it officially, but you know what I mean.

WooHoo, Pam! I was thinking, "what the hell will ...

2007-11-08T17:30:27.547-05:00

WooHoo, Pam! I was thinking, "what the hell will I submit?" Now you've told me :)

I'm going to steal from Robin Brande for a tip for...

2007-11-08T15:50:07.982-05:00

I'm going to steal from Robin Brande for a tip for the week: get rid of shoulds. Personally, I'm trying to classify things that I must do and things that I want to do, and focus on those. The shoulds that aren't fun ... bah humbug, I say.

I like this theme, Pam. I think I'm going to have to work on a new post for it, but that's ok. I mean, I want to, it's not like I "should."

Good luck with the blog crisis flu. Mine is pretty well over, but it can take a while...

Allow yourself Do-Overs.Since you're one of the mo...

2007-11-08T15:11:33.177-05:00

Allow yourself Do-Overs.
Since you're one of the most balanced persons I know, I won't include the second of those tips, which is usually, "If it's not fun, don't do it." Usually, you've got that one down...

Oh, there are no dumb questions, Megan. (Though "W...

2007-11-08T14:50:30.148-05:00

Oh, there are no dumb questions, Megan. (Though "Where are the copiers in your library?" when they are clearly right behind the patron, does come very, very close.)

Theme explanation:

This post from Big A on writerly tricks is perfect. Or my own post not long ago about booktalking to teens. Or Sara's post about the process of writing a poem. Robin Brande had a post about writers and money that was very helpful. If you review books, do you have a special way to keep track of things? If your an editor, is there something you could let potential authors know about?

I want to keep it broad, but anything that shapes what you do, tricks you've learned along the way, what you'd want to share with others in the kid lit community.

I'm a big "do one thing a day"er. One load of laun...

2007-11-08T14:10:27.160-05:00

I'm a big "do one thing a day"er. One load of laundry. One event per day during the Christmas season. One extracurricular activity (ah, that's a per week, thing). Keeps my sanity. The only thing I can't seem to do is read one book per day.

Hmmm...I'm still thinking about your ebay tip, MR....

2007-11-08T13:59:03.770-05:00

Hmmm...

I'm still thinking about your ebay tip, MR. I have a violinist playing a 1/4size and I'm still renting.

How about "Kids are on their own for breakfast." Does that count as a tip or just basic cruelty?

Not you too with the blog flu! Oh, no. To get well...

2007-11-08T13:57:38.769-05:00

Not you too with the blog flu! Oh, no. To get well, you must log off the computer and read lots of books.

I wish I knew a good tip for you, MR. Um, get chickens? They're really funny. Our rooster answers the barking puppy next door.

Sorry I don't really have a tip, but I need some h...

2007-11-08T13:23:39.234-05:00

Sorry I don't really have a tip, but I need some help here. I always tell my kids to ask when they don't understand, so I am going to follow my own advice. I am confused on the theme for the carnival. Is there any way you could explain it to me differently to help me understand better? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

My friend, Donna, posted some hi-larious "redneck ...

2007-11-08T13:02:55.180-05:00

My friend, Donna, posted some hi-larious "redneck parenting tips" for Halloween. http://donnakoppelman.blogspot.com/2007/10/trick-or-treat.html

So my tip is: always have friends that are smarter and funnier than you. (That includes you, too, MotherReader. I LOVED your article in The Edge of the Forest.)

I'll even add another tip to get the ball rolling....

2007-11-08T12:07:40.281-05:00

I'll even add another tip to get the ball rolling. One of my new favorite food things is these new packages of rice that can be put in the microwave and ready in 90 seconds. They're not cheap compared to regular rice, but there are times that they have saved my butt, dinner-wise.