Delight in Broccoli, Lapbooks, and Children

I made my old standby salad for the homeschool moms' potluck on Tuesday, and it was just as tasty as ever (not just according to me, either - my hostess asked for the recipe). This is a great side dish for Easter, if you've been asked to bring one. Here's the recipe (notice the bacon - I'm telling you, there is NOTHING that you can't add bacon to):
Broccoli Delight Salad
Salad:
1 large bunch broccoli
2 cups cauliflower
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup red onions
10 strips bacon, crumbled
1 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
3-4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon white vinegar

I made Esme's first lapbook yesterday, and I think she actually enjoyed it. She liked taking the animals out of their pockets, pretending to dress them in mittens, shoes, and coats, and sticking them back in. I think I've discovered my new favorite passtime: cutting things out and gluing them onto something else. After the lapbook, I made flashcards for the states and capitals, and I glued on a picture of each state. It's kind of soothing...I'm not sure whether it's the mindlessness of the cutting and pasting, or the nostalgic scent of the glue, but it was a very relaxing activity. Here's a link to the lapbook we made - click on the top link on this page (1, 2, 3 to the Zoo) to download the PDF file: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/level_1_lapbooks.php.

And, finally, a quick list of the endearing and delightful things my children do:

Grace smiles and rolls her eyes while she's falling asleep, like she's just heard a great joke.
Esme turns every toy (and piece of silverware, and sock, and pencil) into either a mommy or a baby, then spends several minutes having the mommy and baby tell each other how much they love each other. She also tries to feed her baby doll through her belly button.
Simon and I had a talk about having a green (good) day at school the other day that went something like this:
Me: "Simon, what kind of day are you going to have today?"
Simon: "A green day."
(high five)
(pause)
(internal struggle on Simon's part evidenced by a frown and wrinkled forehead)
Simon: "That's not a promise, you know."
Isaac pays such close attention to our bible studies. He's always got a deep philosophical question for me that I can barely answer, like "If God knows that someone's going to do something bad, isn't he making them do it?"