You must buy these boots

I was looking around on the LL Bean Website because they have one-piece swimming suits for people with long torsos (which are harder to find than you might think), and I gave up because the cute ones were all over $100. I guess this is the price you pay for being slightly deformed in the torso region. I was still in the mood to shop, however, and I've been eyeing these really expensive boots for months - the kind that are rubber on the bottom and lined with fur that would be perfect for sloshing through the Wal-Mart parking lot in January or the mush around the fishing pond in May. So, I decided to check out the boots on the sale rack, and I found the BEST deal EVER. Truly. If you have $40 and room in your closet, you have to get these:

Now, these aren't the waterproof work boots I wanted (those are still $95), but they are on sale for $39! The original price? $139! That's $100 off! Holy cow! They've gotten great reviews, although I guess they fit best if you have thin calves. Don't we all have thin calves? I'd like to think that my own problem areas don't start until at least the lower thigh region. And LL Bean has free shipping on everything, so these are an even better bargain. I say, treat yourself to an early Mother's Day present and get a pair NOW! What are you still doing on this page? Go NOW!

What I've been making this week

Roasted Garlic

(Cut the tops off of the bulbs, wrap in foil, and drizzle in olive oil. Roast at 375 for about 35 minutes.)

Italian Bread

1 cup plus 2 TBL water

2 TBL olive oil

3 TBL sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 1/4 cups bread flour

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 bulb of roasted garlic with cloves separated and peels removed

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Add to bread machine, wet ingredients first, then sugar and salt, then dry ingredients (yeast on top). Bake in bread machine using basic white, 1.5 lb. loaf setting. Mash up some of the remaining garlic with butter. Spread on sliced bread and toast under the broiler. Yum.

Strawberry Layered Dessert

2/3 cup boiling water

20 crushed Oreo cookies

1/4 cup melted butter

1 package sugar free strawberry jello

1 tub light whipped cream

1 8 oz. package light cream cheese, room temp

1 lb. sliced strawberries

Bring water to a boil and add jello mix. Remove from heat and stir until fully dissolved. Set aside. Crush Oreos and mix with melted butter. Press into the bottom of a springform pan. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add jello, beating well between additions. Fold in whipped cream, reserving some for topping if desired. Pour half of whipped cream/jello mixture over crust. Layer with 1/2 the sliced strawberries. Pour on remaining whipped cream/jello mixture and top with remaining strawberries. Garnish with remaining whipped cream and Oreos, if desired.
Chill 1-2 hours before serving to make removing from pan easier. Remove outer ring of springform pan before serving to show off the pretty layers.

Knitted Flowers

These are to go on my ugly scarf to make it less ugly. I put them on Grace to show them to scale, and to show off her cuteness.

Dogs

Isaac and I are both sick of school. He more so than I, but still, I cringe every time I look at any of his textbooks. Yesterday was horrible, and I can't even really blame him. We do these daily English/writing worksheets that are absolutely ridiculous, and I hate his spelling lists. Everyone loves Sequential Spelling except us, I guess. So, to make the rest of the school year bearable, we're scrapping everything but Math and Bible Study and doing a 4-week unit study on dogs. Did you just giggle at the idea of a 4-week study on dogs? It sounds silly, but I bought the lesson plans for $11 from http://www.unitstudy.com/, and I actually really like them. They even have a separate plan included for "young learners" in K-3. I'm thinking that Isaac and I will do some stuff from the young learners plan and some from the older learners. I also want to read either White Fang or The Call of the Wild with him. I think I have The Call of the Wild somewhere, so if I do, that'll be the deciding factor. There are sites where you can read whole books online for free (like this one: http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/), but there's something about having the actual book.
This morning, we're going to Wal-Mart to get a three-hole-punch folder to keep his "dog notebook" in ("notebooking" being a key part of unit studies, apparently) and to the library to get a bunch of books on dogs. The lesson plan has a ton of links to Websites on dogs, and the only thing that scares me is that it requires a lot of research and a lot of writing - two things for which Isaac has very little patience. And, for the record, this will NOT end in the purchase of a dog. No way, no how.
In conclusion, here is a family of duck-snakes (her words) that Esme created yesterday. She did the cutting and everything...isn't she clever?

Growing Kids God's Way: Two Challenges

John and I are taking the Growing Kids God's Way class at church, and it is absolutely life-changing. Even for me, and I've already taken it. If you ever have a chance to attend this series, you have GOT to do it. Right now, we're working on the first two "homework" assignments given in chapters one and two:

1. Give the moral or practical reason why when disciplining your children. This means that you can't just say "No!", you have to explain the moral or practical reason why the behavior needs to stop. For example, instead of just saying, "Don't talk back to me," you have to add something like, "because God tells us to honor and respect our father and mother, and talking back is disrespectful." Sometimes, the reason is practical, rather than moral. So, rather than saying, "Stay out of the street!", you have to add, "because a car could hit you and you could get hurt." The purpose of giving the reason is to instill the moral and practical principles into the child's heart so that he can make good decisions in the future. Without the reason why, kids are unable to apply today's "No" to tomorrow's situation.

2. Spend 15 minutes of "couch time" with your spouse every day. This means that you sit down together while the kids are still up and you do nothing but talk to each other (about whatever you want to talk about). It's cheating to do "couch time" while cooking, cleaning, or watching TV. And you have to do it during a time when your children are aware that you're doing it. The purpose is to strengthen your marriage, and also to demonstrate to your children that you love each other and place a top priority on your marriage relationship. Mom and Dad should come first; kids second.

Another strategy we're working on is teaching in times of non-conflict. Rather than saving all of your parental wisdom for times of conflict (discipline), teach your children the principles of good behavior when they're actually being good. I like this one because every time I reinforce one of my kids' good behavior ("Good job, Simon! It's good to say please because it shows respect for other people") they just beam with pride, and it generates more good behavior from them and from any siblings who happen to be watching. I call it the good behavior trickle-down effect.

Fiber Therapy

Fiber Therapy: my friend Maura's brilliant name (and idea) for our knitting time together. She came over during her lunch break yesterday and we knitted for an hour or so, and it was very therapeutic indeed. The only thing I miss about my job is seeing her and my other friends, and I miss them all dearly. Okay...to a lesser extent, I also miss the Reese's Pieces dispenser in the break room.
Not only did Maura inspire me with the beautiful shawl she was making for her mom, we had a chance to catch up and talk about all of the stuff that we haven't been talking about because we've been too busy to get together. I'm hoping that, like any good fiber therapy, this becomes a regular thing. Notice the clever pun. I already have a long list of stuff I want to make, including Barbie clothes for Esme, dolls for all of my nieces, a shawl, dishcloths, fingerless gloves...and so on. I think I'm addicted. Check out this free pattern for an "Amy" doll - wouldn't this be an adorable Christmas present for my adorable nieces? If I start now, maybe I can get them finished by December.

Easter weekend

We had such a great weekend. Yesterday involved nearly all of my favorite things: cooking (and eating) a holiday meal, a birthday (not mine - even better), having John's kids over, arts and crafts, beautiful weather, a nice long run, and, of course, celebrating Jesus' resurrection and the awesome sacrifice he made for us.

Here's a chronological account of our day.
We ate ham, cheesy potatoes, 7-layer salad, and crescent rolls (or "my favorite bagels," as Simon calls them).

Then, we celebrated Kristin's birthday with some presents and peanut butter pie.

Next, some quality time with Grace.

And, finally, decorating eggs and flower pots.

Can't we do this every weekend?

Their own personalities

I'm constantly being surprised by how different my kids are from each other. They each have their own distinct personalities, and man, are they cute. Here are some of the endearing, unusual traits that I love:

Simon:

• Adores cooking shows. He especially likes Guy Fieri on the Food Network.
• Loves to draw and doodle. Most of his free time is spent drawing elaborate creatures and then explaining them to half-listening adults in minute detail.
• Is very, very sensitive. When chastised, Simon is my only child who actually shows remorse.

Isaac:

• Wakes up in the morning ready to go. Bounces off the walls from the minute I get him out of bed. Note: this is not always so endearing.
• Is extremely observant and good at remembering details...like what happened in the fifth scene of the third Star Wars movie and what Simon did to wrong him three years ago last Tuesday.
• Loves bible study and asks questions that are usually too deep for me to answer right away ("If God knows about everything before it happens, does God make bad things happen?").

Esme:

• Pretends every toy is a mommy or a baby. Can play make believe non-stop for hours, all by herself.
• Loves to help me cook and clean. Her favorite thing is to dust with the Swiffer duster, which I can't watch, because she's always on the verge of knocking something off the wall/shelf.
• Sings along with any song, even if she can't figure out the words. My current favorite is "Waltzing Matilda," which she sings falsetto.

Grace:

• Smiles with one side of her mouth first, then the other side catches up and it's the cutest thing you've ever seen.
• Spends minutes at a time staring at whatever's closest to her with a wide-eyed, shocked expression. Again, very adorable.
• Smells like frosted flakes, except when she's pooping.