Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Aaron celebrated his 7th birthday about a month ago and for his birthday he received a gift certificate to Walmart. I took him to pick out his present. He passed the toys, the Wii games, the sports section, and went straight to the books. Aaron used his birthday money to buy Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. It is a novel in cartoons...and the cartoons are hilarious!

A month later, Aaron has finished all 4 books and he loved them. I have not read them yet...but I do know that they are great books because here's the proof:

Aaron did not get his love of reading from Eric...this trait definitely comes from me. I have seen Eric finish maybe 2 books in the 11 years that we have been together (including text books when he was in school). When Aaron brought these books home, Eric picked one up and started reading. That night, Aaron took his book to read in bed. When Aaron was asleep, Eric sneaked quietly down to his room and took the book, brought it up to our bed, and finished it that night. I was amazed that he was reading in bed...but then I got a little annoyed because his laughing kept waking me up...apparently it's a pretty funny book. Now for Eric to go to those extremes to read a book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid has GOT to be fantastic!

Strawberry Romain Salad

While strawberries are still in season you have got to try this salad!  It is SO GOOD!  The recipe comes from The Essential Mormon Cookbook...with a few tweaks that I have made.  Almost every time I am assigned to bring a salad to a family gathering or party I bring this one.  One trick that I have learned is to prepare everything separately and assemble the salad right before you eat...otherwise it gets soggy and gross.

Strawberry Romain Salad

• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced (I have also used Craisins when strawberries aren't in season)
• 2 heads of Romain lettuce, chopped (the recipe calls for spinach...but I like Romain better)
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 recipe Honey Poppy Seed Dressing

In a medium skillet, toast almonds on medium high heat.  Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir constantly until sugar melts and almonds toast to a golden brown.  Spread almonds on wax paper to dry and cool.  Put strawberries, almonds, lettuce, and dressing in separate containers and combine right before you eat.  

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp poppy seeds

Mix all ingredients except oil and poppy seeds in a blender.  Gradually add oil and poppy seeds and continue blending.  

Enjoy!

Dot Painting

Kaylee loves to do crafts...and I am not the craftiest person.  I have a box of paints, markers, stickers, paper, and other crafty things that I send Kaylee to when she gets her creative itch.  Today I shook things up a little bit and instead of getting out the paint and paint brushes, I got the paint and Q-tips.

First, Kaylee drew her picture with a pencil.

Then, using one Q-tip for each color, she used the Q-tip to color the picture in with dots.

She loved it!  It was something new and very easy...and it satisfied her creative craving.

Dancing in the Rain

Life isn't about waiting

for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to

dance in the rain.

Hairy Haircuts

When Eric and I were engaged, he surprised me with some very bad news...that he wanted me to cut his hair like his mom had been doing his entire life....GULP...Will this man still marry me if I can't cut his hair right??  His mom showed me how and luckily he married me (his mom cut his hair for our wedding so that he at least looked presentable for that).  I should also say that I still married him despite this dreaded task...cutting hair is a stressful experience for me and I really don't like to do it.  But I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, oil the clippers, and hack away.  The frugal side of me wins the convenient side on this one.  I now cut Eric's, Aaron's, and Nathan's hair about every 2-3 months.  At about $10 a haircut, this is saving us about $150 per year...soon to be $200 when Travis gets thrown into the mix.

Here is what my poor boys look like before their haircuts...yes I wait until the very last possible moment to cut hair - when it is so long that people start calling Nathan a girl, and Eric and Aaron start complaining.  Notice the sad faces...are they sad because they hate their hair this way, or because they know what is coming...a frustrated wife/mom who makes them sit still as hair flies into their mouths and eyes and my non-professional clippers scrape across their heads??

Yeah, we made it through another haircut without cutting an ear or buzzing too high.  Happy day, we are free from those clippers for another 2 months (3 if I can push it that long).  I have happy boys again because they survived...my face on the other side of the camera is 10 times more happy because the haircuts are over with...at least for now.

If you are interested in cutting your boy's hair from home there are lots of tutorials on the internet...here is one that I found on how to give a boy a haircut using clippers.  I know that I made it sound so incredibly fun (can you sense the sarcasm?) but like I said...I think that the good outweighs the bad.  Saving money vs. the convenience...you decide.

Tip:  here is one thing that I learned from experience....DO NOT give your little boy a sucker to eat as an attempt to help him hold still during his haircut.  The cut hair will stick all over the sucker and create a VERY frustrated little boy.

Kaylee's Boy

After carrying Travis for 9 months; 4 of which I was throwing up, and 3 of which I was super uncomfortable; he has chosen a favorite person.  No, not the person who suffered the most before and after he was born (Eric, I am not talking about you...although you did have to suffer quite a bit with all of my complaining and lack of motivation), not the person who gave him life, and attends to his every need.

His favorite person is Kaylee.  She can light up his little face and get him to giggle with just a little "coo".  I, on the other hand, have to make a complete fool of myself by making funny faces, sounds, and tickling him for a few minutes before he graces me with a smile and sometimes even a courtesy laugh...probably just to get me to stop.

So Travis is not a Mommy's Boy..unless he is hungry or poopy, he is not a Daddy's Boy...unless he wants to snuggle with Dad in the recliner; Travis is a Kaylee's Boy.  But how can I be bitter when I see this:

Travis, can you at least share the love??

Impart of Your Substance

Mosiah 4:21 and 26-- "And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another."

"...I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."

Kaylee is such a good example of imparting of her substance to those in need.  She is very sensitive to people who are hungry, sick, poor, or sad.  When the earthquake in Haiti hit, Kaylee's school was collecting money for a relief fund.  Kaylee approached us wanted to use a good portion of her birthday money to give to the people of Haiti.  She gave about $15 to the relief fund proudly...never missing that money because she knew that she was helping someone who needed it more than she did.

A couple of nights ago as we were walking back to our car after a baseball game, we passed a person in need holding a sign asking for money.  Kaylee was very concerned about this lady.  She went to bed that night crying for the lady because she was so worried about her.

I am so grateful for children who remind me how to be more Christ-like every day!  Thank you Kaylee for reminding me that we should impart of our substance...because it isn't our substance after all...it is a blessing from God that we should share with others.