5 Quick Takes Because I Couldn't Make it to 7

1.  We used our last day at the water park today and just in time.  Our passes expired today.  We went to Blizzard Beach for the second time and for some reason we just weren't feelin' the love.  We were all four ready to go after being there just two hours.  I am theme parked out for a while.  It was fun while it lasted though.

2.  The kids and I watched American Idol tonight since it is the last show, not sure if we'll watch the results tomorrow night or not but I wanted to see their last performances.  The girl, Crystal, has dreadlocks and Joe had to talk about how awful I would look if I dreaded my hair.  I've been talking about dreading it for a while but truly I don't have the courage.  That and the fact that you have to pretty much shave your head once you don't want dreads anymore.  My children are terrified that I will actually do it.  Hannah has threatened to start wearing inappropriate clothing if I dread my hair.  OOOOOOH I'm really scared.  :0)

3.  I am in "git 'er done" mode this week.  As we wrap up our homeschooling year I am also motivated to wrap up many other projects that I haven't gotten to.  As you saw from last night's post I tackled one kids' room.  I'm hoping for the energy to tackle Hannah's room tomorrow.  Then we will be making a big trip to the thrift store to unload.  I am also taking care of lots of church stuff and I've been flooding my fellow church members' e-mail boxes with lots of e-mails and requests for this, that, and the other.  I'm about done there though.  A few more things checked off my list and on and on it goes!  I'm hoping for a stress free, commitment free week next week to kick off an exciting summer.

4.  I've got lots of great plans for the summer and I'm excited.  I'm also looking forward to a slower pace to our days.  It's been quite a few months and I'm tired.

5.  I'm trying to go the whole week with no sugar.  I've fallen off the healthy diet wagon big time lately.  I have been indulging in sugary treats daily and I'm feeling it in the waistband of my shorts.  We have a freezer full of Klondike bars right now and so far I've resisted.  Well, I had one bite tonight so I could properly review them here on the blog.  :0)  I have had fake sugar though in the form of Diet Dr. Pepper and sugar free syrup in my coffee.  I know, it's terrible for me but baby steps okay?

Satisfaction

Before

...And After

Adoption--Wanna Help?

I am a regular reader of an awesome blog, Storing Up Treasures in Heaven. This woman and her husband have 10 children and many of them are adopted. I don't remember how many but at least 4 if not more. Anyway, this woman has an amazing heart for adoption. There are so many children out there who need homes, many in our country and in other countries. Unfortunately, it is very expensive to adopt. I don't think Ollie and I will ever adopt children but I still want so much to be a part of adoption. One thing I can do is help financially. We don't have much but I can share some of what we have. Right now and for 12 more days, Storing Up Treasures is trying to raise $10,000 for adoption. Not for themselves but for 26 other families who are raising money to adopt. You can read all about it right here. They are asking for small donations, $5 or $10. I am embarrassed to say that I have been known to spend $5 for a cup of coffee. I'm sure we have all spent $5 on something unimportant. Here's a chance to make that $5 really matter in the life of a child. So, go check it out and consider a small donation. It's for an amazing cause!

What's Up continued...

I am full of warm fuzzies right now--how can I not be--this is what's going on around here-- I just baked a blackberry cobbler with blackberries from our yard and it smells heavenly in here. Hannah and Ollie are doing karaoke and right now Hannah is singing "Love is a Battlefield." If you have some time and want to laugh your butt off--go to Youtube and search for "Total Eclipse of the Heart Literal Version," it's hilarious! That has nothing to do with Hannah singing "Love is a Battlefield" but something reminded me of it. Anyway, Grace is here in front of me coloring and Joe keeps coming in and dancing with some pretty awesome moves. I love relaxing nights at home especially after a time of busyness.
I survived Disney Quest today. I can't really say that it was fun but the kids had a good time. I think they would like it more if they were older though. So, if you have younger kids, save your money and go when they are older and can easily play all the games. I got some of my book read while the kids did some things on their own like the Animation Academy where they learned to draw Mickey Mouse. I was tired when we got home and didn't really feel like making dinner so I cut up a bunch of apples and toasted a whole bunch of english muffins and then put butter, jelly, and peanut butter on the table. We also cooked some eggs in our microwave egg cooker and Hannah, Ollie, and Joe had those. It was easy and everybody was happy. I tend to overcomplicate dinner thinking I need to make a big meal every night but some of our best meals are the super simple ones. I also didn't have to do dishes. We've now trained the girls to do dinner dishes and that is their job after dinner. I am loving the freedom of just helping get the food put away and letting them do the clean up. Actually, Ollie puts the food away so I am free after dinner to go do my own thing. We should have done this a long time ago!
Hannah is taking a babysitting class on Saturday and today she bought a book at Barnes and Noble called "The Babysitter's Business Kit." It's really neat and she's very excited about babysitting. If any of you local blog readers want to hire her give her a call. She doesn't stay alone much right now but she loves to be a "mother's helper," where she takes care of and plays with the kids while the mom is home or goes along on outings to help. And, she's cheap! You don't have to pay a babysitter as much if you are home. She's very good with babies too even though she's still young. Her kit came with business cards so be forewarned, she'll probably be passing them out soon. Joe and Grace bought some more "Little Miss" books at Barnes and Noble. They sure love those books. Joe reads them all the time, it's really helped him get better and better at reading.
(Now Hannah is singing, "Eye of the Tiger." Love that song too!)
Well, I am thinking it's time to eat that cobbler. Peace out friends!
BTW--is anybody still reading this or did I lose all of you with the profusion of Alice videos? I have had almost no comments for a week (except you Julie--thank you!).

What's Up?

It seems forever since I've just posted a chatting it up post. (Gabi--you're going to hate this post because I'm already planning to ramble on and on in big, long, paragraph form--sorry!) Last week was consumed with Alice and this week has been consumed with a lot of this, that, and the other. Have I mentioned that I am so ready to be done with school for this year? There are so many other things to do and right now I feel like we are cramming school in between all of these other much more fun activities. So, I've declared that next Friday will officially be our last day of school. Everybody will be done with Math by then and most of everything else. We need to wrap up our lapbook on Colonial America and plow through a few workbooks and then we are done! It's been a very productive school year. I think I'll do a wrap up post next week sometime like I did last year. For today though...
we are not doing school! Unless you count playing video games as school. We are headed to Disney Quest for a few hours. I am hoping to get there right when they open at 11. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for some serious overstimulation. Am I a big nerd if I bring a book? I really do not like video games so I am hoping to park myself somewhere on each floor and let the kiddos go at it while I read. What am I reading you ask? Well, I am reading a book called "A Voyage Long and Strange, Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz. It's a great book all about how our country was discovered--this goes way beyond "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." This guy digs deep into the past and visits all sorts of places and writes about all he discovers. I've already found out that Amerigo Vespucci was kind of a con artist who was devious and dishonest. Nice to have our country named after such a nobleman. Anyway, I'm reading this as we prepare for our big trip to Williamsburg coming up in a few weeks. I've also recently read two books that I loved right up to the last chapter and then I sort of hated because of the ending. Both were books I totally would have recommended until I read the last chapter. One was "The Lace Reader," and the other was "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle." Now, I love a good ending. That's why I love Jodi Picoult books so much but these endings just wrecked the story in my opinion.
To be continued...

The Last of the Alice videos

Above we have the Tweedles song--one of my favorites and below is Simon Says.

Hannah as "Alice"

Grace's parts

Joe is a Lobster and a Card

And More...

Above is one of the group numbers--The Caucus Race and below is the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

How About Some More Videos?

Above is the second part of the opening scene (someone walked in front of my camera so I had to stop it) and then Grace's flower scene is below.

A Review of "Alice in Wonderland"...

...by the Clandestine Critic aka Uncle Billy--

Well, hello again. This is Clandestine Critic of the underground Mount Dora news staff. Glad to be back.

First, we should clear the air. We hear there are those who think the CC is biased, favors certain performers, and accepts bribes. To those, we say: it is one hundred percent true. We love the Warren Acting Company, we know some performers much better than others, and lemon squares will always ensure a sterling review. Please do not accuse the CC of meeting any professional standards!

We spent a wonderful evening in Wonder Land. Never has the CC seen such enthusiasm, such energy, and such elan. From the White Rabbit to the Lobster, from Alice (all three) to Tweedle Dee Dum, from the Queen to the Mad Hatter, from the Flowers to the Caterpillar...all were wonderful. Even the oft cantankerous cat, the usually cheesy Cheshire, handled the narrative without ruffling any fur.

This performance was attended by a visiting critic, performer, director, and drama teacher from the Atlanta Metropolitan area. (We are attracting notice outside our lovely Golden Triangle.) This visiting observer was enchanted. The principals played their parts professionally, their elocution was excellent, their mannerisms were always appropriate, and they stayed into character even when the focus of the action was on other than them.

Of course, the CC does have some favorites. The Medium Alice soared in her performance far above any of her previous characters. Violet brought energy and appropriate sass to her supporting role. The Lobster managed to show real fear when threatened by the Queen.

Of particular note were the production numbers. This critic left the venue humming "Zippideedoodah" and "Merry, Merry Unbirthday" much to the concern of the other passengers in our limo. A Sterling performance by a Sterling cast.

We look forward to future productions by WAC. This is the CC, signing off for now.

PS Anyone else desiring to influence the CC with a suitable bribe, note that it IS possible. See what you can get with just the leftover edges from lemon squares!?!

Alice Videos

Above is the White Rabbit's main scene and below is from the opening scene.

Alice and Mom and Sis!

Opening night for "Alice in Wonderland" was last night. I'll be honest, I was a nervous wreck! I always get nervous when my kids have parts but this time was a unique situation--I had three kids in the show, two with lines, and one as the lead. They were all a little nervous too. I didn't have any reason to be nervous though. The show was awesome! I was so proud of all three of my kids. They all did great and Hannah was just the cutest Alice--she nailed it last night (if I can't brag a little on my blog where can I brag--just sayin')! Grace was a sassy flower and Joe a terrified royal cardsman and adorable lobster. It was a great night! Afterwards we celebrated with ice cream with friends and family at Friendly's.

My sister and mom are in town for a whirlwind visit. They arrived on Wednesday night and are leaving after lunch today. We had a great day yesterday--breakfast at h and b's, then errands, lunch downtown and a walk to the candy store, then home for rest, then back to h and b's for a light dinner before heading to the theatre. We had a great day, I love having my mom and sister here! I wish it was longer.

Good Humor and Fat Boys

We have a very important summer project that we will be working on here. Our plan is to work our way through the whole popsicle selection at our local grocery store, trying them all. We started today with Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches. They were on sale BOGO so it seemed like the smart place to start. We got the cookies and cream kind and they were awesome! I really need to avoid dairy in my diet but an exception must be made for ice cream sandwiches. I am very excited to get to the Drumsticks. I love those things but NEVER give in and buy them. This summer will be different though--we will be buying them all at some point and it's going to be great fun. I imagine I will be quite the "fat girl" if I'm not careful! Actually though, the weeks that we just have those regular orange-cherry-grape popsicles I'll pass. I just want the creamy, chocolaty stuff. I'll try to do reviews about the different frozen treats we try so that you, my faithful blog readers, can benefit from the knowledge we will be obtaining. I'm calling it summer school.

A Preview of "Alice in Wonderland"

This week all three of my kiddos are performing in "Alice in Wonderland, Jr." We are pretty excited around here! Hannah has her first leading role as Alice, Grace is a flower, and Joe is a lobster and royal cardsman. I've watched a lot of the rehearsals and they are all doing great. These videos were from their performance the other night at Chick-fil-a. If you're local we'd love to see you at the show! My kids have their parts Thursday and Saturday night. For you non-local blog readers...you'll just have to endure too many videos and pictures over the next week! :0)

Homeschool BikeFest!

We had a fabulous day!  We went on a big bike ride with lots of friends.  I think there were 25 of us total including 5 moms.

First, the kids and I rode our bikes over to Maria's house, I think it was maybe 2 miles maybe less.  I'm no good with distance. There we met up with the rest of the crew and got ready to go.  Everyone was given a number and the kids got lined up by number and mostly stayed this way for the whole bike ride. 

And, we were off to our first destination!  Our first destination wasn't far but it was on a kind of busy, narrow road.  The kids did great though and we all made it safely to the Mermaid House where most of the kids took a dip in the pool and we all ate an ice cream sandwich!  One of my favorite things is an ice cream sandwich and on a hot day with friends, even better! 

After getting everyone together for a group shot we headed out again.  Our next stop--Granny's Cottage by the lake.   Here we snacked on mini sticky buns and most of the kids jumped in the lake.  Are you starting to notice the trend with food--particularly sugary food?  Yep, every stop included food! 

From here we had a pretty long stretch to our next destination--the park and a picnic lunch. 

The mommas rested up here but the kids really only slowed down long enough to eat.  Then they played at the park until time to go again.  Our next stop wasn't far at all and included air conditioning and ice cream at a local ice cream shop. 

After getting all sugared up we were on our way once again--back to Maria's and the pool.  We did some off roading through the woods on a bike path to get there and it was beautiful and the shade felt great!  Once we got to Maria's the kids swam and the mommas sat and drank margaritas and talked and laughed and all that fun stuff. 

We had a wonderful day and can't wait to do it again!  Even the heat wasn't too bad, besides we needed to sweat off all those extra calories we consumed today!! 

Happy Monday!

I know I am in the minority but I love Mondays.  I love a fresh start to the week, I love the routine of my everyday.  Weekends are wonderful and I couldn't live without them but the whole unstructuredness sometimes gets me in a funk.  I had a very unusual weekend.  For one thing, Ollie was gone all weekend just about.  Ollie is always home when he's not working or I'm with him if he's out so it was weird to have him gone so much.  He and Joe went canoeing all day Saturday with some friends.  It was supposed to be a family thing but the girls were sick and so I stayed home with them.  They watched tv all day and I read most of the day.  I was so tired from being up half the night with Hannah--she didn't stop vomiting until about 3 am.  Yesterday, Ollie went to church then helped a friend move and was gone most of the day.  I was productive yesterday though, got a few things checked off the everlasting list.  Anyway, now, it's Monday and I'm ready for a new week.  We have a fun week ahead of us with some school in between (hopefully lots of school in between).  Today we school, tomorrow we play (Typhoon Lagoon), then we school for two more days, then we have a day of bike riding with friends--Homeschool Bikefest 2010!  We are also gearing up for "Alice in Wonderland" next week.  Dress rehearsal is Tuesday and some of the kids are performing at Chick-fil-a on Thursday night.  We are getting very excited around here!!  Well, I must go and get these kids moving.  Peace out, peeps!

Anytime Bars

1 cup raw pecan halves
1 cup whole raw almonds
2 Tbsp. spelt flour (I think all-purpose would be fine)
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. flaxseed, finely ground
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 cup pitted dates, quartered
1 cup dried apricots (I used Goji berries)
1 egg
5 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minutes, until aromatic and slightly browned.  Repeat this process for almonds.  Turn oven down to 325 degrees.  Combine spelt flour, all purpose flour, flaxseed, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processor and process for 5 seconds to combine.  Add pecans and almonds; pulse 5 times to coarsely chop.  Add oats, dates, and apricots.  Pulse 10 to 15 times, till mixture is well chopped but coarse.  In a large bowl, whisk together egg, maple syrup and vanilla till combined.  Add fruit and nut mixture and use your hands to mix well, being sure to separate any clumps of fruit.  Spread mixture in square baking pan in an even layer and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, till set and golden brown.  Don't overbake or bars will be too dry.  Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, then cut into 25 squares.  Leave bars in pan till completely cool so they'll hold together when you remove them.