The Most Amazing Book I Have Ever Read in My Life!

A friend of mine recommended this book to me a few weeks ago. Thank you so much Stephanie! "The Shack" by William Young is the most powerful book I have ever read in my life next to the Bible. It has changed how I view life.

In this story a little girl is brutally murdered. Her father receives a letter from God to come to the place where the murder occurred. I don't want to say too much more and give anything away, so all I will say is READ IT NOW!

Summer lovin' had me a blast...

Even though I am teaching summer school again this year, the half days make for a slower pace and give me precious afternoons with my boys.

Today I took Caleb and Blake outside for some backyard fun. I was sure to place an umbrella in front of Blake to block the sun. Technically he is not supposed to wear sunblock until his he is 6 months old. I break this rule some times though when it is not possible to shield him from the sun. To me it is worse to have a kid with itchy skin (although Blake doesn't exhibit this) than it is to have a kid that is sun burnt! He was more interested in the bold colors on the umbrella than he was with his big brother Caleb.
Caleb was clever enough to ask me to move his slide over to the pool.

He slides down into his pool for 1-2 hours. With how overactive he has become lately, this is a welcome break for all of us!

Ice Cream Cake

This ice cream cake is a hit every time I take it to a party! It couldn't be easier!

Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1 large box of ice cream sandwiches (or 2 small boxes)

1 container of cool whip (the smaller containers will do)

1 jar of hot fudge (I use the Hershey's brand usually... do not buy the kind in the bottle)

1 jar of caramel (Again, I use the Hershey's brand... do not buy the kind in the squeeze bottle)

1 package of chocolate Heath bit (usually in the baking aisle by chocolate chips)

Arrange ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. I usually have to cut some in half vertically and horizontally to make them fit just right. Heat fudge and caramel in the jar in the microwave for 30 seconds each. Drizzle some of the fudge and caramel on top of the ice cream sandwiches (about 1/3-1/2 of the jar). Sprinkle some of the heath bits (about 1/3-1/2 of the bag). Spread cool whip on top. Finally, drizzle fudge and caramel again. Sprinkle remaining heath bits. Freeze at least 1-2 hours before serving or it will be soupy.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions, but again it couldn't be any easier!

The Next Food Network Star?

My three year old son Caleb LOVES to bake! Today he helped me make muffins. He wanted to do everything from spraying the cupcake liners with pam spray to adding the water. His favorite toy is his kitchen. I had a hard time finding a "masculine" kitchen that wasn't pink or covered with "Dora the Explorer."

We have had a great day at home today. We went swimming in the kiddie pool, played in the sandbox, fingerpainted, read books, watched Sesame Street, etc. I love my summer days at home!

We are getting ready for a fun 4th of July weekend! We're going to Dutch Wonderland's waterpark, the Shady Maple, and the Christmas Tree Shoppe (I'll have to post about this store some time soon) tomorrow. On Saturday we are going to my cousin's for swimming during the day and then to my future sister in law's at night. From my future sister in law's (her parents' house is on the bay) you can see Dundalk fireworks to the left, Inner Harbor fireworks to the left, and then the boys put off illegal fireworks. I hope everyone has a great weekend! We're so lucky to live in America!

"My Sister's Keeper"

Tonight I saw a prescreening (I win a lot of tickets through the 101.9 Lite Fm Email Listeners Club emails, sign up for it!) of "My Sister's Keeper." This is a story about a little girl that was genetically engineered to save her sister's life (the sister has leukemia). She files for medical emancipation from her parents so that she does not have to undergo any more medical procedures, surgeries, etc. The key question of the movie is WHY does she file for this emancipation? While the subject matter is rather serious, there are many funny moments intertwined into the movie. This movie hooked me in the first 30 seconds and I loved it. It is a definite chick flick, take a girlfriend! Bonnie came with me and I was glad, Jason would have been muttering sarcastic comments under his breath as I cried!

The Feeding Hokey Pokey!

We have started feeding Blake cereal from a spoon this week. It's hilarious! I put the food in, he spits it back out and laughs, repeat about 10 times! I can't believe how quickly time is flying and that we are already to another milestone like this!

Summer vacation officially began last Friday at 12:15, but it hasn't really felt like it yet. On Monday and Tuesday I went to school to clean out book rooms. It wouldn't have been so bad except the AC was turned off due to construction. I get a strange joy out of throwing things away and organizing, so in a sick way I suppose I enjoyed it. Tomorrow it's off to the Hilton BWI for the annual MIBR (Maryland Institute of Beginning Reading) conference. Last year the speaker was terrible and I was out of there by lunch. I'm hoping they have someone good this time!

Even if I do have to work a little, I enjoy the slower pace in the summer. I love being at home with the boys!

Dutch Wonderland=Dutch Wonderful

This weekend I finally convinced Jason that we should spring for Dutch Wonderland season passes. I love taking the kids there. It's clean in every aspect! Which is hard to find these days! In 3 visits it will pay for itself. We've already been twice as in my excitement to have season passes I convinced Jason take us up on Saturday AND Sunday. Caleb has turned into quite the daredevil. Last year he was scared of everything, this year he ran from ride to ride. Since we can't quite afford to take a big vacation this summer I look forward to our fun trips to Dutch Wonderland as a family.

Blake on the monorail with Daddy... his shirt says, "Who you callin' crabby?"

Caleb holding "Duke the Dragon" on the monorailWe swung by Chocolate World in Hershey to take the free chocolate factory tour. Parking is also free if you're in and out within two hours, which is very easy to do!