My Boy Can Read!

It's a very exciting day at our house...Jason can READ!! Congratulations, buddy. Click here if the player does not appear.

Impossible

As I watched the Inauguration of President Obama this week I really enjoyed the performance of John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero. As a violinist of 28 years, I wondered how in the world you could play stringed instruments outdoors in temperatures below freezing.

It made me remember my college days and all the fun gigs I had the privilege of playing. I once played the part of Fiddler on the Roof at a wedding--actually on the roof of the family's home. I'm sure they didn't pay me nearly enough for that! The temps were not as brutal as they were in Washington D.C. this past Tuesday and I struggled to stay warm and keep my instrument in tune.

As I suspected, it turns out that Yo-Yo Ma and company were forced to fake it at the inauguration and use their pre-recorded version of the piece. (You can read more about it here.) None-the-less, I enjoyed the extra touch of class the quartet provided to the historic ceremony. Click here if the video does not appear.

Life in Florida

12 Days of Christmas

Maybe you've already seen this, but as a person who adores Christmas music I always savor the chance to hear something new and fun! Enjoy...

Advent Jesse Tree

December and the Advent season has a tendency to catch me by surprise--despite the fact that I am already hearing Deck the Halls on TV commercials! This year I am determined to follow-through with an Advent Devotional for our kids that I have been wanting to do for many years.

One of my most meaningful Christmas celebrations took place more than a dozen years ago when I was living overseas. A dear friend of mine introduced me to a book called The Advent Jesse Tree. As author of the devotional Dean Meador Lambert writes,

The Advent Jesse Tree seeks to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols from the Old and New Testament. The symbols trace the heritage of Jesus Christ from the beginning of creation. Each symbol is explained with scriptures, devotions, questions, prayers, a memory verse, and songs...You may choose to make ornaments and place them on a small Christmas tree to coincide with this book of symbols.

While living overseas, we invited some friends who didn't know Christ and used the symbols to share about the true meaning of Christmas. Now that I have a house full of little people, I want to teach them that Christmas was part of God's plan since the very beginning of time.

There are various resources online if you search for them, but the one I liked best can be found here. It includes the scriptures and printable symbols you need--all in one stop. We are printing, laminating, and tying strings on ours so that they can be hung on a small wire Christmas tree like ornaments. Then we can use them year after year!

Smilebox

I came across this fun online scrapbooking site called Smilebox this week in my Family Fun Magazine. You can create them for free and post them to your blog or Facebook account. So fun! I'm sharing one that I made in a very short amount of time this afternoon.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Football and My Dairy-Free Life

This weekend has largely been about football at our house.

Yesterday Brennan played in his 2nd ever Upward Flag Football game. Game day involves lots of sweating--not only for the players but also for the spectators. (I must confess that I prefer indoor sports in Florida!) But like any mother, I'm willing to sweat a bit to experience the pride of seeing my little boy having a good time, learning skills, and throwing touchdown passes.

For the first time in my life I can call myself a coach's wife. Scott has taken on the challenge of coaching Brennan's 2nd/3rd grade Flag Football team. It's so fun for me to see them having those father-son bonding moments .

Today a bit of fantasy football misfortune struck at our house. Our eight year old's first round draft pick, Tom Brady, left the game in the 1st quarter after a knee injury--boo hoo.

I can't help but like Brett Favre, even though

a) I'm from Detroit, and

b) He's been a knucklehead in recent months.

I know Peyton Manning has a wife...but I never see her at any games--just mom and dad! Where is Ashley???

Enough about football.

My nursing baby is allergic to cow's milk, so I've been an avid label-reader as I've worked really hard to eliminate all the dairy from my own diet. The things I miss the most are:

Ranch dressing

Cheese--this goes without saying since most yummy things have cheese

Half and half in my coffee

McDonald's french fries--surprise, they have milk!

After quite a bit of trial and error, I've finally come up with an acceptable solution to my morning cup of coffee dilemma. I brew some hazelnut flavored coffee, then I add one packet of Splenda and a bit of Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk. It's tolerable, but one of the first things I will do when the baby is weaned is hit Starbucks for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte!

Cookbook Wishlist

I love cookbooks! Here are a few that I'd love to add to my collection sometime in the near future.

The first one is Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. The book created a buzz when Jessica appeared on Oprah in October 2007. The recipes have some hidden ingredients--fruit and vegetable purees--that trick kids into eating some healthier foods. (Some controversy followed not long after the appearance when another cookbook author claimed the idea was really hers. I'll spare you the details here, but you can read about it this USA Today article.) At any rate, I think it's an interesting concept (regardless of who thought of it) and I would love to get my kids to eat more vegetables any way I can.

Next is Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. I used to watch Martha Stewart on a regular basis, but have to admit that I'd be highly unlikely to cook about 97% of the recipes I've seen on her show. A couple of years ago I discovered the Everyday Food TV show on PBS which is based on the Everyday Food magazine. It is a production of Martha Stewart Living Television but it showcases fresh and easy recipes that real people would & could actually cook at home. Martha does not appear on the show, which is a good thing (pun intended), but I appreciate the high quality her influence undoubtedly brings to the show. I regularly end up downloading recipes after I watch the program with my daughter, so this one seems like a no-brainer for me.



Finally, I would really love Everyday Italian by Giana De Laurentiis. Although I don't have cable TV at my house, I love when I have the chance to see the show of the same name on the Food Network. Who wouldn't love to know how to make more great pastas and sauces? This one will have to wait until I can eat dairy products again, though--which is an entirely different blog post...