Charlotte’s Web

About two weeks ago I read a homeschooling mom’s e-book(yes, we are seriously considering homeschooling, but more about that later!) and she emphasized the importance of reading to your preschoolers. Of course we’ve all heard this and I’ve read to Aaron a lot, but I really hadn’t considered chapter books for a four year old. One of the books she recommended at this age was Charlotte’s Web. I didn’t think he would have the attention span for it, and I wasn’t sure how he’d handle the main character dying at the end. But, I loved that book when I was younger and was eager to give it a try.

I thought it would take several weeks to read the 22 chapters one at a time, but we got through the book in a week. I was pleasantly surprised at how interested Aaron was in the story and his willingness to sit and listen to chapter after chapter, begging me to read one more like he begs to watch shows or play on his computer. My mommy brain thinks, “It’s like him begging for more vegetables, how can I turn him down and not encourage him to be in a book more?!” Our progress was also sped up after I learned that a theatre in Austin was playing the recent re-make of Charlotte’s Web. Ah, Kismet! It was meant to be…Let’s get this book read! I was little discouraged along the way when he wasn’t able to keep straight who the pig and who the spider were, but I kept plowing through because he really seemed to enjoy it.

This might be stretching the Kismet thing a bit, but yesterday morning (the day that Charlotte was about to die for us in the book) she came to visit us on our back patio. I hate to admit it, but I smashed “Charlotte” soon after taking this picture, and dozens of tiny baby spiders starting running out of their mother I had just sent to spider heaven. In my defense, we live in Texas and I don’t know what is a cute little Charlotte-like spider and what is going to bite me and make my leg swell up or worse. But, after doing a little research I found out it was a good spider for keeping away other pests and I really regret ending its life. I just hope there isn’t a pig, goose, or sheep in a barn somewhere wondering where is their next word in her web.

That night we read the end of the book and Charlotte taught us what it means to sacrifice for others, to do whatever you can to keep those you love safe, the meaning or true friendship. Did my four year old little boy find these lessons? Well, after we read that Charlotte had died, his first question was, “Are they going to eat Charlotte?”. (Long sigh of “is he getting anything from this?”), “No honey, they didn’t eat Charlotte.” So, no I don’t think my son picked up on any of those life lessons, maybe he will when we read it again in a few years. He did learn a few more vocabulary words, learned to sit still and be quiet without being entertained by lots of action and he got to spend lots of snuggling time with Mommy. So, yes, it was still worth it!

And, the grand finale of this week-long adventure was our trip to the movie theatre. I had promised him a snack at the theatre and promised myself I would follow the rules and not sneak anything in to avoid paying the ridiculous prices.

So, at the end of it all it was $0 to borrow a book from the library, $2 for movie tickets, $4 (after $1 coupon) for a smidge of popcorn, laffy taffy and Sprite…starting a season of reading timeless books to my boys, priceless!

As promised, the pizza crust

 

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust!

I don’t know why they don’t include baking instructions. I just roll it out to just past the sides and then pinch around the ends to make a raised crust. I bake it about 8 minutes at 425, add sauce and toppings and bake another 10 minutes or so.

This time I sprinkled in some oregano. I haven’t tasted it yet, but it smells great. Next time I think I’m going to substitute honey for the sugar. Also, I’m going to try baking it on the grill tonight.

I even impressed myself

 

I’m not one to brag about my cooking…because I never have anything to brag about. BUT, yesterday was different. We were having grilled chicken for dinner and needed a bread to go along with it. We’ve been out of the ‘ol Pillsbury crescent rolls I usually grab, so (since the babies were taking a nice nap after a morning at the pool ) I went to the computer and looked up a homemade roll recipe. It was a total hit! I’m planning on making a bunch of these to freeze and I’m sure they will become a family favorite. I also split it in half to make a chicken sandwich and can’t wait to use these as slider rolls, or rolls for Italian beef, and the list goes on and on! Yes, I am getting this excited about bread. It’s pennies to make and healthier make with Whole Wheat flour and yummier then any roll I’ve ever had. Here’s the recipe…

Quick and Easy Yeast Rolls

I just substituted half the white flour for whole wheat flour.

I’ve also been making a great whole wheat pizza crust. We usually have pizza on Fridays, so maybe I’ll post pictures of that later.

It’s a Beach Party!

Apparently sand is very yummy to a 14 month old.

After being in the car for 3 1/2 hours we went straight to the beach and the babies were amazed at the huge sand box!

Aaron and Daddy having a blast in the waves.

This sand castle lasted for a about 3.2 seconds

Greg dug a hole in the sand and Grant though it was a great place to play!

Freedom!

Eric’s new pose lately. I think he likes the different view.

A couple of lessons learned taking three little boys to the beach…

1. Don’t take three little boys to the beach until all the little boys are a little bigger. Although over all we did have a great time and we will definitely take another beach vacation, the babies didn’t last long before they needed a nap and I ended up driving them up and down the beach until they fell asleep. I guess I’ll have to wait a few more years on any relaxing vacation!

2. Sand will get everywhere! Everywhere!!! On Saturday after our beach fun Greg and I had a assembly line going with the little beach showers. We stripped a baby, ran the baby under cold water, dried the baby and dressed the baby. While I was dressing them, Greg took out the car seats and beat them as free of cracker bits I kept feeding them to keep them from screaming and, of course, sand. Now, how do you wash off your feet and get yourself back into the van without again getting sand back on your feet? Greg chose to wash his feet, dry them and put on socks and shoes. I chose to fill up the sand bucket with water and have Greg wash my feet while I was sitting in the van with my feet hanging out.

3. Block off at least 3 hours to clean the van the next day of sand, dirt, cracker bits and crayon marked on the inside of the van by your 4 year old who dropped his coloring book and just had to color on something. Thank you to Greg for taking on this task!

We did have a nice little get away and enjoyed seeing our boys laugh and play and look forward to watching our family grow, just maybe not at the beach again any time soon.

Summer Fun has begun!

 

Yes, one of the great things about living in Texas is that summer fun activities begin in the middle of March. If I could just get all my family to move down here it would be perfect! I decided to get my fair skinned boy these uv shirts…and they match! How cute! We’re leaving for a beach trip TOMORROW in Port Aransas, Texas. I can’t wait to see their matching suits out on the beach.

Eric’s favorite backyard toy is the water hose. It’s the first thing he always goes for.

Somehow our neighbor friend Madeline got Aaron to lay still for quite a while. She and her brother James come over to play in the afternoons sometimes and they all have a great time.

Waterslide!

Cedar Creek Dino Park

Wow! A blog post after almost a year. We'll see if this keeps up.

On Saturday we visited the Dino Park in Cedar Creek, close to Bastrop, TX. Like many little boys, Aaron has developed a fascination with dinosaurs. he has dinosaur wall stickers, finds dinosaurs on the computer, studies their names, watches dinosaur shows and can tell you a lot about dinosaurs.

The park had a scavenger hunt sheet that made the walk very interactive. As we walked through the marked trail we rounded corners and Aaron screamed at each new dinosaur he saw. I thought this park was very well planned and a great adventure for a little 4 year old boy.

It took us about an hour to walk through the dinosaurs and at the end they have a nice picnic area with a dino dig area. And, of course, you have to walk through the gift shop to get in and out! But, we had a great time with out little paleontologist today.

Since we are now Texans I'm supposed to go out and take pictures of the kiddos with the bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas. My neighbor told me about this great place just outside of Kyle. It was a beautiful morning, so I dressed the boys up and went out. We had a great time, I just wish I could have gotten a better shot of the babies! Maybe next year :)