Friday, December 31, 2010

Goals

My two favorite months are August and January. I love these months because they mark the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the calendar year. I just love the feeling of a nice, clean, fresh start.

I was really inspired by Dave Ramsey's podcast on January 4th, 2010. So inspired that I listened to it again today. Here are some of his points that really stuck out to me:


On average, resolutions last about 45 days - That's about to Valentine's Day.


So what should we do? Don't make resolutions - set goals! The difference is that goals are specific and determined. If you wanna "change your entire freakin life," not just 45 days of it, then make goals!


Goals should:
1.) Be Specific
2.) Be Measurable
3.) Be YOUR Goal
4.) Have a Time Limit
5.) Be Put in Writing


To read more about what Dave says about the importance of setting goals, read his Goal Setting 101 here.

My goals are pretty personal, but I will share parts of them here. All of my goals can be pretty much be put into five "BIG" goals (in no particular order):
  1. Grow Closer to the Lord
  2. Be a Better Wife/Mom
  3. Take Better Care of Myself
  4. Be a Better Steward of my Money
  5. Be a Better Teacher

I realize that these are not very measurable, but I promise they will be. My plan is to make smaller, measurable goals that fit into these bigger goals. I am still trying to flesh these goals out. In the meantime, I will leave you with these quotes:

Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." Cavat Roberts


"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." Benjamin Franklin


"Decide what you are going to do differently this year. Otherwise this is going to be just another year. What kind of wimpified existence is just another year??" Dave Ramsey

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas Presents : )

A few of my highlights:


Reversible Tote in Night and Day


Get Carried Away Tote in Purple Punch


A Busy Body Book

A few of Jacob's highlights:




And of course Daddy got some tools that I cannot even begin to tell you about, but I think his favorite gifts were probably these:

Matching Alabama jerseys : )

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Crunchy Cheese Sticks

I like these crunchy cheese sticks, but not the way my husband does. He LOVES them. I am always asking him for suggestions while meal planning, but it's really more like pulling teeth. So this week, when he suggested these, I called up his momma and got the recipe. It usually takes me several attempts to get her recipes right, but I think I nailed this one on the first try. : )

1/2 cup butter

2 cups flour

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (then I added about 1/16 more)

4 oz (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp salt

  1. Beat ingredients well, then add 5 tbsps cold water (I added a few tablespoons more).
  2. Roll mixture into a ball and refrigerate about ten minutes.
  3. Roll out until pretty thin, but not too thin. (Vague, I know, but really just about1/4 inch.)
  4. Cut into strips. (I used a pizza cutter.)
  5. Place on cookie sheet and bake in preheated 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until brown on top. (I baked mine for almost 20 minutes because the hubby likes them crispy.)

Voila! You have yourself a nice batch of cheese sticks. We ate ours with chicken noodle soup.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

I know! I can't believe it either! I haven't done one of these posts since I got pregnant and didn't know what would make me drool with delight or, well, you know...

Anyway, here are the meals I have planned for my family this week:

Dinners:

  1. lasagna
  2. bbq chicken with mac-n-cheese
  3. teriyaki chicken stir fry
  4. burgers
  5. chicken tetrazinni
  6. tacos
  7. chicken noodle soup with homemade crunchy cheese sticks

Lunches: (bigger deal this week since we will be home during the day this week)

  1. sandwiches and chips
  2. chili cheese fries
  3. pizza rolls
  4. salad
  5. hot dogs
  6. potstickers
  7. chicken tenders

And for Jacob... we will continue with sweet potatoes, which he loves, while trying to sneak in some carrots, which he absolutely does not love. Also, by the end of the week we may be ready to try squash.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

It's never too early to foster a love of reading...
Reading to his moose.
Apparently, the caterpillar wasn't the only one who was very hungry!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloween!

RAWR! The scariest dinosaur you've ever seen...

Hanging out at Richpond's Fall Fellowship.
Trick-or-Treating. First stop? Great Grandmother's!

Bouncing around after Trick-or-Treating.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Moose Ridge

Showing off his cute new outfit from Aunt Heather.
I have the hardest time getting him to smile
at the camera, but this morning it was not trouble at all!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Pumpkin Pickin at Jackson's

This weekend, my parents came to town to visit and the weather was perfect for a trip to the orchard. We enjoyed some yummy fall treats and took lots of pictures. I already can't wait for next year, when I am sure Jacob will have more fun. This year he tolerated having his picture taken five hundred times, but that was about it. Maybe next year we can pick our own pumpkin and play on the playground. : )
Reading to Grandpa

Not too thrilled to be on the ground
Hanging out in the Bjorn

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Jacob - 4 Month Check Up

This morning I took Jacob in to get his fourth month shots and check-up. Here are his stats:

Weight:
2 mos: 13 lbs 8 1/2 oz
4 mos: 16 lbs 10 oz
Heigt:
2 mos: 23 1/2 in
4 mos: 27 1/2 in
Head:
2 mos: 39.8 cm
4 mos: 43 com

Can you believe how much our baby boy has grown?? He is in the 85th percentile for his weight, and is off the charts for his height! That's right, well over 100! He's grown almost 1/2 inch a week since his last visit! Other than that, our not-so-little man got a clean bill of health. The shots were no fun, of course, but he got over them quickly. Last time they just made him really sleepy for a couple of days. We're praying for more of the same this time around.


Sleeping off those pesky shots.

Jacob is smiling all over the place and is laughing more and more. He wants to sit up all the time, but cannot do it on his own yet. It's not from lack of trying though. If you hold him too flat in your lap or lay him on the couch, he strains and strains trying to pull his neck up. He's also very close to rolling over from back to front. He can do it if he is on his mat and has just that slight elevation from the mat to the carpet, but he can't do it otherwise. Rolling from front to back, he doesn't seem very interested in at all. He reaches for things and grabs them and won't let go. Seriously. The other day he grabbed a hold of his octopus and held on all the way from Grandma's, through Target, through WalMart, and home. He didn't let go until I pried it from his fingers to get him out of the carseat!
He is at such a cute, fun age! It's like he learns something new every few days. I can't wait to see what he learns to do next!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Overalls - So Cute!

This weekend we celebrated our good friend Stuart's big 3-0 with a cookout put together by his amazing wife, Jenny. I was packing up Jacob's clothes the other day, and found this pair of overalls. I was so sad because they were so cute and I thought the weather would stay too cool for him to ever wear them. But, as luck would have it, we had beautiful low 90 degree weather this weekend so Jacob got to wear these cute OshKosh's after all : )






He sure does love that octopus!

Smooches from Spencer-Man : )

Sunday, September 26, 2010

How Does He Do That??

Last night, I put Jacob to bed like this...



And when I went to wake him up this morning, I found him like this...



How does he move around this much?? All he does is kick his feet up and scoot. It looks like rolling over is going to be just around the corner...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

It Really Should Be So Much Easier...

So lately I have started to feel pretty good about myself. (Which if you know me, is totally out of the ordinary.) Since Jeff has started his gluten-free lifestyle (trust me, it's WAY more than just a diet!), I have had to become more creative in the kitchen and have had to learn to make a lot more things from scratch. Gone are the days of coming home and just throwing a pizza in the oven or baking up some frozen chicken tenders.

But last night I had a major blow to my self-esteem. It seems there is at least one thing that I am just simply not good at. Wait, that's an understatement. I flat out can't do it. What is this incredibly hard task I cannot accomplish, you may ask...

Melting Cheese. 

Seriously.

Last night I wanted to make this Mexican dish that is just cheesy rice and chicken (think Is Special if you are familiar with Puerto's here in BG). I have tried it with Tostito's queso dip, but it's just a little too spicy for my taste. I've tried it with shredded Mexican cheese, but that gets all stringy. So last night I tried it with a block of Mexican cheese. I tried melting it in the microwave. Not good. I added milk. Still not good. So I put it in the skillet with the chicken. It cooked the cheese, but did not melt it. Weird, I know. I wish I had taken a picture. It was just a big blob of cooked cheese. 

You would think it would be so simple. I've learned how to bake my own bread and cook chili without a mix and have even given up cream-of-anything soups (formerly a staple of all of my recipes!), but I just can't melt cheese. 

Any ideas??? 


Monday, September 20, 2010

Jacob's Birth

I am one of those weird people who cares a lot about order. For example, you would NEVER find me reading a book from a series out of order, even if it were the type where the order did not matter. So now that I feel sane enough to blog again, I just can't pick up and start right where we are now. I have to at least make some attempt to start from the beginning. So, three months later, here goes...

(Please note that I am trying to summarize something as big as the birth of my child! Pretty impossible, but I will do my best. And I promise to try and leave out most of the gory details!)

I went to bed Wednesday night, June 9th, with big plans for the next day. I had just been to the doctor and was told that if Jacob did not decide to come on his own, the doctor would induce me the next Wednesday (June 16th). Great, I thought, and immediately began making plans. Well, we all know what the Lord does when you make plans...

I woke up around 6:15 on Thursday. When I rolled over to look at the clock, it felt like I had used the bathroom a little. (Now, if you've never been nine months pregnant, this may seem weird to you, but if you've been there, you know leaking out a little is not only possible, but kinda likely. It's sad, but true.) I rolled back over to get out of bed and felt it happen again, but this time I was certain that I was not using the bathroom. At this point, my heart began to race. I had heard my friend, Katy, describe what it felt like when her water broke and this seemed like exactly what she had described. I jumped out of bed, tripped over the dog, and ran to the bathroom. Almost as soon as I hit the tile (thank goodness!) it was clear to me that my water had indeed broken. (Just so you know, there was no big GUSH like you see on tv.) I yelled for Jeff and tried to put myself back together. Once he was convinced I was not imagining things, we sprang into action. Both parents were called, last minute essentials were packed, dogs were loaded and we were off to drop off the dogs and then head to the hospital.

As we drove to the hospital, my contractions grew stronger and more intense. It didn't help at all that I was a nervous wreck. I did start to calm down once I was settled into a bed and had met the L&D nurses. Let me tell you, those ladies were a Godsend. There was no way I could have done it without them. They were so sweet and patient and encouraging and just all around kind. It was like having the most loving people waiting on you hand and foot. And almost as soon as we were settled in, our dear friend Stuart was able to stop by and pray with us. 
 
Shortly after I was settled in they started me on pitocin to make my labor progress a little faster. My contractions were getting stronger by the minute on their own, so you can only imagine what the drugs did for me! I was told the anesthesiologist was on his way up for another lady down the hall so I went ahead and ordered my epidural. Getting the epidural was zero fun. For some reason, it wouldn't work in the first spot he tried, so he had to move to another column and try again. Definitely painful, but definitely worth it. 

Once the epidural was in place, the real waiting game began. I was able to relax a little and visit with family. Which is a good thing too, because we sure had a lot there! (A few friends and some people from church stopped by too, but by the time they came by, I was unable to visit with them.) 

I progressed steadily for a while until I was 9 cm. You are supposed to get to 10 before you start to push, but for some reason I was just stuck at 9. I tried laying in all different positions, but nothing work. The nurses called the doctor and it was decided that I should just go ahead and try and push passed it. So around 2:00, almost 8 hours after my water had broken that morning, the pushing started. 

Let me tell you something about labor. I don't care how many stories you hear or books you read or birthing classes you attend. You may think you understand, but you really don't. Pushing is so incredibly hard. I was WORN OUT, literally exhausted, after just a couple of pushes. Since I wasn't fully dilated, I was able to rest a little between pushes and only had to push when I felt the urge. This went on for about an hour. Jeff was so sweet and must have counted to ten for me about a million times. He held my hand and fed me spoonfuls of ice and read me scripture when I became too anxious. (Jacob would not be here had it not been for Phil 4:4-9!)

I could tell when I had finally pushed past that last centimeter because the urge to push became constant. I pushed and pushed and pushed until I really thought there was no way I could push even another second. But somehow, someway, I found the strength. I was sweating and breathing fast and shaking and my eyes were watering and my head was pounding and I was flat out exhausted. I was running through my mind every bit of encouraging scripture I could think of. 

The nurses kept telling my how close I was getting and how soon I would have a baby boy. Thinking of seeing my precious baby boy was literally the only thing that kept me going. At some point, the doctor arrived and mentioned that if I did not have him soon, we may have to do a C-Section because I physically would not be able to push much longer. Just hearing the words C-Section gave me the boost that I needed. I wanted to avoid a C-Section, of course, but after so much pushing there was no way I was going to cave and end up not having a traditional delivery. I was determined. 

My epidural was turned down to help me know where and how to push. My delivery room was literally full of people. I had Jeff on one side and a nurse on the other, each pushing against my feet. Two nurses were standing over me and rubbing down on my stomach. The doctor and two more nurses were in front of me, trying to help deliver him and there was a nurse waiting for Jacob at the incubator. After a few more pushes with my newfound strength, the pain became unbearable. I felt like my body was literally on fire and that I was about to break open. Jeff was screaming numbers in my ear as he counted to ten. The nurses were all cheering me on and the doctor was yelling for me to give one more big push. The pain was taking over and I was no longer in control. I could hear myself screaming out in pain, but it was like I was listening to someone else making all that noise. I pushed harder than I had pushed all day, simply because I knew I had to get out of that pain. I felt a huge wave of relief for a few seconds before the pain returned. The doctor told me Jacob's head was out, but that I had to keep pushing. I pushed as hard as I possibly could until all of a sudden, it was over. 

You could tell the attitude of the whole room had changed. It was like every person in there was able to relax for a second. I looked down and saw the yucky blue mess that was my son. It seemed like forever before I heard him take that first breath and cry, but it must have only been a few seconds because none of the staff was panicked. They wiped him down just a little bit, wrapped him up, and sat him on my chest. He was so warm and soft and just plain unbelievable. Jeff came up and we loved on him together. Not for long though, because then they had to take him to the incubator to get him more cleaned up, measured, etc. Then I got him back for a few minutes for some skin-to-skin before Jeff was able to walk him out to show off to our families. 

I was left behind to rest in the delivery room while the doctor sewed me back up. As worn out as I was, and as much pain as I had gone through (and was still in!), I had never been more happy in my life. There really are no words to describe that feeling. Jacob was here and appeared to be very healthy. All those months of pregnancy and all the years of prayers had finally become a reality. Our God is good.   


Friday, September 3, 2010

Suggestions Please...

I want to start blogging again (when I find the time!) and I want my blog to be nicer looking. Any suggestions??? It seems like everyone else's is so cute!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Dear Abandoned Blog,

I am so sorry that you have been forgotten recently. I was busy giving birth to our beautiful son, caring for said son, moving to another apartment, and teaching a week of summer school. So you see, it's not that I have not had a lot to blog about, just that I have had so much to blog about that I haven't had time to actually do it! 

But I promise that I will try to do better. If nothing else, I can at least post pictures and videos for friends and family : ) 

Sincerely,
One Tired Woman

Friday, June 4, 2010

Baby Borland Update - Almost 38 Weeks

May 28th, almost 37 weeks

A Ticking Time Bomb. That's what the doctor called me at my appointment Tuesday. Nice, huh??

But really, that's exactly what I feel like. Saturday night, Jeff and I made another trip to labor and delivery due to some very sharp pain in my lower left side. Once we got there, though, the pain seemed to be the least of our worries! Being hooked up to the monitors revealed that Jacob was doing fine, but that my contractions were very consistent. An exam also revealed that I was dilated to 3 cm and 80% effaced. This seemed like a pretty big deal to me since the Monday before I was barely 1 cm and only 50%! When the nurse told me I might be in labor, I immediately started crying. I just wasn't ready!! Jeff, on the other hand, was amazing and supportive through the whole night. I think he's just ready for Jacob to get here!


Tuesday afternoon, my doctor's appointment revealed no more progress. This is where I received my "ticking time bomb" diagnosis. Then, Thursday rolled around and I was convinced I was in labor. I had solid contractions every five minutes or so for almost two hours. I called Jeff and had him come home from work a little early so we could go to Labor & Delivery. An exam showed that I was dilated to a little passed three, which means I had progressed a little, but not very much. After the exam, my contractions became more painful and were coming every three minutes. This lasted for about another hour and a half, then... NOTHING. Out of nowhere, the contractions just slowed down, became less painful, and then STOPPED. Completely stopped. The doctor gave me a sleeping pill (which I DON'T recommend) and sent me home for the night to rest. So... here we are.

So now I am hoping he will either come today, or wait until next Tuesday or Wednesday. The reason being that Jeff has a colonoscopy on Monday. I realize this could be rescheduled if needed, but we just don't want him to be in the middle of his prep on Sunday and then have me go into labor. So pray for Jeff as he prepares for his test, and pray for all of us as we prepare for Jacob's arrival.

Just for fun I've included pictures of some of the fun things we purchased last weekend - our stroller/car seat combo and our pack'n'play : )





Friday, May 28, 2010



By the time this posts, I will be out of school for the summer!!!!!!!!!!

Well, almost. I still have a lot of cleaning, cumulative records, and progress monitoring folders to take care of. But that is all work I can do ALONE in my room, listening to music and relaxing. 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job and I am soooo grateful that I survived another spring without being pink slipped. But.... after spending 36+ weeks with these kids, we're both ready to go our separate ways (especially some of them!). It will be nice for the kids AND the teachers to have almost 2 months off to refuel and recharge. 

Now I just have to finish getting everything ready for this baby to get here...

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Welcome to the World, Colbie!



Colbie Brooke Owens
May 21, 2010
7 lbs 10 oz
20 1/2 in 

Congratulations go out to our friends Joel and Erin!! Little Colbie was due on the 16th, but wanted to hang out in her comfy home as long as possible. Erin was induced on Friday, but after 16 hours ended up having to have a C-section. We made the trip to Nashville to visit on Sunday, and she is BEAUTIFUL! And check out that hair! We are so excited that Jacob will already have so many friends close to his age when he arrives : ) 

Monday, May 24, 2010

My Sweet Nephew


Isaac, looking too cute in his hat! How is it possible that he looks so big already??

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Final Countdown!

One month from today! I can hardly believe it, but (Lord willing) we should meet our son within the next month! I cannot even begin to describe for you how excited/anxious I am. 

Please pray for us as we do our best to prepare for his arrival. Also, please pray for a safe delivery : ) 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Baby Borland Update - 35 Weeks

I realized that I have been updating on things like showers and the progress of the nursery, but have neglected to update on our actual pregnancy.

I am now 35 weeks. Jacob (fingers crossed) should be here within the next five weeks. He is due one month from tomorrow! I can hardly believe it. Yes, it has been challenging, but in so many ways it seems like just last week that I found out God had blessed us with a baby. And now, here we are!
The past three weeks have provided two Friday night trips to the hospital. The first turned out to be bladder stones (I will spare you the details, and trust me, you'll be thankful), the second turned out to be nothing but a very swollen foot. Last Friday I came home from school and propped my feet up in the recliner. This is what I saw:

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. I had a very fat left foot. My other foot was slightly swollen, but nothing worse than usual and my hands were not swollen at all. I propped it up for about an hour, but the swelling did not seem to be going down at all. I finally broke down and called the on call number. Luckily, my doctor was the one on call. She said that it was probably nothing, but wanted me to go in and have an ultrasound done on my leg just to make sure that it was not a blood clot. Thankfully, it was not. I went home that night and propped it up for hours, but nothing made the swelling go down. (Thankfully I have the greatest husband who made me stay down. Praise the Lord I have not had to do bed-rest! I don't think I would take well to it!) When I woke up Saturday morning, most of the swelling was gone and luckily, it has not yet returned. Dr. L said that I could favor that foot more when I am standing, or that an old injury could just make that foot more susceptible to swelling. Who knows?

Speaking of swollen feet - I am so fortunate to be blessed with the world's most amazing guidance counselor, who, after hearing about my swollen foot on facebook, arranged to have someone in my room with me to help circulate during testing. This week my body has not been nearly as tired at the end of the day and the day-to-day swelling I usually have has been drastically reduced. Thank you LeeAnn!

I am now going to the doctor weekly from here on out. As of Monday, I had not yet dilated or effaced. This is good news as 1.) I would really, really like to make it through the school year! and 2.) I want his little lungs and everything else to be in the best shape possible. After June 1st, Jacob can come anytime he is good and ready!!

Please continue to pray for every member of our family : )

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Birth Record

I posted a few choices for Jacob's birth record here. My friend, Rebecca saw them and then recommended this one. I fell in love on the spot and this one matches his room a little better than the others. I ordered it this morning! Thanks Rebecca!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Georgetown Shower


Well, we were an hour late and I'm surprise we didn't need an ark to get there, but Paula and I finally made it to Georgetown on Sunday, May 2nd for my second baby shower. Thankfully, this one was mainly family and church friends who might as well be family, so they didn't mind waiting on me so much. My mom did an awesome job with the food (barbeque and such!) so at least everyone had something to eat while they waited. It also helped that Timothy and Katie got to come and brought my beautiful new nephew, Isaac, who, as you can imagine, kept everyone occupied. : ) 

It was so great to spend time with so many friends and family that I do not get to see nearly as often as I would like. And Jacob certainly got some nice presents! We especially appreciate all of the diapers and wipes!

Pictures to follow when I get them from my sister... 

Friday, May 14, 2010

Nursery Letters

The beautiful ladies of Kindergarten made our nursery letters for us and they turned out A-MAZING!! I love, love, love them and cannot wait to see what they look like on the wall. These ladies are so stinkin' creative it makes me sick. They took Jacob's quilt and made them match exactly. My nursery letters would have been nothing more than stick people if it had been up to me to make them. Jacob is so lucky to have such talented people in his life!





Thursday, May 13, 2010

April Books

Yes, I know I'm a little late...

One of my favorite things to do in the whole wide world is to talk about books. I love, love, love to hear about books people are reading - why they're reading it, do they like it or not and why, would they recommend it, and so on. And I love to talk about the books that I have read. If it's good I want everyone I know to read it. And if it's not so good, well then I don't want my my friends to waste their precious time reading it.

That's one of the reasons I love the blog world so much. There are people out there just like me! People who do not think it is a huge waste of time to make reading lists and to set reading goals and to share with each other about books. And even though I love reading "Book Blogs," I would still much rather sit across from you on the couch and goosh over a book than write it up in paragraphs. Partly because when I blog about a book I never really feel like I am really doing it justice.

So here's my solution. Instead of pulling teeth to write something eloquent about each and every book I read, I will instead do a monthly summary. Some books may get paragraphs, some may get sentences, and some may get bulleted lists. And no promises that any of them will qualify as eloquent!

So here goes April...

1.) Mommy Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood by Jenny McCarthy (04/04)
Loved this one, but not quite as much as BabyLaughs. Still really funny, though! 

2.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (04/08)
Loved it!! I'm on the waiting list for the sequel and I can hardly stand the wait!

3.) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (04/13) audiobook
I loved his writing style. I enjoy audiobooks, but I want to actually read another one of his books just to appreciate the style. 

4.) Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore (04/15)
Really great book! I won't say a lot here because I plan to do a separate post just for this one!

5.) Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (04/15)
An enjoyable read. I think students in the intermediate and middle level grades would really enjoy it and learn a lot too. She definitely puts a lot of information in there, even though it's disguised in 

6.) Number the Stars (04/22)
I remembered reading this book in fifth grade, but I didn't remember much about it. Pretty much all I remembered was that it was about the Nazis, a young girl, and that it took place in Copenhagen. 
This is a quick read (like, only 2-3 sittings), but is still a really great book. It tells the story of two neighboring families, one Jewish and one not, and how one family risks it all to save the other. I also loved how it gave details of everyday life of people living in the Nazi occupied countries of WWII. For example, the book describes how the families deal with rations on food, leather, and electricity, the way they have to use bomb curtains at night, and how they deal with the presence of Nazi soldiers on their streets. 
Students in the intermediate grades would not only enjoy this book, but would learn a lot too. (Shoot, I learned some things! For example, did you know Denmark destroyed its own naval fleet just so the Germans couldn't use it?) Boys and girls can enjoy it, but I think girls will be more affected by the strong female lead characters. 

7.) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (04/30)
Maybe it was because everyone talked so highly of this book, but for me, it just kind of fell flat. I mean, it was an okay book and all, just not this great book that I was expecting. 
The book follows a boy who, as a baby, somehow eludes a murderer by escaping to a graveyard. The inhabitants of the graveyard (yes, ghosts) agree to take him in and raise him. The concept is interesting, but still I was bored for about the first 2/3 of the book. The ending was suspenseful, but not really edge-of-your-seat, can't-put-it-down suspenseful. I have not read any of the Newbery Honor books from this year, but somehow I just don't think that this one is better than the Honors. 

Friday, April 30, 2010

Fab Five Friday

My friend Jenny started posting her Fab Five each week because her friend, Emily, started it up on her blog. Then, our friend Sabrina and now even Nat joined in on the fun. I've taken a hiatus for a week or two, but this week I've managed it!

The point is to highlight the five tangible things that made your week/life fabulous. Here is my list:

1.) Jenny's Chocolate Chip Cheeseball - Had it at my shower over the weekend and have wanted some more ever since! Jenny, you really need to post this recipe on your blog or at least email it to me!

2.) Magic Bean Plant - This was a Christmas gift from my sister that I am just now making use of. Apparently it's a bean plant that grows to have beans that say messages on them. I am not really sure if it will work or not, but definitely hope it does! (The picture below is definitely encouraging!) She actually bought it for Jacob, so I planted it in hopes that it will have sprouted by the time he arrives. You can check out their website here


3.) Caffeine Free Mountain Dew - I know I have included this in my Fab Five posts before, but they have been super on sale lately and I haven't been able to resist! Luckily I have been good at limiting myself to just one a day (most days, that is!).


4.) Fantastik Cleaner - This is my cleaner of choice for anything and everything. It works wonders, people! I use this to clean up sticky stuff and then follow with one of those magic eraser things. (Ooo - I'll have to remember to put those on the list next week!)


5.) Pictures of Jacob - Of course I will save the best for last! You can see more pics and read about our 3D/4D Ultrasound here. Just in the past day or two I have heard so many stories of babies and mommies who are having problems - some big, some small. It really makes me feel so blessed that as far as I know, the Lord has given us a healthy, strong baby boy. I can never take that for granted.