Under Cover

One of the reasons that I'm so excited about tackling this list is because the kids are learning some valuable lessons. Telling children how they should behave - give to others, be kind, look people in the eyes when you speak with them, and so on, is good. Showing them how to do those things is even better.

I picked out two books  - Eat, Pray, Love and Their Eyes Were Watching God  - to share with others. Lucas was my partner in fun! Off we went to the Paul Derda Recreation Center (this is where I train for my 5K by running around the track. BORE-RING, as the kids pronounce it). We placed the first book in a locker in the changing room. We hurried away, giggling. Then, we went to the grocery store and placed the other one inside a cart. As we walked into the bakery section, Lucas announced that he felt like a secret agent.

Speaking of secret agents, Elsa would make a good one. If it weren't for that sweet face and head of hair, we wouldn't be able to see her in this picture!

Elsa wanted me to let everyone know that she has two resolutions this year. The first is to stop sucking her thumb. She never did this when she was a baby. However, over the years her inclination* has been to insert her thumb in her mouth during sleep, when she gets nervous, or when she is watching tv.  Her second resolution is to eat more fruit and vegetables. She made it perfectly clear that eating more of these foodstuffs did not mean that she would be taking sweets off the menu. In celebration of her decision to include more fruit, I made her some white chocolate bark with cranberries, pecans, and apricots ( my friend who was over for non-coffee the other day mentioned seeing this recipe on one of the food shows and I needed a reason to try it!). Elsa LOVED it!

The treat...so easy to do. Melt some white chocolate. Pour onto a wax or parchment paper lined pan. I sprayed my paper with a little bit of cooking spray to be certain it didn't stick. Throw on the nuts and fruit - you don't need to stir it together, but if  you want to, I'm guessing that would be just fine. Put in the fridge to chill. Break into pieces. Consume.
You could absolutely change up the ingredients. I'm thinking of trying dark chocolate, coconut, cherries, and pistachios. Yum.

Since it's a long weekend for all of us, Elsa and I decided it would be a good time to learn how to tie her shoes! She has spent most of her toddler life in slip ons, so we never focused much on laces. We are hoping that the mission will be accomplished by the time she has to return to school on Tuesday.

I'm so looking forward to tomorrow! Do you remember what I have planned?

Word of the day...

Inclination ~ a tendency toward a certain action or condition; a liking or a preference