Ben and I are quite avid readers. Ben can plow through a book in no time flat. For me, I take a little longer...usually because I just don't have the time. I love to read in bed at night, but let's be honest, aftr I get the kids to bed and spend some time with Ben I sometimes just collapse on my pillow! My goal is to read 12 books a year, one per month. Sometimes it is a challenge, other times I become so engrossed I can whip through a few in a month.
We have passed on this trait to our kids, who also love to read. Connor will ask to read 5 or 6 books each night during our bedtime routine and he is starting to get into chapter books, which is cool. At least it is better than some of the "little" kid books we are still reading with Alaina. And the little peanut will trot herself off to her room by herself (she gets away for quiet time on her own) and when we got in to peek at her, she is surrounded by board books, completely amused.
It got me to thinking about the importance of developing a love for reading (and reading comprehension) at a young age and I started researching "books for kindergarten," "reading challenges," etc. I came across the 1000 book challenge. Quite a few libraries hold these challenges in their local communities. Of course, I couldn't find one close to us but it didn't mean I couldn't hold a little challenge of my own....and now the 1000 Book Challenge has begun.
I created a couple excel documents. One is a 2-columned page with about 30 blocks in each column, providing enough space to write down the book, the author and the date. I used a hole punch and hooked them all together for one big packet we keep in Connor's bedroom. I also started researching books for his age group and made another excel document of books to make sure I grab to pick up. If he (and by "he" I mean "we") read 1000 books before his first day of kindergarten we will do something super special together. I am not sure what we will do yet, we certainly have time to figure it out and honestly, if I were to tell Connor the reward now...ha! He would nag me about when we are going to go constantly!! I was thinking something along the lines of going to a water park (it will be the right season up here)...who knows, but more than anything, I love that I am challenging him to read more.
If you are interested in a copy of the reading list (it currently has about 300 books on it, some we have read, most we haven't and does not include any we have in our current bookshelf) or the reading log, please leave me a message with your email address or you can PM me on Facebook.
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Movie Night
It's back! Movie Night! We were slowing starting to implement this months ago but then football season happened, Ben's weeknight schedule was completely unpredictable and I wasn't organized at all to undertake a full-fledged memory making movie night. I spent the last couple weeks researching, planning and preparing movie nights to cover us for the next 6 or 7 months. Tonight was our first night and we watched The Little Mermaid.
Normal movie nights will have a craft or activity that kind of matches the movie and the dinner is movie themed. Tonight, for example, we had peanut butter and jelly(fish) sandwiches, seashell pasta and starfish fruit (clementine oranges.). For dessert we had mermaid tails (pistachio pudding), which Connor thought was hysterical.
Another fun one is for Tangled. We have long haired spaghetti (buttered spaghetti noodles), roasted butternut squash and for dessert we have blue jello with an orange slice on top (kind of like the boat on the water).
Anyway, Connor is really getting into it and I am so excited for next week- The Fox and the Hound. It is all about friendships....unlikely friendships, at that and in perfect timing for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned, I will actually take pics next week!
Normal movie nights will have a craft or activity that kind of matches the movie and the dinner is movie themed. Tonight, for example, we had peanut butter and jelly(fish) sandwiches, seashell pasta and starfish fruit (clementine oranges.). For dessert we had mermaid tails (pistachio pudding), which Connor thought was hysterical.
Another fun one is for Tangled. We have long haired spaghetti (buttered spaghetti noodles), roasted butternut squash and for dessert we have blue jello with an orange slice on top (kind of like the boat on the water).
Anyway, Connor is really getting into it and I am so excited for next week- The Fox and the Hound. It is all about friendships....unlikely friendships, at that and in perfect timing for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned, I will actually take pics next week!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Snack Genius
Changing my lifestyle hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be. I don't know if it was because I was so ready to get healthy but I do firmly believe a part of it was when Ben and I allowed ourselves a "fat Tuesday" day. We have done the Fat Tuesday day once before and it really allowed us to get into the mindset that we are shifting gears and enjoying that last really "bad for you" meal. I am not a strict to the book girl, all-or-nothing in my eating habits. If I am really craving something sweet, I will grab a little mini reese cup. The goal is to not go overboard, but snacks are definitely my challenge.
Right now I am having a much harder time than I ever remember having in the past. With temperatures topping out in the negatives, I am always looking for ways to warm up but most of my snacks are cold. Most of the "go to" snacks I love are yogurt with granola (cold), cheese stick with apples (cold), carrots (cold), protein shake (cold)! Ugh!! I want something as an option that is NOT chilled!!
By luck I stumbled across this chili lime roasted chickpea recipe. I happened to have everything in my pantry to try it out and see. Now, I can not handle spice, at all so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be fantastic!! There was no heat but a little kick, if that makes sense. I added some extra lime because I really love the taste of limes but it is definitely a keeper as a really good snack option- especially a good snack option if I am on the go with the kiddos.
Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and towel dried
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lime juice (I ended up using 1 1/2 tsp.)
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spread out chickpeas. Drizzle with olive oil and roll chickpeas around to coat. Bake 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat and transfer to an air tight container.
Right now I am having a much harder time than I ever remember having in the past. With temperatures topping out in the negatives, I am always looking for ways to warm up but most of my snacks are cold. Most of the "go to" snacks I love are yogurt with granola (cold), cheese stick with apples (cold), carrots (cold), protein shake (cold)! Ugh!! I want something as an option that is NOT chilled!!
By luck I stumbled across this chili lime roasted chickpea recipe. I happened to have everything in my pantry to try it out and see. Now, I can not handle spice, at all so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be fantastic!! There was no heat but a little kick, if that makes sense. I added some extra lime because I really love the taste of limes but it is definitely a keeper as a really good snack option- especially a good snack option if I am on the go with the kiddos.
Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and towel dried
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lime juice (I ended up using 1 1/2 tsp.)
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spread out chickpeas. Drizzle with olive oil and roll chickpeas around to coat. Bake 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat and transfer to an air tight container.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
One Step At a Time
The last few days post "fat Tuesday" have gone really well. Ben and I celebrated our "fat Tuesday" on Wednesday with insane cinnamon roll waffles drenched in icing syrup, bacon and cheesy eggs. Ohhh....it was divine, but Thursday had to roll around and that meant better choices, healthier eating and making the effort to get to the gym more frequently. The kids and I went grocery shopping Thursday morning and stocked the cart with fruits and veggies, better snack options and absolutely NO sweets! Well, that creates a problem for me. My diet has been great for 3 days and I have been working out but I m in the mood for something to satisfy my sweet tooth. I have oodles of brownies mixes I stocked up on when I found them on sale for $0.50/box. The deal was great and they are awesome to have on hand if you need to make something super quick or need to bring something to an event. The only problem is, they sit out there and tempt me. To get something sweet, I have to make an entire box of brownies and then after I have my small sampling and am satisfied, the pan sits there and I take a bit EVERY.TIME. I go into the kitchen.
The perfect solution- an individual serving of brownie in a mug. Here's how you do it:
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa (we tried a coule different options and our favorite is still Nesquick powder)
a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. water
Put your dry ingredients in the bottom of a coffee mug then add the oil and water. Stir until well combined. Cook in the microwave (AHH! this is just the icing on the perfection cake) for 1:40 (Yep, you read that right....1 minute and 40 seconds!!). The top will look undone but trust me, it's not. And also trust my burnt tongue....the inside is VERY hot. I stirred the brownie a little to release the steam and allow to cool slightly then topped it off with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Now, the consitency isn't the same as your typical brownie but this is delicious!! Just enough and no temptation left tomorrow morning eyeing me with my morning coffee.
And because I am in a foodie sharing mood, here is an amazing chicken recipe that my kids devoured!
Baked Paprika-Parmesan Chicken
1/4 c. flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. paprika
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine flour, parmesan, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. In seperate bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Dip the chicken in the egg, then dredge in the flour mixture. Place in the baking dish and pour the melted butter evenly over the chicken.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (we baked this long, next time I will cut down slightly), until the cheese has browned.
Because the kids loved it so much, I think next time I will double it up and cut my chicken into bite sized pieces before coating and cooking and create a twist on chicken nuggies.
The perfect solution- an individual serving of brownie in a mug. Here's how you do it:
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa (we tried a coule different options and our favorite is still Nesquick powder)
a pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. water
Put your dry ingredients in the bottom of a coffee mug then add the oil and water. Stir until well combined. Cook in the microwave (AHH! this is just the icing on the perfection cake) for 1:40 (Yep, you read that right....1 minute and 40 seconds!!). The top will look undone but trust me, it's not. And also trust my burnt tongue....the inside is VERY hot. I stirred the brownie a little to release the steam and allow to cool slightly then topped it off with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Now, the consitency isn't the same as your typical brownie but this is delicious!! Just enough and no temptation left tomorrow morning eyeing me with my morning coffee.
And because I am in a foodie sharing mood, here is an amazing chicken recipe that my kids devoured!
Baked Paprika-Parmesan Chicken
1/4 c. flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. paprika
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine flour, parmesan, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. In seperate bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Dip the chicken in the egg, then dredge in the flour mixture. Place in the baking dish and pour the melted butter evenly over the chicken.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (we baked this long, next time I will cut down slightly), until the cheese has browned.
Because the kids loved it so much, I think next time I will double it up and cut my chicken into bite sized pieces before coating and cooking and create a twist on chicken nuggies.
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