Weekly Recap: Drowning, Reading, Overcoming, Wedding

This week Jeremiah started swimming lessons.

He insisted he already knows how to swim. And he does. As long as he has wings or that bathing suit that has a built in flotation thingy. But he outgrew his swimsuit and they just don't make them in his size anymore.

Day 1
The first day went great. Until the last 3 minutes. He was supposed to jump off the instructor's knees and swim to the side. After about two or three kicks, when he was just at the edge, he stopped and decided to float the rest of the way. And so he started sinking a little. *Note: I was less than six feet away on the other side of the fence watching - the back of his head never went under water. Only his face. Water went in his mouth and up his nose and he freaked out a little. Of course, this is when the buzzer went off so this was his last experience of the day. When I went in to give him his towel and go home, he immediately informed me "She tried to drown me!!" Poor girl. He then proclaimed that he hated swimming and was never, ever, coming back.

Being the extremely logical person that I am, I took him straight to the library. First, we had a discussion that I love him and my mommy job is to protect him and keep him safe. I was watching and saw that he was not in any danger, but was just surprised when the water was inhaled. Then we checked out books on swimming (fiction and non-fiction) and one on the respiratory system. I showed him pictures of how the mouth and nose is connected and when you are underwater and you breath in water from your mouth, your nose also breaths it in. Once we got home, we even did a science experiment with a cup and water on a plate showing the "vacuum" effect. And then we read all the books and finally, practiced holding our breath.


Before he went to bed, he informed me that even though he liked to swim, he was not going back to the lessons.

Day 2
After a little bribery (all he wanted was a promise to return to the library to get new books), he reluctantly returned to the pool. Again, I was watching from behind the fence, praying that he would remember to hold his breath like we practiced. He did amazing. This time when I picked him up, he informed me that he loves swimming and his favorite sports were swimming, climbing snow covered mountains (we live in Florida??), dodging boulders (might come in handy one day, who knows?) and playing football (which he also has never done, except tossing it around in the backyard with his brothers).

Day 3
Jeremiah is doing great. He can float on his back all my himself, blow bubbles underwater, swim to the side (about six strokes), jump into the water and swim to the instructor. There's another little boy in his class who makes the instructor be so close to the side that they actually hold hands while he jumps in. Jeremiah sits beside him encouraging him the whole time. Right before the buzzer sounds, the little boy has the instructor back up and jumps in and swims to her all by himself. Jeremiah does the air fist bump, jumps up and down and starts screaming "I knew you could do it, I knew you could do it!!!" It was so cute and all the moms watching with me were ooohhhing and aaaahhhin. And I had a major proud mommy moment.

When he gets in the van, I tell him I am so proud of him because he is doing so well and has learned so much and that it is sweet that he encourages the other students. He replies, "Yeah, I wanted him to hurry up and just do it so it would be my turn again." Proud mommy moment over. 

Day 4 
Another great day of swimming. I went ahead and signed him up for another session. Each session lasts two weeks, Monday - Thursday. Unfortunately, our earlier morning slots were already filled so we get to be in the sun at 11:30am. Ugh. It's already getting unbearably hot here in Florida. But we have plans the rest of the summer and he would miss too many classes if he did a later session.

On another note...
Our youth pastor is getting married on Saturday. I love weddings. Especially DIY weddings with lots of crafts, decorating and personal touches added. My oldest daughter and I stayed at the church last night preparing the programs until late this morning. They are really cute, there's the traditional program of who's in the wedding on one side and a word search of all the bridal parties' names on the other. It's taped onto a popsicle stick making a fan and then has a golf pencil tied with a ribbon to it. We got home at 3am and then I automatically woke up at 8am. I was afraid going to bed so late would bring back my old insomnia habit of not being able to fall asleep until 3 or 4 am and then sleeping til 9 or 10. I have actually been going to bed between 10 and 11 pm and waking up anywhere between 5 and 7 am.

Now, I'm just waiting for my daughter to wake up so we can go back and work some more. I've already repainted my framed chalkboard and found the rest of the ribbon we needed. Wake up already.... 

I Recommend: A Movie...and a Box of Tissues

I love to read. And I love to watch movies. TV....not so much. In fact, the series that I do watch, I tend to wait until a whole season is over (or aaallllll of the seasons are over) and them watch them all at once. I don't like commercials and I don't like waiting a week in between. (FYI - we don't even have a "television" but I do occasionally watch stuff on the internet.)

I don't also mention what I'm watching or what I'm reading, so if I do suggest something, you can bet it's pretty exceptional. It takes alot to "wow" me.

I recently saw a suggestion to watch a movie that is now available to watch instantly on Netflix, Unconditional. I'm not going to give any spoilers but it's one of those overcome the odds, good prevails, God never fails kind of movies.

Unlike the people that suggested the movie to me, I will give you another suggestion - Kleenex.

Of course, it could just be me, who cries at every little thing.

And watch the whole movie. That suggestion is for anyone else like me that prefers some movies just end about ten minutes sooner. Like Pay It Forward. Great movie.....as long as you cut it off early.

Five Question Friday

Wow!!

5QF has always been one of my favorite posts to write. I'm so excited to be blogging again and participate in this!! I haven't blogged much this week because I am out of town on vacation so I really don't have a way to post pics and I don't like writing posts without any pics but I couldn't resist this.





1. What is an acceptable age for girls to start dating?

We have a family rule that you cannot date until after you graduate high school. I would actually prefer until after you graduate college but we compromised. I just know most kids are not ready for a responsible relationship prior to then and I wouldn't want them to make any mistakes. Or get distracted from what's really important. So far, my kids have respected, and actually appreciated, this rule. After all, your brain does not finish developing until you are 25 so why rush into anything?

2. Do you think your kids should have summer homework?

Umm....hmmm.....weeellll....we homeschool so our definition of "homework" is different. And we do some sort of "school" year-round. So, I guess "yes". It takes too long for my kids to get back in the swing of things if we completely take the summer off from school. But we also have so many camps and summer activities that's it's almost impossible to have a regular learning session. We usually just do some summer reading programs and do some unit studies together. This summer we are actually going to learn how to teach Bible studies together. And I ordered some really cool educational comic books. We'll see if the kiddos like them or not.

3. Would you prefer to live without AC or heat?

Do I have to choose?? Really?? It would have to be that I absolutely cannot live without A/C. We live in Florida and even though we do have some cool weather, I can always put more clothes on. When it gets too hot, you can still feel icky in a cold bath. I know. We've been without air in Florida before and now only have window units. So far, it's been bearable.


4. What the worst thing about staying in a hotel? (Besides not being with your family)

Sometimes I have a hard time sleeping anywhere other than in my bed. And I'm sensitive to the weird smells. But my real "biggie" is water pressure. I know some people might not get it, but if I'm gone more than a day or two at the most, I want to wash my hair. I have long (as in below my waist) hair and although it's not near as thick as it used to be, that's still a lot of hair. And if the water pressure is weak, well, it just doesn't get all the shampoo washed out. In fact, when we went away for our 25th anniversary recently, I told my hubby that the getaway was perfect....except the water pressure. It was like a mist. He promised next time we go, he will bring our waterhead and a screwdiver with us. Such a sweetie. (yeah, I know I haven't posted pics yet but I will when I return from this vacation)

5. So, do your kids really get "104 days of summer vacation"? (Bonus points for those of you that get this reference!)
No bonus points here. Sounds slightly familiar and I probably should get the reference but I haven't had a chance for my brain to wake up yet. I have to refer you back to question #2...my kids definitely don't get 104 days of summer vacation. But don't feel sorry for them because they probably get more "fun" days than most during the traditional school year.
 

Another Milestone - Kindergarten Graduation

I can't believe my little baby just finished Kindergarten.

It seems like just yesterday I was being surprised that baby #5 was going to make an appearance in our crazy lives. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I will say that the one thing that I think is great about having a baby later is that you enjoy every minute of it. I realize how fast life happens. There's almost 8 years between my two youngest kids.

Anyway, so Jeremiah just finished his first "official" year of homeschooling. I love teaching this first few years. They learn so much, they seldom complain and it's so much easier making school fun.

Our church has a school. Since we homeschool, we did not participate in the actual graduation ceremony but we were part of the K-5 graduation party afterwards. The theme was Candyland and it was sooo much fun!! I made Ham and Swiss Sliders, Pizza Muffins, and Mac n Cheese Bites. I waited until the last minute to bake off anything so I completely forgot to take pictures or anything of the food but if you click the links, it will take you to my Pinterest pages and from there, you can find the recipe links. It was all delicious!! My personal favorite was the Ham and Swiss sliders but my most requested recipe was for the Pizza Muffins.

Jeremiah got a bunch of cards from family and friends. Today, we went to Toys R Us so he could spend it. He wanted to walk around the store carrying the wad of cash in his hand. Since most of the bills were $5s and $1s, that was quite a wad. His brother asked how much he had and Jeremiah replied, "Basically a million." Guess it was since he was able to buy all the Legos he had been waiting to get.

How Do I Love Thee, O Cinnabon?

I always hear of people saying that their weakness is carbs. My mother-in-law used to insist on having bread at the table for every meal, even if it meant sliced sandwich bread was piled high on a serving platter. I can go days without bread.

BUT....if bread is available, hot, fresh bread, nobody better stand between me and that delectable morsel straight from heaven.

I tried out a new Italian restaurant yesterday. They served fresh garlic knots while we were waiting for our food. I quickly devoured mine and would've eaten any that was left. Of course, none was.

If I smell bread, I'm a goner. As long as it comes from the grocery store, pre-made, sealed in plastic, there is no temptation for me. Let me walk into the mall and pass a Cinnabon....another story completely.

I have been in the mood lately to cook more and bake. So the when my kids suggested I buy the cinnamon rolls in the packaged tubes at the grocery store, I said NOPE! I will make my own. Years ago, I used to make them all the time so why not do it again?

Yesterday we only had a 2pm church service so it was a perfect morning to make my cinnamon rolls. The only thing I hate about making homemade bread is the kneading but the dough for this is made in my bread machine making this E-A-S-Y.  And "easy" is my middle name. Or maybe "bread-lover" is my middle name?? hmmm....

Too bad screens aren't scratch and sniff but this recipe might get you tempted to lick the screen just in case.

Cinnabon-like Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 cup warm whole milk

2 eggs (anytime you are baking, it's best to use room temp eggs)

1/3 c. melted margarine, cooled down

 1 t. salt

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

4 1/2 c. all purpose (or bread) flour (note: I use bread flour, I think it makes the rolls a little more light and airy)

2 1/2 t. bread machine yeast

Sweet spread to use after dough is rolled out:

1 c. packed down brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. softened butter

For the icing: **note: I make extra icing because I like to use the entire bar of cheese and we like alot of icing on the rolls. The extra icing I just save to put on cinnamon pancakes or whatever**

8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened (of course, you can use cream cheese, but the rolls are so sweet that I figured we should cut back on the calories somewhere)

2/3 c. butter softened (NOT melted)

4 c. powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

Put all the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine. The ingredients are listed in the order that I put them in my machine but yours might differ so check your manual. With mine, I do wet, salt, dry and yeast last making sure the yeast does not touch the salt or liquid. Select "Dough" option and let the bread machine do its thing.

When the dough is complete, place it on a floured surface and let it rest for a few minutes. While it is resting, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Prepare dough by rolling it out into a big rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter. HINT: This seems to be a lot of butter but use it and do not spread the butter to the very edges, you want the dough to be able to "seal". Sprinkle the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture over the buttered dough. Now roll up the dough to make a long roll. Cut it evenly to make about a dozen rolls. Place in a greased baking dish (I used a glass 9x13 pan that I make my big batches of brownies in). 

Now, I know you want to bake them and get onto the ooey gooey goodness but let's take a clean towel and cover them to double in size. (If your house is cold, you can turn oven on extreme lowest temp and put the pan in there, crack the door some.) When the rolls have risen to be about doubled in size, set oven to 400 degrees and cook 10-15 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, cream the cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. Then turn mixer on lowest speed and gradually add the powdered sugar.

When the rolls are done, remove from oven and immediately turn upside down on a platter. Leave the pan over them. This will allow all the gooey goodness to drizzle back down on the rolls. Once it looks like all the dripping is complete, remove pan and spread on some icing. The warmth of the rolls will allow the icing to melt some and drizzle in between.

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Is It Over

Our church hosts a Young Ministers Conference every year and even though my family is not "young ministers" by your usual definition, my family always attends. Thankfully, my pastor believes that it is the entire church's responsibility to share the Gospel so he doesn't limit anyone's attendance. It's a great time to be encouraged and meet new people.

I went with my kids to go out to eat after one of the services and a young man sat down beside one of my sons. After introductions and some small talk, the young man (I think he was 15) asked my son if he was out of school yet for summer break.

My son looked at me.

The young man recognizing the look, exclaimed, "Dude!!! You're homeschooled too!!"

I guess only homeschoolers can appreciate this. Yes, we do have a calendar. And days are planned.

BUT....we also tend to homeschool beyond the calendar and do some unscheduled summer learning too.

(okay, just for a little explanation here - I was going to find a comic relating to year-round schooling or how everything can have an educational angle to it but I got distracted and since I just love Ryan Gosling and all those "Hey girl" memes anyway...I just couldn't resist. After all, to be completely honest, this is the true reason why we usually go past our calendar last day.)

 

A "PIN"tastic Site

 Hello. My name is Adena and I'm a Pinterest addict. When I have very little time to get online, I don't necessarily check my email (which is probably what I should do first), or get on Facebook to reconnect with family and friends faraway...and close, or even read blogs. Nope. I get on Pinterest. I guess that explains why my email boxes (yes, as in more than one) are overflowing, I still don't know if my friend's daughter had her baby that was due last week and I can't remember the last time I wrote or followed a blog party!

BUT...my Pinterest boards have been alive and well this whole time. The only evidence that I've even been online at all. Check out my boards, I'm sure there's something there you will like.

Every once in awhile, I find a site that I really, really, really like. One that I would be very upset if I never again returned to it. I have recently found a foodie site like that- From Away. To be completely honest, I almost wrote her off when I saw she was from Maine. The only people I know from Maine cook lobsters and seafood. I'm not a big seafood eater. (Well, except for a recent trip to Cedar Key, FL which I will post about very soon!!) This goes to show how little I really know. I think I have pinned almost half of her recipes from the index and only maybe two were fishy. I think I've gained five pounds just looking through it all. I cannot wait to start cooking more again. Right now I am trying out a new recipe for cinnamon buns. If it's good, I'll share.