Snails are Sweet~According to Megan!

School is still in session.  For 5 more weeks.  Which means, Megan is still waking up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus. Early on she was always crazy excited to see the bus! Now, not so much! In fact, I have to actually pull her out of bed just about every morning now.  And the sad part, she cries.  Megan is tired. And feeling a bit "sluggish" if you will.

Today she did much better!!  She even announced with great excitement, "Bus is coming"! And there was NOT a single tear shed!  

When the bus arrived, we opened the door to head out.  A burst of cool, fresh Spring air washed over us.  Ahhhhhhh.......  It woke us both up!!  

While running out to the bus, Megan managed to kick a snail. I told her, "Oh, know! You kicked that snail back there!"  She immediately stopped in her tracks.  Said, "Huh, oh!" Made a 180 degree turn and ran back to the snail.  

Once she got back to where Mr. Snail had planted himself, she bent down to him and said, very sincerely "I'm sorry!" 

Before we go on I should mention that Mr. Snail survived the kick and didn't sustain any injuries.  He did, however get a bit scared.  And as a result, retracted up into the safety of his shell.

Moving on.  

After Megan apologized, she was still a bit concerned about Mr. Snail's well-being and picked him up.  She turned him over and looked inside.  And there he was safe inside his shell.  

While looking at Mr. Snail all tucked up, Megan said very sweetly, "Oh!! He's sleeping".

Why of course.  Who would wake up so early? Only little girls who have to catch a school bus!

No harm done.  Mr. Snail was perfectly fine.  Why, he was in dreamland.

Just one thing.

I'm wondering if Megan didn't think it was just any old snail. Because if there's one thing I know about my sweet Megan, it's that she loves the Nick Cartoon, SpongeBob! And SpongeBob happens to have a pet snail named, Gary.  

Here's the question:

Did Megan think it was Gary the snail?

OR

Does Megan have a greater love for all snails now because SpongeBob has one as a pet? 

OR

Is it just that big heart of hers that seems to love everyone and everything?  

I'm thinking, by her reaction, it's the later.  Megan was very sincere and seemed very concerned. Hmmm???  I know how much she loves that Nick Cartoon and I'm certain she'd never want to hurt Gary.

Regardless of her motive, there's one thing I know for a fact.  Megan brings joy into our lives everyday through the little things she does.  This story of Mr. Snail is just one of the many examples.  It's the little things we typically overlook, which Megan does not.  Instead, she brings them to our attention.  

I don't like snails.  They eat my pretty flowers.  But it was such a beautiful sight seeing how someone could be so kind to a pest.  

Here's another lesson Megan taught today~Perhaps we all could stand to be a little nicer and a bit more thoughtful, even to those we may consider "pests" {just like those little pesky gastropods}.  Taking time out of our busy day to do more nice things for others, will not only bless their lives, but will simply make us each better people.

Side Note:  It's possible Megan somehow knew that gastropods have unusually long life spans. Did you know, they can live up to 10 years!  There are even reports of some living as long as 25! Maybe she wanted to make sure this young snail had a full life ahead of him~eating all my plants and flowers!! Sweet, huh?

This whole snail encounter lasted 2 short minutes. Tops.  And really, more than anything, it made me laugh!  Especially when Megan declared that Mr. Snail was asleep.  Because I am sure that is exactly what she wanted to be doing.  Sleeping.   

Sweet Treats!

I love treats. Especially sweet ones. As I've been going through my enormous photo library I came across this gem. It's an amazingly delicious Giant Pizza Cookie. I made it for my son, Eric's, seventh birthday. Actually, I didn't just make it for him, I made it for his entire first grade class. I wanted Eric to have something unique. Not the typical frosted cupcake from the grocery store. Those things are nasty. And the kids just lick the frosting off the top anyway.

When I made this sweet treat for Eric's class, it was back in the day when you could bake anything you wanted at home and bring it in to share. Now, it all has to be store bought. A bummer. A total, total bummer. Because I enjoy baking and sharing my specialties with others!! I guess it's their loss. Not mine. Sweet treats from the store just aren't the same.

There was a lot of time and love that went into this truly great cookie. And work of art! Plus, it was fun to construct. The cookie itself is an excellent soft oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe. So if you aren't in the mood to make something so big AND fancy--the cookies by themselves turned out real yummy. Also, when I made this giant pizza cookie, I decided to make individual ones too so that each child could have their own little mini pizza. It was super fun! And Eric's friends all thought they were crazy good! Needless to say, there wasn't a crumb left! Now go make this for your next party. Your guests will thank you!

Giant Pizza Cookie

{LET YOUR IMAGINATION GO WILD AND TOP

THIS CHOCOLATEY GOOD COOKIE WITH SOME

OF YOUR CANDY JAR FAVORITES!}

INGREDIENTS

1 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

3/4 CUP QUICK OR OLD-FASHIONED OATS

1/2 TEASPOON BAKING SODA

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

1/2 CUP (1 STICK) BUTTER OR MARGARINE, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/2 CUP PACKED BROWN SUGAR

1 EGG

1/2 TEASPOON VANILLA

1 CUP SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS

1 CUP PREPARED MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING

RED FRUIT SNACK ROLLS, GUM DROPS, CANDY COATED

CHOCOLATE PIECES AND WHITE CHOCOLATE

#1 Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

#2 In a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.

#3 Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

#4 Shape dough into a ball and place in the center of a round baking stone. Lightly flour your hands and pat dough into an 11-inch circle. Place baking stone in rack.

#5 Bake 14-16 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Cool completely.

#6 Spread cooled cookie with frosting. To decorate, use an apple corer to cut round pieces from fruit rolls to resemble pepperoni. Using kitchen shears, snip gum drops into pieces for pizza toppings. Add candy-coated chocolate pieces, as desired. Using a cheese grater with a fine grating drum, grate white chocolate over top for cheese. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter.

**Note: When I transported it to school, for a real pizza effect, I went to the pizza store and had them give me a large pizza box. The children thought is was way cool!

As I've continued sifting through all my photos, I have quite a few images of treats I've made through the years. As a result, I've decided I'm going to be changing up this blog a bit. I'm going to be posting a recipe of a sweet treat {or savory favorite family meal} I've made, that is sure to be a hit weekly. Because, like I said, I like sharing what I've baked with others. So consider it just that. I'm sharing the goodness with each of you. And you can do the same. Spread the love. The sweet, sweet love of a well-made treat.

Sweet Spring Cleaning!

We have 28,818 photos and 148 movies currently stored in iphoto on our mac computer. Let me repeat that~28,818 PHOTOS shot over approximately 7 years!!! Mathematically speaking, that's about 4,100 pictures taken each year since we bought our first digital camera. Chronicling our family. And EVERY photo holds a sweet memory. But just one thing. EVERYpicture is sitting on a hard drive. Which is scary. Very. Very. SCARY!! They aren't published in pretty books to look at and enjoy. Or hanging in a beautiful home gallery, for that matter. So, I've decided to fix this horrific problem. Immediately!

Just how, you ask, am I resolving this depressing issue? I'm doing a little "Spring Cleaning", if you will. I'm going through all 28,818 of our photos and turning them into books for our family and others to enjoy. In addition, I'm even working on putting together a stunning photo gallery in our home. It is, however, quite an enormous, task. Fortunately, it's a fun one. This is the kind of spring cleaning I do find enjoyable. It's sweet. It brings back floods of memories. Some of which I will share right here!

For instance, here is ONE of the reasons WHY we moved back to California from Boston, Massachusetts. Nor'easters which left us digging ourselves out. Winter after winter. And, to be quite honest, more than we wanted or liked to.

Boston. Winter 2003

{check it out. eric is sitting level with the bumper on my van!}

Back to why I'm doing this Photo Spring Cleaning. I openly admit that it was my baby, Katie who motivated me to tackle this enormous project. She is the only child who was born in the age of digital photography. So while her brother and sister have baby albums, she does not. She discovered this sad fact recently. I feel bad that she had to ask me to make her one! What kind of mother am I? My poor baby doesn't have a baby album. Or any album, for that matter. If she wants to see her life in photos, we have to sit down together, turn the computer on, open iphoto, and then search for all the pictures of her throughout the years.

I figured for her seventh birthday in June, she'll get the best birthday gift ever. Photo albums. Yes, plural. There will be albums tracking her first 7 years of life which I know she'll cherish. I can't wait to see the finished product. And more than anything, I can't wait to see the look on her face as she opens each book and looks at the story of her life. So far.

Here are some precious photos of Katie which I came across today while Spring Cleaning in iphoto. These adorable pictures will appear in Katie's storybook of life....

Katie Then

Almost 7 years ago....

Katie Now....

Such a Beautiful Little Girl!

I could sit for hours, daily, looking through each and every one of our photos. It's truly entertaining seeing where we've been. What we've done. How we've all grown and changed over the years. And I would say that our 28,818 photos make up one sweet family story. Because each of us has a story. That is the very reason why I love writing this blog. It's my story. Which I choose to share with you. Hopefully, you find it as sweet as I do. Soon it'll be published into beautiful books. Finally. The best part~they will be a family treasure. Which we can enjoy and actually look at without having to turn on the computer.

Sweet Spring Family Fun!!!

Spring has sprung!! The leaves are growing back on the trees. Flowers are blossoming everywhere. Wild flowers are bursting with color. The rolling hills are a deep green. However, the weather hasn't decided yet if it wants to be hot or cold. Lately, it's been swinging from one extreme to the other. Hot. Cold. Cold. Hot. Some rain here and there. But, the incredibly beautiful sunny California days dominate.

Easter has come and gone. My birthday came and went. The best part of this time of year is spending some very sweet, quality time with my family during Spring Break.

We started our week-long vacation on a high note with a trip to a Dodger Game~where we sat right behind home plate. While Gary, Eric and I went to the baseball game with Gramps, the girls went with their Nana to the Zoo. Oh how my girls love the Zoo!! And my boys love Baseball. I'm happy doing anything as long as I'm doing it with those I love.

Easter Sunday we throughly enjoyed a Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues. It was an Easter Celebration filled with sweet food and feel-good music. The Easter Bunny even left the kids each baskets filled with all sorts of sweet treats.

Shortly after Easter, came my birthday! We celebrated with friends and family in the Los Angeles area. I absolutely love Mexican food and wanted to have a fun celebration, so we went to my favorite place, Los Torros, and shared good grub and times with some very special friends.

The following day we traveled North to Santa Barbara. This is where we made truly great family memories!

Thankfully we were able to get in some much needed R&R! We relaxed in the spa. We dined on fabulous food. We sat on our balcony and stared at the calming ocean.

But, the best part, was riding this sweet surrey a total of 10 miles together as a family!!! We pedaled and pedaled and pedaled.

It was total team work!! Although I'd easily classify this activity as exercise, it was a BLAST!! In fact, the kids loved it so much we did it two days in a row.

We even took it off the bike path down streets not designated for this particular bike~fortunately, we didn't get caught and get a ticket!

We did discover it was the ideal way to tour Santa Barbara. I think I can safely say we saw most of this American Riviera on a bicycle built for 8! Pretty. Sweet. Don't you think? I want to buy one and tool around my neighborhood on it. Pick the kids up from school. It would be our way of going "green".

Sweet. Sweet. Times. To be remembered by all for a lifetime.

A Sweet NEW Reader!

Last week I went with the kids to Open House Night at Megan's Elementary School. I always try to go because I know first hand just how much time, energy and effort BOTH the teachers and students put into getting everything ready for the parents to see and experience in the classroom. I especially like visiting Megan's Special Ed class because unfortunately, very few parents of Special Ed students go.

When we entered Megan's classroom there was just one other family there. The entire night only TWO families showed their support. It makes me so sad. Just another one of the harsh realities of having children with special needs. Some parents just don't seem to care what their children are doing at school. I, on the other hand, care immensely.

I'm so glad that we went! I wouldn't have missed it for the world! You know why? While there, I discovered that Megan is becoming quite the artist. She made a beautiful collage that resembled a dragon. It was hanging proudly on the wall! Usually, Megan doesn't have the attention span or interest in doing these types of things. But, this time she finished her project and did an amazingly beautiful job!

Then, Megan's teacher told me something so very sweet to my ears. She shared with me some of the most EXCITING news EVER!!!!!! Megan is STARTING to READ. Yes, you read that correctly. My 8 year old daughter with Down syndrome is actually starting to read!! WAHOOOOOOO!! I simply couldn't be more excited and happy for my sweet Megan!

I am learning to NEVER EVER underestimate the power of individuals living with Down syndrome. And especially the amazing capabilities my own daughter, Megan has. She truly does love reading and is becoming a sweet little reader!

(Sidenote: Before people with Down syndrome learn the alphabet and the sounds of the letters in the alphabet, they are taught to read. Yes, that's correct, they are taught to read words first!! Learning each individual letter of the alphabet is simply too abstract for them. It's easier to teach them to first read, then break each word down by it's letters and the sounds they make. Interesting, huh?)

Back to Megan. The other day my home became awfully quiet. When it becomes that peaceful, I immediately panic. I stop whatever it is I'm doing and go on my "where are each of my children hunt". This time I was specifically looking for Megan. First, I checked the obvious, the guest room--where Megan loves to plop herself in front of the TV and watch all her favorite shows. NO Megan!! So I quickly ran upstairs. Much to my relief I found her in Eric's room--which is where my sweet book collection is kept.

This is the sight I found......the girl LOVES to read.....

Totally engrossed.

She will look at every page very carefully to decode the story.

Just look at how fixated and focused she is...

She's always surrounded by LOTS of books.

She never pulls just ONE off the shelf.

See how happy she is reading?

No doubt about it, Megan is one sweet little reader.

And I couldn't be more proud of her!

Sweet Collections....

People tend to be collectors of "things".......

Some like to collect coins.

Others stamps.

There are women who collect tea cups and fine china.

I have a dear friend who collects wine bottles.

My husband is a music collector and has quite the audio library. Thanks to him we have thousands of great tunes from amazing artists which fill our iPods.

On the other hand, my son's fifth grade teacher collects pigs and has a classroom full of them~that is pig paraphernalia, not the students.

I have a very sweet memory of my Grandma and her collection of salt and pepper shakers.

As for myself, I collect Children's Books. I have an absolute love and passion for all things children's literature. I've always dreamt of writing a children's book and having it published. I hope to make that dream a reality someday. For now, I'll continue admiring the work of others. My collection began when I was in college at the University of Utah. I took a Children's Literature class from the most amazing professor. His lectures were incredibly fun, enlightening and enjoyable. It was the one class I couldn't wait to attend each week. And each two hour class seem to just fly by. I couldn't get enough. He introduced me to many great authors and books~which are, of course, all part of my sweet collection.

When I go to Barnes and Noble or Borders, I'm never there to buy the next New York Times Best Seller. Instead, you'll find me in the Children's Section. I love that I have three children so I can justify my purchases. But it doesn't stop there. Not only do I buy books from these great stores, I love it when my kids bring home the monthly Scholastic Book order forms. I always get so excited to see what new books there are! And then there's the Scholastic Book Fairs held on campus at the Elementary School my kids attend. I've even been known to travel 50 miles to the annual Scholastic Book Tent sale where you can buy children's books dirt cheap at the warehouse itself. I have every kind of Children's Book imaginable. I officially have a library. You could check books out from me if you wanted to. My mother-in-law does. She is a volunteer at her local Elementary School where she has story time with the Kindergartners weekly.

I have one problem right now though. The large bookshelf where I house my collection, well, it's full. Guess I need to buy another. I have books which cover every holiday and season. Silly stories. Books on animals, transportation, love and families. And the list goes on. And on. And on.

As soon as I knew I was pregnant with each of my three children I'd read to them nightly, before turning out the lights and falling into a deep slumber. And have ever since. In fact, it's funny, because now they can't seem to fall asleep unless I've read them a story. It's such a sweet time for us to share together.

A time I will truly cherish. Forever.

I can't say as if I have one favorite author. Illustrator. Or book. But here is a list of many of my favorite author/illustrators and the wonderful children's books they've written~which you can find in my home library. I encourage each of you to add these to your own libraries, if you haven't already:

Dav Pilkey author of Dogzilla, Dumb Bunnies Easter {very funny story}, and the Captain Underpants series {Dav Pilkey writes incredibly funny stories}!

Don and Audrey Wood author/illustrators of King Bidgoods in the Bathtub, The Napping House, Piggies

Eric Carle author/illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Click Beetle, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Quiet Cricket, Polar Bear Polar Bear, Brown Bear Brown Bear, The Grouchy Ladybug

Dr. Seuss, have so many....but here's a few of our faves: I'm Not going to get Up Today, Green Eggs and Ham, Cat in the Hat, Go Dogs Go, The Foot Book, Wacky Wednesday

Chris Van Allsburg author/illustrator of The Polar Express

Chris Van Dusen author/illustrator of Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee, & Mercy Watson {absolutely love his illustrations}

Caralyn Buehner author/illustrator of Snowmen at Night, Snowmen at Christmas, and The Escape of Marvin the Ape

Luara Numeroff author of these fun books: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Take A Mouse to the Movies, If You Give a Cat A Cupcake, If You Give a Moose A Muffin, If You Take A Mouse to School, If You Give a Pig A Party, If You Give a Pig a Pancake

Lucille Colandro author of, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed..." series

If there is one thing which has come out of this, it is that my children now have a love for reading. Even Megan~who can't quite read yet. Since she is a visual learner, I often find her sitting quietly in her room with stacks of books around her. Flipping through books page by page. Gazing at the pictures. She loves books too and one day, when she can read, she is going to be a book worm.

Every night, after I've read to my children, I tuck them into their comfy, cozy beds and shut off their lights. Before I go to bed, I always check on them, to see if they are truly asleep. Often times I find them still reading in bed. Having a hard time putting their books down. It's great when you actually have to tell your child to stop reading so they can catch some much needed zzzz's for their little growing bodies.

I LOVE reading with my children~books from my sweet collection.

PS....Maybe I'll start doing a weekly children's book review....stay tuned....

Target~Sweet, Sweet Target

Target. Sweet, sweet Target. Every woman's favorite store! On the planet. Seriously. In fact, I think it's safe to say that each one of us women are guilty of spending our husband's entire paychecks there {or close to it}!

Tonight, I took all three of the kids. {Mistake}. We did have a goal and a list

{which is crucial and required before setting foot inside this store full of temptation}.

Goal #1: grab a few odds and ends for the house.

Goal #2: To pick out and buy a birthday gift for one of Katie's bff's who's having a birthday party this weekend.

After raising children for 10 years,

I have found that when you take kids, or at least typical kids,

into the toy section of a store, inevitably they always want something. At least my kids do. Really, I don't blame them! It's fun to shop. And it's fun getting something new! Eric and Katie are the pros. These two are sure to find something that suits their fancy. Everytime. Megan, on the other hand, points out what she is interested in "looking" at. Let me repeat that. Looking at. Megan never really asks for anything. She is perfectly content on looking, exploring and then putting each toy safely back on the shelf for someone else to buy. I love that about her. Simple. And saves me money. Amazingly, she never yells, screams, or throws a tantrum because I won't buy her something! Sweet, huh? Every kid should be like that!

{Sidenote: Eric and Katie don't usually get too upset if I don't buy them something. But they have had their moments. Just like every other kid.}

However, tonight, something truly comical happened.

As I went down the oral hygiene isle to pick up my favorite portable tooth brushes

{Colgate Wisps},

Megan grabbed a tube of Spongebob toothpaste right off the shelf.

All by herself. From inside the cart! Because that's what she wanted me to buy for her.

Not a doll. Not Legos. A book. Or movie. A tube of Spongebob toothpaste. The irony: Megan absolutely HATES having her teeth brushed. She HATES the dentist. But, apparently tonight she changed her mind. While she proudly held that tube of Spongebob toothpaste in her little hand, she happily said, "brush teeth!"

Right on, Megan! So if that's all it takes to make brushing her teeth a more positive, enjoyable experience, then it was worth purchasing. Even if it wasn't on my list.

It did put a sweet smile on her cute face!

Mainly because she loves Spongebob more than brushing her teeth!

I know that for a fact.