Recent Posts

A few weeks ago I shared some tips for keeping your kids hydrated during the summer. In our family, the boys are more than willing to down a juice box or sugar-y drink wherever, whenever. But getting regular ole' water in them can sometimes be a challenge.

One idea that we've used fairly successfully with our boys is the use of "fancy-ing up" their water. A slice of lemon, lime, orange or even cucumber can sometimes make water a little more novel, but we don't always have fresh slices at our fingertips. [more]

We finally unpacked the boxes in the youth lounge at the church. We threw out old papers and abstinence brochures. I also came across some very old journals. One year, I had purchased notebooks for everyone, and we wrote letters to each other every week. I laughed and cried as I read through them, reminiscing. They wrote about music and sports, and about how difficult it is to be a Christian and a youth. [more]

I came home from an outing with T. on Wednesday to discover our bento boxes had arrived! I'd spent the week before convincing Scott that bento boxes were going to change our lives--or, at least, help us help L. change his school lunch habits (which mainly include sitting in his seat at the cafeteria and leaving his lunchbox unopened on the table in front of him).

T. was very excited to get her box. It's pink, of course. [more]

I love recipes like this one. It is fresh and tasty, healthful, but best of all, is easily adaptable to whatever vegetables you have on hand in your kitchen.

This recipe uses an authentic Vietnamese ingredient, fish sauce. It is pungent, but beautifully flavorful when used in small amounts. It tranforms any recipe into an instant authentic Asian recipe when used.

For an easy dinner, take this chopped salad and top it with a grilled protein or tofu. Yum.

Fresh Vietnamese Chopped Salad

5 cups chopped vegetables
(we used:
3 cups fresh corn kernels [more]

Rolling pins aren't often used for baking in our house, it's usually play-dough and art instead. This is a fun and really easy way to make fun shape prints using your plain old rolling pin.

1. Gather your materials. You will need a plate,some paper, a rolling pin , some self stick foam, a paper cutter ( or scissors) , paint and some aluminum foil. [more]