We saw this kids’ snack on a “Blue’s Room” DVD. Place 1/2 of a banana onto a popsicle stick. Put some yogurt (flavor of your choice) on one plate, and some granola or cereal on another plate. Roll the banana in the yogurt, then in the granola or cereal. We used strawberry yogurt and Rice Krispies. We actually made these for breakfast this morning. Jacob really liked it, and made and ate two. This snack is very kid-friendly; easy to fix, fun to eat, tasty, and nutritious. And yes, I ate one, too!

We did grocery shopping today. This was the most shopping I have done with all 3 kids and without my husband. My husband has been great about going with me to do shopping since JonDavid was born so that I didn’t have to handle it all myself, but today we ventured out without him. We hit 3 stores, with a stop for lunch, which we ate in the Durango while I fed the baby. We actually got through the whole outing with only one feeding, which was nice. JonDavid slept the whole time we were in Wal-Mart, which was also nice!

There have been some improvements at stores lately that make such treks a little easier to handle. The Kroger and Sam’s Club here now have the wide shopping carts with space for 2 kids. I was able to fit the baby seat and Skylar in there, and Jacob walked. Wal-Mart has the carts with the two toddler seats on the front, so Jacob and Skylar ride there and JonDavid’s seat sits up on the shopping cart. The only problem with these is that the kids are facing each other, and they like to pick at each other . There are also family restrooms in Wal-Mart and Sam’s. These are great, and I wish more places would put these in. There are lots of people who benefit from them. For me, I love being able to easily take all 3 kids into one big room and take care of everyone’s business! The little stalls in regular restrooms are impossible with a baby seat, so we have to opt for the larger handicapped stall, if there is one. There isn’t really a gender issue for us yet since my kids are still so young, but I know those family restrooms are really helpful for people who are with adults or older children who need assistance. Anyway, it’s just nice that more stores are doing things to make shopping with multiple kids a little easier. And yes, freeing up the basket so we can buy more stuff!

My parents are going to love this post. They tell me that I was very independent as a child, and my favorite early phrase was “by myself.” Well, Skylar has her own twists on that phrase. I can’t count how many times I hear, “Me me me” and “Don’t help me!” She wants to do every little thing herself, and, if she can, she will redo anything that we do for her. I’m glad that she likes to do things for herself, and she is getting pretty good at doing a lot of things. But it takes a lot of patience on my part when it takes her a full five minutes to put on a pair of pants! There are a few things she will let me do, and sometimes I just have to insist, but for the most part I let her do whatever she can. She is very persistent, and I often find that I am surprised by what she can do. So, maybe I now have an idea of the patience Mom and Dad had when I was putting my pants on “by myself”!

This is a day late, but this post is in honor of “Earth Day.” I did absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for Earth Day. I thanked God for the blessings of life and the things He provides us on this earth. I enjoyed the sunshine outside. My husband brought home groceries in plastic bags. I used as much water as I needed and wanted to. (Remember the water cycle? God is still doing that.)

You see, I take care of what I have. I do not litter. I believe we should be good stewards of everything we are given. But I also realize that the only One who can destroy or save the earth is God. I do not like the purported idea that everything humans do is destructive to the planet, and that if we only listen to the elite environmentalists who know more than all of us, we can save the earth from ourselves.

God made the earth for us to use. Yes, take care what you have and don’t go burning down the forest or throwing your trash into the river. You can do highway clean-ups and voluntarily try to “reduce, reuse, and recycle”; I’ve done those things. But do not buy into the political and environmental propaganda with which we are bombarded. (I use the word “buy” intentionally; we should not be deceived into thinking that people are not making money from all their products to help us “go green.” At least they are good capitalists.) Don’t tell me that I am destroying the polar bears’ habitat, that I am causing the hurricanes and droughts to be more severe. Don’t look down on me for driving an SUV, or for using paper plates sometimes. When it is time for the earth to be destroyed, God will take care of that, and the environmentalists’ hybrid vehicles are going to burn up just like my SUV.

The lack of science and foresight behind many of the environmental causes is really amazing. Here are a couple of good articles that you will find interesting, and quite revealing:

Unintended Global Consequences, by Diane Katz

Why I Left Greenpeace, by Patrick Moore

Here is a good and nutritious dish that I have prepared several times. We all like it, and the kids eat it very well.

1 can cream of chicken soup (use a reduced fat and sodium variety to make this better for you)

1 cup chicken broth

2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 cups cut-up vegetables (I used 1 cup each of chopped onion, corn, green beans, and sliced carrots)

1 cup cooked chicken, in bite-sized pieces

4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked)

Mix all ingredients except spaghetti. Over medium heat, heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. (To speed cooking process, I first microwave my vegetables for about 5 minutes.) Toss with spaghetti and serve!

We had lots of fun going to visit Cheyenne, and her mom and dad, too ! Jacob and Skylar had been very anxious to meet their new cousin in person. Skylar was so excited when she found out that Cheyenne was home from the hospital, and was ready to go visit right away! We are really thankful that she is doing so well. Getting a picture of all four kids was a bit challenging, but we managed to get it done. JonDavid would have rather been doing pretty much anything else, and Jacob and Skylar were more interested in what everyone else was doing than in looking at the camera. Cheyenne just slept through the whole ordeal…but just wait a few months, and she’ll be as silly as the rest of them!

We are having warm and sunny weather here, and really enjoying it! We got some new “outside toys” this morning, and the kids spent the afternoon playing with them outside. Before we went out, we donned our hats and put on sunscreen, which got me thinking about sun protection for the summer. Too many people ignore taking care of their skin by protecting it from the sun, and we especially need to be careful to take care of our children’s skin. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a good article about sun protection; go here and click on the article titled “What is the best way to protect my child in the sun?” The highlights are: keep babies in the shade as much as possible, put lots of sunscreen on everyone, and wear hats. Also remember that you can get sunburned on cloudy days, too. The sun’s rays are coming through the clouds even if you can’t actually see the sun. You can have lots of fun outside in the sun, but remember to take precautions to make sure you aren’t miserable with a sunburn later!

Last night we had tilapia for supper. If you have not tried this mild fish, you should. It was excellent, and our kids ate it well, too. Here is how we prepared it: Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place fillets in pan and sprinkle with seasoning. We used Durkee’s Grill Creations Citrus Grill. Bake at 425 degrees for 11-12 minutes. It may take more or less time depending on the thickness of the fillets. When the meat flakes with a fork, it is done. This is very easy, quick, and healthful, too! We ate it with baked potatoes, salad, and corn. Very tasty!

Thanks to my husband, I just discovered iGoogle. I have made my own iGoogle homepage with cool information, links, and blog feeds. I have weather, date and time, moon phase, news headlines, recipe links, and more on mine. There are all sorts of things that you can add. Just go to Google, and you will see iGoogle in the upper right corner. Click on it, and it will take you through how to set up your own homepage. Getting started is very quick. You begin by choosing your interests and a theme. The theme can be changed later, as well; there are a lot more to choose from once you get set up. After your page is created, there is a link to “add stuff,” and you will find a huge variety of things, called Google Gadgets, that you can put on your page.

One reason I like it is because I started using Google to subscribe to blog feeds, and I can put each one right on my iGoogle page. My husband subscribes to blogs and puts his on Google Reader, which he then views on his iGoogle page. Either of these methods allows you to see the recent posts of a blog so you know when it has been updated. It is really nice to be able to see when a new post is up, especially for blogs like mine that aren’t updated every day! You don’t spend time visiting blogs that don’t have anything new on them yet. Some blogs will have a way of subscribing right on them. If not (mine does not), just open the blog using Mozilla Firefox, and click on the little orange icon that is in the address bar at the top. You will then be able to choose how you want to subscribe to the feed. If you choose Google, you do have to have a Google account, which is also easy to set up.

I am not extremely tech savvy (ok, that’s an understatement), but I thought you might like iGoogle if you haven’t already tried it. And of course it is free!

Kristin took Jacob and Skylar to the library for storytime on Thursday because I was sick. They were talking and reading about kites, and the librarian asked the kids where they would go if they could fly like a kite. Jacob said, “to the highest mountaintop.” Skylar said, “Wal-Mart.”