While I was wrapping up at the supermarket, the telephone rings...

"Hello?"

"Hey. I hate to tell you this, but I have some bad news." Kevin didn't sound happy.

"What? What happened??!" I couldn't imagine.

"Well, I think Clara's getting a haircut when you get home."

"WHAT?!!?"

"She got silly putty in her hair and it's not coming out."

Ok. Silly putty. Fortunately, the topic of gum in the hair had just come up at the studio last week...

"Put some peanut butter in it, and I'll be home soon. I only have 2 more things on my list."

"Peanut butter?"

"It's supposed to help. Just put it in, and I'll take over when I get home."

So, I finish up the shopping & head home. I'm trying not to panic while having visions of those precious red curls lying in a pile in the floor. I must admit, there was a slight tightening of the chest.

I came home to a blubbering child with puffy teared eyes and green silly putty mixed with peanut butter goop in her hair. While Kevin brought in the groceries, we work on getting it out - not working all that well. So, I go to Google. Did you know a whole slew of sites came up when I typed in "Getting silly putty out of hair"? Amazing. The online consensus was olive oil, so I glopped some of that on there and started in again with the comb. It worked!! Several lather, rince, repeats later, we had perfectly clean putty-free hair! YAY! Crisis avoided.

This time.

My non-conformist.

^{Romans 12:2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

I think every parent worries about her children for different reasons. I know that the things I worry about for Mallory and the struggles I foresee her having in the future are not the same as the ones that I worry about for Lila or for Clara. One thing I definitely don't worry about with Lila is her ability to think for herself. She is definitely a non-conformist and for the most part doesn't care at all what you think as long as in her mind, she's happy with her choice. Case-in-point, her wardrobe selection for school yesterday morning. She wanted to wear flip-flops but was concerned that her toes would get too cold. So 5-toed socks were of course, the perfect solution. The hat? Just icing on the cake.

It is our job as parents to help mold this into a good thing. I want Lila to always stand up for what's right, even if no one else is. I want her to stand firm in her faith, even when it's not cool. I believe she has the beginnings for this to be possible. I just pray that I can help develop these qualities in her.

MMM... Spaghetti Squash

I love pretty much all types of squash, so it's no surprise that Spaghetti Squash is one of my favorite veggies. It's a more uncommon veggie, though, (or at least I never had it as a child, so it was uncommon to me), so I thought I'd go Pioneer Woman on you and try to take pictures of tonight's preparation.

I wouldn't make a good Pioneer Woman... I forgot to document all the steps, but here it is whole (note that yes, I have cut it in half already, but just pretend it's still whole)...

Then you cut it in half. You'll need a good knife. Especially for the humongo-sized spaghetti squash. I have found though, that the little ones cook faster and have a better flavor. Also, you scoop out the pulp from the inside of each half.

Next you put both halves face down in a microwave safe dish in about an inch of water. (I forgot to take a picture of this, so just trust me). Cover with wax paper, and microwave on high for 15 minutes.

When you take them out of the microwave they will be VERY hot... turn them over and they look like this: (if you stick a fork in them, it will be soft all the way through):

Did I mention the squash is VERY hot?

Now just hold with one hand (use a hot pad), and use a fork to scoop out the insides with the other. It will come out in shreads (a la spaghetti).

I season mine with butter, salt & pepper. Parmasian cheese is good too, but then my youngest can't eat it, so I leave it out:

I forgot to take a nice "finished product" shot, but you get the idea. It was yummy.

You could also serve it with spaghetti sauce and totally trick your kids...

Here's the empty shell:

End of the School Year.

This was a picture from the first day of school this year...

My how the girls have changed!

Lila is READING.  Well.  And she recently lost her first tooth!  After barely turning five!  I don't know if it's me, but that just seems way too early!  She just seems so grown up these days.  Lila is so spunky & I love the fact that she is so self-confident and cares not what anyone else thinks.  Especially when it comes down to wardrobe.  Ha!  She's recently decided that she wants to learn to play violin, so we're running with that and we have her starting lessons next week! I hope that she'll really enjoy it and it's something that will grow with her.

It's no surprise that Mallory had a stellar academic year.  She's a very bright child and is a teacher-pleaser.  She was the top AR points earner for the 2nd grade.  (AR is the accelerated reader program).  Mallory's latest interest is cheerleading.  She has joined the squad at school, where they practice once a week.  In the fall, they will cheer in some of the volleyball games.  At home, Mallory still loves to play with her dolls, which I want to encourage as long as possible, because I much prefer it over video games and television.  She has such a great imagination and is my natural-born leader.  She also loves to sing, and is going to begin taking voice lessons this summer.

Despite having such a trying time getting her allergy and asthma situations under control, Clara has had a good year as well.  She's growing like a weed and is getting so tall!  I'm afraid she's going to pass up Lila before too long!  Clara is our free-spirit and is so precious it's hard to be mad at her when she pulls her frequent little "Clara stunts".  She is definitely my baby girl & still loves crawling in bed with us each morning.  I love our cuddle time!  Clara plans to play soccer this summer through a program at school & is very excited about that.  Don't let that fool you, though.  She's still very much a girlie-girl and dress up time is VERY frequent around here!  For her birthday, she's already requested a party with ALL the princesses.  And for any of you wondering, yes, we still have kitty.

Allergy-Free Chicken Strips

So I didn't take a picture (gasp) because we were running like crazy t0night to make it to the school program, but I made some allergy-free chicken strips tonight that turned out pretty yummy!  Usually if I make something "special" for Clara the other two don't like it, but tonight, I crushed up some Rice Crispies cereal and used it as my coating for the chicken.  They turned out nice and crispy!  Yay!  Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pour a couple of cups of Rice Crispies cereal into a plastic storage bag.  Pound with the bottom of a pan/rolling pin/etc. until it's nice and fine.  Dip your chicken tender strips in olive oil, then coat with the rice crisp mixture.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  

That's it!  Simple!  And it actually tasted good.  I love it when my experiments work.  :)