What I Read: The Future of Us

This week I read The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.  I checked it out from the high school library a few months ago recently (no overdue charges for teachers makes it very easy to forget about that book I just had to read). 



Imagine discovering your Facebook profile fifteen years in the future...and Facebook doesn't even exist yet.  The book deals with two teens in 1996 who discover the profiles of their 30-something selves.  It was a fun, quick read.  I love the idea that even the smallest decisions, conversations, and actions can completely change who we become. Plus, the fact that I was sixteen years old in 1996 made the read even better -- so many little references...setting the VCR to record a tv show, using AOL CDs to log on to the internet, jogging with your Sony Discman...it definitely appealed to 16-year old me. The ending was on the predictable side, but the message was a meaningful one, especially for young readers.

If you're hippity-happity-flappity, shout hooray!

My parents gave Liam this adorable duck for Easter.  He has finally stopped giving it weird looks, and now he flaps his "wings" when the duck sings. 



"If you're hippity-happity-flappity, shout hooray!
If you're hippity-happity-quackity, say okay!
If you're tickled that its spring, and you want to dance and sing,
If you're hippity-happity-flappity, shout hooray!"

Pop Pop!

Christina and Jeff gave Liam this ball-popper toy.  I know as a parent I'm not supposed to like noisy toys, but I have to admit that I think they're lots of fun. Especially the ones that require Liam to hit a button to make the noise -- it's a great way to keep track of his whereabouts while I'm washing dishes.  Liam really enjoys playing with this toy...this week he started dancing to the music.  (This was as close as I've been able to get to capturing his moves on film. He almost always stops when he knows the camera is on.)

Green Smoothie Challenge

I saw this post on A Beautiful Mess last week, and since I love smoothies, I decided to give it a try this week.  Today's smoothie was made up of one banana, one golden delicious apple, a big handful of strawberries, and a big handful of spinach.  Not bad...I've made better smoothies.  The apple made it a little grittier than I cared for.  But all in all, it was okay. The best part was that I could sip on it throughout the afternoon. 

Ready for Hogwarts

While we were playing in the yard this afternoon, Liam found a stick.  The most amazing stick ever.  I was very impressed by his ability to turn it into a magic wand.
 




If Hogwarts had preschoolers, would they try to eat their wands, like our preschoolers eat paste?




And for you The Lord of the Rings fans...



"You shall not pass!"

Visiting Grandma and Papaw

Since I'm on Spring Break this week (and Mike is not...sadface), Liam and I made the trip to visit Grandma and Papaw (otherwise known as my parents).

Grandma took the day off from work to spend time with us.  We had lunch at Bob Evans, and Papaw even managed to sneak away from work for a few minutes.  As you can tell, they're very happy to have the little man around.


Grandma found this really cool dinosaur tent on clearance, and brought it out for Liam to play in.  He wanted nothing to do with it.  Grandma even tried to lure him in with blocks...he just walked over to the tent, pulled the blocks out, and sat back down to play with them. 


Liam plopped himself in Grandma's lap in order to get a few bites of blueberry crepe. 
 

This morning, Papaw took Liam to his barber.  My dad doesn't miss a chance to show him off.  


After his haircut, Liam, Grandma, and I went outside to blow bubbles.
 

He had his first experience with the piano, and absolutely loved discovering all the different sounds that he could make. 


We're back home now, and Spring Break is winding down.  It was so nice to visit for a little while. 

My latest pin: Parmesan-crusted tilapia

This week, I made Rachel Ray's Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia for dinner.  The prep was simple, the cooking time was fast, and it was so yummy (or, in Rachel Ray-speak, "yumm-o").   Liam even liked it!



If you compare my tilapia to the picture that I pinned, you'll see that I parmesan-crusted a little more than the fish in the picture. That was certainly not a mistake. ;)