I believe

In the sun, even when it's not shining.

In love, even when I don't feel it.

In God, even when He is silent.

My boy the explorer

Okay, I'm still working on Jack's 2-year letter, but here are some cute pictures to tied you over. On Easter, we were at my aunt and uncle's house, and my cousin got these shots of Jackson. He cleared the shelf of a bunch of books and proceeded to, well, you get the picture. :)


I'm so proud!

I know.....

It's Jack's birthday, and I should be writing him a letter. I will. Just not right now. It's holy week, and I work in a church. Let me get to the weekend and then we'll talk.

Yay!

I got confirmation today that my Tastebook has shipped. A couple of things I forgot to mention in my last post about it is that you get to title it and pick a cover picture. My title is "In My Kitchen" and my picture is a tin of cookies. How appropriate. Coming soon - a review of the actual product, once I have it in my hands (maybe even pictures!) and A Few of My Favorite Things #2.
Happy Wednesday! :)

Semi-New Pictures

Here you go, Mom. :)

A Few of My Favorite Things - #1

Blogging seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. Or at least the way of the spider monkey, with the influx of sites like Myspace and Facebook. So, in an effort to get me blogging more consistently, I am starting a new "publication" if you will: "A Few of My Favorite Things." Now, no one tell Oprah. Although, I really don't intend to start giving away cars and flat screen televisions. I only intend to share things with you that 1)make my life easier, 2)might not (but should be) well-known by the general public, or 3)just make me glad I'm not the one in charge of coming up with new ideas.

First in the series is a website. And as someone who spends time in the kitchen, I think this is a winner!

www.tastebook.com

There are a number of things about this website that are just wonderful. It is connected to epicurious, which is a great database for recipes, so they have a collection of over 25,000 recipes from Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and many world-renowned chefs. Tastbook allows you to create your own cookbook. But the best part is that you can choose recipes from your epicurious account or their huge collection OR you can add your own recipes into their format. So, even though I am sure I could find some great recipes in all of there nooks and crannies, I am working on a book of all of the random, loose recipes I have been collecting for years. Now I can have them all in one place! And you get to pick a cover design from a handful of pictures. For $35, you start out with a credit of 100 recipes, but you don't have to order them all right away. For instance, I currently have 74 recipes in my book. I am going to order it soon, and I will have a credit of 26 recipes to order whenever I want, and I can just add them to my book (5-ring-binder). So fabulous - I have condensed my plethora of recipes and cookbooks that I only use for a couple of things into one place.

On a side note, the Oscars are this weekend, so I am removing my Widget. Enjoy the awards - I'm sure I'll have something to report on Monday! :)

Check out my Widget!

I love the Oscars. And why not share the joy with all of you in the form of a "widget"? :) Yay! Only three more weeks until the best award show of the year! (Pending STUPID writer's strikes and stuff).

I owe you a nice long post...

...but it's going to have to wait. :)

For now, I want to share something I read today that I like a lot.

"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." -unknown

Dan in Real Life

Just wanted to let you know that one of the best movies I saw this year (see title) is at the Maple Grove Mann (cheap!) theater right now. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it. And what better to do with a FREEZING cold weekend than spend it inside watching a great movie!?
Enjoy. :)

Bennett Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Oh, give me a break!

Okay, I have a bone to pick with Target. It's bad enough that after Back-to-School, half of the seasonal department turns into Christmas. And of course, the other half comes after Halloween. (Hello, have we heard of Thanksgiving? Let it be a holiday! Oh, that's another post). My beef today is that now that it IS an appropriate time for Christmas stuff, I found Valentine M&Ms on an endcap. Seriously? Is someone really going to come into Target in the middle of December expecting to see pink and red M&Ms? Do people have to really plan ahead for the hugely popular holiday of Valentine's Day? I just don't get it. I'd honestly LOVE to know how many they sell before January. Crazy!
All right, I'm done.

Book Meme

This should be fun!

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? I don't usually care. Paperback usually means cheaper. :) If it's hardcover, I do have to take the paper outside off. It bugs me.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it…The Book Nook. It would be next door to The Cookie Nook. You could buy a cookie and go read a book. What could be better?

3. My favourite quote from a book (mention the title) is…From Eat, Pray, Love: "In the end, what I have come to believe about God is simple. It's like this--I used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people asked me, "What kind of a dog is that?" I would always give the same answer: "She's a brown dog." Similarly, when the question is raised, "What kind of a God do you believe in?" my answer is easy: "I believe in a magnificent God."

4. The author (alive or dead) I would love to have lunch with would be ….C.S. Lewis

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be…The Bible. It sounds so goody-goody of me, but it's the only thing I've re-read and enjoyed the second time as much as (or more than) the first.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that….Something that holds them open on a table. I didn't think it was a necessary gadget until I tried to type the quote above. :)

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of….My elementary school library. I used to check out a book about Christmas around the world. The book was ancient and I was one of only two people to ever check it out. I'm not sure why I loved it so much! I guess I just loved Christmas that much.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be….Anne in Anne of Green Gables.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is….Harry Potter series. I'm sure the books are good (I have read the first) but it seems like a lot of hype.

10. I hate it when a book….ends before I'm ready for it to!

Tag to whomever sees this next! Corinne or Lisa!

Meet my new best friend!

His name is Mr. Clean. I've never been a fan of his cleaning products, as I tend to go for generic store brands. However, all of that changed today. He entered my life with fairly new product called "Magic Eraser" and I promise I will always have one of these truly magic products in my house. Let me explain.

This morning, Jackson and I were doing some random chores around the house. Now, when I say we were BOTH doing chores, I really mean that I was doing things, and Jack was right on my heels, undoing everything for me. Fantastic! At one point, he discovered some stickers in our bedroom, so I let him sit there and go crazy with the stickers while I did something productive without his help. At one point, things got eerily quiet in our bedroom, so I decided to check on the sticker boy. As I entered the room, I was met by Jackson, black sharpie in hand, and this:








You've got to scroll down a little bit so that it's a surprise............... :)














I almost threw up. I must have yelled, because Jack started crying. So I held him for a while, explaining that it was my fault for leaving him alone and that his artwork was really quite good. After we both settled down, I tried to remove the marks with a variety of household products. When none of them worked, I googled "removing permanent marker from wood furniture." And voila! There were tons of sites that claimed the magic eraser was exactly what I needed. Since we needed a couple of other things at Cub, Jack and I ran a quick errand. And there, on the top shelf of aisle 15, was my new man, in all his shiny bald glory:
I grabbed it and the rest of our shopping list and skedaddled out of the store. After getting Jack in bed, I started in with the magic. (By the way, the picture only shows half of the mess. I wanted to get it close up. The dresser is double wide, and he got both sides very nicely). AND BOY WAS IT MAGIC!!!! I just about cried, it was so amazing. It hardly required any effort on my part. I don't know what the sponge is made of or what is in it, but I was absolutely amazed. Here is the SAME dresser after Mr. Clean's help:

Aren't you just amazed? Seriously, I feel like I should call the company and do a commercial! :)

What Jackson WON'T be wearing this holiday season

So, a couple of years ago I ordered a pair of clearanced flipflops online from J Crew. Ever since, I have been on their e-mailing list. I recently discovered that they have a kids' clothing line called Crew Cuts. I got an e-mail about some of their "holiday looks" today, and I just want to share with you a single little boy outfit.

Here is a cashmere cable knit sweater for $98.

Of course, he'll need a shirt to go under it, so this is a classic dress shirt for $36.50 (for a limited time, it's on sale for $28.50).

And plaid pants for $185. I don't think I've ever spent that amount of money for a pair of pants for myself.

Obviously, he'll need some shoes, and what better than these loafers for a mere $88? (We'll use our own socks, since theirs are upwards of $9/pair).

If it happens to be cold, he'll also need a jacket. Here's a leather number for $350.

For a grand total of $757.50. So THIS is where the celebs shop for their kids. Heaven, help us!

Bucket List

Dan and I saw the movie "Dan in Real Life" last night. Great movie! I would highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed.

We also saw some great previews for upcoming movies, including one that looks like a sure award-winner called "Bucket List." In it, two cancer patients, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, escape from the hospital and take a trip to cross things off their bucket list---the list you make of things you want to do before you die (or, kick the bucket). So it got me thinking about this concept of a "bucket list," and I'm wondering how many people have them. I decided to start one. Actually, I started one as a joke when we flew to Connecticut in September. You know those tacky catalogs in the seat pocket in front of you--Skymall? I decided that I wanted to order something out of that catalog before I die. It was a joke, but of course it was crazy enough to make it to the "real" list. :) So, start yours. And tell me what it includes!!!

And no, I'm not sharing mine here. You'll have to invite me to lunch and tell me to bring it with.

Erin :)

Overdue pictures

I have been meaning to do this for a long time, so while I have a free moment, here I go!

This is Jackson enjoying his first juice box ever. He got the hang of the straw surprisingly quickly.


Jackson "holding" his second cousin Shane in Connecticut.


Playing his "ding" (guitar).


Jack is going to be a pumpkin for Halloween. This is the first costume test.


Lucy is enduring a smothering. What a good kitty. :)


Jammin' to some tunes!


Someone got my letter. This is Jack 2 1/2 hours into his nap on Friday. I ended up waking him up at 4:30, and he reluctantly let me take him out of his crib by about 4:45. Now, if only long naps were a little more reliable!


Enjoying his lunch. With a broom on the table. He can never be too far away from his cleaning tools.

Enjoy! Have a great week! :)

My little alligator!

Or crocodile. Or maybe it's a dragon. Nevertheless, it's the cute little "ticker" at the top of the page. It automatically keeps track of your child's age (or whatever else you want to keep track of, actually). I'm a regular on some bulletin boards at a website called Babycenter, and I always have my little critter on my posts, so I decided to share him here too. And if you ever wonder how old Jackson is, you can just come here and get that information to the day! :)

Re: Jackson

To whom it may concern,

I would like to file a complaint regarding the young male child in our care. It seems as though the boy is requiring less sleep than he has in the recent past and has consequently reduced his two naps to one. This change took place without any notice and has severely disrupted our days. A warning of a few days or a week would have been very much appreciated. I would have found some consolation in the one remaining nap becoming longer, but it has not. You must not realize how much one can accomplish during naptime. When said naptime is as much as disrupted, much of the day's chores must be delayed until bedtime, which is not an ideal time to stay up late and work.
It is inevitable that the boy will eventually give up his one and only nap. Before this happens (which, frankly, better not be for at LEAST another year--two would be better), I would very much appreciate a memo regarding the impending change. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Erin Bennett
aka "the mom"

Bethel University, here I come....again

I am officially re-enrolled in my masters program to finish this tiny little paper they call a thesis. No big deal. Just 40 or 50 pages of fabulous writing on a pertinent issue in the field of literacy education. Seriously, it's pretty much done in my head. Just gotta get it on paper. Oh, bother. Nevertheless, I am officially a graduate student once more. And hopefully for the last time. Unless I decide to become a doctor. Yeah, that sounds like me!
Wish me luck. I'm not in student mode yet. :)

Oh no! She is a verb!

If you know me, you know I like the Food Network. I could sit and watch just about anything on that channel.

If you really know me, you know there is one show I actually can't sit down and watch. If this particular show is on, I absolutely have to change the channel. I'd rather watch football. The show is Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.

Sandra Lee is just really annoying to me. And the concept of her show is rather odd. She makes meals, snacks, desserts, and cocktails with shortcuts--hence the "semi" in front of the "homemade." It seems like an interesting concept, but sometimes the long version of whatever she is making really is worth the effort. And again, she's just an annoying person. Blonde, too skinny, kind of snooty. You get the picture.

So I've got the Food Network on right now (Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals--another annoying person, but her recipes are worth the pain--it's really a whole other post...). Just before Rachael appeared, I saw a new commercial. A woman had made an impressive-looking meal and one of her guests says, "You didn't have to go to so much trouble!" and the host says, "Oh, I didn't--I Sandra Leed it!" Oh my gosh, you can't just say a name and make it into a verb! I have to say, if I were in the "biz," that would be a sure sign of my demise. So keep your ears open and please let me know if you hear of anything being "Erin Bennetted." Thank you.