This is for you, Casey

Ok, I dressed up and had my husband take a picture of me. Now, these aren't the most glamorous pics in the world, but it is proof I live and breath!

I look like I have one leg in the bottom picture...really, I DO have two, my other foot is just on the stairs for some reason... Or, maybe I should go with the story I'm a peg-legged pirate--

er pirete-ess?

More funky stuff

I know, I'm supposed to be putting on a picture of Dallas in her sunbonnet and dress, but quite frankly, I haven't gotten around to having her put them back on.



So, in the meantime, I found this cool video you just have to watch. I went ahead and put two kinds of movie player type thingys on here, even though they are the same movie, because I wasn't sure which was better. But, the bottom one you can make full screen.

Baby Mine...isn't a baby any more

Today we celebrated 7 years. Seven lovely years as parents, seven wonderful years of Dallas!!! Its hard to believe its been that long, and then again, there are days where it seems like I've been doing this mothering thing FOREVER, and wonder if I will ever get to sleep through the night again! I am so thankful for my precious little girl!

Dallas' friend Asher spent the night, and we had a party at Grandma and Grandpa DeLap's house. Dallas wore the dress Grandpa bought for her. Before we went home, two little girls were well covered in makeup from Auntie Christy and Uncle Jeff.

The cake was different than any other cake I've decorated, because Dallas doesn't like frosting. It is too sweet for her taste. So, I used whipped topping, colored lavandar, for most of the decorating. There is a little bit of store bought cookie frosting on it, too. The package said that would get hard, but APARENTLY, when put on whipped topping, it doesn't harden up, but rather gets liquid and runs! The cake tasted good with the topping instead of frosting, and turned out much better than I expected. I made Dallas a sunbonnet to match Holly Hobbie's, and it even matched her birthday dress. I didn't get a picture on her birthday, so I'll have to take one tomorrow.

She loved the little babies and sling for Barbie Auntie Derr made her...I'm sure we'll be seeing some for sale in the Quite Lovely Boutique.

That is SO un-appetizing!

If you are in need of a good laugh, go here KookyChow. Look. Read. Laugh. Idid, and I'm still laughing!

Auntie Florine

The birthday princess and Freeman at the dinner table
Sisters, who to me, don't look a thing alike, and yet at the same time are able to both look like their mother...Hmmm, I wonder how that works?
Everything tastes better when it looks nice (I learned that from my mommy!) The white is coconut the red is raspberry and the frosing is coconut flavored. In between layers, I mixed berry jam with frosting for added berry flavor.
Story time with cousins Travis and Katrina. Its amazing how captivated they all were with the story!
The children piling on Trina and Travis.

So...Miriam's sister and family came for a visit, and I and the children were able to meet Auntie Florine and her family for the first time! Everyone was so excited to finally meet, and the children just loved them (nearly to death!). We celebrated her birthday on the 10th, and had a grand party! The cake was fun to do, I did the frosting and the children helped put the flowers on it. Here are some pics from the party.

Should Home Schooling Be Illegal?

"In February, a California state appeals court ruled that unless parents have recognized teaching credentials, they must send their children to school. The judge, citing a state education law, said that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children.” Parents and politicians were outraged, and the court will rehear the case this month.At stake is the education of the 166,000 California children who currently are home-schooled. But the court decision also could influence laws across the country. Nationwide, up to 2 million children are taught at home. Experts estimate that the number is increasing 7% to 12% a year. “If upheld, the California ruling will send shock waves nationwide,” says Richard Kahlenberg, the author of a number of books on education. He says the case “pits those who believe parental rights are paramount against those who place a premium on well-educated citizens.” Right now, only six states have strict regulations for home-schooling, usually requiring parents to have their curriculum approved, to show test scores and, in some places, to submit to home visits. Fourteen states, including California, mandate only that parents notify the state of their decision to home-school." This article was in the newspaper this Sunday.

There is a pole online at http://www.parade.com/ "Should parents need teaching credentials to home-school their kids?"



There is no proof that parents need any kind of credentials to teach there own children. It is actually the opposite, with homeschooled children scoring very well in tests and doing well in life. I was homescholed, so I tend to be a bit passionate about this.

Did you know there are a lot of famous homeschoolers? Check out this list I found at http://www.home4schoolgear.com/famoushomeschooler.html.
Famous People Who Homeschooled
Educators
Frank Vandiver (President - Texas A&M)
Fred Terman (President - Stanford)
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia)
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton)
Generals
Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton
Inventors
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright
Artists
Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley
Presidents
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Scientists
George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal
Statesmen
Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry
William Penn
Henry Clay
United States Supreme Court Judges
John Jay
John Marshall
John Rutledge
Composers
Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc
Writers
Hans Christian Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O'Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis George
Bernard Shaw
Religious leaders
Joan of Arc
Brigham Young
John & Charles Wesley
Jonathan Edwards
John Owen
William Cary
Dwight L. Moody
John Newton
Others
Charles Chaplin - Actor George Rogers Clark - Explorer Andrew Carnegie - Industrialist Noel Coward - Playwright John Burroughs - Naturalist Bill Ridell - Newspaperman Will Rogers - Humorist Albert Schweitzer - Physician Tamara McKinney - World Cup Skier Jim Ryan - World Runner Ansel Adams - Photographer Charles Louis Montesquieu - philosopher John Stuart Mill - Economist John Paul Jones - father of the American Navy Florence Nightingale - nurse Clara Barton - started the Red Cross Abigail Adams - wife of John Adams Martha Washington - wife of George W. Constitutional Convention Delegates George Washington - 1st President of the U.S.James Madison - 4th President of the U.S. John Witherspoon - President of Princeton U. Benjamin Franklin - inventor and statesman William S. Johnson - President of Columbia C. George Clymer - U.S. Representative Charles Pickney III - Governor of S. Carolina John Francis Mercer - U.S. Representative George Wythe - Justice of Virginia High Court William Blount - U.S. Senator Richard D. Spaight - Governor of N. Carolina John Rutledge - Chief Justice U.S. Supr Court William Livingston - Governor of New Jersey Richard Basset - Governor of Delaware William Houston - lawyer William Few - U.S. Senator George Mason

So, you don't have to be Einstein to figure out that homeschooling is a good choice!!!

Yummy for your Tummy!

Ok, here is the latest DeLaper recipe. This chicken is SO tender, its awesome!! Of course, you'll have to come up with sides to go with this, but you wouldn't want me to do ALL the recipe finding, now would you?

Teriyaki Chicken

1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
(Or, instead of salt and pepper, Lowry's seasoning salt)
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into strips
oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. dry sherry--I used chardonnay, because I didn't have sherry
1 clove garlic, minced--I use the preminced kind that comes in a big container in the produce section of my grocery store
1 t. fresh ginger, grated--buy it in the produce section, and freeze in a freezer bag. When you are ready to use some, peel and grate, and put the rest back in the freezer

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large plastic baggy. Drop in the chicken and shake until well coated with flour. Pour a little oil into a large frying pan, and brown chicken on both sides over med-high heat. In microwaveable dish, mix soy sauce, honey, wine, garlic and ginger; microwave until hot. When chicken strips are done, dip in sauce and place on baking pan with sides. Bake 20 minutes; pour remaining sauce over chicken halfway through baking.