MSIA, CISSP, and now...ISSAP

Bruce has just added another professional certification to his resume. Since this isn't the type of thing he would share with any family or friends (it's nothing personal - it's just his way), I thought I would take the liberty of doing it for him.

So congratulations Bruce. The kids (well the kids don't really have a clue about it, but if they did...) and I are very proud of you!

For those that aren't familiar with the acronyms (I myself just had to Google them) -
MSIA - Master of Science in Information Assurance
CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional
ISSAP - Information Systems Security Architecture Professional

Easter FHE Idea

Ok - so maybe I am a little behind the times, but I thought I would post this idea just in case I am not the only one that didn't already know about it. "It" would be what apparently is commonly referred to as "Resurrection Eggs". You put little symbols of the Easter story in numbered plastic eggs and have the kids hunt for them. Then open the eggs in order and talk about each one of the symbols and how it represents part of the story. There are scripture references to go with each egg.

There are many versions of this floating around the web - click here to download the one that I like.

Free Cone Day!

(and mine too!!!)

On April 1 my Google calendar has a reminder to check the date for Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. This year I couldn't wait and checked on March 31. The big day is Tuesday, April 21.

Here's how it works for any Free Cone Day rookies. Ben & Jerry's serves nothing but cones from noon to 8pm. You get in a remarkably fast line and when you get to the front, you pick your flavor. No shakes, sundaes, etc. But really - aren't B&J's flavors kind of like a sundae in a scoop?

Find a participating location (or perhaps two) in your area.

Enjoy!

Kid's Magazine Deals

I periodically get an email from a magazine subscription site called Deekins.com. I got one today with some pretty good deals for kids' magazines. (I don't know when the coupon codes expire.)

Family Fun - $3.99 - Coupon Code: BLBFFM (10 Issues)
Jack & Jill - $7.49 - Coupon Code: BLBJAJ (6 Issues)
Boy's Life - $6.49 - Coupon Code: BLBLM (12 Issues)
Humpty Dumpty $6.99 - Coupon Code: BLBHDM (6 Issues)
National Geographic Kids - $12.99 - Coupon Code: BLBNGK (10 Issues)
Turtle - $6.99 - Coupon Code: BLBTUM (6 Issues)

Family Fun and Boy's Life seem like the best deals. I haven't heard of Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty, or Turtle but I think they are Highlights kind of magazines.

I did order Family Fun for this price a couple of years ago and even though it seems almost too good to be true - it wasn't. It's just a really good deal.

Bruce's BBQ Pork Quesadillas

Thursday night I sprained my foot playing basketball so Bruce came home early Friday to help with kids, make dinner, etc. That afternoon I came across a recipe for BBQ Chicken Quesadillas on one of my favorite food blogs. I happened to have leftover BBQ pork and tortillas in the fridge so I gave Bruce a few instructions and he came through with an amazing dinner.

Bruce's BBQ Pork Quesadillas
Leftover BBQ pork (recipe below)
Shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
Corn (we used frozen white corn)
Black beans
Flour tortillas
Butter
Butter your tortillas. Pile on other ingredients as desired. Grill until golden.

BBQ Pork
This is one of my favorite recipes because it is so easy and versatile and it makes a ton.
3lb boneless pork roast - trim as much fat as possible (you can use a beef roast if you prefer)
1 envelope onion soup mix
20ish oz Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (I suppose you could use another brand but personally I don't think it would be as good and Ray's is actually a really good deal if you buy it at Costco.)

Put roast in a slow-cooker. Sprinkle with soup mix and then cover with BBQ sauce. Cook on low for 10-12 hours until it shreds easily with a fork.

We also use the leftovers to make "pizzas" on pita bread. They are really good with cheese, garlic bread seasoning, and diced tomatoes. I have thought about doing a "Hot Pockets" kind of thing with the leftovers too, but haven't gotten around to it.

He may not be the next Mozart...

but he can play a little Beethoven...a section of "Ode to Joy" from his 9th Symphony to be exact. Spencer has been taking piano lessons for a couple of months and is doing great and having fun. This particular song is really cool for him since he recognized it from Little Einsteins.

Click here to listen.

Stranger Danger FHE

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend and asked her if she had any good Family Home Evening ideas. She told me that her kids' favorite was their Stranger Danger FHE. We had talked to our kids about strangers, but had never done a formal sit-down kind of thing. So I decided we would do our own Stranger Danger FHE, and it looks like it is going to be a favorite at our house too. Matthew is already asking for a repeat performance. Since it was one of our more successful FHE's, I thought I would share.

We started with a little slide show with pictures of family and friends and also pictures of strangers. (My friend did this portion with family photos and pictures from magazine. I kind of liked the slide show route since we can use it over and over without more paper to store.) For each slide, the kids had to answer the question "Is this a stanger?" Some of the strangers looked scary and some of them looked nice to illustrate the concept that anyone you don't is a stranger regardless of how they look.

We went over some stranger danger rules. The kids especially like practicing the one where they get to scream, kick and even bite if someone tries to grab them. Then we did some role play scenarios. Finally, we read "The Berenstain Bears Learn About Stangers".

Although I didn't do this, an idea that I got from the Berenstain Bears book was to make a treat that looked really yummy, but tasted terrible - again to illustrate that you can't judge something/someone just by appearances. Perhaps some chocolate chip cookies using way too much salt. Since Matthew wants to do this lesson again next week, I'll probably try it then. (I'll make some good cookies too of course.)

Click here to download the slideshow. I took out our family pictures, but left in the strangers. Hope somebody else can get some use out of it.

(It is saved in MS PowerPoint 97/xp/2000 format. If you don't have PowerPoint, you can download Open Office as I did. Perhaps I'll do a quick post about Open Office since it would make Bruce oh-so-happy.)