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Continuing on the matter of Summertime, how do you keep your child occupied when school is out?  Although Joseph did not attend the traditional classroom during the school year, the loss of the 1-hour a day interaction with either his teacher or his class via the Web seems to have stretched the hours longer when he has to be kept entertained.  I downloaded another Putt-putt game, which he already breezed through in a couple of hours.  Thankfully, yesterday, Nana was able to drive us to a Target store where Joseph picked up a couple of  PC games.  He chose two JumpStart CDs for 1st and 2nd Grades.  He started on them as soon as we got home.  I think he made good choices because watching him play the games/activities gives me an idea what he's learned by now and what he needs to work on for the next year.  Nerdy, I know.  Anyway, at the end of the day yesterday, he took his customary shower-on-the-swing.

Joseph carrying the tomatoes that Mommy picked from Daddy's garden.

Today, the JumpStart CDs kept him occupied.  He needed a lot of help with using the arrow keys.  I haven't looked yet to see if he could use the Joypad for these games, but then the games require him to switch back and forth from using the mouse to the arrow keys so he still requires someone to pay attention to the game he's playing.  There was enough time for me to fix a snack that I copied from Disney Family Fun Magazine.  It's a recipe inspired by the upcoming Winnie the Pooh movie in July.



Joseph eyeing the Hunny Bee cookies.



Aren't they cute?  It was fun to make them!



Joseph with his Vanilla Hunny Shake and Hunny Bee Cookies**


**Obviously, Joseph didn't really eat or drink the snacks.  He, of course, tasted them.  And that was good enough for him :o)

Hunny Bee Cookies
Frost 12 round cookies with blue frosting and place a Twix Mini in the center of each.  For the wings, use scissors to cut the ends from 12 marshmallows, then press them onto the cookies, sticky side down.  Pipe yellow frosting as stripes onto the bees.

Vanilla Hunny shake
In a blender, process 1 cup vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1 tsp honey, and a pinch of cinnamon until the ingredients are combined.  Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.  Makes about 2 8-oz servings.
(Recipes borrowed from the June/July 2011 issue of Disney Family Fun Magazine)