Kiddie Fun Badges

Today, while my sons and I were visiting my mom at her office, a co-worker gave each of the boys a little token gift...a retractable ID Badge holder.  You would have thought she handed them a gold nugget judging by how excited they were.  My boys love little do-hickeys like that.  When they saw that my mom had one too, but her's had an ID Badge on it, they also wanted an ID Badge.

Now, for any one who hasn't met my oldest son, for months he has been telling more and more elaborate stories of his place of work (Down Below), its ever changing location (I think it currently is located in space), and what he does there (play games, create stuff, build stuff for Disneyland, etc).  I figured making ID Badges for them would be a fun and imaginative way to keep the stories coming.  I was right!

So the first thing I did was open up a file in Microsoft Publisher.  I love this program.  I make party invitations, cards, and all sorts of picture related stuff with this marvelous program.  I created a 3x5 document, inserted a head shot picture of whichever child, added a fake name, a funny title, and a funny company name.  I repeated this for the second child, then cut and pasted both to a 8-1/2x11 document.

I printed the document on card stock.

Next, I cut each of the badges out, save the slot at the top.

For laminating, I use clear packing tape.  It is cheap and works just as well as the more expensive, heartier laminating sleeves professionals use.  After all this is just for play.

Using an X-acto knife, cut out the top slot for hanging the badge.  Reinforce the top of the slot with tape across the outer edge.

Last, but not least, I attached the badge to the holder and pinned it to my son's shirt.  He was so excited it took me three minutes of picture taking to get one shot that he wasn't jumping up and down in.

Cranberry Sauce

Aside from pumpkins, few other fruits and vegetables can claim as much prominence during the Holiday Season in America as cranberries.  Cranberries are one of three fruits native to America that are grown commercially (the blueberry and the Concord grape being the other two).  The name is derived from "craneberry" which is what the Pilgrims dubbed these wild berries because of their springtime blossom, which resembles a Sandhill crane.

Native Americans used the cranberry for not only food, but also clothing dye and a healing agent.  The Pilgrims and settlers to follow quickly adopted them as a staple in their diet and found them to be a useful bartering tool.*

Today cranberries are one of the most popular fruits the world over.  Unless you've been living under a rock since the 1990's you'll have noticed that cranberries are in everything.  Juices, trail mixes, salads, cookies, marinades, etc.  Their versatility is made greater by their shelf-life.  Fresh cranberries can be kept sealed and chilled for up to 3 months!  That's nothing to how long they will last frozen (18-24 months).  And, just in case you aren't convinced about cranberries as the ultimate super fruit, their health benefits have been lauded for years.  Cranberries contain bacteria-blocking compounds that are believed to be helpful in preventing urinary tract infections, and scientists now think this same function may be useful in blocking the bacteria responsible for ulcers and certain oral bacteria that can lead to gum disease.**

Now let's get down to some really important business.  Cranberry sauce.  While some people are fine with buying cranberry sauce in a can, more and more people are turning to the do it yourself approach.  A couple years ago I made some homemade cranberry sauce, but was disappointed with the result.  The sauce contained too many other flavors that over powered the desired tang that cranberries provide.  I found myself asking why I couldn't make a sauce that tasted just like the stuff in a can.  Well this year the recipe practically slapped me in the face.

Yup, that's right.  Three ingredients.  Water, Sugar, Cranberries.  DUH!

After feeling foolish for bit I went out and bought the cranberries, came home and started the process of making what would turn out to be the perfect cranberry sauce.

First you mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a medium sauce pan.  I doubled the recipe because I made this batch for a pot luck.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil.

Add a 12 oz package of fresh cranberries to the pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and lightly boil for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat.  As you notice there is a film on top of the sauce.  Skim this immediately.  Trust me, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to skim the film.

Once the film has been skimmed, let the sauce sit until it is room temperature.  This process takes about 4-6 hours (longer if you made a double batch like I did).

Now that the sauce is room temperature, transfer to a serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.  Wow!  That was easy!

Hope you guys enjoy making (and eating) this sauce as much as I did!

*Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association (http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/history.html)
**Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association (http://www.cranberries.org/cranberries/health.html)

Harvest Chex Mix

Everyone say it with me...CHEX MIX IS DA BOMB!!!

Now that I have my 90's flashback out of the way I can get on with my life and continue this post like the sane and level headed mother I pretend to be.  There is just something about Chex Mix that jumps us all back to our childhood.  No matter when that childhood was, everyone has memories involving Chex Mix.

Chex cereal has been around since 1937 and they started printing Chex Party Mix recipes on the boxes in 1952.  That means no one under the age of 60 can claim to remember a time before Chex Mix existed.  Heavy stuff indeed.

Well, like many mothers of small children, I introduced my kids to this nutritious cereal as an alternative to the "sugary junk in the colorful boxes" that most kids swarm to.  It was love at first bite for them.  Seeing as Costco had Chex on coupon I started looking for Chex Mix recipes.  The best source for this is obvious...Chex.com.  I also looked at Parents.com (a website I use with great regularity for fun ideas) where I found this recipe.

For the purpose of simplicity I bought pre-packaged Chex Mix, but you can make your own from the recipe found here.  There are literally only three ingredients to this recipe.  It is so easy to make my 4-year old and 2-year old actually did most of the work.

After dumping the Chex Mix in a large mixing bowl (this 16 qt beauty came from Cash and Carry) I had my sons each dump in a bag of candy corn...

...followed by one bag each of Autumn colored Plain and Peanut M&M's.

I then gave each of them a turn stirring the mix.

This mix is very versatile, as far as where to serve it.  Parties are the obvious choice, but I have dressed up baggies of this mix and sold it at Bake Sales and tomorrow I am placing bowls of this mix as a center piece to a married couple night at our church.  The possibilities are numerous!

Calming Jars

I have a confession...I am the mother of wild children.  Okay, this might not be that huge of a confession.  In fact, it isn't really much of a secret.  All of my friends and family know about my boys' dispositions.  They are not bad children, just extremely passionate about everything they do.  This often leads to over wrought nerves and REALLY BIG tantrums.

My husband and I have tried all sorts of disciplinary tactics.  Some work, others don't, but none of them really reached the heart of the matter...the boys need to CALM DOWN!  Have you every tried to discipline an hysterical child?  Are they really learning anything?

Yesterday a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she had made her daughter, who is a year older than my youngest son, a Calming Jar.  In the post someone asked her what it was and she explained.  To me, a nerve-frayed mother looking for a solution, this was pure GOLD!  I looked up the directions on Pinterest (my current addiction) and informed my sons we were going on an "Inspiration Expedition" to the craft stores.

These are all of the supplies you need (water too).  Seriously, all you need is a bottle or jar (12-16 oz), water, glitter glue, extra fine glitter, food coloring, and duct tape (or something else to seal the cap of the container nice and tight).

I chose to use a 12 oz soda bottle because they were plastic and on sale.  I, of course, had to make a great sacrifice by drinking a couple of these babies to get my empty bottles, but what can I say, I am a slave to my art.

After the bottle was emptied and rinsed I filled it with 12 oz of water.

My son then was able to help by emptying two tubes (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) of glitter glue into the bottle.  Glitter glue (found in the kids craft section of your local craft store) is necessary, as other glues are not thick enough to achieve the desired effect of this project.

Next he added his preferred food coloring to the bottle.

Next I helped him add 1/2 an ounce of extra fine glitter.  The heavier glitter sinks to the bottom too fast for the purpose of this project.

Next I capped the bottle, shook it until all of the glitter and glue were mixed evenly and the glitter swirled around in a "storm-like" fashion.  At this point I sealed the cap.  I used black designer Duck Tape because I thought it added a nice touch to the project and was a lot less messy than using super glue or rubber cement.

Then I gave the bottle to my son and told him to shake it up as good as he could and then watch it until all of the glitter stopped moving.  I timed the bottle while he was doing this.  His bottle took about 3 minutes to settle.  The desired time is 3-5 minutes.

The purpose of this bottle is for the child to imagine that the glitter in the bottle are all of his thoughts.  As the glitter settles so do his thoughts.  After the bottle is settled then he should be ready to speak with you about what happened, or what's bothering him, or why he did what he did.

This purpose is easier to achieve with an older child, but my 2-year old is mesmerized by the glitter and usually stops crying long enough to shake the bottle and stare at it.

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

If your family is anything like mine, bread rolls aren't just a nice thing to have at the Thanksgiving Table, they are a necessity.  Every year we always got the exact same rolls from a popular bakery in town.  But one year that bakery didn't carry those rolls anymore.  The ones we got instead were good, but they just weren't the same.

That just happened to be the year my oldest son was born and the first year my FIL and BIL came down for Thanksgiving.  With them they brought my FIL's old Bread Machine.

I spent the next year investigating recipes for the bread machine.  Through my research I discovered a likely recipe and modified it slightly.  The following Thanksgiving most of my family went to Las Vegas to celebrate with my Uncle and his family.  So, for the first time ever, I was in charge of all of the food for Thanksgiving Dinner.  I took a chance and made these rolls for the dinner.  My FIL loved them so much I even made him an extra batch for the drive home.  

The next year I made them for Thanksgiving again, and have done so every year ever since.  Over the years I have added cheese and/or Jalapenos to the recipe to add a bit of a twist, but the original is still a favorite request.

This year I wasn't going to make the rolls, as I am still recovering from surgery, but a couple days ago I started to feel guilty.  This is MY thing.  I HAVE to do this, otherwise I'll never get back to "normal".  So I improvised.

I have always been a fan of making pre-mixes.  I make them for everything you can think of:  cookies, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins...the list goes on and on.  So a few days ago I put together several bags of pre-mixes for the bread rolls.  I just put all of the dry ingredients (save the yeast) in gallon Ziploc bags.

Next, when I was ready to make a batch of rolls, I dumped the bag in to the bread machine pan, added the rest of the ingredients and set the machine for the dough cycle.  This cycle is 90 minutes long, so you have a bit of time to get things done before you are needed again.

After the dough cycle is done you'll need to take the pan out of the machine, punch down the dough and turn in out onto a lightly floured surface.  Excessive kneading is not necessary.

At this point, let the dough sit for a minute.  While this is happening take out a baking sheet and grease it.

Yes, I use Pam.  I love Pam.  Pam is awesome.  Now that that is off my chest...  Once the dough has set for that minute, using a kitchen knife, cut the dough into twelve equal portions.

Roll each of the pieces into round balls and place them on the greased pan.

Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30-60 minutes in a warm place.

I have a neat little corner on my kitchen counter where I keep a space heater and that I use to rise all of my bread.

While the rolls are rising, mix together egg white and water for the glaze.  Also, this would be a good time to preheat the oven.

Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes.  At this point you can serve them warm, or if you are like me, making them ahead of time, let them cool completely before placing them in a Ziploc bag and freezing them.

When you are ready to bake them for dinner, place the frozen rolls on a baking sheet.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake them for 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup dry milk

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast

1 egg white

2 Tbsp water

Directions:

1. Place first 7 ingredients in Bread Machine.  Set on Dough Cycle.

2. Remove risen dough from machine, deflate, and turn onto floured surface.  

3. Divide into 12 equal pieces.  Form into rounds.  Place rounds onto greased baking sheets.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

5. Glaze risen rolls with mixture of egg white and water.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Front Room Fort

Exactly four weeks ago I went in for a routine gall bladder removal surgery and ended up in the ICU/PCU for a total of 5 days.  Eek!  My recovery time went from a couple of days to several weeks.  And to top that all off, I was not able to lift anything over 10 lbs for up to 3 weeks!  My two year old was not thrilled with this prospect and my four year old just didn't understand why Mommy couldn't drive him to the park anymore.

Thankfully we have a really neat playset in our back yard that the boys were able to play on, weather permitting. Unfortunately, as we live in Humboldt County, weather does not like to permit.  The boys ended up with the worst case of cabin fever I have ever seen in children.  The first time my mother took the boys and I to Costco my four year old went nuts.  He ran all over the store heedless of our admonishing.  At one point he disappeared completely only to be found next to a sample table handing out pizza.  At this point my mom told me that we HAD to discover something for the boys to do inside the house.  After a couple hours she mentioned a fort.

A few days later my husband and I set up a card table in the living room.  I fetched a flat sheet and threw it over the top of the table.  The boys swarmed!

They were so excited about having a fort they couldn't contain themselves.

Their excitement was increased when we announced an addition to the surprise...a movie and popcorn made by Daddy!

It was an awesome night, and for the first time in weeks...no fighting!