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Experiences like no other

4 Jun

Girl Scouting has provided our girls with experiences they might not be able to get anywhere else.

I’ve just returned from a Girl Scout camping weekend. Not quite a whole weekend, but about 36 hours.

Long enough.

It was not my first time going to, participating at or working for a Girl Scout Camp. I’ve been a leader for five full years now, and as a kid I was a Girl Scout for many years. I went to camp then, I’ve worked there as an adult so my kids could go, and I’ve chaperoned camping trips for all my daughters with this weekend being the most recent one.

Of course it rained like crazy yesterday, poured actually. Again.

And in my head through much of the trip I was thinking, “I’m getting too old for this ‘job.'” I thought it as I drove half the troop down there in the rain yesterday with my co-leader driving the other half down right behind me, and I thought it as I traipsed all through the camp in the rain, and I thought it as I laid awake in our leader “cabin” until 4am listening to them laugh and giggle and tell stories.

Four A.M.

But, throughout the whirlwind weekend I also watched them in amazement, thinking and talking with my co-leader (who was a saint to spend her wedding anniversary at a rainy camp in a cabin with me rather than at home with her husband of 16 years) about how much these girls have grown and matured and changed from when we first started this troop together as Brownies, second graders, five years ago. We looked at them all, not even believing it.

We had eight really great stations to rotate through at camp yesterday which took us from first thing in the morning until the movie and campfire at the end of the night. We watched them create beautiful beaded jewelry at the jewelry-making station, being instructed in the craft by some of the leading women in the jewelry industry here in our state. We listened along with them as they learned about how to write a check and a deposit slip at the financial literacy class, from an instructor at one of the local universities. We cheered and encouraged them as they shot their bow and arrow during archery class, knowing full well that some of them were doing it for the first time. There was a science class, a tie-dye station, a dance class where they learned the moves to an upcoming flash mob taking place this summer, S’Mores, and they were laughing and smiling, and hugging, and chatting, and laughing some more, the entire day.

And night.

Did I mention they were awake in their tent til 4am?

Many of them haven’t slept too far away from home before. Many of them have never slept in a tent or cleaned a latrine (there are some benefits to being a leader and not having to do the camp “kapers” is one of them) many of them have never shot a bow and arrow or a bottle rocket or been in a flash mob before.

Being a Girl Scout has allowed our own daughters and the scouts we lead, to experience things they couldn’t experience in the normal course of their days. With us as leaders, our troop has taken field trips, had a scholarship named after our troop, done community service projects, slept inside an aquarium near the shark tank, gone behind the scenes on movie sets, at radio stations, TV shows, movie theaters, stage theaters, been on the news, in the newspaper, met the mayor, a city councilwoman, a comic book designer, learned how to collect, categorize and display postage stamps, sold cookies, cookies and more cookies-showing a business sense and dedication like you wouldn’t believe- and they’ve loved every minute of it.

And now, they’ve gone camping. Overnight.

All because I chose to be a Girl Scout leader five years ago so that my daughter could be a Girl Scout.

So as I laid in my cabin last night, chatting with my co-leader til I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, someone I hardly knew before scouting, as we were listening to them laugh and giggle and shriek, I knew that this was the reason I was there at that moment.

Thank you Girl Scouts!

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Top 10 Worst Foods for Kids to Eat

29 May

Do we cut them out altogether or just keep eating them once in a while?

It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these lists and shared it with you, but since we’re just coming off a holiday weekend, I thought it’d be a good time to post this.

The list came from the Livestrong website. I see several foods we eat on this list. Do you?

I wonder to myself: do I stop feeding my kids these foods or do I continue to do so in moderation?

What do you think? No more hot dogs and mac & cheese???

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TOP TEN WORST FOODS FOR KIDS TO EAT

Hot Dogs

Soda

Sticky Candy

Doughnuts

Prepacked lunch kits

Sugary breakfast cereals

Microwavable prepackaged dinners

Juice Drinks

French Fries

Toaster Pastries

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Thinking outside the birthday party box

21 May

Birthday parties for kids can have a tendency to take on a life of their own.

Our family is full of rules.

We more often say no than yes, it seems, and we have a rule for everything.

We can’t help it, that’s just how we are and it works for us, at least for now. That being said, we have birthday party rules at our house. I know I’ve talked about it before, but I’ll tell again just so I can get on with my story for today.

Our rules are as follows: You can’t have a “friend party” until you are five and when you do, you can have it at the house with five kids. At six, seven, eight and nine, you can have your birthday party out of the house, with more people (within reason, and we never invite the entire class or grade, or even “all the girls”).

At ten you’re back to having it at the house with just a few people. We like the “Almost Sleepover” or “Mock Sleepover” (come in pj’s stay late, go home to bed) at ten because many people (ourselves included) do not allow their kids to sleep at someone else’s house and our kids tend to turn ten before other people’s kids are ten. At 11 and beyond they can have a sleepover if they want, with a few kids (our house is not huge and there are already five of us in it at all times, so space constraints are an issue) or we can discuss another inexpensive, small outing option if desired.

Now that you have the back story on our birthday party rules, here’s where I was going with all of that.

We have to give Alex all the credit for thinking out of the box for this party.

Our youngest daughter turned seven at the end of the month a couple of months ago. We opted to hold off on the friend party until after the Easter holidays and after school vacation, which led us to the end of April. However, way back in October, she already knew what kind of party she wanted: a cooking party and she wanted it to be at home. She planned the entire thing out herself. It would be a Hello Kitty theme. They would make homemade pizza (we do that a lot here) and decorate cupcakes (which turned into decorating donuts when we got the Babycakes Donut Maker as a Christmas gift) and decorate aprons.

We were thrilled. Birthday parties out of the house tend to be expensive: $10 per kid on the low end and as much as $17 per kid or more on the higher end, with some having a minimum of paying for ten kids whether they are there or not. Some include food, some do not. Some include invitations, some do not. However, “everyone does it” so we have tried to keep up while establishing what we feel are fair rules and reasonable budgets for our parties, and having had to say no to some party options our kids have thrown out at us as suggestions in the past.

But I can’t lie: we were jumping for joy in our heads when she explained what she wanted for her party.

The day of the party came, and she had invited seven kids to come. They all were able to come except one, so there were seven little girls plus my two older daughters who served as the helpers.

First activity: making a variety of homemade pizzas.

We bought enough dough that every pair could make one pizza (and Elizabeth helped out when the seventh friend didn’t arrive). We had two cheese and sauce pizzas, one mushroom, olive and cheese pizza, and one cheese and pepperoni pizza.

That week, I found a “20% off your whole purchase” coupon for Michael’s Crafts, so I went and got 8 aprons. I already had fabric markers here, but I bought a set just in case mine were dried out, but I didn’t need them so I returned them along with an extra apron.

I made the donuts from scratch with Caroline ahead of time, along with the chocolate frosting with Elizabeth while the kids were making their aprons, and each child was able to decorate and eat four donuts. I had purchased one Hello Kitty cake decorating kit which contained sprinkles, cupcake wrappers, candies and tooth pick decorations, and I split it for use between the family party and the friend party. I bought all my paper goods at the dollar store in time for the family party and used what was left for the friend party.

And no, I didn’t care that the paper goods weren’t Hello Kitty. Apparently no one else cared either.

Second activity: decorating aprons.

The kids had a blast.

Alex had a blast.

The moms that stayed, loved it.

We had fun, and it was an easy party. I was relaxed at the end, not exhausted and not broke. It was as much fun (maybe more so) than any party we’ve had out of the house, and best of all, she was happy.

The entire party cost us $32.

We didn’t figure that part out until the end, as we weren’t trying to keep it that low on purpose, but when the party was over and we sat back and realized all we’d been able to do at such a low price, we were amazed.

It just goes to show that even though we sometimes live in a “top this” kind of world and there’s lots of keeping up to be done, that it doesn’t always have to be that way. You can think out of the box, as Alex did back in October, and do something different and still have fun.

It may not always be this way. She may want to have her next party somewhere else, and we’re more than willing to oblige, as long as it stays within the parameters we’ve set, but for now, we’re celebrating the success of this year’s party and remembering more often than not, that it can be done.

PRICELESS.

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Mother’s Week Day 2: Strawberry Bread

8 May

From me to you: Happy Mother’s Week!

Yesterday I announced that I was making this week Mother’s Week, in honor of moms everywhere. I’m continuing to honor you by showering you with a week’s worth of recipes that you can use for honoring all the moms in your life, this week and every week.

Yesterday I began with a recipe from my mom. Today I’m honoring Don’s mom, my mother-in-law, Mary Lou, with one of my favorite recipes from her: Strawberry Bread. It’s great for an afternoon cup of coffee and a snack, or to bring with you to a brunch or luncheon. I added the chocolate chips to the recipe, but it’s delicious without them too!

Thanks Mom and Happy Mother’s Week!

Mary Lou’s Strawberry Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup strawberries (Fresh sliced or frozen-thawed and drained.)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
approx. 1 cup chocolate chips (or however many you like!)

Mother’s Day Week is a perfect week for Mary Lou’s Strawberry Bread!

DIRECTIONS

Mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking soda.

Combine eggs, oil, and berries.

Add berries to dry ingredients.

Pour into greased and floured 9×5 loaf pan.

Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

*She wrote on the recipe that she keeps hers refrigerated but it’s not necessary, and that it freezes very well.

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If it’s free, it’s for me

30 Apr

Recently I’ve taken up couponing, as many of you know. I’ve written about it in both February and in March. I’ve loved being able to save lots of money for my family with coupons and with additional money-back rebates, and I’ve loved the challenge of it all. I’m a bit obsessed.We’re not rich by any means, but we’re saving more money than we were before, and that’s important to me.

However, I’ve always been about saving money, even before I discovered the couponing obsession. I’ve always been good about taking advantage of a good deal or even better, a free deal. My motto is always “if it’s free, it’s for me,” which is not something I made up, it’s just something I tend to live by, especially when trying to save money for my family.

As a mom who has chosen to give up a full time job in order to be home to raise my family, I’ve always considered it my personal responsibility to be as frugal as possible to make up for the income I do not bring into our budget. I feel that it’s important for me to be home, and therefore it’s just as important for me to work hard to make money and equally as important to work hard to save money, and I always have.

Today in the mail I received our free Kodak photo book of our April Vacation activities. In fact,  just about all of the photo books in my cabinet were free.

This week I also received our free sample of the new Quaker Oatmeal cookies and a free magazine to start my year-long free subscription. We gave up all paid subscriptions when we cut back on our budget a few years back.

Yesterday I received a free makeup bag full of make up and coupons from Target and free lotion samples from another offer.

Our dog’s been eating free dog treats on and off for weeks and I’ve been drinking free Gevalia Coffee mixed in with my Price Rite brand coffee.

Next weekend we’re taking a free family photo to replace the free family photo that’s been on our wall since my youngest was a toddler.

When we visited family in California two years ago, our whole family got into Disney for free.

Our kids all got into Legoland on that same trip, for free.

It can be done.

Now obviously everything in life isn’t free, but there’s lots of opportunities out there to have fun for free, and to get a few items here and there for free as well. And in this economic climate, free is good. Many of us are struggling, so every little bit helps.

Summer is coming and there are lots of things out there you can do for free. There are some free things we take advantage of every year.

I’ve already signed my family up for the AMF summer bowling program where you can bowl free all day every day from May to September.

I’ll sign up for the free summer programs for my kids at our local library and we’ll frequent the free music concerts that are held all summer long across the state.

On Wednesday afternoons we’ll try to make it to AC Moore for their free craft every week throughout the summer and should we want to take in a movie, there will be several theaters that offer them free throughout the summer.

We’ll check out the list of museums that offer free entry on Fridays and maybe do a day trip.

Doing things for free will give us more money in our summer budget to do special things as well, like getting ice cream after those free music concerts or maybe purchasing the featured craft at AC Moore if they especially love it, with a coupon of course!

What kinds of free things do you take advantage of during the year?

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Five Days, One Hundred Dollars

23 Apr

Staycation on the cheap. Can it be done?

There used to be a show on TLC (I think) that was called Trading Spaces. I loved that show. Two families would renovate their homes and they’d have just two days and $1000 to do it.

Well this week was April Vacation here and we were having a Staycation, not traveling anywhere, but we didn’t have much extra money in our budget for the week’s activities either. (Technically we were home for nine days if you count the weekend before and after the vacation week but as far as days we wouldn’t normally be home already, it was five days.)

We had approximately $100. Five people, five days, $100. Twenty bucks a day divided by five people, $4 per person per day.

That’s a Staycation on the Cheap for sure.

So did we do it? Of course we did. Not a whole lot of choice in that regard, since there’s no overspending when you don’t use credit cards. If the money’s not in the account, you don’t do it.

Chinese take out: Big Splurge.

First off, we had some work we needed to do around the house which took up a couple of days at the start of the week. To reward ourselves for a job well done, and since we were too tired to cook, we decided to splurge on take out. 

Chinese take-out:  $30.

Who doesn't love lemonade on a hot day?

My kids were dying to have a Lemonade Stand at our house. They spent part of the weekend making their posters and getting their business plan in place. They worked out what hours they’d be selling, how much they’d be charging and got everything ready to go. The weather was gorgeous on their chosen day and they were outside all day long. They worked together and even stayed open an extra hour because business was so good.

Lemonade Stand: Free

The first of many dinners at the beach took place this week.

The start of the week was very hot, like summertime hot, so we opted to cook dinner at home and pack it up to eat down by the beach. We’d take a walk along the ocean and watch the sun go down. We can do that here, we’re very lucky. We even saw a wedding that night in the gazebo by the ocean.

Dinner and walk along the beach: Free

Mystery Ride to a new-to-us zoo!

Although it was vacation week, I still had to work on and off periodically throughout the week whether it was covering stories for the two papers or typing them, so we worked that into our schedule and later in the week we tried out a new zoo that was in the direction of a story I was covering. It was the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Tickets to the Buttonwoods Zoo for a family of five : $21.

Redbox is the greatest invention. You can rent movies for just over $1 per night. There were some movies we wanted to see so over the week’s time we rented three movies.

Family Movie Night times three, complete with popcorn: $3.75.

Even though we like Family Movie Night, there’s also nothing like seeing a “real” movie in a “real” theater, something we never, ever do since five people at a first run movie is expensive. Again, we decided to splurge. 

Matinee movie for five with five Entertainment Book Coupons: $38.

Last day on training wheels!

There were other things we did throughout the week like bike rides, scooter rides, eating dinner on the deck for the first time this season, watching the sunset from our own back yard, night hikes with flashlights (my favorite) and things like that, all free, all outdoors, all time spent together. Of course we ate our way through the week too, having “weekend” breakfasts every day, like waffles and crepes, muffins and pancakes, french toast. That in itself is a vacation in my book! And really, all of those things you just can’t put a price tag on.

Priceless.

Sometimes you don't even need to leave home to enjoy the simple magic of life.

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In honor of National Library Week

16 Apr
open book with glasses

Reading has always been a favorite past time of mine.

Did you know that this week is National Library Week?

Well, if you didn’t know before, now you do!

I love my public libraries, I always have. It saddens me as each year our city’s library budgets are cut more and more, closing them oftentimes for more hours than they are open.

My kids love to read. We have big book shelves in almost every room in the house. They love to listen to audio books. They even, sometimes “play” library.

On rainy days my kids have been known to set up a "library" in their rooms. This photo shows the "children's section" of their "library," complete with a check out desk.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time at my local library. My mom took us to “story hour” and we always participated in the summer reading programs at the library, contests which encouraged us to read as much as we could over the summer, writing a brief summary of each book we’d read. I can still picture those reading forms in my head.

My parents are readers, Grandma Rose at 90 still reads a book a day. I come from a long line of people who love books.

We still have actual “books on tape” as our car is old enough to still have a tape player. We’ve listened to story books where they’ve been able to read along, as well as chapter books on long rides, even on short rides.

When my oldest daughter was about three, I left my job to be home full time. The very first thing I did now that I had my freedom, was sign her up for story hour at our local library.

I brought her that first day and I still have a photo somewhere of her on her last day, standing with all of the kids she had met from years and years of story hour through her kindergarten year.

As the years went by, all of my children participated in story hour. They all participate in the summer reading challenges. We love all of our librarians SO MUCH.

To me, our library is a magical place full of happy memories. I often drive by my local library and it makes me sad sometimes, as I think of all those story hour years we won’t get back. I met some of my closest friends through story hour. We went from going downstairs with the kids when they were littler, to sitting at the tiny kid tables upstairs, waiting for them to come up as they got older.

In honor of National Library Week this week, make a visit to your library. If you have spring break this week, check out their schedule and see if they have any special activities planned.If you’re not in the middle of a book, consider starting one.

This week I’ll be updating my “What I’m Reading Right Now” section on my blog. I’ve been reading a ton but haven’t taken the time to put the books I’ve read up on the blog.

Make a visit to your local library this week!

I think National Library Week is the perfect week to do so, don’t you?

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Knorr sauce mix: sometimes you just need quick and easy

5 Apr

I was going to put the salad right on the plate, but I just couldn't. I'm definitely an "on the side" girl!

Not everything has to be from scratch, not everything has to be a full course meal every time.

Yup, that’s what I try to tell myself on a regular basis.

Don’t get me wrong, we have mac and cheese with hot dogs at our house too.

Sometimes.

On occasion.

Next time we do, I’ll take a photo and post it.

Shortcuts are good!

I actually LOVE mac and cheese and hot dogs, and it has to be the kind of mac and cheese out of a box.

With the powdered cheese sauce.

But, I digress.

With busy schedules that are never the same and with holidays and birthdays mixed in there, sometimes I just need something quick and easy to make for dinner.

Last week’s dinner was one of those nights. I had to leave right after dinner for Girl Scouts and while I was cooking dinner I was helping whoever needed it, with homework too. This ended up also being the night that my daughter accidentally fell on the stairs while trying to jump up and touch the door jamb, hitting her head instead and knocking herself out, with a slice of pepperoni in her mouth.

It was a crazy night.

But again, I digress.

My cousin had given me a package of Knorr Garlic and Herb sauce that she’d tried, when I was at her house last. She’d had it over veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots) and she thought I’d like it.

I was going to make it over a veggie to go with our meal last week, tortellini, when I realized that on the front of the package itself it showed the sauce over tortellini, so I decided to try that. I chose asparagus for my veggie and had a fast and easy, complete, relatively healthy meal in a matter of a few minutes.

My kids all liked it, so I’d make it again for sure.

So today’s post isn’t a recipe exactly, it’s more a product review I guess, or a meal suggestion. The recipe for the sauce is contained on the back side of the packet of sauce. Give it a try and see what you think.

And tell me: what is your best shortcut meal idea?

Everyone gave this meal a two-thumbs-up review!

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The Un-birthday-cake Birthday Cake

2 Apr

Although I'm crafty, I'm not an artist so birthday cake decorating is not really my thing. But, each time, my kids always say they love my cakes and that means so much to me.

Every once in a while I have one of those slap-myself-on-the forehead realizations, the kind where I think to myself, “Why didn’t I think of that,” or even “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

Birthday party cakes was one of those moments.

Although I don’t bake them from scratch, I always make our cakes at home and do my best to decorate them despite my lack of artistic ability, but the funny thing is none of us in our immediate family actually really like the traditional birthday cake kind of cake, you know the yellow or chocolate cake with the birthday cake frosting on it. Yet, I just kept making them three times a year, six times if you count friend parties AND family parties. Sometimes I’d do cupcakes instead, but still it’s like cake.

And then last year it happened: my sister in law and her family were here for Elizabeth’s birthday and I made some kind of comment about making the cake even though none of us actually eat it.

Her brilliant answer: “You know, I’ve done brownie cakes and chocolate chip cookie cakes instead, and frost them just the same. It works out great.”

Light bulb.

Slap on forehead.

Why didn’t I think of that????

We love brownies! And, we love cookies!

Elizabeth's "cake" this summer was our first brownie birthday cake.

So last summer I tried out a frosted brownie cake for Liz’s party and it worked out great! I did it two more times over the summer, once for her friend party and once for July 4th, and then again in October for Caroline’s party. Over and over I just kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I never thought of this!”

Here it is again, birthday party time and once again, we are doing the un-birthday cake birthday cake. I briefly toyed with the idea of trying out a cookie cake this time and I even grabbed the recipe from my friend Shelley, but I just didn’t have the time to pull it off this weekend. Next time….

In any event, a great time was had by all, and everyone loved the “cake.”

Surprise, it's a brownie! And, this was a budget-friendly brownie cake with the brownie mix from Price Rite and the frosting from Aldi's. My secret ingredient: I throw chocolate chips into the batter.

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Bakerella’s Black Bottom Cupcakes

9 Mar

Bananas, cream cheese, chocolate. Seriously, could anything be better?

Did you ever just have one of those memories of something you ate in your childhood, but never had again? First of all, I have memories of things I’ve eaten, probably every day. But, things I’ve never had again but still remember? Not as often.

When I was younger my mom used to make these fabulous black bottom cream cheese brownies. They had chocolate chips in them. They were mouth-wateringly (is that a word?) delicious. My mouth is watering right now and all I’ve got is my bagel for lunch to satisfy it.

Anyways…I follow this blog, Bakerella, and in fact, she just announced this week that one of her recipes will be featured in the April Women’s Day Magazine. One day on her blog she posted these yummy looking Black Bottom Cupcakes, and just the photos on her blog made me want to make them THAT DAY, never mind the fact that they reminded me of my mom’s black bottom brownies of my youth.

So I did. I made them that very day.

They were SO GOOD.

And healthy! Yup, they have THREE bananas in them. That makes them in the fruits food group in my opinion.

After I made them, I passed the recipe along to my mom and she said, “Those remind me of the black bottom brownies I used to make.”

ME TOO!!

And now, I have her brownie recipe as well. I’ll make them soon and post that one too. Bonus.

In the meantime, here is the recipe for Bakerella’s Black Bottom Cupcakes. One thing to note: It says it made 18, but I ended up with 12. Twelve very large muffin-like brownie cupcakes. I think my muffin tin is too big. Other than that, they were quick and easy. Delicious, definitely a keeper, according to my family.

Now, my photos aren’t as amazing looking as hers, so definitely go over and see her recipe post too, so you can see what I mean.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Two batters, two bowls.

Cream Cheese Mixture
 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 small banana, pureed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Mixture
 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, pureed
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the cream cheese mixture:

  • Beat cream cheese and sugar until nice and fluffy.
  • Add banana, egg and vanilla and mix together until combined.
  • Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

I used my Pampered Chef scoop to do the chocolate batter.

For the chocolate mixture:

  • Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, soda and salt using a wire whisk.
  • Add bananas, oil and vanilla and mix together on low until combined.
  • Use a large scoop to fill cupcake liners with batter.
  • Repeat topping the cupcake batter with the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.

Recipe adapted from Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook, 1993.

See...mine were kinda large by the end! And of course, everyone had to fight over who would get the biggest one with all the chocolate chips from the bottom left corner.

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