Kabobs: Dinner and Dessert

Sorry that I don't have any pictures to go along with these ideas. I'm out of skewers. Today's post comes courtesy of the July 2008 issue of Parents. Here area few different types of kabobs you can make in a hurry for your kiddos. They're easy on the eyes and budget!

Dinner Kabobs

*Always wet your skewers before grilling them to prevent them from catching fire.

Pizza

Ingredients: Focaccia bread, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella and a cherry tomato.

To make: Put your cheese and tomato in the center. The add a piece of each of the following to both sides. Pepperoni folded in half. Canadian bacon folded small enough to fit properly and then a cube of focaccia bread.

Serve with pizza sauce

Ranch Chicken

Ingredients: Chicken nuggets, broccoli and baby carrots

To make: Thaw the nuggets and precook the carrots for 2 minutes in the microwave so that they will cook with the rest of the skewer. Start with two baby carrots in the center. And to piece of broccoli followed by a chicken nugget to both sides.

Serve with ranch dip

Chile-Lime Shrimp

Ingredients: Snow peas, shrimp and yellow pepper strips.

To make: Start with a piece of yellow pepper in the center. Folded will work best. Add a shrimp and a snow pea to each side. Brush the entire thing with an Asian sweet chili sauce and lime juice just before grilling.

Serve with extra chili sauce

Pasta and Meatball

Ingredients: Cooked meatballs, cheese ravioli, zucchini and yellow squash

To make: Boil ravioli until just undercooked. It will help it to stay on the skewer. Line up a piece of zucchini and squash in the center. To each side add two pieces of ravioli and a meatball.

Serve with pasta sauce

Polynesian Chicken

Ingredients: Pineapple, red pepper strips and chicken pieces

To make: Line up pineapple, pepper, chicken, pepper, chicken pineapple.

Serve with sweet and sour sauce

Dessert Kabobs

Berry Pound Cake

Ingredients: Blueberries, pound cake, raspberries and strawberries

To make: Slice a boxed pound cake and then cut out shapes with mini cookie cutters. Add desired amount of each berry with pieces of cake.

Fruity French Toast

Ingredients: Peaches and french toast

To make: Cut french toast into triangles. Serve a piece of toast with a piece of peach.

Serve syrup on the side for dipping

Apple-Peanut Butter Crisp

Ingredients: Rice crispy treats, peanut butter and apple

To make: Coat one side of each piece of rice crispy treat with peanut butter. Alternate adding rice crispy treats and slices of apple onto a skewer.

Banana Bites

Ingredients: Banana pieces, strawberry yogurt and colorful sprinkles

To make: Dip chunks of banana in yogurt then add them to the skewer. Then either roll in sprinkles or you could use granola instead.

Marshmallow Surprise

Ingredients: Strawberries, marshmallows and fudge sauce

To make: Line up strawberry, marshmallow, strawberry, marshmallow. Put the fudge in a resealable bag, cut a tiny corner off and drizzle over your treat. Yum!

Double Melon

Ingredients: Cantaloupe and honeydew melons

To make: Marinate fruit in lime juice, brown sugar and mint. Cut into slices then cut shapes out either by hand or using mini cookie cutters. Line up to your taste.

Sidewalk Paint

From the February 2008 issue of Family Fun

Sidewalk chalk can be a fun way to spend summer days. Kids can create and recreate for endless hours. Sidewalk paint is another fun way to add to the fun. However it can be pretty pricey at times. Here is an inexpensive way to make your own at home with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Have fun!

Materials Needed:
~1/4 cup cornstarch
~1/4 cup cold water
~food coloring
~paint brush

How To:
For each color of 'paint' you want, mix equal parts cornstarch and water and the desired amount of food coloring. Use the paint brush to create your art and then simply wash away with water.
*put in a spray bottle to spray other things like sand or snow*

Photo credit to crayola.com

Rock Candy

What a fun summer treat. I haven't made this since I was a kid, so when I recently came across this recipe I was ecstatic! Remember that this one takes patience, but the end result is so worth it!

Rock Candy

~4 cups granulated sugar

~2 cups water

~food coloring (optional)

~additional granulated sugar

~32 oz. glass jar

(for one color, more if making multiple colors)

~wooden skewer or cotton string

~wooden popsicle sticks or pencil

It's best to make sure all your materials are prepared before you begin cooking. If you are using string instead of skewers, cut them to the appropriate length (appx. 6 inches depending on how tall your jar) and tie them to the ends of the pencils. You want to lay the pencil across the jar. Use several pieces of string, but make sure they don't touch each other or the bottom of the jar. Use wooden skewers if you want to make lollipops. If you have them available use twist ties to tie the skewers to the popsicle sticks. Just as with the string, you want them to be suspended in the jar. You don't want them touching each other or the bottom.

In a saucepan (medium works best), bring the water to a soft boil. Add sugar one cup of sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until completely dissolved. Add the second cup and again stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add a few drops of food coloring until you reach the desired color making sure to stir until mixed completely. (You don't have to add food coloring. You will get white rock candy if you leave it plain).

Let the sugar water stand for five minutes off the heat. In the meantime, wet the sticks and/or string with water and then roll them in the 'additional' sugar. (This is to give the crystals a head start). CAREFULLY pour the solution into the glass jars. It's probably still very hot, so use caution. Lower your strings and skewer props into the water, and lightly cover with foil or a paper towel (this just prevents things from falling in, such as as dust) and let sit in a place it won't be bothered.

It just takes a few hours to start seeing results. But the crystals will form for several days. The longer it sits, the bigger they will be. So have some some patience :)

*Photo credit to Yahoo Images

How to be a Happier mom

Eight ways to focus on the positive- for you AND your child
From the dec/jan 2007 issue of Parenting
Paraphrased with my own edits

A study done at the University of Michigan found than when mothers are asked if they are happier now that they have children, they will usually say yes. However taking care of your children might not be the high point of your day. After asking 900 woman, child care ranked just above housework and work, and ranked lower than exercises, eating and television. While this doesn't mean you don't love your children, it does suggest that having children doesn't increase your average daily happiness. Being the mother of a two year old I can certainly attest to what they are saying. I love my son more than life itself, but when I think about all that I did in a days time, playing with him, snuggling, reading etc are not always the thinks that I think of first. I typically would list all the chores I accomplished, how many loads of laundry I was able to wash fold and put away.

First it suggests that the reason there is a discrepancy between mothers and professionals is that mothers have selective memory. Just as I mentioned above, most mothers will respond to the question of whether or not they enjoying spending time with their children because they think of all the fun things they do with them. But when asked to describe their routine, most mothers would first describe other obligations over the time spent with kids. Studies, however, cannot put onto paper or into statistics the amount of joy we get from the little moments of happiest with our children. How do you measure the amount of joy you feel when your baby smiles at you for the first time, or says mama for the first time. Paper can only record general facts, and a mothers heart is not feel in general emotions. Many mothers say that the happiness they feel comes from the service to something bigger. They say their lives are filled with meaning since becoming mothers. The sense of being needed is a huge part of the happiness we feel.

This article gives eight suggestions for being a happier mother. I will paraphrase and add my own thoughts.

Value what you do! Feel and know that it IS important.

We're all guilty of letting our mood affect the way we parent. I know that for me, I'm much more willing to go out of my way to do something nice for my son if I'm in a good mood. But when I'm in a lousy mood I will tell him to deal with it. But lucky for us all, we can learn to focus on the positive moments in parenting and make it a daily habit.

Here's how to do it:

#1 Admit when you're stressed.
"Ironically, once you stop expecting motherhood to feel warm and fuzzy all the time, life as a mom gets easier."
I can personally relate to this. When my son was born I suffered from post pardum depression. At the time I wasn't willing to admit to it because I had experienced a difficult delivery and felt like it was my right to feel weepy. The first several months I wouldn't let any one hold him, because I didn't want to put him down. I thought that if I wasn't holding him I wasn't a good mother. All I did was sit and cry. As the months wore on and I began to realize that he needed to experience love from others around, things eased up for me and life began to settle into a routine. Once we figured that out, being a mom began to feel more natural and less stressful.

#2 Get enough sleep
"Most of us know that money can't buy happiness, but who knew that a good night's sleep just might?"
Author Norbert Schwarz, Ph.D., did a study that shows that making sixty thousand dollars more annually has less of an effect on happiness than one extra hour of sleep a night. I don't think there is anyone who wouldn't agree that a little shut eye is a glorious thing! Especially if you're a mom.

#3 (Re)consider your priorities
" It may sound simplistic, but one key to being in a more positive mood is to structure your day so you do more things you enjoy."
"It's how you spend your time, not your money, that counts," says Dr. Ubel. How true is that. Spending quality time with our little ones should always take priority over every thing else. I'm learning that my son loves to help me clean. Since I enjoy having a clean house, this is a wonderful way for me to teach him responsibility and spend quality time with him. When he gets bored with it, I will usually allow myself a time limit before I put my things away and find him to do something he wants to do. Lately he is very into playing doctor and sometimes if I'm busy with other things, a simple way to show I can is to let him listen to my heart and put band aids on me. I try to always let him know that I'm hear and listening even if I can't give him 100% of my attention. Keep in mind that they are only little for a little while.

#4 Go with the flow
"Time seems to slow down when you're doing what you enjoy, whether it's gardening or running laps."
Psychologist call the level of engagement "flow" and suggest that people who experience it are happier than people who don't or who rarely do. Children are natural masters of this term. When we take the time to slow down and notice things with our children it will bring out the happier side of ourselves. I like to think that I'm pretty good at this. I love that my son is a boys boy. So when we are outside I try to let him cultivate that side of him. I will point out different bugs and we'll often sit down on the sidewalk to enjoy watching a caterpillar cross the way. It only takes a few minutes of my time, but instills in him that there are things more important than getting to the grocery store.

#5 Savor the moment
"One way to nourish positive emotions is to take a moment to appreciate, well, the moment."
Gilbert suggests "Take ten seconds every hour and look at what you're doing from a higher place." While you're counting your blessings, take time to appreciate what a wonderful child you have. If you can, take time to share those little things that are so precious to you with others you care about. Ways to do that could include calling someone for a few moments, writing them down in a journal, or even posting it on a blog. I write a family blog as well and I'm constantly bragging on all the wonderful things my little boy does. I once had someone tell me that I bragged a lot on there. I tried not to be offended by that. After all that is why I write. I want him to be able to look back when he's an adult and to know that all those little things he did were important to me and that I treasured them all. Sometimes when I'm most frustrated is when I will sit down and list the things I love most about him. It really helps to make you feel more connected and also the be able to enjoy the little quirks of childhood.

#6 Take the long view
"Having a sense of perspective will also improve your attitude."
If the drudgery of parenting is getting to you, think about how your life would be without them. It's easy to get caught up in the mundane tasks of daily life, but take a step back and realize that your life would be empty without these little people in it. I've often (more times that I would like to admit to) found myself getting upset with my son because he wants my attention while I'm busy doing other things. Things that in the moment I think are important. Then when I realize that HE is the most important thing in my life, and I put down what I'm doing to enjoy little moments with him, that usually are just a few minutes, I feel like my life is more complete. He has a way of making me see the world through a different pair of eyes, a better pair. At two years old he's very much the mama's boy with another little boy due to arrive in just a few months, people are constantly asking me how I think he will adjust since he's so used to being held so much. I will usually respond with "I don't know, all I know is that I'm going to enjoy every second of him wanting me to hold him while it last. I'll figure the rest out later." We can't spend our time worry about tomorrow, we need to worry about right now.

#7 Reconnect with your spouse
"A supportive group of friends and family is one of the cornerstones of a happy life, and for many moms, the center of that social circle is their partner."
I don't know what I would do if my husband wasn't supportive of the way I spent my time raising our child. In the first few months I had friends pointing out the things I wasn't doing right. In their opinion I wasn't doing things the way I had planned on doing them. Once he was here plans changed and I became a roll with the punches kind of mom instead of a by the book kind of mom. Luckily for me, my husband supported every thing I did. He never once told me that I should try something new or that the way I was doing things wasn't right. From his perspective, we had a happy healthy child and that is ultimately what mattered most. Experts suggest that keeping the lines of communication open is the key to maintaining a successful marriage. Just because you bring a child into this world does not mean you can put your marriage on hold. Even if all you have time for is a quick snack and a few minutes to chat after the kids are asleep, take it. You can eventually work your way up to a night out without the kiddos. If you're lucky enough to have someone to watch your kids to have date night, take advantage of it. For our family, we spend our date nights with our little one. We don't have family close enough to ask them every week to babysit. Occasionally though we'll make the trip to grandma's house so that we can have a few hours to ourselves. We usually just go window shopping, but it's so refreshing to be able to walk slow. Another way I love feeling connected with my husband is to just hold hands with him while driving or while out shopping. It's good for your children to see you be affectionate with your spouse. It's what helps them build healthy and realistic ideas of what a marriage should be.

#8 Say thanks
"Feeling gratitude is a mood booster."
Experts say that if you take a few minutes every day for two weeks to write down what you are grateful for that your overall feelings of well-being will increase. As I said previously, I also write a family blog and every Thursday I write a "Thursday thanks" post. I list all the things over the course of the past week that I'm grateful for. Several of my friends have also started doing this, and I've found that I look forward to Thursdays so that I can get my little dose of gratitude.
"Feelings follow thoughts, they don't precede them," says Ryan. Happiness is three things, enjoyment, satisfaction and fulfillment. Mothering can give you any of these at any moment. And if we're lucky we'll get all three! Sometimes it's just a matter of how we're looking at the situation.

Father's Day Fun

Father's Day is just around the corner. I've found a few wonderful crafts to help make that special dad in your life feel special.

Breakfast

First how about starting out the morning with some football waffles. Just toast two frozen waffles and trim them to look like footballs. Then take some icing or cream cheese in a ziplock bag, cut a tiny bit of the corner off and ice around the football and down the middle.

Gift

A wonderful handmade gift for any budget is Soap on a Rope! This is a fun and easy craft that children of almost any age can help to create. My son is only two and LOVED helping me get this ready.

Materials Needed:
-empty cardboard milk cartoon (one per block of soap)
-cotton rope
-wooden skewer
-block of glycerin (available at craft stores)
-food coloring
-essential oils (optional)

Directions:
-Cut off the carton's top, then clean and dry
-Knot a 16-inch length of rope into a loop. Drape it over a wooden skewer, and lay the skewer across the carton opening so the knot hangs at the bottom of the carton
-According to the directions on the package, melt the glycerin and pour it to the desired height
-Mix in a few drops of dye (and essential oils, like orange or almond, if desired) with a skewer

*If you want two toned soaps, let the first layer dry and add a second layer with a new color!

Craft

Let's just be honest, dad's always get new ties for Father's Day. Eventually he had an abundance of ties that he no longer wears but maybe isn't ready to just toss out. I have the perfect solution. Stuffed Snakes from dad's old ties!

Materials Needed:

-Colorful neckties

-Dowel

-Poly-fil or cotton stuffing

-Wire

-Fabric glue or large needle and thread

-Large buttons, wiggly eyes or pom poms

-Safety scissors

-Felt

Directions:

-Have your child use a dowel to pack both ends of the tie with Poly-fil or cotton stuffing until it's evenly distributed throughout. Start from the smaller end and push the stuffing halfway. Then turn it around and start filling from the wider end.

-If you'd like the snake to be able to coil, insert wide-gauge floral wire or bailing wire into the tie.

-Use glue to close the smaller end o the snake, or carefully sew single stitches on the underside of the tie (so they won't show) with a large needle and thread.

-Stuff some extra filling into the wider end of the tie to create the snake's head. Glue or sew this end shut. For eyes, use a double stitch to sew on the two buttons or pom-poms.

-Have your child use safety scissors to cut out a felt tongue in the shape of the letter Y or a narrow rectangle. Glue the tongue onto the underside of the tie.

-Admire your child's new stuffed animal, perfect for play, decoration or cuddling.

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