I love charities so I guess I decided to write about them in my blog today. Being a mom I am especially drawn to charities that are helping children. Save the Children, St. Jude's, Big Brother Big Sister and March of Dimes are my favorite charities that are helping children in our own country as well as abroad.
Save the Children not only helps children with struggles they face everyday like poverty, illness, hunger and illiteracy but they also aid in disaster relief. They are the leading independent organization that creates a lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. You can read more about them at http://www.savethechildren.org/.
St. Jude's is a pediatric treatment and research facility that treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. The children's research hospital was founded in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas. Some time in the 1940's the struggling actor had prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus that if he could show him his way in life he'd one day build a shrine to him. After becoming an internationally known entertainer Danny remembered his pledge and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital became the shrine he built for St. Jude. You can learn more about St. Jude's at http://www.stjude.org/.
Big Brother Big Sister is a mentoring program that provides children who face adversity with the tools and self confidence necessary to achieve success in life. This program helps children in America to avoid risky behavior, achieve educational success and learn how to have healthy relationships. The program started in 1904 with two separate entities; Big Brothers and Catholic Big Sisters. The two groups joined in 1977 and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. You can read more about this organization at http://www.bbbs.org/.
March of Dimes was originally created by FDR in order to research and fight polio. Once their research funded the invention of the polio vaccine with ended epidemic polio in the United States their mission focused to preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The March of Dimes has led the way to discover the genetic causes of birth defects, to promote newborn screening, and to educate medical professionals and the public about best practices for healthy pregnancy.
Since 2003, the March of Dimes' fight to save babies has been strongly characterized by their Prematurity Campaign. The rising incidence of premature birth has demanded action, and the March of Dimes has responded by initiating an intensive, multi-year campaign to raise awareness and find the causes of prematurity.
The March of Dimes is especially near and dear to my heart as I have two nephews who are also brothers who were born prematurely. One was born 6 weeks early and three years later his brother was born 8 1/2 weeks early! I've had multiple close friends loose babies after 20 weeks gestation and a friend whose baby, born at 24 weeks gestation, survived! He is a walking talking miracle baby whose family, like mine, have become advocates for the March of Dimes. If you'd like to learn more please visit http://www.marchofdimes.com/. My family and friends will be marching in the annual March of Dimes walk again this year!
There are a few other children's charities that I am learning more about and will feature them in a separate blog.
"I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I've had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works."Ken Blanchard
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Dad vs. Mom
It seems to me that I can scream until I'm blue in the face and all my husband has to do is say, "Sit down and shut up!" and the kids obey. I typically have to ask my kids multiple times to do something and my husband only has to ask them once. I feel like the kids are rotten when they are home alone with me but if I leave and my husband has them alone he tells me they are great. I think they have more fun with him and I try to tell myself it's because he's around less but in my case that's not necessarily true.
I would consider myself the primary care giver, chauffeur, chef, maid, etc. but my husband is around a lot and helps out too. I think I get frustrated and flustered easily and he tries to make a game out of everything. He really is like a big kid and maybe that's why he seems to relate to them better. When I drive the kids to school I visit with them or we listen to the radio but when my husband drives them they play games. Their favorite game is where they all guess how many cars they will see on their way to town and then they sit and count each car they see. Or since there are three ways to get to town from our house he lets them pick which way to town. It sounds really simple I know but I guess my brain just doesn't think that way.
Now that I'm writing this I think he is the way he is because he is the 'less stressed' parent. I'm in charge of remembering who goes where and when, and who needs a sack lunch for a field trip, and I pay the bills and send out the birthday cards and the kids' pictures and make the dr. appts and the dentist appts etc. I think my brain just has way to much crammed in it for me to enjoy a ride to town with three children.
I jokingly told my husband last night that the reason I keep him around is the keep the kids under control and for him to remind me what I did yesterday! I'm constantly one step a head so I don't forget anything that once the task is done or the day is gone I forget. I guess some things I have to let go of so I create more room in my head for more information! He told me I should start doing cross word puzzles or something because he's worried about how bad my memory loss may be in the future. I have 'mom brain' alright!
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~Harmon Killebrew
Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~Ruth E. Renkel
A father carries pictures where his money used to be. ~Author Unknown
I would consider myself the primary care giver, chauffeur, chef, maid, etc. but my husband is around a lot and helps out too. I think I get frustrated and flustered easily and he tries to make a game out of everything. He really is like a big kid and maybe that's why he seems to relate to them better. When I drive the kids to school I visit with them or we listen to the radio but when my husband drives them they play games. Their favorite game is where they all guess how many cars they will see on their way to town and then they sit and count each car they see. Or since there are three ways to get to town from our house he lets them pick which way to town. It sounds really simple I know but I guess my brain just doesn't think that way.
Now that I'm writing this I think he is the way he is because he is the 'less stressed' parent. I'm in charge of remembering who goes where and when, and who needs a sack lunch for a field trip, and I pay the bills and send out the birthday cards and the kids' pictures and make the dr. appts and the dentist appts etc. I think my brain just has way to much crammed in it for me to enjoy a ride to town with three children.
I jokingly told my husband last night that the reason I keep him around is the keep the kids under control and for him to remind me what I did yesterday! I'm constantly one step a head so I don't forget anything that once the task is done or the day is gone I forget. I guess some things I have to let go of so I create more room in my head for more information! He told me I should start doing cross word puzzles or something because he's worried about how bad my memory loss may be in the future. I have 'mom brain' alright!
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~Harmon Killebrew
Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~Ruth E. Renkel
A father carries pictures where his money used to be. ~Author Unknown
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Random Thoughts about Commercials
Have you seen the commercial where they show a guy sitting in a minivan and he says to himself, 'this is a minivan?' and then he thinks, 'this almost makes you want to have kids' until he sees all of the kids running around? I just think it's hilarious that they are trying to make that minivan appear so cool that even a single guy would want to buy it! Now I have nothing against minivans, in fact I've owned two in my life and wouldn't mind a third. It's just like trying to make a person think that a Baby Bjorn comfort carrier is so fashionable that you'd want to wear one even if you didn't have a baby to put in it!
Or what about the paper towel commercials that show a kid spilling milk all over the floor and the mom just smiles and grabs the paper towels and cleans up the mess. Or the one where the dad and his son are horsing around with a bowl of salsa on the counter and they spill it and the mom walks in and smiles and grabs the paper towels. I want to know what are those moms are on and where can I get some!!! There is even one where the mom grabs the sprayer from sink and starts spraying her kid. Yeah like that would happen at my house intentionally! "Oh Billy you little turd, stand still while I spray you with water and soak my entire kitchen which I will then clean up with my brand new paper towels."
I love it that Spanx commercials show an one hundred pound woman wearing Spanx as they talk about how slimming they are. Well they show them on women who DON'T need them. I've tried something similar to them and since they smoosh everything together the extra skin and fat has to come out somewhere else and it was not attractive.
I love dramatizations on infomercials. Only an infomercial can make mowing your lawn, chopping an onion, using a blanket or washing your feet look THAT difficult. I love the one for Easy Feet. They show a person in the shower holding a wash rag and trying to bend over to wash their feet. Then they show how easy the East Feet is just by sliding your foot in and out of it as you squeeze an entire bottle of body wash on the Easy Feet. It's a car wash for your feet.
Well I have been interrupted so many times today that a blog that normally takes me a few minutes to write and post has taken me about ten hours so I guess that's all for today. Have a nice evening!
"Advertising is legalized lying." H.G. Wells
Or what about the paper towel commercials that show a kid spilling milk all over the floor and the mom just smiles and grabs the paper towels and cleans up the mess. Or the one where the dad and his son are horsing around with a bowl of salsa on the counter and they spill it and the mom walks in and smiles and grabs the paper towels. I want to know what are those moms are on and where can I get some!!! There is even one where the mom grabs the sprayer from sink and starts spraying her kid. Yeah like that would happen at my house intentionally! "Oh Billy you little turd, stand still while I spray you with water and soak my entire kitchen which I will then clean up with my brand new paper towels."
I love it that Spanx commercials show an one hundred pound woman wearing Spanx as they talk about how slimming they are. Well they show them on women who DON'T need them. I've tried something similar to them and since they smoosh everything together the extra skin and fat has to come out somewhere else and it was not attractive.
I love dramatizations on infomercials. Only an infomercial can make mowing your lawn, chopping an onion, using a blanket or washing your feet look THAT difficult. I love the one for Easy Feet. They show a person in the shower holding a wash rag and trying to bend over to wash their feet. Then they show how easy the East Feet is just by sliding your foot in and out of it as you squeeze an entire bottle of body wash on the Easy Feet. It's a car wash for your feet.
Well I have been interrupted so many times today that a blog that normally takes me a few minutes to write and post has taken me about ten hours so I guess that's all for today. Have a nice evening!
"Advertising is legalized lying." H.G. Wells
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter & Lemon Bars
We always have so much fun at Easter with our family. The kids look forward to our Easter plans every year. On one side of the family we stay at a hotel with an indoor water park so the kids can swim with their cousins, we eat pizza and have an Easter egg hunt in our hotel rooms. On the other side we eat Easter dinner, have an outdoor Easter egg hunt, the kids get to hit a Mexican pinata and we play a really fun game called Flickin Chickin. Basically you stand a good distance away from a Styrofoam disk and you throw rubber chickens at the disk to see how long it takes you to hit it. Most of us throw the rubber chickens one at a time but my sister-in-law throws them all at once. Sometimes I wonder what the neighbors would think if they saw all of us throwing rubber chickens at the ground!
On the way to school Thursday I asked all of my kids what they thought the meaning of Easter was. My 9 year old son said ,"I think it's the celebration of Jesus coming back to life." My 11 year old daughter said, "That's what I was going to say." and my 3 year old son said, "I think it's about a bunny laying Easter eggs for me to hunt." I told him the real meaning of Easter, similar to what his siblings said and I asked him again. "Now what do you think the meaning of Easter is?" and his reply, "Um I still think it's about an Easter bunny laying eggs for me to hunt." Well all a parent can do is try but our children will think what they want to think!
For Easter last year my mom asked be to bring a dessert. I decided to try this delicious lemon tart I had gotten out of a French cookbook. I prepared everything so carefully and it turned out perfect. I put it in a cake carrier and away we went. After almost two hours in the car we got to my parents house and my tart had fallen apart! I was disappointed but since it didn't look pretty didn't mean it wasn't going to taste good and boy did it taste good. So this year she asked me to make a dessert again and I chose lemon bars this time. The lemon bars turned out delicious and lemony. They have a melt in your mouth crust and a burst of lemon in the filling. The picture of the bars and recipe is below. I will admit I may have gone overboard on my 'sprinkling' of powdered sugar! Looking at the picture you would've thought the recipe read..pile each bar with confectioner's sugar. They are so delicious!
Luscious Lemon Bars
For crust:
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 stick butter, melted but not hot
For filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. all purpose flour
6 Tbs juice from 2 lemons
2 tsps finely grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8 x 8 baking dish well with cooking spray.
Mix flour, salt, and confectioner's sugar in a bowl, stir in butter to form dough. Press dough into greased pan and bake until pale golden, about 20 minutes.
While pastry bakes whisk eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest in a bowl.
Remove pan from oven and add lemon mixture, continue to bake for about 20 minutes longer. Let cool and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if you like. Enjoy!
On the way to school Thursday I asked all of my kids what they thought the meaning of Easter was. My 9 year old son said ,"I think it's the celebration of Jesus coming back to life." My 11 year old daughter said, "That's what I was going to say." and my 3 year old son said, "I think it's about a bunny laying Easter eggs for me to hunt." I told him the real meaning of Easter, similar to what his siblings said and I asked him again. "Now what do you think the meaning of Easter is?" and his reply, "Um I still think it's about an Easter bunny laying eggs for me to hunt." Well all a parent can do is try but our children will think what they want to think!
For Easter last year my mom asked be to bring a dessert. I decided to try this delicious lemon tart I had gotten out of a French cookbook. I prepared everything so carefully and it turned out perfect. I put it in a cake carrier and away we went. After almost two hours in the car we got to my parents house and my tart had fallen apart! I was disappointed but since it didn't look pretty didn't mean it wasn't going to taste good and boy did it taste good. So this year she asked me to make a dessert again and I chose lemon bars this time. The lemon bars turned out delicious and lemony. They have a melt in your mouth crust and a burst of lemon in the filling. The picture of the bars and recipe is below. I will admit I may have gone overboard on my 'sprinkling' of powdered sugar! Looking at the picture you would've thought the recipe read..pile each bar with confectioner's sugar. They are so delicious!
For crust:
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 stick butter, melted but not hot
For filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. all purpose flour
6 Tbs juice from 2 lemons
2 tsps finely grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8 x 8 baking dish well with cooking spray.
Mix flour, salt, and confectioner's sugar in a bowl, stir in butter to form dough. Press dough into greased pan and bake until pale golden, about 20 minutes.
While pastry bakes whisk eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest in a bowl.
Remove pan from oven and add lemon mixture, continue to bake for about 20 minutes longer. Let cool and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if you like. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Candid Moms
I think candid moms are hilarious. I love it when you get together with your friends and there are always the ones that kind of sugar coat things like..."My kids are so great and awesome and I just can't imagine life without them. They give meaning and purpose to my life...blah, blah blah." And THEN there are the friends that are like, "I'd rather remove my own uterus with a rusty spoon than have another child." - Julie Bowen, actress. Now those are the ones I like to visit with. As a mom it is an unspoken truth that we all love our children dearly and that we'd never change things however a lot of us start our conversations out that way. "You know I love my children to pieces and I'd never change things for the world but if I could ship them off to grandma's for a week or two don't think I wouldn't."
It's fun girl time to sit and visit about our kids and the crazy things they do. I was home alone last night with my three year old while my husband and older children were at softball and baseball practice. I played baseball outside with my son. He likes to say, "Mom, can we go outside and you can throw balls at my bat?" That is his way of asking if I can pitch to him! So we played outside, then we came in to clean his room and then I had the audacity to think I was going to clean the kitchen. In a matter of a few minutes he had sprayed Windex all over my wood floors, once I took the Windex away he got the Febreze out and after a scolding he went to his room to get some cars to play with in the living room. I was back and forth between the living room, kitchen, laundry room and bathroom when the phone rang. Now you know when you answer the phone children immediately know you aren't going to pay that much attention to them and they get naughty. By the time I had gotten off the phone he had Kool-Aid in his play kitchen dishes, small candy Easter eggs foaming in the Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid on the floor and both of his hands were stained red.
This is my exhausting child! So of course I think to myself...I love him, I love him, I love him but why did I think I needed three kids! He's too dang cute to give away though so I guess I'll keep him. I realize we all have our limits and can handle different things. I have friends who only ever have one child and I've had friends who have had five AND home schooled them!! I've had friends who have had three kids in three years and I've had friends you have had two kids in twelve years. Once we become moms though we have an understanding for each other and for what our own mothers went through. I know I didn't really appreciate the moms in my life..my mother, aunts, grandmothers, mother-in-law etc. until I became a mom. These women raised multiple children and didn't give any of them away! They managed to keep all of their children and their sanity..well maybe the sanity part could be up for debate. Ha!
It's okay to be honest with your friends because even if they don't admit it they secretly think a lot of what you are thinking. I'll be honest, my days working from home run smoothly, I'm productive and I enjoy what I do and then four o'clock hits and the kids are home from school and all hell breaks loose. Welcome to the jungle! Yesterday my three old informed me that there was a mean rabbit that lived near our house and his name was F*cky the rabbit! Yes, F*cky the rabbit. I scolded him and told him that that was a bad word and that he should never say that and he started crying and said, "I didn't think rabbit was a bad word."
My most favorite times are when we are doing something as a family and everyone is getting along. We could be playing outside or sitting around a campfire or playing a board game. We do try to spend as much time with our kids as possible because even though they are annoying at times they aren't around forever. However I do have friends who say their most favorite times with their children are when they are all sleeping!
Now I realize why grandparents are such happy people. They get to enjoy the grand kids when they want and then give them back to their parents when they need a break. Plus grandparents get to enjoy watching their own children as parents which they already know is the toughest gig on earth!
So if you ever need a candid chat about raising kids come on over to my house. We can talk about kids and you can meet my friends, Riesling and Merlot.
“We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up" Phyllis Diller.
It's fun girl time to sit and visit about our kids and the crazy things they do. I was home alone last night with my three year old while my husband and older children were at softball and baseball practice. I played baseball outside with my son. He likes to say, "Mom, can we go outside and you can throw balls at my bat?" That is his way of asking if I can pitch to him! So we played outside, then we came in to clean his room and then I had the audacity to think I was going to clean the kitchen. In a matter of a few minutes he had sprayed Windex all over my wood floors, once I took the Windex away he got the Febreze out and after a scolding he went to his room to get some cars to play with in the living room. I was back and forth between the living room, kitchen, laundry room and bathroom when the phone rang. Now you know when you answer the phone children immediately know you aren't going to pay that much attention to them and they get naughty. By the time I had gotten off the phone he had Kool-Aid in his play kitchen dishes, small candy Easter eggs foaming in the Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid on the floor and both of his hands were stained red.
This is my exhausting child! So of course I think to myself...I love him, I love him, I love him but why did I think I needed three kids! He's too dang cute to give away though so I guess I'll keep him. I realize we all have our limits and can handle different things. I have friends who only ever have one child and I've had friends who have had five AND home schooled them!! I've had friends who have had three kids in three years and I've had friends you have had two kids in twelve years. Once we become moms though we have an understanding for each other and for what our own mothers went through. I know I didn't really appreciate the moms in my life..my mother, aunts, grandmothers, mother-in-law etc. until I became a mom. These women raised multiple children and didn't give any of them away! They managed to keep all of their children and their sanity..well maybe the sanity part could be up for debate. Ha!
It's okay to be honest with your friends because even if they don't admit it they secretly think a lot of what you are thinking. I'll be honest, my days working from home run smoothly, I'm productive and I enjoy what I do and then four o'clock hits and the kids are home from school and all hell breaks loose. Welcome to the jungle! Yesterday my three old informed me that there was a mean rabbit that lived near our house and his name was F*cky the rabbit! Yes, F*cky the rabbit. I scolded him and told him that that was a bad word and that he should never say that and he started crying and said, "I didn't think rabbit was a bad word."
My most favorite times are when we are doing something as a family and everyone is getting along. We could be playing outside or sitting around a campfire or playing a board game. We do try to spend as much time with our kids as possible because even though they are annoying at times they aren't around forever. However I do have friends who say their most favorite times with their children are when they are all sleeping!
Now I realize why grandparents are such happy people. They get to enjoy the grand kids when they want and then give them back to their parents when they need a break. Plus grandparents get to enjoy watching their own children as parents which they already know is the toughest gig on earth!
So if you ever need a candid chat about raising kids come on over to my house. We can talk about kids and you can meet my friends, Riesling and Merlot.
“We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up" Phyllis Diller.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Please Stop Whining!
I slept pretty well last night which these days is a good thing. I'm not sure what it is but I seem to toss and turn a lot and I don't know why. I exercise, I eat fairly healthy, I'm not a high stress type of person so I'm not thinking about stuff but I just don't sleep well all that often. When I do sleep well I love that feeling of being refreshed and ready to start your day and then you'll no doubt have a child who is having a bad morning and that was this morning. The first thing my three year old did when he got up this morning was whine. He whined about having to get up, he whined about have to go to 'school', he whined about having to eat breakfast and he whined about having to get dressed. I asked him repeatedly to 'please stop whining.' Whining drives me nuts!! He even whined about having to stop whining!
Days like these are getting few and far between as my children age but I'll be honest there are days when I feel like whining! We got all three kids off to school and I got my workout in, showered and was down to my office in a timely fashion. I bent over to pick something up and when I turned around I whacked my funny bone on the arm of my office chair. Ouch! That tingly feeling went straight down my arm and into my hand and I started whining. "Ouch, I just hit my funny bone." I'm not sure who I was whining too, myself I guess, but I whined. You see I'm sort of a klutz. And when I say 'sort of' I mean I AM a klutz. In fact last night I almost fell walking down the same stairs I have walked down repeatedly over the past eight years! My husband really gets a kick out of those movies that show some woman trying to act all cool and then she trips and falls or runs into something because that would be me. I don't remember being like that when I was younger so I think ever since I had kids I've become klutzy. Kids are great because you can blame a lot on them.
My hair was shinier, my skin was clearer, my body was firmer all before I had kids. My brain worked before I had kids. I had lots of energy before I had kids. The list could probably go on and on but one thing I do have to think is that my life was duller before I had kids. Children make life so interesting and it's intriguing to me to watch them turn into little people. All three of my kids are similar in ways and are different in ways and its so great to watch them grow up and it's fun to have them around! Don't get me wrong I love quiet times but I love crazy circus time too.
In usual fashion my adult ADD had me starting a blog about whining kids and turn it into whatever it is this blog is about now. I guess perhaps that is one more thing my kids took from me....my ability to focus!
Now here are a few fun quotes about children:
While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt
There are only two things a child will share willingly - communicable diseases and his mother's age. ~Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, 1945
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore
I love my children best when they are sleeping. Author Unknown
Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. ~Author Unknown
Days like these are getting few and far between as my children age but I'll be honest there are days when I feel like whining! We got all three kids off to school and I got my workout in, showered and was down to my office in a timely fashion. I bent over to pick something up and when I turned around I whacked my funny bone on the arm of my office chair. Ouch! That tingly feeling went straight down my arm and into my hand and I started whining. "Ouch, I just hit my funny bone." I'm not sure who I was whining too, myself I guess, but I whined. You see I'm sort of a klutz. And when I say 'sort of' I mean I AM a klutz. In fact last night I almost fell walking down the same stairs I have walked down repeatedly over the past eight years! My husband really gets a kick out of those movies that show some woman trying to act all cool and then she trips and falls or runs into something because that would be me. I don't remember being like that when I was younger so I think ever since I had kids I've become klutzy. Kids are great because you can blame a lot on them.
My hair was shinier, my skin was clearer, my body was firmer all before I had kids. My brain worked before I had kids. I had lots of energy before I had kids. The list could probably go on and on but one thing I do have to think is that my life was duller before I had kids. Children make life so interesting and it's intriguing to me to watch them turn into little people. All three of my kids are similar in ways and are different in ways and its so great to watch them grow up and it's fun to have them around! Don't get me wrong I love quiet times but I love crazy circus time too.
In usual fashion my adult ADD had me starting a blog about whining kids and turn it into whatever it is this blog is about now. I guess perhaps that is one more thing my kids took from me....my ability to focus!
Now here are a few fun quotes about children:
While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt
There are only two things a child will share willingly - communicable diseases and his mother's age. ~Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, 1945
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore
I love my children best when they are sleeping. Author Unknown
Children seldom misquote. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. ~Author Unknown
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Easter Sugar Cookies
My aunt came to town from Texas this past weekend and she brought the kids some spring/Easter cookie cutters, frosting and sprinkles to decorate cookies as well as several egg dying kits. We got the eggs dyed but didn't have time to bake the cookies while she was back so she asked if I would bake the cookies with the kids and of course I obliged! I was excited to find a new sugar cookie recipe so once again I got out my trusty old Taste of Home Cookies book and found a recipe called Easter Sugar Cookies. These melt in your mouth cookies were so delicious my children said they were addicting. The recipe calls for butter, sugar, an egg yolk, cream cheese and both vanilla and almond extracts just to name most of the ingredients. They are so good it's hard not to eat the dough...which of course we ate some. I used a paste food coloring to color the frosting blue, yellow and purple. Then we had a spray can of white frosting that had interchangeable tips. Yes a spray can of frosting...I'd never seen such a thing but the kids thought it was awesome!
Here is a picture of the cookies my children decorated. They are shaped as an Easter egg, flower and butterfly.
There are a few cookies that look as though someone sprinkled an entire container of sprinkles on them and those were the ones made by my three year old. He feels the more sprinkles the better. However, I'm pretty sure there were even more sprinkles on the floor than the cookies! And lets not forget to mention all the flour from rolling them out. I love sugar cookies but clean up is a bit tricky and that is why I only make them a few times a year. Also since I made the frosting such bright colors the blue stained my sons face...Oops! Below you will find the delicious recipe I used. I thought they were so good I ate a few unfrosted ones. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Here is a picture of the cookies my children decorated. They are shaped as an Easter egg, flower and butterfly.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Tinted frosting or colored sugar
Directions
- In a bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and extracts. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Decorate as desired. Yield: 4 dozen.
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