best cookies...ever

I can only take credit for finding them on Pinterest and taking the time to make em. This chocolate chip cookie ingredients are basic but you do interesting things like... browning more than a stick of butter on the stove, adding egg yolk, and stirring the sugar and butter for 30 seconds then waiting 3 minutes and then stirring again. The cookie was perfect. Here's a link to the recipe.  I also threw in peanut butter chips, peanut butter and walnuts to the remaining batter (far right stack of cookies). Another home run!  Let me know if you make these tasty rounds of joy.  

school mornings - part 2

So in this blog entry I shared with you my plan to ease up those nutty school mornings by requiring the kiddies to come dressed to the breakfast table. This has worked OK but the girls had way too much free time after breakfast. So I had to thrown in a few more gritty details: 

• clothes AND socks on AND hair done before breakfast
• brushing teeth occurs right after breakfast
• shoes are on feet immediately following teeth cleaning
• coat goes on next
• finally, play time can occur if there is anytime left...

 We actually only missed the bus once this past week! 

The ut oh bin

Tired of messy bedrooms?  Through with stepping on toys?  Me too. I found this idea on Pinterest and changed it just a bit to increase the pain. Simple idea. Grab an empty bin and walk around the house and fill that puppy up with everything on the floor. Put a little note on it.  Mine said this:

You left it out.  MOM picked it up. She’s got your stuff and you are out of LUCK. To get it back, you must do a CHORE and again it is yours, just like before. Hurry, don’t be a PILL, on Saturday it goes to GOODWILL!

My girls were pretty darn mad.  On Saturday morning I gave them 1/2 hour to clean and after that anything on the floor was going out the door. They moved fast. Absolute success. Let me know if you try this out!

school mornings - the easy way

Monday can't come soon enough. Here's my plan to a scream-free, catch the school bus morning - girls only get to eat breakfast after they have their school clothes on and hair done. Very simple concept and will bring gobbles and gobbles of structure to very complex, time-driven hectic morning. Keep you posted. Please share your morning tips!

hydrogen peroxide

Lucky me. Got the stomach flu. Too much time on pinterest led me to an article on the benefits of hydrogen peroxide. Here's my favorite ones:  mix with vinegar as a disinfectant, use to remove stains, mold, clean mirrors. Read more tips here. 

123 magic

Here's the best tip I have ever given. Ever.  Start timing the good behavior and counting down the whining, attitudes and fighting.  Start the good. Stop the bad.  123 Magic has changed how we parent. We no longer negotiate for better behavior, we just send them to a time-out. "Clean your room!" I used to yell say.  Now I say in a firm but pleasant voice..."Please put away seven things in your room. You have 5 minutes. Let me know when you are done."  Buy the book on Amazon, get it for free at the library or buy it from them directly along with tons of other books.  Only read this one, if you want some serious change in your casa.  And let me know if it works!

pumpkin seeds

Picture taken by The Girl Who Ate Everything

Oh, they are addicting.  I snagged a pumpkin for 17cents a pound (that's cheap people), had the kiddies dig out the guts and seeds.  I didn't wash the seeds just tossed them and some of the slimy innards (trust me on this) with seasoning salt (no MSG), garlic salt and wee bit of olive oil.  Then I placed them in one layer on a cookie sheet with 1/4 cup olive oil and baked at 350 for 30 minutes.  Toss every 10 minutes to prevent burning and sticking.  The pumpkin flesh mixed with the salt will make these puppies sing in your mouth.  Ahhhhh-dicting.