To gift bag, or not to gift bag? That is the question.
It seems that party gift bags have become the new normal – at least enough of the time to warrant the internal-discussion whether to join the bandwagon or not. When I was a kid, I don’t remember ever getting a gift bag when leaving a birthday party, or whatever. The party was the gift – if it was a good one you were spent and didn’t need anymore.
But times have changed. If it turns out most of your kid’s friends have parents that make the effort to put together post party gift bags, or even if your friends put together the bags after a Christmas or other party event, you should too.
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Most toys are simply garbage. There I said it. Long-ago, most toy companies stopped thinking about what’s best for kids in order to focus on profits, no matter the social and health implications.
This phenomenon explains how cheaply made Chinese products have flooded toy store shelves in recent years, pushing out socially-responsible competitors. A disturbing number of these products were so bad to be recalled due to the presence of lead in the toy. More »
With the school year in full swing, the tide of research papers will soon start if it hasn’t already reached your family’s shores. This annual rite has many parents riding a wave of anxiety and self-doubt in anticipation of having to help with difficult assignments in intimidating courses.
Coming face to face with heady academic subject matter years – or decades – since you last wrote a research paper is challenging to say the least. There’s no shame in that; every parent feels it to one degree or another.
It doesn’t help that the Internet is full of millions of pages of questionable content. Many websites claim to be expert produced, and even look the part, but in reality are publishers of completely bogus content. It can be a daunting task to tell fact from fiction. More »
It can be challenging or even embarrassing to talk with your pre-teen about their hygiene, but it’s important to address this conversation in a positive way. An open and honest discourse will set the tone for your future conversations about more intimate matters, so this conversation requires some preparation.
Be as Specific as Possible
Know what you’re talking about and try to be as specific as you are comfortable being. Instead of just telling a young lady that she will need to start shaving under her arms, lead into the conversation gently with some facts about what is happening to her body. She probably has some questions that she’s wanted to ask and she needs to know that everything happening to her is completely normal and that her feelings are valid. More »
Halloween has long been a time of costumes and candy and chilly evenings. Given the commotion and all of the fun, it’s important to make sure that everyone is safe and aware of situations that can come up. Even teenagers need to be reminded that Halloween is an unusual night and they’ll need to be more alert to their surroundings.
Guidelines For Halloween Safety at Any Age
It’s an oldie, but a goodie….Don’t take candy from strangers. That means that kids and teenagers alike should only go to the homes of people they are familiar with and to homes that are well-lit. An obvious exception to that would be if you are going to be with them the whole time or if it’s a facility of some sort that has been set up to allow trick-or-treating. More »
I admit that baking a fancy cake is not my forte. I’m from the school of Mums who make those “it-tastes-yummy-but-doesn’t-look-it” cakes at home. Luckily my sister is a wonderful baker, so when I need something really good I know where to go. The thing is, she doesn’t make this sort of thing – sugar loaded, multi colored characters meant for kids – but more genteel desserts like her to-die-for “Tres Leches” mini cakes, or the german chocolate, richly laden with coconut, a slice of which still sits on my fridge (beckoning) from her Bday lunch.
So to satisfy my little Goth’s request for a Dracula Cake this Halloween, I’ve been on a mission to find the easiest recipe for Dracula cake out there. And here it is (adapted from Piece of Cake Decorating):
Ingredients:
2 10 inch round cakes (to get into the spirit of things, use Red Velvet)
Green, black, yellow/gold and white buttercream icing
4 Tips # 5 – *Ready-made black is better, as mixing your own is extremely difficult!
*** Tip*** If you do not have four #5 tips, do not worry. You will get the same effect using tips #4 or 6. If you do not want to use a tip at all, just cut the end of the piping bag to size. It will work just as well but your lines will not be as tight. This techniques works best for piping the eyes and nose because of their shape.
Directions:
1. Level, tort and fill the cakes. They can be placed on a 12 or 14 inch cake board. In this picture, the cake is placed on a large cake board (in the pic, Pillsbury Pumpkin Sugar Cookies scattered around for added decoration). Ice the cake with your green buttercream icing.
2. Using a toothpick, outline the vampire’s hair. Next, using tip #5 and black buttercream icing, pipe the outline of the hair and fill in with tight lines.
***Tip*** To smooth out the striped effect you get from filling in an outline using a piping bag, simply put a little cornstarch on your finger and gently pat it flat. Most of the cornstarch will fade into the icing but the excess can be brushed away with a decorating brush.
3. Using tip # 5 and yellow icing, pipe the eyes on the cake. Add the pupils using the extra black icing.
4. Using tip # 5 and green icing, pipe the nose. Next, add the mouth and eyebrows with the left over black icing and the teeth (tip #5) with white icing.
As with most cake mixes, do be aware that monosodium glutamate will be used, an additive helps to bring out natural flavors and make it taste better. Despite many reports from amateurs to the contrary, this is a completely safe ingredient to use- as affirmed by the FDA and many other regulators and scientific agencies around the world.
Recipe Finder Home Page
Some people were born hosts/hostesses, but for others, entertaining at home can be a pain in the butt. For the former group, the logistics of entertaining at home is not a source of concern. For the latter, it can be quite a nightmare. Even more so if the gathering is an out of the blue one. You know, when your partner or kid calls and tells you that they are coming home within a couple of hours, and can you please prepare dinner for their friends as well?
When faced with this situation, you can either go out and get food from a restaurant or hit the kitchen and get cooking. While the first option is always convenient, it can also mean big bucks. If I were you, I’d go for the second option and make sure that you have the right tools to make your impromptu gathering a success. More »
Raising kids is tough, round-the-clock job. But even if moms don’t get official leaves, we need to find “me time.” We deserve at least one hour for ourselves, and only ourselves. Here are some simple ways to escape from the tantrums and daily grind and to nurture our spirit.
1. Feed your mind. Moms need intellectual stimulation too, and we’re unlikely to get it from Dr. Seuss and Disney Playhouse. Read a good book, even if you can only take in a chapter a day. Bring it around with you so you can sneak in a couple of chapters while the baby naps or you sit in the dentist’s office.
2. Don’t give in to mommy frump. Even if you’re just at home, take an extra minute to fix your hair or wear your favorite lipstick or perfume. It’s not vanity: when you look good, you feel good, and that will boost your energy levels and your confidence. You don’t even need to spend a fortune on beauty products: these beauty tips for busy moms help you find new uses for makeup you already have.
3. Give yourself small treats. What are the little things that make you happy? Sparkly pens? Fresh flowers? Chocolate and mint ice cream? Make a list of 30 things that make you smile and go out and get them!!!
4. Drop out of the mompetition. You don’t have to be a perfect mom, and you shouldn’t be pressured to “match” what your co-parents are doing. Find your own parenting style and cut yourself some slack when you make mistakes. You may be a mom, but you’re still human.
5. Reconnect with friends. Not just the fellow soccer moms or playdate moms but friends who share your interests, offer stimulating conversation, or are just plain fun to hang out with. Organize a girl’s night out and don’t talk about the kids (it’s also a great chance to get dad more involved with the kids)
For mental growth and development of your babies, giving them toys is a great idea. It helps sharpens their minds at the same time giving them so much enjoyment. However, as parents you need to very careful about the toys you give your babies, make sure that they are safe to play with and your babies like them. Babies are attracted to bright colors and to different sounds. There are some educational toys for babies that can make different sound of the alphabet. These toys will surely help them get ready to talk.
Bright colors like red, blue, yellow and green attracts most babies. You might want to buy some that comes in different shapes of even large puzzle pieces to incorporate cognitive development at an early age. But your baby might just probably throw them away or bite on them. This is fine babies love to bite especially when teething. So you have to be very picky when it comes to the texture of the toys, they should never come with small parts or a string. These are hazardous especially to babies, since they love biting on the toys, they might choke accidentally on those tiny parts.
Building blocks are great toys for babies especially those that come in varying bright colors. This will help them develop the hand and eye coordination. You may want to teach them how to build blocks at first and then gradually introduce how to make big blocks out of them. These safe and developmental baby toys are great your child.
In order to protect your property with home insurance, you need to establish rules in your home that can be grasped and followed by your family members, especially the kids. They are not aware of any danger and they move freely. They pick up the things that they see and they do not care if these would harm them or not. The primary goal is to safeguard them at all times, which will secure the safety of your home from any accidents and untoward incidents. Follow these golden rules and you, along with your children will be safe.
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