Postcards for your Family or Business

Have you ever thought of making your own postcard for your family or for your business? Using Vista Prints postcard design service, you can create your own postcard with your own design or picture or use one of their design templates and have them shipped directly to your home. This is a great idea for a birthday party, thank you cards, or your business. With so many options of the easy to fill-in design templates, anyone can make a great looking postcard. I uploaded my own picture (using the specified diminsions) and made a personalized card. My husband took a fantastic picture of the lake one afternoon. It looks so much better than a cheesy Florida postcard you can get at the store. It will be perfect to send to our friends and family up north in the snow, with a "Wish You Were Here" greeting! For your business, Vista Print offers so many designs to select from. You fill in the blanks on the design of your choice. It offers a great opportunity to spread the word on your product or service without hiring a design or marketing firm to create a product for you. Vista print is the leader in postcard printing. With some imagination, you have a great looking postcard for your business or your family.

Cooking With Your Preschooler- Valentine's Cookies

Since I got my Kitchen Aid for my birthday, I am now looking for ways to start using it! I am going to have my preschooler help me make cookies. Here is a simple recipe from All Homemade Cookies:

Sweetheart Chippers
by All Homemade Cookies

Make a batch of these delicious heart-shaped cookies to share with your favorite Valentine.

These cookies are great for Valentine's Day, but you can make these cookies for any occasion simply by using various shaped cookie cutters.

To make these cookies, you will need the following ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 12 oz. bag M&Ms (or other candies for decoration)

Mix the powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla, almond extract and egg in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Preheat your oven to 375. Divide the dough into halves. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half about 3/16 inch thick. Use various heart-shaped cutters to cut out the cookies. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Cool completely and spread with your favorite glaze or frosting and then decorate with the candies. (For Valentines' Day, you can use the red M&Ms.)

Yields about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies.

If you live in altitudes above 3500 feet, bake the cookies 8 to 9 minutes.

Hair Emergency! What to do?

As a mom, you often have times when there is no time to wash and dry your hair. With me, it always happens when the baby did not take a nap, your scheduled shower time, or someone calls and you have to run out quickly. You are in debate... wet hair with no style or try to make your hair work without washing it. Or as a last resort, throw on the ball cap and hope no one notices!

Now, there are no worries! Salon Grafix's Dry Shampoo line is a mommy's dream come true! Instead of jumping in the shower and leaving with a wet head, you can use the dry shampoo and have instantly clean hair. The Salon Grafix Spray Powder Shampoo, with its color match formula, is perfect for cleansing and refreshing your hair between normal shampoos or when you just don't have time to wash your hair the old-fashioned way. It easily brushes off, leaves hair revitalized, without white powder or oily residue, plus it leaves hair clean and shiny. A dry shampoo will solve all of your problems since you can style your hair and skip the blow drying. Think of the time this product will save and the happiness it will bring you... without the hassles!

Shift Happens! Don't miss this...

If you want to know why it is so important to teach our children to think, watch this...

Let Them Try It! Increase a Preschoolers Intelligence

I drive my husband crazy! In an effort to not stifle the creativity of our children, I frequently let them make a mess. If you can clean it up, let them try it! I believe that part of developing intelligence is allowing your child to experiment without the worry or stress from a parent worrying about the mess. Children that worry about making a mess become perfectionist and fearful of risk taking. Before you say no, think about it... why are you saying no? If it is safety, by all means, say no! If it is because the thought of the parent worrying about things on the floor or drips on the table, rethink!

An example of this is my son's interest in a orange juice commercial with the straw in the orange. He was amazed that it looked like you could drink the o.j. right from the orange, without using a glass. He asked to try it, so I let him. I cut a small slit in an orange and stuck the straw in. It actually worked with a very juicy orange! He did not drink very much, but he squeeze the juice out through the straw, and all over the table, chairs, and floor- all washable! He did this two times. Then he was done! He knew it was possible and it worked, and he was satisfied. Not to mention, the squeezing was great for fine motor skills!

The lesson is, think before you nix an idea! If you are a perfectionist and a neat freak, try to not force that one your child. Getting dirty is most of the fun!

Deceptively Delicious- A Must Have for Preschoolers!

I purchase Deceptively Delicious just before Christmas. My children are not the best eaters. My preschooler would eat any baby food, but changed his taste as he started eating food. My toddler never ate baby food and went straight for Cheerios. Both of them are hesitant eaters and like to eat things that are familiar.

I had not seen any of the press on Deceptively Delicious- I ran across it one day while in the book store and bought it. The recipes are really great, especially the desserts. My children love the chocolate cookies (with chick peas) and the chocolate cupcakes (with avocado). My friend that hates avocado loved the cupcakes too! I told him after what was in them and he was shocked! They have not eaten much of the other things yet, but my husband and I have loved everything I have made... brownies from scratch (with spinach), rice balls with chicken (and sweet potatoes), homemade frozen yogurt (I made a smoothie with it- YUM!) and peanut butter chocolate dip (with carrot). I am sure they will gradually work into some of the other recipes and I continue to try each and every day!

This is a great cook book for any parent, even if you do not have picky eaters or a picky husband! More veggies are never a bad thing!