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November, 2012

  1. What’s In The Fridge?

    November 29, 2012 by admin

    We are quite practiced in cooking enough food to feed our family of 4 without producing an incredible amount of leftovers.  But we typically need at least one container after each dinner to stash away a bit of remaining brown rice, some stir fry, or such.  Untouched food is moved into glass containers with BPA-free lids.  We eat our leftovers for lunches during the week, or as complements to a weekend dinner.  Usually these leftovers get consumed by someone during the week.  But if not, the food is put into our compost.

    We absolutely do NOT scrape our remaining food into the trash!  The bits of any dinner waste go into our kitchen compost bin, to be later incorporated into our outside compost.  Occasionally, Molly (our pup,) will luck out and she’ll get passed some leftover scrambled eggs or bits of bread.  But more often than not, if it isn’t mixed into the compost, it’s being saved in the fridge.

    Having the proper containers has really helped us utilize all of our leftover food.  We try not to use plastic in our home for food storage (if we do, it must be BPA free.)  We recycle glass peanut butter or jelly jars.  Or we purchase Ziplock or Pyrex storage containers, and Bell canning jars, when our budget allows.  We have a small number of BPA-free freezer containers also.  This way, we aren’t scrambling about after a meal, trying to figure out what to do with the unused marinara or the little bit of remaining pasta.  A lack of containers can equate to the tossing out of food and we don’t want that to happen in our home.

    Tip:  Rather than purchasing storage containers in a plethora of sizes, pick two sizes from the same manufacturer.  And then get multiples of those two sizes only.  This makes finding lids within your storage drawers a breeze!

    Our airtight kitchen compost bin is also an essential part of our leftovers program.  If we didn’t have our bin, we’d be tempted to throw out the leftovers.  It gets cold in Wisconsin at night!  A walk to the garden compost can be a bit intimidating when it is below zero outside.  Utilizing an indoor bin affords you the option of waiting until the weather outside is more accommodating.

    How do you deal with your leftovers?


  2. Holiday Craft Ideas

    November 27, 2012 by admin

    By Brenda Winter Hansen

    When the winter holidays roll around, I have to constantly fight my Charlie Brown tendency to get all excited only to be let down by how vacuous and fraught it can all seem, especially when the budget is tight. I’ve found the best defense (besides sharing food with friends!) is carving out a little time to help the kids make thoughtful and easily completed crafts for keeping or giving. I’ve collected some worthy standards and a couple new ones to share, so have a look and be inspired to make a little mess with your kids this season.

    Handmade gift tags/bookmarks-Colorful card stock plus string (think yarn, embroidery thread, or something sparkly) is the basic recipe for speedy gratification. You’ll also need cookie cutters, a hole-puncher, scissors, markers, and quite possibly glitter glue. I know it’s so cheap to buy stickers made in China to slap on your gifts, but why not let the younger set make and decorate gift tags with a more personal touch? Colorful card stock is easy to come by from a local craft/paper shop, as is embroidery thread, decorative string, or yarn. Trace cookie cutters onto the card stock and cut them out. Be careful not to punch a hole too close to the edge of your tag or the string will rip through. Cut lengths of string about 10 inches long and attach each one to a tag. One side can be decorated and the other can be the To/From side, resulting in an ornament worth hanging! Cut the cardstock into long rectangles and you have lovely bookmarks.

    Felt ornaments- These are great for giving and keeping. You’ll need several sheets of colored felt, depending on how many ornaments you’d like to make, string/yarn/embroidery thread, pillow fill (optional), a basic sewing kit, glitter glue and decorations are optional but nice. Use cookie cutters as stencils for shapes. Don’t bother to punch a hole for the thread, just use a large-eyed needle for pulling string through to hang it. Ornaments can be a single layer of felt or, if you cut two pieces of the same shape, you can make a tiny pillow ornament by sewing the two pieces mostly together, stuffing them with pillow fill (from fabric store) and finish sewing up the rest. Sequins, glitter glue, and sewn-on scraps of felt are great for decorating the ornaments, just make sure all glue is thoroughly dried before packing these up as gifts or hanging them up. Here’s a link to a free template for felt mushrooms. http://thelongthread.com/?p=5237

    Back in the Stone Age, when I was a kid, my parents did the Yule tree decorating in the dead of night while all six of us were asleep. We’d wake up to the magical beauty of a tree that stretched from floor to ceiling and was covered with enough bling to weigh down an LA pimp. In retrospect, I think it was their version of “date night” during the busy and penny-pinched holiday season. My mom explained once that they each had favorite ornaments to hang, but there were two homemade painted cookie ornaments that waited until last. Dad would hang up “hers” (an angel), and Mom would hang up “his” (a tin soldier), and then they kissed. Not kidding. And you know what? Those cookies lasted forever! What I’m saying is, make these cookies, but do not eat them. Make them into a memorable tradition whether you have a tree or not. Make one for each child and creature in your household. Hang them on the mantle, in a doorway, on the wall. Have fun and be hopelessly romantic. Oh, and it would probably be a good idea to make some edible dough too, or you’ll never hear the end of it.

    Inedible Cookie Ornaments

    300F for 1 ½ hours
    Ingredients:
    3 Cups Flour
    1 Cup Salt
    1 1/2 Cups Warm Water

    -Mix flour and salt and then add water gradually and knead dough.  If the dough is too dry, add water.  If it is too sticky, add flour.

    -With flour to reduce sticking, roll out dough onto baking paper until the dough is about 1/4″ to 3/4″ thick.  The thicker the dough, the longer they will need to bake.

    -Use cookie cutters or hand shape each ornament and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Don’t forget to make a hole in each ornament before baking.

    -Bake at 300F for about 1½ hours. Flip ornaments half way through. Cool completely before decorating with paint, glitter glue, beads, etc. Make sure to use newspaper or parchment paper underneath the decorating station, because it is guaranteed to get messy!

    Linocut holiday cards– This project requires a little more time and money investment, but you’ll be able to use the tools for ages. It’s a great project for the whole family. Some parts of it are suited for an older, steadier hand, and others can be done by the youngsters. You’ll need a linoleum cut set (from a craft store) a couple sheets of linoleum (good to have one to practice on), transfer paper (optional but very helpful), ink roller, bright card stock, and ink. Watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE3Uuhylur0 for a quick demo. If you’ve never done this before, then pick a simple image for your card, like a snowflake or a star. Adults and older children are better suited for using the sharp cutting tools, but smaller kids should be able to help inking the roller and applying it to the cut linoleum. You’re the best judge of your child’s ability, so make sure their task is one they won’t get frustrated with and can be proud of as well.

    Here’s another card idea (low-tech & less expensive) for the older ambitious child: http://extremecards.blogspot.com/2012/01/easy-pop-up-snowflake-cards.html

    Everybody who knows them loves holiday noise crackers– So this year, finish your crafting with a bang and make your own. Fill them with silly things or goody jokes to surprise friends. It’s pretty easy to do these on the cheap and well ahead of time, so they’re perfect for bringing to a party or having them ready for a post-dinner pre-dessert treat. The snaps can be found quite inexpensively online at Old English Crackers. Have a blast!

    http://crafts.kaboose.com/christmas-cracker.html

    http://www.oldenglishcrackers.com/christmas-cracker-components-c-4.html

    HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR PARTY CRACKER

    Either use our pre-sized Cracker Tubes (105 x 50mm) or make your own by preparing 3 rolls of card, each 10cm wide x a suggested 30cm, rolled and taped to form a tube of diameter to suit the gift to be included.
    The first roll will be left in the cracker, the other two are for use as temporary end formers and will be removed once the cracker is made.

    Cut crepe paper 35cm x 35cm per cracker (or larger if you wish). You may also use tissue paper, cake board paper, or fancy gift wrap for colour effect. NOTE: THE PAPER YOU USE MUST BE ABLE TO BE TORN EASILY.

    Arrange the rolls on the crepe paper along the grain of the paper. Lay a Cracker Snap between roll and paper, then roll the paper to cover.

    Gently withdraw one end roll approx 2cm (1 inch) then twist and gently (but firmly) tie the crepe paper between the centre and one end roll. Tie the crepe paper securely with narrow ribbon.

    Fill the centre roll with novelties, personal gift, jokes, paper hats, lollies, etc.

    Similarly gather and tie the second end with narrow ribbon.

    Decorate your own special party crackers with ribbons, transfers, stickers, glitter etc. The choices and variety possible is endless.

    The two end cardboard rolls have been used to maintain the shape throughout the assembly process. They may now be removed to use again on your next cracker.

    With a friend, each hold the snap, then give it a quick sharp pull for the BANG. http://www.goldingcraft.com/cracker.htm

    Happy Holidays!!


  3. Trader Joe’s

    November 25, 2012 by admin

    We don’t always head out on a jaunt with a picnic packed.  And we may not have the desire, or the funds, to eat at a sit down restaurant.  When out and about on an explore that will require a meal on the road, we highly recommend that you consider Trader Joe’s (TJ’s).  They have numerous locations across the States.

    Tip:  All stores have a clean customer bathroom which is a huge bonus to factor into any family stop.  And in the back of most TJ’s, you’ll find a free sample station, which is always a welcome sight for hungry travelers.

    TJ’s has a well-stocked, prepared cold food section that offers up items ranging from 6-piece sushi to giant falafel sandwiches all priced right around $3.99.  Recently, our family stopped in to satisfy our lunch needs and we managed to feed our brood of 4 for $10.79.  This price included a half gallon of high fructose corn syrup free chocolate milk!  It’s a quick in and out to grab food to eat in the car, or to pick up supplies for an impromptu picnic.  The wide range of ready-to-eat sandwiches and salads, fresh fruit, and snacks means there’s always something for everyone in the family at a far cheaper price than any restaurant.  It’s far healthier, too!

    We are curious if our experiences at TJ’s could be duplicated within a large supermarket.  Our local Hyvee has quite a selection of hot and cold prepared meals.  But we’ve yet to test the supermarket waters for lunches while on the road.  The vegetarian options and the low price point that can be found in a TJ’s is going to be pretty hard to beat!

    What are your out and about meal tips?


  4. Get Moving Early!

    November 23, 2012 by admin

    Top Reasons to get your family out the door early in the morning:

    >Your kids and you should have tons of energy as your day has just begun.

    >You’ve probably had breakfast, so there will be fewer, “I’m hungry!” complaints.

    >The stores are less crowded, making it easier to find your items.  And it will be simpler to keep your eyes on your kids while allowing them to roam a bit.

    >Stores are fully stocked, so it’s a breeze to cruise quickly through your shopping list.

    >No matter your destination, most staff members have just started their shift.  Workers should be high energy, enthusiastic, and cheerful.

    >Museums are quieter, so you can explain displays to your children and learn more while taking your time to explore.

    >There are fewer people in the way of exhibits.  And there are less folk to act annoyed when your kids are just being kids.

    >You can go on an explore and then get home in time for lunch, which means no expensive lunch out!

     


  5. Boredom Busters!

    November 21, 2012 by admin

    We like to plan out our weekends rather extensively.  But there are always blocks of time that crop up when we find ourselves at a loss as to how to entertain the kids.  Here are some tried and true, last minute, go-to activities that will keep the kiddoes engaged and happy:

    1. Water play:  Get out those measuring spoons, small non-breakable cups, and a few straws if available!  Fill one large container with clear water and another large container with sudsy water (a little dish detergent is perfect for creating suds).  Place the containers on your kitchen floor and let the kids have at it.  This play could evolve into a car wash with your collection of matchboxes, etc.  Or it could turn into a beauty salon with some Barbies.  There are no limitations!  Just be prepared to mop up water and/or to change your kids out of soppy clothes.  Bonus– you might just get your kitchen floor washed up with little effort!
    2. Cook:  Tailor this experience to the ages of your kids.  If under 4 years of age, consider putting them in charge of making you a PB&J.  Supply them with the ingredients and a plastic knife or a butter knife.  And then let them have at it.  Any recipe that doesn’t require your small ones to be near very hot kitchen appliances will suffice!  Other cold snacks they could prepare for you include:  sliced bananas with honey drizzled on top or a bagel with cream cheese.  The important thing is that your pre-schooler is creating a meal for you with no assistance.  For the older kids, put them in charge of making cookies completely from scratch.  Or have them scramble up some eggs and toast for your enjoyment.  Again, they are in charge of creating a meal for you with no adult help!
    3. Shaving cream:  Clear off that kitchen table or craft table and get ready for messy fun!  Spray shaving cream all over the flat surface.  Supply your kids with a couple of paint brushes, some matchbox cars, a few mini-figures, and let the good times begin.  Your kids can draw in it, create roads, try to pile it up into mountains- whatever works for them!  Tip– you could combine shaving cream play with activity #1 and have a full blown car wash experience!
    4. Go on a walk:  Fresh air does amazing things for lagging spirits.  You could really up the ante by going on a nature scavenger hunt.  But even just a casual walk around your neighborhood will invigorate your family.  Who knows what joys you’ll see?  You can count all the red cars that go by as you stroll, or try to identify the different trees in your area.  You could see who can find the houses or buildings with the most windows.  Or you could try to skip over all the cracks in the sidewalk as you make your way.

     

    How does your family find little ways to fill in an afternoon with fun?

     


  6. Shall we Lego?

    November 19, 2012 by admin

    A lot of our indoor playtime is spent manipulating Legos.   Regardless of the numerous options available within our home’s play space, the kids have a definite, well established preference for their Legos.  It amazes us that such a simple toy can appeal equally to a 3 year old and a 10 year old.  And yes, even we TR parents enjoy playing with Legos.

    We love that each Lego session veers off into its own direction.  There are bakeries and veterinary clinics.  We create robots and sea creatures.  Or we mix all of it together for one crazy Lego world.  Legos allow our children’s creativity to explode!

    Lego sets can be costly.  We save money by steering our kids towards the small plastic wrapped bags of Lego vehicles found on the check-out lines of Target (around $3.99,) or the small boxed items within the Lego aisle (around $4.99.)  You can also pick up a solo Lego character at Target for $1.99.  We purchase the larger sets for special occasions only.  We rarely find Legos at garage sales; but when we are lucky, we snatch them up!

    We have learned by trial to always save the directions that come with a specific Lego purchase.  One of our kids will inevitably ask to have the original structure put back together and without the directions, it would be a hopeless task!

    We spend the majority of our Lego time constructing wonderful little worlds, vehicles,or characters that interact with each other.  Our kids make up delightful stories around their unique structures.  The hardest part of the day comes at bedtime when everyone insists that their Lego creations should be saved for playtime tomorrow.  Even though we have a large stash of Legos, if you don’t consistently break the blocks down, the play will become stagnant.  Most of the time, our requests to take things apart are accepted with little argument, and our future play is enhanced.

    Tip:  We keep our larger Lego bricks (Duplos) in a see-through plastic bin.  Our smaller Legos are in a garage sale purchased Lego table.  If you don’t have a Lego table, we recommend that you find a shallow container for the smaller Lego bricks so that you can be easily sift through it for that perfect piece.

    It is this big mix of Lego pieces, augmented with our collection of penguins, dinosaurs, cars, etc. that allows our kiddoes to really be creative and to produce truly original projects.  We don’t really appreciate the gender specific line that Lego decided to market recently.  We don’t think you need to appeal to girls with pink blocks and cupcake shops.  The girls we know gravitate towards Legos regardless of the color of the bricks.  We don’t consider Legos to be a “boy’s” toy, so we don’t see the need for a ‘girl’ alternative.

    We hope to have Legos as a steady play choice in our home for many years.  What is your favorite toy?

     


  7. College and Retirement

    November 17, 2012 by admin

    The other day, a fellow employee was shocked that someone could approach retirement with just $75,000 stashed away.  S/He questioned why anyone would choose not to utilize a company’s 401K plan to the fullest.  We TR parents will be lucky if we get to retirement age with anywhere near $75,000 in our 401k.

    A sizeable savings, when you live pay check to pay check, is an incredibly hard thing to accomplish.

    And it is something that presses on us.  We have 3 kids that will aim for college, one within the next few years.  There is little college savings for them to draw upon.  And although we participate in a 401K, it isn’t at the level that affords a company match.  We need 99.9% of our paycheck to survive now. So our 401k is a slow crawl to saving for eventual retirement, which will probably occur well beyond the age that most people stop working.  And our kids will have to confront student loans, or scholarships if they’re lucky, to pay for college.

    Tip:  Make savings automatic by setting up a recurring pull, of even a very small amount, from your paycheck.

    We do manage to snip off around $30 from each paycheck to put into savings.  But it never stays there very long.  There is always an emergency to handle that requires a pull from savings:  a car repair, a surprise cavity at a dental check, or a school trip.  But we continue to make the effort.

    Pulling from savings is a better move than using a credit card for an ’emergency.’  We hope that eventually our small savings will grow to become something of use to us later.

    What are your tricks or tips for saving money?


  8. The Museum Gift Shop

    November 15, 2012 by admin

    Our trips to a museum inevitably involve a discussion about whether or not there will be a gift shop.   While a default of, “we won’t go to the gift shop,” might work for some families, we find that we enjoy offering a small treat to the kids.  An inexpensive item purchased at the gift shop usually makes a lasting impression.   A gift helps to boost enthusiasm for the trip and it assists with building memories.  Bluey and Plum both have toys or knick-knacks that trigger the happy recollection of our various experiences.

    He was all Yellow…

    Tip:  Having something new to play with or look at also helps to speed along the journey home.

    Since we are in favor of a museum shop stop, we have established a set of rules that helps keep the gifting under control:

    > Limit of money:  We typically offer $5 for gift shop purchasing per kid.  The kiddoes can augment this stipend with their own cash, if they so choose.

    > Limit of time:  Our kids can get lost in the great variety of options available within the shop.  So rather than wait until we TR parents are exasperated, we approach it knowing that everyone has an established ten minutes to make a purchase decision.  Then we can focus on helping each child find something they like that fits their budget.

    > Never go to the gift shop first: We always go through the entire museum prior to visiting a gift shop.  This way we aren’t distracted by our purchases when we should be focusing on the exhibits.

    These rules allow us to balance the desire to visit the gift shop with the experience of the museum.  Do you have a system that works for you?


  9. Reading Around The Word, “Stupid.”

    November 13, 2012 by admin

     

    We have a lot of books in our house that span many genres and decades.  We love to read aloud to our kids.  When we TR Parents read aloud, it enables our children to be exposed to literature that they may be too young to read alone, or might otherwise be uninterested in reading.  Even though Bluey is able to understand the content of a book like The Hobbit, he isn’t able to read it yet.  And Plum wouldn’t necessarily pick up The Hobbit voluntarily, though she thoroughly enjoys hearing the story.

    But when reading aloud, we frequently bump into words that we don’t want our kids to hear.  We dislike changing the author’s written word, but we feel there are certain parts of some books that should be cleaned up a bit, specifically for the young ears of our Bluey.

    Words we frequently edit include:

    *Stupid

    *Dumb

    *Hate

    *Sissy

    *Jerk

    There are others, as well.  When we encounter a word we don’t want to become common usage in our home, we either skip it entirely- “stupid dog” becomes simply “dog”; or we will substitute in a slightly different word- “jerk” becomes “meanie”, for example.

    Calvin & Hobbes, a family favorite, uses the above listed words frequently, especially when he’s angry.  But these particular words aren’t just found in Calvin.   Garfield, Charlie Brown, and even books written specifically for young kids are rife with expressions that we don’t allow in our home.  Bluey picks up and repeats words and phrases pretty readily.  We don’t want him walking around calling his friends or family “stupid” just because Lucy Van Pelt speaks that way upon occasion.

    We try to give our kiddoes a lot of leeway in choosing what books they want to read.  Plum is an avid and quite skilled reader, so she is often off in her own literary world.  We discuss the power of words with her frequently.  And we are familiar with most of the books she reads, so we can discuss language and situations within the novels when necessary.  But Bluey isn’t reading unassisted yet and isn’t quite old enough for an in-depth conversation about language.  When he asks to read a book, we have to gauge the appropriateness of the text based on our family values.  If we move forward only to stumble upon a word or two that require a quick edit, we feel that is okay.  We aren’t drastically altering or manipulating the story.

    What do you think?

     


  10. Gobble Gobble

    November 11, 2012 by admin

    Thanksgiving is just weeks away!

    We love Thanksgiving.  It is the time when we bust out our holiday DVD collection which includes family favorites like:  Home for the Holidays, The 12 Dogs of Christmas, and Elf.  We fill a giant bowl with nuts in their shells, to be cracked open with a traditional nutcracker.  Cookie baking goes into overdrive, filling the freezer with delectable bits to be organized later into Christmas box give-aways.

    Early in November, the main event menu planning begins.  What will we eat for Thanksgiving?

    Not Turkey!

    The TR family home is vegetarian.  There is no turkey as the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t feast!  After all, aren’t some of the best parts of the Thanksgiving meal the side dishes?  Think about the tangy sweet cranberries! The steaming mashed potatoes!  The buttery string beans!  The little bowls of pickles!  The pumpkin pie!  Yummy and entirely satisfying!

    We also use this time to engage in conversation about the true history of Thanksgiving (http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr040.shtml ).  We give Thanks for our family and friends.  And we try to find a way to acknowledge and support those less fortunate than ourselves.

    TR would love to know what your family traditions are for this holiday.