Guesses?

A while back I purchased a 250 count box of dryer sheets.  I wrote the date I opened it on the box, curious as to how many loads I average a week.  I used one per load of wash and all loads went into the dryer as far as I know.

Would anyone like to take a guess as to which month in the year 2009 I opened the box?  I opened it on the first of the month.

I will just tell you that I was quite surprised!  I will post an answer tomorrow...and pass out the high-fives then!
Just a reminder...we are a family of four.

Book Bloom

Bloom where you are planted.  You've heard that before, right?  Book Bloom is a cute website featuring books written and illustrated by Manjula Narayann.  It is a cute site, and you can even preview any of her books, even the soon-to-be released book The gray, Gray Cloud.

Thanks to Manjula, we have had the chance to read two books.  I find that these books are most distinctive in their artwork.  Manjula uses mixed media to create her illustrations.  It took a little while for me to get used to it, but my 3 year old enjoyed it immediately.  I appreciate that each page is unique, and that the books look so different than our other books with these bold and bright illustrations, along with good stories.  Sometimes the vocabulary is a little beyond our 3 year old (such as unconscious and per se), but that doesn't stop us from enjoying these books.

 The red, Red Car is a book about an angry red car that really wants to win the race.  The problem is his anger; it holds him back.  He finally realized his anger was stopping him from winning the race, and he is able to overcome his attitude and follow the rules...and win the race!  This is a good book to help children understand their own problem with anger.  We certainly have this problem in our home, but M is not quite old enough to appreciate this book yet for that quality.  She fully understands the word "angry" now, and uses it often and appropriately, thanks to this book.  We are thankful that she is able to put her feelings into words more and more.  One day soon this book will help her more, I think.

The green, Green Pear is another book with a good message.  The green pear doesn't want to be a pear anymore and would be happy being anything but a green, Green pear.  The green Green pear has the opportunity to become several different things, and eventually learns to love himself for all that he is...a green, Green pear.

Don't forget to check out Book Bloom and take a sneak peak at Manjula's books!

Thank you, Manjula Naraynan for providing these books for our review.

Must Try Cinnamon Rolls

(Sorry this post looks so goofy!)


Derek got me a breadmaker for my birthday one year when we were dating.  He knew my love of fresh bread!  Shortly after his mom gave me a breadmaker cookbook.  In it was a recipe for delicious cinnamon rolls.  We used that recipe for YEARS.  (Derek even made those cinnamon rolls when he proposed to me!)

However good (and easy) those cinnamon rolls were, these are so much better!  The recipe is from allrecipes.com.  They are called Clone of a Cinnabon, and they really are quite close, if you follow the directions closely!  These are a bit time consuming to make, but well-worth it.

You know how Cinnabon's rolls are sometimes gooey on the inside?  If these aren't completely cooked they are like that, too.

Clone of a Cinnabon

Dough:

1 cup warm milk 

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup margarine (or butter), melted 

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling:  

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

 Frosting:

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1.     Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

2.     After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

3.     Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup soft butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

4.     Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15+ minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt.

5.     Turn rolls upside-down before frosting them.  (I turn out on a cookie sheet and then return them into the baking pan by sliding them in.)  Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

My Magic Timer (Nap Time)

Though my daughter, M, may be three years old, she needs a lengthy daily nap.  Until recently she was sleeping for a solid 3-4 hours in the afternoon and needing every minute.


Recently we noticed that she doesn't seem to need quite as much sleep, which is fine (and normal).  We're putting her down for her nap a bit later.  Sometimes she still tells us she isn't tired (and she is).  Here is where my magic timer comes in handy.


M is already familiar with how timers are used in the kitchen.  However, they become MOM'S BEST FRIEND, and quite magical, for nap time!


When M tells me she wants to come downstairs or isn't tired, I explain to her that I will come and get her when the timer rings.  This also works if she wakes up two hours early (or never really went to sleep).  I was amazed at how quickly she understood this concept...and she does not complain one bit!  This has been effective right at the beginning of nap time (after the fight getting her to the bedroom) and mid-nap.


This also works when it is 6 a.m. and not time for me to be out of bed yet, but my little girl is wide awake.


Now I don't actually set a timer, but every day Derek or I go to her room to wake her up at 5 o'clock.  If she happens to wake up a few minutes before, we do get her up, but most days she sleeps until right about five.  Am I deceiving my daughter?  A bit.  She thinks I go down to the kitchen and turn on the timer.  But is there a timer?  Yes, but it is just a clock on the wall.  So it is a bit magical.  Derek and I are okay with that.


Just the other day, Derek reminded M that it wasn't time yet.  He was amazed at how she immediately put her head on her pillow (and not because she is the ever-obedient child, trust me).


How do you use timers with your children?  I'd love to hear!


Edited: Please be sure to read the comments below, especially Sharon's.  She speaks about children needing to obey the parent, not the timer.  I hadn't thought of it before, but by choosing your words carefully, they will be obeying you.

What My Children Are Reading

Last week when we went to the library, I decided to go to the fairy tale area.  M, is starting to become familiar with the Disney version of Cinderella through our Little Golden Book, seeing the movie at a friend's house, and our Cinderella dress-up doll.  I want her to know other versions, too, so we explored what we could in our small library branch.

Cendrillion- by Robert D. San Souci is a Caribbean Cinderella tale.  We've read this several times now.  I appreciate that when the prince returns with her embroidered slipper, looking for her, Cendrillion wants the prince to like her for her, not because of any magic.

Rolling Along with Goldilocks and the Three Bears- written by physical therapist assistant Cindy Meyers was read every morning before school this week.  M, E, and I all enjoyed it a lot.  The twist on the traditional tale is that Baby Bear uses a wheel chair and goes to physical therapy.  I would highly recommend it for any young child who needs a wheel chair or just to show how we are all different.  It is a really cute book, but my favorite part is that Goldilocks and Baby Bear become good friends.  It also explains that Goldilocks was lost, tired, and hungry and that is why she went into the Bears' home.

Jazzy in the Jungle- Lucy Cousins is the author of the Maisy books...M's favorite!  This last time we were at the library, M found the Maisy books (by reading the spine) and told me they were Maisy.  I was impressed!  She picked out this book.  Though not part of the Maisy series, it is still delightfully Cousins.  It has die-cut pages and lift-the-flaps.  Mama JoJo, a lemur, is playing hide and seek with her baby.  It's quite cute, and held both M and E's attention.

Blue's Perfect Present- This book is new to our personal library, and quickly a favorite.  M loves Blue, so it is no surprise.  Blue seeks to give Magenta a perfect (and thoughtful) birthday gift.  It's a sweet book!

I'm linking this post at my friend's blog, Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.  (Her little Anna is M's age and a really smart cookie!  I love seeing what she is up to...and how her mom works to keep her challenged.)

Winner!

Comment #5, The Activity Mom, won the Rubbermaid drawer organizer.
Congratulations!

Look for a new giveaway next week!

Freezer Organization Part 2

Last Friday night I had a burst of inspiration and cleaned out my fridge and freezer.  We've lived here for 1 1/2 years...and I had not properly cleaned the freezer or refrigerator in all that time.

I bought some plastic bins to attempt to contain and organize a bit better.  I used one bin for vegetables.  Beside it I put some of our frozen fruit (and a bowl of French onion soup).

The other is for prepared meats like my leftover chicken, meatballs, and such, but not large meats like whole chickens or roasts.

The best freezer surprise: leftover cinnamon rolls from Christmas day.  They were a sweet reward after all was clean!  (And I just realized that I never shared that recipe with readers...I will need to do that!)

The weirdest surprise: I found a feather from about 9 months ago when we were helping Meghan learn how to blow properly.  Weird.

The worst surprise: Apparently organizing the freezer didn't really create any more room in the freezer.  I actually struggled to find a "proper" home for some stuff.

I have used the bins for a week now, and think they are working out pretty well for me.  My freezer is well-used.  I know not everyone is like us, but I just wanted to share what is working for us.

You can read Freezer Organization Part 1 from last summer and how I have changed my way to freeze chicken breasts and pork chops.