Thursday, August 1, 2013
5 Back-to-School Tips for Moms
Friends, it is August 1st! Almost "that" time of year again. You may be having visions of yellow buses dancing in your head? You're looking for cheap school supplies, clipping coupons for paper towels and in disbelief that your baby is in what grade. As you're getting your little one ready for school, here's 5 back-to-school tips from my subbing adventures in an elementary school last spring. Benefits of each back-to-school tip are below.
Tip #2. Start a Book Fair Fund. Like now! Encourage your child to save $.25-$1.00 per week. This instills responsibility and discipline. I hate to see kids who don't have money to spend at the book fair. By the time the fair rolls into town, the piggy bank could have up to $10+ to spend as your child wishes without putting a strain on the weekly budget. Your child feels good about themselves buying fun items with their own money and you'll shine with proud rays when you see what they bought!
Tip #3. Pack a Light Jacket. A jacket insures your child won't get too cold. A jacket from home gives a level of comfort beyond just keeping kids warm. There are multiple uses for a jacket; as a pillow, a seat cushion, a blanket, an umbrella, money holders, etc.. Children get creative with jackets!
Tip #4. Eat a Non-sugary Breakfast. I made a mistake with me and my daughters. I never ate breakfast and neither did they. BIG mistake! HUGE mistake! I am now convinced that breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. Chock it full of protein and minimize carbs. A good example is two pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs and a piece of toast with water or unsweet fruit juice. I watch kids cram in a sugary lunch and crash, while the protein and fruit eaters are still going strong at the end of the day.
Tip #5. Get your child to do a "chore for more". This approach gets you some much needed help around the house and your child something "more". If he/she does a chore and does it well, pay them a buck for their work. Encourage them to use that buck on ice cream day at school. I hate to see kids who want ice cream but don't have money to buy one. Some days I think those ice cream machines are evil. I can imagine them sticking out their tongues at the kids who can't have one. Ugly picture!
What back-to-school tips do you have to add to this list? Leave me a comment and help others too!
Counting down the days,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Benefits of "5 Back-to-School Tips for Moms"
Tip #1. Watch the Weather. A comfortable environment is necessary to learn. Be sure to dress your child in temperature appropriate clothing. Encourage your student to watch the weather and choose his/her own clothes for the next day. This task teaches correlation relating temperature to dressing. Remember: too hot or too cold = too distracted to learn.Tip #2. Start a Book Fair Fund. Like now! Encourage your child to save $.25-$1.00 per week. This instills responsibility and discipline. I hate to see kids who don't have money to spend at the book fair. By the time the fair rolls into town, the piggy bank could have up to $10+ to spend as your child wishes without putting a strain on the weekly budget. Your child feels good about themselves buying fun items with their own money and you'll shine with proud rays when you see what they bought!
Tip #3. Pack a Light Jacket. A jacket insures your child won't get too cold. A jacket from home gives a level of comfort beyond just keeping kids warm. There are multiple uses for a jacket; as a pillow, a seat cushion, a blanket, an umbrella, money holders, etc.. Children get creative with jackets!
Tip #4. Eat a Non-sugary Breakfast. I made a mistake with me and my daughters. I never ate breakfast and neither did they. BIG mistake! HUGE mistake! I am now convinced that breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. Chock it full of protein and minimize carbs. A good example is two pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs and a piece of toast with water or unsweet fruit juice. I watch kids cram in a sugary lunch and crash, while the protein and fruit eaters are still going strong at the end of the day.
Tip #5. Get your child to do a "chore for more". This approach gets you some much needed help around the house and your child something "more". If he/she does a chore and does it well, pay them a buck for their work. Encourage them to use that buck on ice cream day at school. I hate to see kids who want ice cream but don't have money to buy one. Some days I think those ice cream machines are evil. I can imagine them sticking out their tongues at the kids who can't have one. Ugly picture!
What back-to-school tips do you have to add to this list? Leave me a comment and help others too!
Counting down the days,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Wednesday's Word: BELIEF EXPLAINED
It's a standing joke in my family. I don't believe in dinosaurs! Why not since remains have been found? I've never interacted with a Dino to assist my belief. Why do we believe or not believe? Our belief or "trust" system works when it is exercised. As a baby, you inherently trust your parents to keep you safe until ... your belief system is broken. How does it break? Your parents make promises they don't keep. Let's say your Dad encourages you to jump in the pool "I'll catch you!" You trust and jump! You plunge to the bottom of the pool coming up strangled, gasping for air and scared to death. He's laughing! Will you trust him to jump again? Probably not! If he says he'll catch you, you'll be like "Ahhh, not so sure!" You will question and distrust his intentions. Can you recall situations like this with people (hopefully not your parents) where your belief was tested? Did your trust increase or decrease when you were let down? Keeping our word builds trust. Doing what we say we will causes folks to believe in us.
Why believe in Jesus? We can't see him. We hear about him just like the dinosaurs. We read evidence of his life in the Bible just like dinosaur bones are evidence of them. The difference in Deity and dinosaurs is the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us and we can feel him. He can move us. We know he is real. We all have that inherent trust/belief/measure of faith we were born with. We don't have to rely on a scientist digging up bones. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 13:5 goes on to say "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Words you can live by, trust and believe! Has Jesus ever let you down? Has he ever broken your trust? Go on, jump into his arms, you better believe... he'll catch you!
What's holding you back from trusting in Jesus? Do you trust him fully? Leave me a comment and let's talk.
Trusting Jesus,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Monday, July 29, 2013
Upcycled Chandelier
from Old and Classy
to Modern & Sassy
This is my old and classy chandelier I bought in 1981 for my dining room. She's still hangin' round! Can we say "golden"? She's a bit naked here with her bulbs and candle covers removed. Do you know what candle covers are? I had to research it to get the name of those long white things that covers the bulb holders. I won't tell if you don't!
.JPG "chandlier")
Spring project turned into Summer and maybe Fall
Remodeling my kitchen & dining room into the 21st century!
Her step-by-step makeover...
I dressed her up with new bulbs and her usual white candle covers. She be hangin' around again so colorful, sassy and modern!
I saved time and money. Upcycling is cool and fun!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Are you this SPICY?
My life has gotten spicier over the years, has yours? I used to be a plain American kind of gal but now, I've got a little Latin, Italian and Asian spice in my life! I was getting so spicy I needed professional help. I was advised I must admit I have a spice problem and then and only then could I use their solution to resolve my problem.
I admit it! I have a spice problem. I kept hearing voices saying "Cumin on over here and I'll basil your head in!" Another voice said "Ginger, can't you keep those boys at Bay while I take care of this?" She replied "Yes Dill, but it's Chili out here. You get in a fight every Thyme we go out. Can't we Curry on back home now?" Something had to be done. Enter Spice Expand-a-Drawer. (My little drama sequence, stupid huh?)
I don't know about you but I thought my spices were organized until I wanted to use one. They fell over while sorting through them. Shot out of the cabinet at me or even worse, I would have to move every single last one of them to get to the one I wanted. NEVER FAILED! I ordered and installed an "expand-a-drawer". Problem solved. So simple and so easy!
STEP ONE: Sort your spices. Combine same spices into one bottle. You might want to discard some spices. I trashed the ones I had since like prehistoric times. Wipe the bottles if they need cleaning. Now you're ready to install the drawer.
STEP TWO: Start with a clean drawer. No need to line the drawer with paper.
STEP THREE: This is the drawer fully expanded. It fits an 18" deep drawer and will expand from 12" to 24". My drawer was a 19" x 16". Take your drawer measurements before ordering to make sure the organizer will fit your drawer. Collapse and set into your drawer like this. Note: I used a small block of wood inserted at the back of the drawer (out of sight) to avoid the drawer moving backward. This is not a concern if your drawer is 18" deep. Mine was slightly longer at 19".
I admit it! I have a spice problem. I kept hearing voices saying "Cumin on over here and I'll basil your head in!" Another voice said "Ginger, can't you keep those boys at Bay while I take care of this?" She replied "Yes Dill, but it's Chili out here. You get in a fight every Thyme we go out. Can't we Curry on back home now?" Something had to be done. Enter Spice Expand-a-Drawer. (My little drama sequence, stupid huh?)
I don't know about you but I thought my spices were organized until I wanted to use one. They fell over while sorting through them. Shot out of the cabinet at me or even worse, I would have to move every single last one of them to get to the one I wanted. NEVER FAILED! I ordered and installed an "expand-a-drawer". Problem solved. So simple and so easy!
STEP ONE: Sort your spices. Combine same spices into one bottle. You might want to discard some spices. I trashed the ones I had since like prehistoric times. Wipe the bottles if they need cleaning. Now you're ready to install the drawer.
STEP TWO: Start with a clean drawer. No need to line the drawer with paper.
STEP THREE: This is the drawer fully expanded. It fits an 18" deep drawer and will expand from 12" to 24". My drawer was a 19" x 16". Take your drawer measurements before ordering to make sure the organizer will fit your drawer. Collapse and set into your drawer like this. Note: I used a small block of wood inserted at the back of the drawer (out of sight) to avoid the drawer moving backward. This is not a concern if your drawer is 18" deep. Mine was slightly longer at 19".
STEP FOUR: Expand on the left or right side (your choice). Begin loading your spice bottles like this.
STEP FIVE: Step back and admire your newly organized spice drawer. The challenge is to keep it looking like this! :)
The best part is the expand-a-drawer is only $17.99!
Leave me a comment and let me know if you like this idea. Whatta ya think? Got any questions about the drawer?
"Fennel-ly" organized,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Friday, July 26, 2013
Pinterest Recipe Review: Cream Cheese Peach Pie Delight
Usually, recipes don't move me to make them. Cream Cheese Peach Pie Delight did! Is your household like mine? A comfortable nest with two old birds that eat like birds? My husband and I let a dessert ruin if I make a whole recipe, so I decided to half this one. There's a few things I did differently from the original recipe by Paula T. I'll list my changes as we walk through the making of this delicious dessert. Let's get started...
Here's what you need:
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Here's what you need:
For starters, I wanted my Cream Cheese Peach Pie Delight to be "a pie". The recipe uses a 9x13 pan but I'm using a 9" standard pie plate for two reasons; so the dessert will cut like a pie and it's just the right size of dish to hold a "half" recipe-size pie.
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The recipe calls for one box of white or yellow cake mix. My genius self was going to half the cake mix, use half the butter and half an egg. Have you ever tried to half an egg? Not easy! I used a whole egg and it didn't work with half the mix so I used the entire box of cake mix with one egg and 1/3 cup butter. It should look crumbly like this.
Prepare your pie plate with cooking spray. Pat about 1/2 to 1 cup into the bottom of the pie plate to make the crust. You will have about 1 1/2 cups crust mixture left over.
After placing your crust in the oven, dice your peaches into 1/2 inch pieces. The recipe says 1 inch but I like food bite-size!. Note: The recipe calls for a 29 oz. can of peaches. I bought two 15 oz. cans to make halving the recipe easier. I used "light syrup" peaches to count down on calories and carbs!
Remove your crust after 10 minutes. Looks like this.
Spoon your diced peaches onto the baked crust.
Make the filling: Mix 4 oz. room temperature cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, one tsp. vanilla flavoring and ... here's that halving the egg problem again. I got smart this time. I separated an egg and used only the white in my filling. (No yellow = less fat, less cholesterol!) Whisk together all ingredients until smooth and pour over peaches like this.
Finally, crumble 1/2 cup of the crust mixture over the pie to cover the top.
Return to the oven and bake 30 minutes on 350 degrees. Place your leftover crust mixture into an airtight plastic container to make another "half" pie next weekend. The mixture should stay fresh for 7 days.
Look at this beauty!
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The recipe said to chill 30 minutes before serving. My husband loves his food hot. He loved this hot too! I preferred mine room temperature. I fixed Steve a "to-go" piece for breakfast this morning...by his request!!! Great for breakfast, tastes a lot like coffee cake or cheese danish.
One last thing, love the earth and don't forget to recycle your paper and tin items.
Be sure to check out some of my other recipe reviews. Before you go, leave me a comment, any comment! You could let me know your enhancements to this recipe or I'd love to know if you tried it and how it turned out.
Peachy keen,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
p.s. I have no idea why my words started centering and I have no idea why I couldn't fix them back block style. I guess some days the alphabet has a mind of it's own!
p.s.s. Eight years of blogging later I know exactly how to convert centering back to block! I corrected all of it but the above paragraph. lol
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