Inside Motherhood

Family favorite turns 80 years old

Sherry — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:33:18 +0000

Today is a very special day - I’d like to wish a very happy birthday to everyone’s favorite rodent. Mickey Mouse turns 80 years old today!

I can’t believe he’s been around so long and still making kids of this generation smile just as much as those past. My three-year-old watches one of three Mickey Mouse movies that we own on a regular basis.

Even though I don’t have a lot of memories from age three, I do remember being at Disney World and watching the Mickey Mouse parade. I really hope that one day we’ll be in a position to take our girls to see Mickey and the gang too.

Happy 80th birthday Mickey! You still look great!

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Adventures at the park

Sherry — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:25:08 +0000

I can’t deny the truth - I love watching America’s Funniest Home Videos, especially when they show funny videos with parents and kids. I won’t go out of my way to watch it, but if I happen to catch it, I usually end up in tears from laughing so hard.

This video features a funny collection of mishaps at the park:

I can’t decide which was my favorite, but I’m leaning towards the dad who fell out of the bucket-shaped merry-go-round.

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Text messages tell you when it’s time to get it on

Sherry — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:24:05 +0000

You can get text messages sent to your cell phone. Now you can get a Booty Call too. The Booty Caller is a service that sends you three text messages per menstrual cycle to alert you to when you might want to hop into bed in the hopes of conceiving.

The service alerts you to the beginning of you fertile days (and may suggest some method of relaxation to help you avoid getting stressed about your hopes), the last day you have in that cycle to try for a baby, and will even give you tips like having your husband avoid hot tubs.

There’s no charge for the service.

I think it’s a cute idea although I’m not sure how much good it would do for someone with an irregular cycle. If that’s your case, you’d probably be better off using a basal body thermometer to be sure of your fertility times. However, if you’ve got a fairly steady cycle and marking notes on your calendar doesn’t mesh with your busy life, getting a text message alert on your cell phone just might be a great way to keep track!

Would you use this kind of service?

Image: SXC

(Source: MomLogic)

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Kid-friendly cookie recipe - Pumpkin Cookies

Sherry — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:47:04 +0000

I love to eat cookies and I also love to make cookies that aren’t overly fussy (my late grandmother made some spectacular cookies, particularly at Christmas time, but they usually involved way too much work for me to ever make them). What’s even more fun is making cookies with the kids. These ones are great to make with young children because they don’t have to be all perfect or involve cookie cutters.

Be warned though, you might want to make two batches because they tend to disappear quickly.

Pumpkin cookies

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. After they’ve cooled, you can ice or glaze them if you want but I didn’t bother since they’re delicious as is.

Also, we couldn’t get any pumpkin puree so I used pumpkin pie filling instead. Since it contains spices already, I tasted the batter before adding the egg and decided to leave out the cinnamon and add just a pinch of the cloves and nutmeg. They came out tasting great, and they’re so soft, like little mini pumpkin breads. They’d probably be great with some chocolate chips too.

Enjoy!

Photo: Flickr

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Silly Saturday - Hilarious commercial

Sherry — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:00:09 +0000

This is one of those videos that risks offending somebody, but honestly I have always found it hilarious. It doesn’t matter how many years it’s been around or how many times I’ve seen it, it’s pretty much always guaranteed to make me laugh.

Oh, the joys sometimes!

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Food Friday - Beef Skillet

Sherry — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:06:19 +0000

Hamburger Helper is generally a big hit with families because kids often love it and it’s something fast and easy to make which means it’s perfect for busy week nights. As a bonus, it uses up only one pan so there’s fast clean-up at the end of supper time.

The unfortunate drawback is that since it’s pre-packaged, it’s full of stuff that you might not necessarily want to eat on a regular basis, especially when most of it is a list of ingredients that you can’t even pronounce.

This super easy beef skillet dinner is just as fast, easy, and tasty as the Hamburger Helper meals but it’s not all from a box.

Beef Skillet Dinner

- 1 lb. ground beef
- Seasonings your family enjoys
- 1 package dry onion soup mix
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups of small pasta (macaroni, spirals, penne, etc.)

In a large skillet, cook your beef until completely brown; season with whatever you like - we usually use garlic powder, an Italian seasoning blend, and a pinch of cayenne. Drain any fat and return to stove. Stir in package of dry onion soup mix and tomatoes with the juice. Add water and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and lower to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

Serve with a salad on the side.

There can still be quite a bit of sodium in the soup mix, but you can check your grocery store for lower sodium versions.

Bon appetit!

(image - mine)

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