Parenting

At church on Sunday, the lesson was on helping your kids learn. There were two really great points made that I wanted to share here, mostly so that I could remember them later.

1. Help your children be problem-solvers, instead of solve all their problems. I think our tendency is to swoop in and take care of any difficulties we see them dealing with. This appears to be a universal mom-trait. After all, we can do things faster and better (and neater!) It's harder to let a child struggle with a problem (and then clean up after) than to just handle it ourselves.

However I see more and more kids now who lack simple problem-solving skills. When I worked with the cub scouts, I almost always had kids who, when confronted with any problem, simply threw up their hands and quit. They lacked the ability to look at a situation, plan a solution and carry it through. While it doesn't matter much at the ages of 7, 8 and 9, they will be in serious trouble as they get older. I hope I can be mindful of this as I see my two kids try to deal with small problems - I need to be able to step back and let them work on their own for longer. I hope I can try and suggest solutions and help them with the process, rather than try to play Super Mom and save the day.

2. Your kids will learn something from you - make sure it's worthwhile. This was something that really struck me. In spite of all my attempts to teach them to have manners, love books, be kind to others... what are they REALLY learning from me? Even the most negligent and absentee parent is teaching their child something - and maybe that "something" isn't the best lesson in the world. The lady who made this comment went on to say that she always tried to see the good in things. It was the most important thing for her to teach her children to face life's challenges with positive thoughts and a cheerful outlook. She also went on to say that your children learn love and respect from their parents. You may be telling them to love each other, but are you then turning around and saying mean things to your spouse, even just kidding around? Kids are so literal and you're essentiall forming the basis for their future relationships now. Make sure they're good ones.

I thought these were both great comments and a helpful method for dealing with the difficulties and stress of "every day". And even when being a parent seems overwhelming and you feel like you can't get anything right, remember that your kids love you no matter what.

Going nuts

In our new yard, we have a, English walnut tree. I am so excited to get walnuts this fall, I can't even tell you. I use them in everything - breads, cakes, pastry, salads... I even grind up nuts into pie crust. They're delicious and (in moderation) quite good for you.

The problem is, I have no idea how to take care of a walnut tree. I've searched the internet for some good how-to guides and mostly I get year 1-5 advice (starting, grafting and pollinating your tree) or a lot of snooty rambling on how English walnuts are really Persian walnuts because blah blah... So I guess I actually have a Persian walnut tree.

Who out there in blog-land knows how to care for an already established, large and healthy walnut tree? How do I keep bugs out of the nuts? Do I need to prune anything? I appreciate any and all advice. The winner of Best Tree Care Advice gets a pound of fresh walnuts this fall.

Red, white and blueberry muffins

This was a fun breakfast that was perfect for the 4th of July. You can also let your kids help prepare this simple recipe. Share a festive breakfast with your family this holiday weekend.

Red, White and Blueberry Muffins...
1 blueberry muffin mix
1/2 cup fresh strawberries (sliced if they are big) or raspberries
2-4 tbsp flour

1. Prepare blueberry muffin mix according to package directions. Toss strawberries in the flour and add to the mix. The extra flour keeps the berries from making the batter too watery, and coating them in flour helps them not sink to the bottom of the muffin tin (this works with fresh blueberries too).

2. I usually let one kid stir the muffin mix and the other line the tin with muffin papers. They like to count the papers, or point out the colors of the food. Usually someone will end up with a fistful of batter... but you washed their hands right? Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and let your moppets admire their work.

3. Bake at 400 (or whatever temperature your muffin mix calls for) for 15-20 minutes. When muffins are turning golden at the edges and a toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Let them rest for 5 minutes before unwrapping.

4. Because this was a treat, I let my kids have a small dab of leftover cream cheese frosting on their warm muffin. I prefer mine hot with a pat of butter. Serve with any leftover fruit.

These were so good, I think I might add raspberries to my blueberry muffins every time! The sour bite of the raspberry was the perfect compliment to the sweeter blueberry. The reds and whites stood out so prettily against the white of the muffin. The kids took a minute to admire their handiwork before devouring every crumb.

Have a happy holiday weekend!

jeri

Love free stuff?

I really like the parenting blog at VanillaJoy (vanillajoy.com). And she is giving away some killer prizes this week! Really cute things, like darling baby clothes, yummy treats and even squeaky shoes! So check it out and enter to win.

Also, happy 4th of July!

Robinson Baby Announcements

These are some baby announcements I did for some friends, the Robinsons. They just had their first baby - this darling little boy! He is so sweet and precious.

Brian and Natalie were so easy and fun to work with. They had some beautiful pictures to work with (taken by Scott Wells) and liked the baby blue and gray color scheme. These are the samples I designed for them.

They chose the second announcement as the one they had printed and sent out, but I liked them all so much that I had to post all three.

Running update

2 miles in 24 minutes!

Vanilla Panna Cotta

A traditional Italian dessert, "panna cotta" means "cooked cream". It has the smooth, silky texture of custard and is served with fresh berries, caramel or chocolate. It takes only a few minutes to make the mixture but it needs several hours to set up, so be sure to plan ahead. While easy to make, this dessert has a beautiful presentation and will make you look like a rock star.

Vanilla Panna Cotta...
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 (1/4 oz.) packet unflavored gelatin
2 cups fresh berries

1. Put 3 tbsp. water in a small bowl, pour gelatin over the top and mix. Let the gelatin dissolve in the water.
2. Heat sugar, milks and cream in a saucepan until sugar dissolves (don't boil or let it get too hot).
3. Add gelatin to milk/cream mixture and whisk to make sure it is completely incorporated with no lumps. Add vanilla.

4. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes. Meanwhile wash and cap berries (slice if berries are large). Toss with 1/4 cup sugar, cover and put in the fridge.
5. Divide cream mixture between 4 ramekins (or other serving dishes). Place in fridge for at least 6 hours.

At this point you have two plating options. Panna cotta is typically inverted onto the serving plate and the berries, caramel or chocolate poured decoratively over the top. (To release the custard from the ramekin, carefully go around the edge with a butter knife, then put the cup in some hot water for a minute. It should slip right out onto your serving dish.) However, these pretty white ramekins also looked lovely with the red of the berries... plus I didn't have to dirty any more plates! So serve it however you like.


If you were making this for a large group (say a bridal shower or garden party), get nice-quality clear plastic cups and fill them about 1/3 full of the cream mixture. Once set, fill another 1/3 of the cup with berries and top with a sprig of mint or other decoration. Keep chilled until time to serve.

Pinky's Pots blog header

My sister started a blog to showcase all her custom pottery and wanted a blog header. I was really excited with the design I came up with.


Also, check out her blog as she gets going with her next collection. She is one talented girl! She's done everything from strawberry planters to chips n' salsa bowls and has some great piggy banks that are fresh from the kiln (I know because I have two ordered for my kids!)

In case you were wondering... I DO branch out and use colors besides pink! It just happens to be the main color in the last few projects I've had.

Give the tomatoes a kick

Last year we had slugs and snails in our garden and yard. Hundreds and hundreds of them. I went to the gardening aisle at the local EverythingMart and got some slug bait. Once home I started reading the directions... and the thousand Words O' Warning. That is really scary stuff! I ended up taking the slug bait back and dealing with them the old-fashioned way - we picked them up and threw them out into the road for the birds. Joe and I each averaged about 50 slugs per day. No kidding. We still only ended up with a few measly tomatoes but that might have had less to do with the slugs and more to do with our novice gardening skills.

With little kids running around the garden, I have serious misgivings about fertilizers, pest sprays and other chemicals to spray or sprinkle about. Still, I've lost all but 4 spinach plants and a handful of carrots to bugs. I finally had to find a safe-ish spray to help them. Now my tomato plants, while bushy and full of flowers, are just begging to be eaten by creepy-crawlies.

I was pretty excited to come across this idea while browsing gardening sites. Sprinkle used coffee grounds around the base of your tomato plants. There are some good tips and information here and here. Coffee is slightly acidic and tomatoes love acidic soil. Plus it provides a slow release of nitrogen as it breaks down - perfect fertilizer! The smell is strong and unusual and can repel some birds, squirrels and other animals looking to snack on your precious garden. Some people also claim that the caffeine in coffee will deter or even kill slugs. You can also use it in your compost pile, if you're into that (this image came from a site about coffee composting).


Local coffee places, Starbucks especially, will reserve their spent coffee grounds and offer them free of charge, to whatever gardener goes in and asks for them. I stopped off at our local Starbucks to test this out and sure enough - they emptied all the filters into a large plastic sack for me. I probably got 5-7 pounds of spent grounds and it would have been free, except Bart and Lisa spied some shortbread cookies that they couldn't live without.

Hmmm, those were quite tasty and I'll need to find a recipe to be making some more of those...

After a cookie break, I mulched around the base of the tomato plants with the grounds and let the sprinklers do the rest. The smell is strong and heavenly (not everyone loves the smell of coffee but I do). Now only time will tell if this helps.

Happy planting, etc...

jeri

I'm in heaven

A few days ago, Minnie came in with a handful of cherries and announced that she got them from the neighbor's tree. I had never noticed a cherry tree before so I asked her to show me where she got them (crossing my fingers that this tree overhung our property line somewhere).

Hooray, it does! We asked our neighbors if we could pick from their tree and they very graciously told us to get all we wanted before the birds do. These are Bing cherries and not the sour pie cherries. Either is perfect, but these are more fun to eat straight from the tree. Little Man is going crazy for them and it's good that he isn't tall enough to reach them because I'm sure he'd make himself ill.

Quick salad

Semi-homemade. Sort-of healthy. So delicious. A quick meal for a hot summer evening.

Semi-Gourmet Chicken Salad...
Romaine lettuce
Baby spinach or other mixed greens
Craisins
Slivered almonds
Popcorn chicken bites
Honey Dijon dipping sauce (I got mine from the deli at WalMart)

Mix greens, top with chicken, craisins and almonds. Drizzle dressing over all. Enjoy! Go heavy on the greens and lighter on the chicken and dressing if you have guilt. Hey, you may be enjoying popcorn chicken bites, but it's better than a side of fries right?