Tradition! Our Favorite Family Christmas Cookies

Neither my mother nor my grandmother liked to bake. I laugh every time someone tells me what wonderful baker my mother was. I know full well that she made Pillsbury Slice & Bake cookies, Betty Crocker brownies, Dromedary gingerbread and Jello Instant Cheesecake. I believe that was her entire repertoire. It all came from a box - except the cookies which were refrigerated. My mother said that she hated the tedious "plop plop plop" of making cookies. The only exception was the Christmas cookies that both my mother and her mother made from scratch every year.

They always made Norwegian Butter cookies. I have no idea why - we aren't of Norwegian descent. The recipe came from the Fanny Farmer cookbook. I still have the annotated copy that my grandmother gave me for my 16th birthday. She doubled the recipe, divide the dough into thirds and dyed it red and green. She then used a cookie press to create white camels, green Christmas trees and red stars. I still have her vintage cookie press, but its really hard to use. No wonder she only baked once a year!

My mother also doubled the recipe, but avoided the difficult cookie press. She refrigerated the dough and bravely rolled it out so we could make cookie cutter cookies. It's a very fragile shortbread-like dough and did not hold up well to rolling and cutting.

I now make the same recipe and refrigerate it. I then cut it into rounds and bake (after all I grew up on Slice & Bakes!) It is excellent as a thumbprint cookie dough, rolled in chopped nuts with a dollop of strawberry or raspberry jam. My kids don't like nuts so I just bake it in circles.

Oddly, the recipe calls for two cooked egg yolks. Family tradition requires turning the leftover egg whites into cornflake macaroons. This year I've made another minor break with tradition. I didn't have any cornflakes so instead I made meringues. It took 20 minutes to get nice firm peaks. I worried that I might burn out the motor of my old Sunbeam stand mixer, but it came through.  I made the meringues first and while they were sitting in the oven I made the butter cookie dough. I refrigerated it until the meringues were done and then baked the second set of cookies.

Norwegian Christmas Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Separate the eggs and hard cook the yolks.

Cream the butter and hard cooked egg yolks. Beat in the sugar and add the flour vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly. Put through a cookie press or arrange by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. I iced mine with a little powdered sugar and a dash of almond extract diluted with 2% milk. I added food color remembering my Grandma's colorful cookies.

Meringue “Forgotten Kisses” cookies

• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup superfine granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or finely chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy but not at all dry. (Be careful not to over beat.) Add the sugar gradually, about 3 tablespoons at a time. When 1/2 of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract. Continue beating and adding remaining sugar in batches, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is very shiny and tight. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Working one teaspoon at a time, push a teaspoonful of meringue from the tip of 1 teaspoon with the back of another teaspoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1-inch of space between cookies. Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies (undisturbed) in the oven for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, or until cookies are crisp and dry.

Per Meringue Cookie: (48); Calories: 44; Total Fat: 2.5 grams; Saturated Fat:0.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 5 grams; Sugar: 5 grams; Fiber: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 3 milligrams

Re-gifting We Shall Go...

(To be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells...)

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash-
what can we give away from this pile of trash?
The socks from Sister Sue?
The mug from Uncle Bob?
What the heck was Mom thinking buying a watch fob?

OH -
Candles, soaps, cocoa tins, lots of shower gels,
Towels, socks and other things covered in jingle bells...


All kidding aside, I admit that I have re-gifted items. I consider it an admirable form of recycling. I also understand that times are tough and not everyone can afford to buy gifts.

I try to honestly inform the person when I re-gift. I tend to say something like,"I got this as a gift and I already have one. I thought you might like it." I don't hide the item away in a closet, wrap it up and try to pass it off as a new gift a year later.

Regifting can be a source of good fun between the right people. My cousin and I traded gifts in the same ducky bag for years until we couldn't tape it together any more. I've also received some packaged foods that have been circulated for at least three years. 

I started to wonder,"How long is a smoked sausage good for, anyway?"  Unlike military MREs (meals ready to eat) the shelf life is actually only about 45 days unless frozen. If you'd like to order fresh Hickory Farms gift boxes there is still time this year - so no excuses for re-gifting. Of course survivalists and folks with a quirky sense of humor might appreciate the gift of some MREs. The site states that MREs "will store for up to 5 years" which makes them  ideal for re-gifting!

My favorite re-gifting saga comes from a friend. She bought a lovely, expensive bowl for her mother-in-law. The next year her mother-in-law gave it my friend's mother (obviously forgetting who had given it to her.) My friend's mother later gave her the bowl - never knowing her daughter was the one who purchased it in the first place!

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash,
what fun it is to give away our unwanted trash!

Christmas Carols and Lullabies

"Sing me to sleep,"my little one asked as I tucked her into bed tonight.

Now, anyone who has heard me sing probably wonders how even a child could ask this. The most charitable thing that can be said for my singing is that I know all of the words. I am so terribly tone deaf that when I was young the kind-hearted director of the church choir suggested that I would be an asset to the bell choir. Translation: "keep your mouth shut." I tried to join the choir in school. I was given a special role - dancer. Again, "keep your mouth shut."

So, beyond drunkenly belting out the words to any song played in a dance club in the 1980s my singing career has been somewhat limited.  In fact, when my oldest was born I realized that I didn't know any songs - except Billy Idol's White Wedding. "There is nothing fair in this world; There is nothing sure in this world; There is nothing pure in this world...." Not exactly a lullaby.

Instead, I sang my little late November baby to sleep with Jingle Bells. When Amanda was little I would put on a Christmas CD and rock her to sleep. By the time Danielle arrived eight years later I'd learned a huge library of Christmas Carols ranging from Holly Jolly Christmas to Do You Hear What I Hear? My favorites being all of the Nat "King" Cole classics and anything from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

So, tonight, in mid-December, I was happy to oblige Danielle with a lullaby. As she drifted off to my tunelessly humming Jingle Bells, she sighed and said,"oh, my baby song..."

What's in A Name? More than you might imagine...

Okay - time for my second cautionary tale...

Kevin & I were comparing blog statistics recently. I've been blogging for about 6 months so I checked my stats and announced proudly that I've gotten more than 4,300 views.  Kevin has far fewer views but lots of comments and emails regarding his posts.

So, I delved a little further and discovered - to my horror!- that one source of traffic to my site was a pornography website based in Australia. I guess some weirdos there were pretty disappointed by the birthday party blogs...

And, yes, I see the humor in this. I just never thought of it in those terms... The "ick factor" is pretty high.  Moral of the story: Chose the name of your blog very carefully!!!

"Dear Friends, Family & Others..."

Title "borrowed"  from a recent episode of Modern Family...

Dear friend,

We know that we are friends. When we need to, we can talk, email or text each other. We've laughed together and maybe even cried together. We don't need to talk about our friendship.

However, today I want to remind you, quite simply, that I like YOU. I don't like you because of your intellect, your income or your looks. I like you regardless of the color of your hair or your skin, your religious beliefs or your sexual orientation. I will continue to like you if you gain weight, lose your hair or lose your job.

There is probably no single reason that we are friends. Chances are we shared common experiences that brought us together. More likely, common views have held us together. That doesn't mean that we agree on every topic. It does mean that we respect each other's right to disagree.

It is easier for me to define what I don't like in a person, than what I do. I do not like religious zealots who try to proselytize me. I don't like people who are intolerant of social or political change. I don't like people who are greedy or mean. So, thank you for not being any of those things.

Thank you for being YOU.

Happy Hannukah. Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanzaa.

Love,
Sallie

Christmas letters, blogs and other nuisances...

The BLOG has now become the dreaded Christmas letter - without the cost of postage and with the happy option of ignoring it without adding to your local landfill. I never like those chatty letters about everyone else's perfect life - with photos their immaculately groomed children grinning almost insanely, wearing matching Christmas outfits. You just know some people have been waiting all year to brag about their kids, their good fortune, etc. Of course, if my 8 year old had been to 7 countries in the past year or my 5 year old spoke fluent Mandarin I might be tempted to brag, too.

We all have a web presence now. Many of us have moved beyond what my father deemed the "narcissism" of Facebook into the admittedly more narcissistic Blog.

Now I think you want to know not just what I'm making for dinner or my thoughts at the moment, but details about these things! Hilarious, I admit. On the other hand, if you've read any of my blogs I'm NOT bragging. Bitching, maybe; but bragging, never!

We've had lots of happy moments this year, but there have been trials and tragedies as well. Let's see this blog started with the failure of our sewage ejector pump and continued through a broken hip, hospitalizations and my frustrations with Medicaid. To not acknowledge the bad times minimizes the moments of pure joy that we share. Life, like marriage, is "for better or worse."

My blog started as a way to earn a free trip to Walt Disney World - write 100 posts and get admitted into the MomBloggers club which gets me an inside track to free trips (as long as I blog about them....)  I'm at 59 posts. To my amazement my most recent stats have me at 4,651 "views" - paltry compared to a friend that got 25,000 in  day! However I am proud of my modest success. I think I have to abandon the free Disney dream.  I enjoy writing. As I have admitted, this is the "online diary of a middle aged Mom." However, I can't write about why you should buy all of your gifts through Amazon.com or subscribe to an online shopping service.

Sometimes I'm maudlin, self-pitying or angry. Sometimes I'm introspective or even funny. But, I'm never for sale so bye-bye free trip to Disney. Hello, 2012! Wonder what I'll write about next year...

Camping Baby Shower

A friend and I just hosted a Camping Themed Baby Shower. I know its not traditional, but she's an outdoors girl expecting her third little boy. What could be more perfect?

I had a great time pulling together things we already had around the house and finding fun outdoorsy accessories. The trick to working on a budget is thinking outside the box.

I hit a 80% clearance at Michael's and picked up some adorable rustic decorations.

I'm really proud of these letter blocks that I made out of wood I found in our garage and some scrap booking paper. Kevin cut the wood into "rustic" pieces. I sanded them, cut decorative papers to fit then added some stickers and glue. About a half hour project with great results! I may add a few more embellishments if I find anything interesting around the house. I made them two-sided: one side is outdoorsy to go with my theme, the other is more babyish for his nursery if she wants to use them to decorate.

You know I love a theme so I couldn't help myself. I made some camping themed desserts - Smores brownies and a super easy campfire cake that doesn't require any baking - just assembly.

I do NOT like baby shower games. Sorry, guys, no adult should have to eat baby food or pass around a diaper filled with pretend chocolate poop. This might be funny when you're ten; at my age its just weird.  So, I pressed for a group craft instead. We decided to decorate onesies. Of course you can scribble all over them with puffy fabric paint and they will be cute. The parents may never put the baby in them, but that's beside the point.

If you want to try to make onesies the kid might actually wear here are two simple systems. I've included photos of my demonstrations projects. I promise, they took no actual artistic talent - just some time and a little patience. For detailed DIY instructions on either project just google "decorate a onesie" (that's what I did!) You can apply the same techniques to T-shirts, etc.

 Fabric Appliqué Process

• draw a simple design on cardboard (I used an old cereal box)
• cut your template out
• trace template onto the fabric
• cut out the design
• apply permanent fabric glue to back of the design (I used Aleene's Fabric Fusion)
• stick it to the onesie
• let dry completely overnight 

Freezer Paper Stencil

• cut out a stencil from freezer paper using an exacto knife
• iron it onto a onesie (takes about 1 min. with dry heat)
• dab on fabric paint using a brush
• let dry completely overnight
  
  



The finished product!

I did get a little over-the-top cute with my camping concept. I named the craft center "Camp Wannamaka Onesie." I made tiny tents from scrap burlap and folded cardboard for table decorations. I used small evergreen trees to create "woods." Okay, I confess - I have my tacky days.

Reusable Coffee Cup Sleeve

Try this super easy craft with your kids!

Step1: treat yourself to a fancy to go coffee from someplace like Starbucks

Step 2: remove the cardboard holder and unstick the ends; wash out the now empty cup
Step 3: trace the holder onto stiffened felt (available at Hobby Lobby)
Step 4: cut along the pattern

Step 5: wrap felt around the cardboard cup
Step 6: glue the ends together using Felt Glue and pin until dry

Step 7: decorate with stick on "Felties", ribbon or fabric paints
Step 8: annoy your local barista by ordering ten $5 gift cards to go with all of the sleeves you've made...

Happy Holidays!

Trash or Recycling?

When you live in the South you become somewhat inured to the shots the rest of the country takes at us. Even our own turn on us occasionally. In 1998 Jane Fonda notoriously referred to parts of Georgia as resembling a third world country. Jeff Foxworthy has made a fortune disparaging the South.

There are a lot of jokes about rednecks and white trash.  We call a lovely stretch of the Gulf Coast the "Redneck Riviera." We even make a tongue in cheek Christmas treat called White Trash - if Alton Brown has a recipe for it it can't be all bad.

There is also a lot of debate regarding the subtle differentiation between rednecks and white trash. I'm not sure I'm completely clear on the difference, myself. I think if you are one, you think the other is worse...for instance, white trash say rednecks cause trouble; rednecks say white trash don't pay child support.

Having lived in the South for 14 years now I've discovered that my initial perceptions about these groups were often - but not always!- wrong. The other night I needed to go to Wal-Mart at 10PM. When I saw a man in camouflage coveralls, smoking and carrying a sleepy two year old I initially thought, "white trash." Then, he stopped me and said politely, "Ma'am, do you know where they keep the diapers? The wife went out with her friends and we ran out." Not white trash; nice dad. My bad.

That said, there is no shortage of trash down here (white or any other color). While camouflage clothing has a real (but limited) use I refuse to consider women who wear a poncho without a shirt anything more than trash.  Truthfully, it comes down to a perception of worthlessness. Call them what you will there are unfortunately adults who don't accept conventional standards for social responsibility. They may neglect their children, drink while driving, have trouble holding down a job, use drugs...

The question for me is - are they really trash or are they capable of being recycled?

 http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2009/04/what-is-white-trash.html

Not Your Average Under $10 Gift Ideas for 2011

With Black Friday approaching it's time to start thinking about holiday shopping. I have a huge holiday gift list - 37 people, not including the 4 under my own roof. I know, I know...the easiest way to save money at this time of year is to cut people off the list. I could; but I won't.

I also know the "cheapest" gift is home baked goods. I love to bake, but I typically avoid this gift. In the first place, it's labor intensive. Can you imagine baking 37 dozen cookies?!? That's 444 cookies, my friends.

In the second place, I think people aren't really considering the cost of the ingredients they use. A nice tin or box costs about $3 which I agree is inexpensive. However chocolate isn't cheap, neither is butter. A batch of cookies, depending on the type, probably costs $2-5 to bake plus the cost of the packaging.  It is a personal and heartfelt gift. I like the idea, but I need back up plans for this busy time of year.

Purchased food is always an option, assuming you know the recipient's personal tastes. For instance, I detest chutneys and jellies. If I received these as a gift they would go straight to the local food bank. I know other people who love these items.  Women assume that everyone loves chocolate, but my husband could take it or leave it. He'd rather get nuts or something salty. However most people have family or guests who will gladly eat up the things they pass along.

You can also buy plants, ornaments, small kitchen items....I like to receive cut flowers, but some folks are allergic. Plants are theoretically a longer lasting gift. Unless the recipient, like me, forgets to water them regularly.

A teacher once told me that she has an entire box of Christmas ornaments that her students had given her. While she treasured them she didn't use them on her tree - she's Jewish! 

Our babysitter said that her mom (a teacher at my daughter's elementary school) typically receives multiple dish towels and potholders which they turn around and donate to the local soup kitchen. Nice of them. but probably not what the givers intended.

When I searched for inexpensive gift ideas I came up with the predictable soaps, candles, candy, mugs, note papers and socks... If I could knit I might make socks or mittens. But I can't. Aloe infused socks are a possibilty for the dance teachers since their feet take a beating.

I like the idea of gifts that are both practical and whimsical or unique if possible. Here are some off the beaten track ideas that I've come up with. These are suggestions for adults. There are lots of toys and books for children that cost less than $10; you don't need my suggestions. And as far as I can tell all that teenagers want is cash and no matter how much you give them it won't be enough.

These could be stocking stuffers or inexpensive gifts. If you are considering ordering online ALWAYS search the site name and "free shipping code" before ordering. Shipping costs will push these items over the $10 limit. Order from Amazon and you can normally get free super saver shipping with a $25 purchase. If you register and shop through GoodShop a they will make a donation to the charity of your choice. Consider one of these:

•  Instead of another picture frame consider ordering a Cable photo holder from Amazon. Available in several colors. It's about 5 feet long and comes with 8 magnets.
•  How about a stapler that doesn't need staples? Try the Pencil Grip The Classics Staple Free Stapler, (less risky for the little ones). It will only attach 2-5 sheets of paper, but that should work fine for homework, tests, etc. Pier One also carries a panda staple-free stapler for $5.
• Try a variation on the traditional pen and pencil set - You can get a  Smencil and Smen (smelly pen) Set for $5. I've found these at Michael's, Target and other local stores.
• Colored mechanical pencils from Crate & Barrel are available online only for $8.95
• or Smencils - pencils that smell good and are made from recycled materials. You can get a pack of 5 for $7
• These Drumstick pencils   are a little pricey at $8 for a pair, but fun and still functional
• To go with the pencils how about a battery operated pencil sharpener? You can pick one up at most grocery stores for about $4.
• A box of tea bags is okay - a tea infuser stick is cool if the person uses loose tea. There are several brands to chose from. I liked the Crate & Barrel model because it pulls apart rather than hinges so it is easier to use and clean.
•  If you know the person's hobbies you can go for a themed gift. Pier One sells a trio of golf club shaped pens for $5. You can get sports team playing cards for $7 if the person is a fan. (I had to chose NFL Atlanta Falcons Playing Cards since I'm from Atlanta, but there are lots of others.) 
• I think a tiny USB car charger is potentially useful for most people...
• I am also intrigued by the Credit Card Size Survival Pocket Tool. Among other things it claims to include: 1) Can Opener 2) Knife Edge 3) Screwdriver 4) Ruler 5) Cap Opener...
• Do something nice by ordering an item that supports a cause. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer with dozens of unique items for under $10.
• These silly file folders from Crate & Barrel won't fit in a stocking, but should bring a smile.

•  Visit One Hope Wines - While these wines exceed my dollar limit, they are worth mentioning for someone special. Half of the profits from each bottle are donated to charity. The site is very clear and specific about the amount of the donation - and you can even select your own charity to receive a portion.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

My Evil Twin

Every daytime drama or sitcom uses the plot device at least once - the evil twin. I know I have one. Or at least a decidedly evil side.

The other day I ran into a woman who doesn't like me. She used to be super-friendly because we did some business with her. By the end of our transaction I hated the fact that she showed up for every meeting in skin tight pants and teeny, tiny tank tops. I hated that she air kissed me when she saw me. I hated that she included a business card with her sympathy card when my mother passed away.

In essence, I hated her but I had to be nice to her because we shared common friends. She was a frenemy. You know as in, from the Urban Dictionary, "someone who you pretend to like but really you both know you hate each other.."

She has since moved away and I no longer see her. However, I ran into her at the mall the other day. She quickly grabbed her cell from her pocket and faked a phone call. I waved and ran up to her, pantomiming that I'd wait. I air kissed her while she carried on her one-sided conversation. I smiled and pretended to drink while mouthing "want to go get some coffee?" Finally she ended her fake conversation in desperation and hugged me. I said, "Oops! Didn't notice the time - gotta go" and walked away.

I laughed til tears ran down my face as I drove away. It was one tiny little bit of payback for all of the times she snuggled up to my husband in her itsy bitsy wardrobe, her boobs popping out while he signed papers. Now if only some one would leave a bag of flaming dog poop on her doorstep I'd feel I'd had my karmic revenge.

Where will my evil twin appear next....

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With thanks to http://www.neatorama.com/2011/09/07/evil-twins-from-60s-television/ for the images

The Santa Claus Syndrome

What is it about a mall Santa Claus that turns parents into idiots?  We've all seen it - the crying children with the parents desperately pleading for a smile.  One of the funniest Christmas cards I've ever received was from my friend Kerrianne. It featured her adorable twin girls sitting on Santa's lap - each lunging in opposite directions with looks of terror on their faces. Fall on the floor funny. However, the kids will probably be in therapy some day.

Just Google "santa with scared children" and you'll come up with hundreds of images.  Here are some of the funniest I've found. http://www.bite.ca/bitedaily/2010/12/top-10-photos-of-traumatized-kids-on-santas-lap/

Have you ever seen the famous Santa Claus scene in the 1983 movie, A Christmas Story? If you haven't seen it, spend three minutes to watch this YouTube clip. It sums up the basic insanity of lining children up to sit on a strange man's lap. Any other time of year we'd drag our kids away as quickly as possible.

Santa arrived at our local mall on Sunday. I accidentally witnessed it. I was on the second level with Danielle & one of her little friends so we could look down as Santa rode a tiny train through the mall. I thought it was charming. The two kids were terrified. The literally covered their ears and hid behind me. So much for photos with Santa this year - guess I just saved 20 bucks.

Other, less emotionally volatile kids, were lined up to be among the first to see Santa. I was horrified by how some of them were dressed. I wished I'd been able to sneak out my camera phone so you could see some of the hideous things these poor children were forced into. Kevin said I should have boldly walked up and said,"Your daughter's outfit is so distinct, unique (substitute your own superlative...) Do you mind if I take a picture to show my Mom?"

I'm torn between which was worse - the 3 or 4 year old boy forced to wear a green velvet little Lord Fauntleroy suit (cringe) or the 7 or  8 year old girl who was apparently wearing her mother's vintage 1970s Christmas outfit complete with white leather jazz oxfords. This poor unfortunate child was dressed in nifty black and white checked overalls with a large Santa applique and a red turtleneck.  I'm hoping that there was a family tradition or at least a funny story to explain this sartorial disaster. At five Danielle has enough fashion sense to fight her way out of such an atrocious outfit. Honestly, people, these were bad looks way back when. Trust me, they have not improved with time.

My thought for the day," Going to see Santa is scary enough,

don't add to the horror by dressing your children like demented elves."

Soy Free Simple - Its Not Only Edamame

When I first tell people that Amanda is allergic to soy their typical reaction is to laugh and say,"okay, I won't feed her any edamame."  Then I get them to read the labels of anything they happen to have hanging around their kitchen. Surprise! Soy is in almost everything.

I suppose as a protein it makes sense that it is in most hot dogs, processed meals like Beef-A-Roni, frozen meatballs and chicken nuggets. But why is it in bread, hot dog rolls, brownies, frosting, spaghetti sauce, instant oatmeal, crackers....

The FDA has identified eight foods major food allergens:

• Milk
• Eggs
• Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)
• Crustacean shellfish (e.g. crab, lobster, shrimp)
• Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)
• Peanuts
• Wheat
• Soybeans

These eight foods, and any ingredient that contains protein derived from one or more of them, are designated as “major food allergens”.

  

When you have a family member with a soy allergy you also learn the hidden code words for soy in foods. These other terms include "natural flavoring", "vegetable broth", "hydrolyzed protein", "vegetable gum" and "vegetable starch." Some people with a soy allergy are sensitive to soy lecithin and soybean oil. Luckily, Amanda can tolerate both of these in moderation.

Anyone with a food allergy quickly learns to cook. So many processed foods contain one or more common allergens. What happens when you don't like to cook? or don't have the time to bake from scratch? Most allergy blogs seem to be written by gleefully self-sacrificing women who have dedicated themselves to preparing all of their meals from scratch.

Sorry, folks, I'm not one of them. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I just want a life outside of the kitchen, but I refuse to make every morsel that passes through Amanda's lips from scratch. Among other things, its nice for her to have foods that other kids have.

I've searched for soy-free processed and take out foods. It took A LOT of work.  Not surprisingly, manufacturers of items that are almost exclusively "junk food" (Hostess, Little Debbie, Kraft, etc.) don't list allergen information on their websites. They simply suggest that you read each product ingredient list every time that you shop. And, of course, almost all Japanese & Chinese foods are elminated due to the prevalence of soy sauce.

Here is my list of "Amanda Approved" soy free junk foods. Most of it isn't "organic" or "all natural" - since many of those manufacturers routinely include soy. Besides, organic and all natural products tend to be priced significantly higher than their counterparts. While the list isn't inclusive, it's a good starting place for other "lazy" moms and dads.
 
My disclaimer: Please be aware, that manufacturers and restaurants change their recipes and you should always check the label or the company's website before eating a food which may contain an allergen.

Quick Fix Foods & Snacks in the Grocery Store:

• Chicken Nuggets: Allergy Free Foods brand frozen chicken nuggets; Perdue Original refrigerated chicken nuggets (may contain soybean oil)
• Frozen Pizza: Trader's Joe's Three Cheese Pizza
• Hot Dogs: John Morrell, Coleman Natural Beef  and interestingly, a very inexpensive entrant Bar S (which I can find at WalMart for $1/pack).   If only I could find a soy free hot dog roll...
• Fries: Alexia Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato fries are both excellent and soy free
• Mozarella Sticks: Alexia Italian Herb and Olive Oil
• Cake Mixes: yes, almost all of these contain soy flour. Dr. Oetker Organics mixes are soy free and good. best of all most grocery stores carry them at only about 40 cents more than other cake mixes.
• Frosting: Again, try the Dr. Oetker mix or make your own. Skip canned frostings.
• Spaghetti sauce: Prego Traditional Sauce is one of the few without soy
• Canned Meals: there is no Beef-A-Roni substitute (not a bad thing, really) but Annie's makes a few soy free canned pasta meals if your kid just has to have "spaghettios." Amanda really likes the Cheesy Ravioli.
• Peanut Butter: some companies use soybean oil to stabilize peanut butter. The "natural" formulations are more likely to be soy free. Skippy Natural and Jif Natural are both soy free!
• Sandwich bread is still a huge concern. Apparently manufacturers add soy flour to breads to keep them soft. Artisan breads from grocery bakeries may be soy free (check!). I've also tried Rudi's country morning white. It's not as soft and squishy as WonderBread but its okay.  
• Mac and Cheese: What is childhood without mac and cheese? Annie's Natural Mac & Cheeses are delicious and all soy free - even the super quick microwave version.
•  Chips : Lay’s Potato Classic chips
• Chocolate bars: Boom Choco Boom from Enjoy Life
• Cookies: any Enjoy Life softbaked cookies , Back To Nature Vanilla Wafers , Walkers Shortbread, Jennie's macaroons
• Candy: Most sugar-based candies are soy free. We like Sunkist Fruit Snacks, Fruit Rollups, Peeps and Charms Fluffy Stuff cotton candy 
• Most frozen "popsicles" like Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade and Icee Frozen cherry/raspberry

Takeout

Pizza

• Happily we have a Johnny's Pizza near us. Their pizzas are soy free and so are most of their entrees.
• Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars & Dominos all include soy according to their websites. Go for some other form of take out if these are your only options.

 Burgers & Fries

• McDonalds - any of the chicken & burgers -  except the 100% Angus that ironically contains soy protein. However all but the "bakery style" buns contain soy. The American cheese also contains soy, but the Swiss seems to be fine. I couldn't be certain that any of the breakfast items are soy free as most seem to contain "natural flavor."  http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf
• Burger King - chicken tenders, chicken fries and french fries are soy free as are the oatmeal, sausage biscuit  and  the hash browns.  http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cmhash%20s_out/digital_assets/files/pages/NutritionInformation.pdf
• Wendys - order the Jr. Hamburger or the hamburger kids meal ONLY - even the roll is fine. Just avoid American cheese. Do NOT order most burgers at Wendy's - they contain soy. However most of the chicken options are soy free. http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf

Mexican

• Taco Bell - only the rice and the nachos are soy free - most of  the salsa even contains soy. Skip Taco Bell and move on to another place would be my advice.
• Chipotle works for us as they carefully note which items contain soy but then go on to specify," The only soy-derived ingredient is highly refined soybean oil, excluded as a major food allergen." However if you are sensitive to soybean oil avoid this as well.

Chicken

• KFC - Original Extra Crispy chicken is soy free. So are the potato wedges, potato salad and macaroni salad. The hardest part about KFC is that there are a number of variations on each product so in some cases or areas an item may be soy free while in others it may contain soy. These are the only "safe" options that seem to be consistent.
• Chik Fil-A - The chicken strips, nuggets and waffle fries are all soy free - nice for kids! They use peanut oil so soybean oil isn't even a concern. The cheesecake is soy free and one of Amanda's favorites.

Other Take Out Treats

• Dunkin Donuts: Oatmeal Raisin cookie, biscuit, most of the flatbread sandwichs and wraps are fine. Tragically, the actual donuts all contain several forms of soy. You can search their site by allergen.
• TCBY: all items are soy free as far as I can tell.

Hopefully this list has given you a starting place for easy, lazy food options if you or a family member has a soy allergy. I'm not advocating eating only processed foods, but as I said its nice to have a fall back plan for busy nights or when you're traveling. Remember, Grandma's delicious homecooked meals might easily contain soy without her even knowing it!

Other sources of information regarding soy sensitivity or allergy:
http://www.fooddomain.msu.edu/pdfs/Ethnic%20Food%20Allergens%20Flyer.pdf

http://www.choa.org/menus/documents/Wellness/teachingsheets/soyfreediet.pdf
http://ynsppcsoyfreeedition.blogspot.com/p/soy-free-foods.html
http://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm079311.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/soyaisbad.cfm

I'm a Shutterbug -- or maybe a Shutterfly

I am obsessed with photography these days. I took 151 pictures of the girls this month between trips to the pumpkin patch, Special Olympics and Halloween. To compare, I took a total of 96 photos during a 3 week trip to Kenya back in the dark pre-digital age. I can only imagine how many I would take if I'm ever lucky enough to return to Africa. I love the era of digital photography!

I not only love the ability to take so many pictures I love all of the things you can now do with your photos.  I don't make prints and stick them in albums. I create beautiful, archival quality photo books with creative layouts and captions.

I've also used the photo books to create gifts for special friends. My favorite was a children's story called "The Tale of Two Snuggle Turtles" that I wrote for a friend and her daughter.

And lets not forget holiday cards! So much better than the dry old Christmas letter filled with brags and boring facts- as they say,"a picture is worth a thousand words". Let your friends and family SEE what you've accomplished over the past twelve months.

My latest project has been to create a shower invitation for a dear friend about to have her third little boy.

Elegant Script Blue Baby Shower Invitation

Create chic bridal shower invites at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly is easy to use and lots of fun. Right now they have great promotional offers for free shipping and even free cards. Check them out and get creative!

This is typical! I always have a camera in my hands

Carnival Birthday Party - Part 3: The Food

Suddenly my little backyard birthday party has almost 40 guests!

It's time for a reality check. This is a 5 year old's party.

I don't know why I thought I could get away with a few homemade cupcakes and a game or two.  After all, its not the 1970s anymore. I guess even my budget was "retro". I love this YouTube 70s birthday party clip.  This was what I mentally had in mind - very Brady Bunch. For that era this was probably a lavish party: they had themed plates & cups and a bakery cake. My mom baked all of our cakes and we ate off of plain white paper plates as far as I remember.

We've been to several spectacular birthday parties this month - one with pony rides and a petting zoo!  Another hired a costumed character to entertain and rented an inflatable bounce house. I am having the kids play simple party games.  I'm not interested in "keeping up" with anybody but I do realize that with kids come adults and siblings, all of whom need to eat at least a little something. When one of us goes to a party with Danielle we want to have a snack, some cake, a cold drink... 

I've given up on my $100 budget and am just trying to figure out how to keep it from getting wildly out of hand. This site cracked me up - its sort of a Party Planners Anonymous for over-the top party planning parents (which I suppose I now am.) I also found this site enlightening for average costs. Now I'm hoping to keep the budget under $200 since I have so many guests.

I still want to keep the food simple. I have to deal with a number of food allergies- dairy, gluten, egg & soy as well as one diabetic child and one vegetarian! In a weird way the food allergies are a blessing. Instead of having to provide a full meal we'll serve snacks: Ian's turkey corn dog nuggets and regular corn dogs, potato chips, veggies and dip, as well as  individual bags of cotton candy and popcorn. The little bags work out great for the kids, but cotton candy was expensive at nearly $1/bag. I'll make large batches of popcorn on the stove so the house will be filled with the scent of fresh, hot popcorn. I had lollipops left over from my birthday party a few months ago. Since candy stays fresh for 6 months I'll be able to set them out again for Danielle's party -add two gumballs machines from Dollar Tree and I have a buffet.

Then there's the birthday cake controversy. Danielle asked for cupcakes and that is something I can easily do at home. A dear friend taught me that frosting makes excellent spackle when your cakes lean and kids love it.

I'll bake egg free vanilla cupcakes (recipe follows). I had several failed attempts before I realized that gluten free, sugar free and egg free cupcakes were an impossibility for someone with my culinary ability.  See the photo...this is NOT the final batch based on the recipe I've included, I promise! I bought a few gluten free cupcakes from Whole Foods after this disaster.

I purchased 4 frozen gluten free cupcakes for less than the cost of the ingredients to bake my own. I've got cute circus animal cupcake toppers (leftover from a previous party) to insert in these to differentiate them from the others. I figure that the kids will never know who is eating the allergy-free cupcakes once they all have one on their plates.

Being from New England, I associate carnivals with Dels' frozen lemonade. I wanted to serve homemade frozen lemonade.  After trying several recipes I gave up (again) and bought Minute Maid frozen lemonades. We'll also provide small bottles of water. Since I'm feeling particularly fancy I've printed out some super cute, free water bottle labels , thanks to Hostess with the Mostess.

While I am having fun making and baking things for the party I can see how this could easily get out of control. Somebody stop me!

Egg-Free (Vegan) Vanilla Cupcakes*

• 1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk (or almond milk)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 cups cake flour

Preheat oven to 350. Sift dry ingredients together, set aside. In mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla to the measured out milk and add milk and flour in alternate batches beginning and ending with the flour. After ingredients are combined beat for about 1 minute on medium speed. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for approx. 20 minutes until centers are set and toothpick comes out clean.

* make this recipe sugar-free by using Splenda for Baking instead of sugar.

Carnival Birthday Party - Part 2: The Decorations & Games

I love decorations. Streamers, balloons and a pretty table go a long way toward setting the stage for a theme party. I'm lucky that both of my girls have November birthdays so my decorations can often do double duty for both parties.

Kids have great imaginations. My goal is to give them a jumping off point to make their own fun, rather than to orchestrate every minute of the party. My starting point for the carnival decorations is a fabric circus tent from Discount School Supply that we already had in the play room.

I've had a great time making decorations. I grew up with my Mom covering the living room floor with signs that she was painting for various political campaigns. Painting signs for the game stations seemed like a no brainer to me. I started with 10 sheets of foam board from Dollar Tree. The first few signs were pretty pathetic - until I discovered the paint was not my friend. As soon as I switched Danielle's colored markers my signs improved dramatically. Of course I've had to live with hearing,"Mommy, why do you keep taking my markers without asking?"

I handmade a sign for each of the games as well as one for prizes and one for treats. I tried to copy signs that I found online. I also printed out coloring pages and used them for graphic elements on the signs. I admit that I see the irony in making a bunch of signs for kids that are too young to read. I hope the pictures will help...

Some of the blogs I read actually hired graphic artists to design custom signs, invitations, water bottle wrappers and favors! I received a $20 Shutterfly certificate when I ordered Amanda's school pictures from Lifetouch so I was able to create custom photo invitations and several poster sized prints (I lucked into a half price sale)  for free!

I used Microsoft Publisher to create a really cool sign welcoming party guests.  I used a Fourth of July template and added my own photo and text. I'm thrilled with how it came out - it took less than 5 minutes and I printed it through Shutterfly. Buy the supplies, print, cut and paste and you look like one of the parents on TLC's "Outrageous Kid Parties."

Since I've been told this whole idea is "delightfully retro" I've decided to embrace the old school party games I grew up on. None of these are unique - or difficult to find or assemble... but they are all fun!

 Horseshoes (had on hand)
 Bowling
 Penny Pitch (made)
 Fishing Game
 Bean Bag Toss (made)
 Photo Booth or Board (made)
 Temporary Tattoos

The things I've made:
I made the Penny Pitch by gluing a 4 by 3 grid of decorative shapes to sheet of foam board and painting a border around the edges. The object is for the kids to toss pennies on to the shapes to earn a prize or ticket.

The Bean Bag Toss we made

We made a Bean Bag Toss from a sheet of foam board with three large holes cut into it. Danielle and I had fun decorating the surface with paper leaves. I used a dowel to prop it up at an angle, but the holes were  small for the kids when we practiced. We added three brightly colored plastic trash baskets from Dollar Tree - everyone's a winner when you have a big target!

We made colorful beanbags from felt and fabric scraps. I don't have a sewing machine. In fact, I typically rely on the dry cleaners to replace buttons on Kevin's shirts. So hand sewing anything - even something as small as a bean bag was a big deal for me. Danielle helped cut the fabric, fill them with beans and sew them closed. She did a great job! Two are shaped like fall leaves, in case you couldn't tell. I love that we're having so much fun getting ready for her party together.

My friend's father very kindly offered to make a wooden Photo Op board that the kids can peek through for pictures. If I get it in time I'll paint it to look like a scarecrow. I will use some straw and fabric leaves to make it a little 3D.

To decorate the table I cut triangles from brightly colored felt we had on hand and glued them along a piece of twine around various glass containers so that they looked like circus pennants. I used washable school glue so that after the party these can go back to being plain glass dishes.

I'll use red, yellow and blue solid colored plastic table cloths. They came from (you guessed it) Dollar Tree. Various fabric remnants will dress up the tables. The games and decorations that I've made myself cost about $25.

Now for the things that I've had to buy:
I bought temporary Tattoos from Dollar Tree.The Duck Fishing game came from Party City. I ordered a Candy Corn Bowling set from Oriental Trading. I found a $5 Ferris wheel center piece at Hobby Lobby. Dollar Tree was great for streamers, plastic pennants, foam board, prizes and tickets.  You can download tickets at http://images.birthdayinabox.com/partyplanning/carnival_ticket.pdf. 

I hit Michael's when they were having a 30 cent clearance sale. My biggest score was a penny item - a Circus cake topper. How cool! I got beach balls, more party favors, plates and napkins for less than $10. Always check Hobby Lobby and Michaels websites for coupons before shopping. You can normally get 40-50% off one item - sometimes Michaels has 25% off your entire purchase including sale items!

Instead of traditional goodie bags I've made the radical decision to create a Prize Table where the children can trade tickets for prizes. Honestly I did this because when I invited 9 children to the party I expected 9 children... not the 9 children and 8 siblings who responded. However, is also means that Danielle is eligible for prizes - leaving me with a total of 18 kids needing prizes.

Having a birthday right after Halloween means that I can't fall back on candy as a party favor. Most of the kids still have leftover candy at home. Instead I picked little flashlights, fairy wands, helicopter fliers, tops, whistles, rings and tiny telescopes.  I'll give each child 5 tickets to trade for prizes. Any left overs I'll use for pinata fillers in the future.

Tragically I'm nearly at my $100 budget despite my hard work and I haven't purchased any carnival themed food yet. I'm not quite sure where I went wrong... I probably shouldn't have bothered with a theme at all and just let them run around the yard and play.

For more budget party planning ideas please go to http://www.birthdayinabox.com/parties-under-100.asp

Carnival Birthday Party -Part 1: The Planning

Danielle has asked for a "Fall Festival" for her birthday party this year. I love carnivals so I'm totally on board. I enjoy having birthday parties at home because I like to create things for my kids. I consider it my gift to them. In fact, we typically don't buy them a present if they have a party.

For inspiration I've been reading "carnival birthday blogs."  I was stunned at the effort and expense some parents go to for their children's "at home" birthday parties. I'm not going to deny that I devote a fair amount of time to making things while the girls are asleep.

However, I don't have unlimited time to devote to this project.  One blogger claimed," ...my son’s second birthday; a Carnival Extraordinaire... took me a little more than six months of planning to coordinate everything..." Seriously?!?! That's a quarter of the little guy's life that she could have spent enjoying time with her child. My friends teased me for starting the planning six weeks in advance!

There are so many Carnival Party blogs out there it seems a bit silly to create another one. Unless, of course, you don't want to spend the equivalent of a small wedding on your child's birthday. In which case, read on! My favorite carnival party blog was called "Over the (Big) Top" - a party for a one year old with 54 children and a budget which had to have been in the thousands of dollars. WOW! What did she do for when he turned two?

Other blogging advice included tips such as "pick your child's outfit in advance so it doesn't clash with the decorations". A friend thought that was hysterical - so do I! I'll be lucky if Danielle's clothes match and she's got her shoes on the right feet.

I think many of these moms and dads might have forgotten that a birthday party should be fun for the kid. Worrying about their clothes for the photos seems a bit sad to me. I want to live in the moment, not just look at the photos afterward. I remember some wonderful birthday parties my mom pulled together for us - even though there are no pictures of them anywhere.

I don't want to spend a fortune. I'm not going to hire a caterer, a clown or even a professional photographer. Not having the money to rent a miniature train, build a ticket booth or rent a cotton candy machine, my options are more limited than most bloggers, but also more realistic.

In our area it costs an average of $300-400 to host a birthday party for 10-12 children and their parents at a location such as an indoor playground, a museum or the zoo. That's without the "extras" like balloons, goodie bags and cake - things most kids consider necessities. I want to host a party for half that - and for 17 kids and their parents. I also want goodie bags, balloons and food.

Needless to say, "do it yourself" is the key. There will be lots of photos of the various things I make throughout this blog!

Stay tuned for recipes and menu ideas as well as party decorations!

Preview of things to come...