Along The Toddler Way book Review

This is the second book I wanted to get read by Christmas and I finished it today.  This book is the second book by Ezzo and Ezzo (see my other review under "books") and I enjoyed this one a little more.  I think that they have some great concepts when it comes to raising good children.  Some of the truths that stuck out to me were raising one command kids which means they learn that when you tell them to do something, you expect obedience the first time.  Of course, this means consistency on the part of the parent because if obedience isn't the immediate reaction, than the parent has to follow through.  Compared to as much detail as they went into in the first book, this one seemed like an over view but the ideas themselves are easy to grasp too.  I did not agree with everything but isn't that typical?  I personally do not agree with using a crib as a place of punishment.  I don't want their crib, at this age, to be associated with doing something wrong because i want my kids to want to go to bed.  The author does address this and he states that they will be able to tell the difference because you will use a stern voice and there won't be the kisses and snuggles that happen at bed time.  I'd prefer to use a different location though.  Would I recommend this book?  Absolutely.  Would reading Along the Infant Way help with this book?  Not necessarily - there are a few terms you might not recognize but they are not imperative to glean good concepts out of this one. 

31 in 31 - Day 30

 Are you ready for some football??

31 in 31 - Day 29

This afternoon I heard Nate up from his nap but I also heard a lot of little giggles so I finished what I was doing before opening the door and this is what I found:

There are several things to notice - 1) the bumper pad untied and pushed toward the middle of the crib 2) see the star with the string on it on the floor - that is from his mobile.  That star was tied to the mobile when put him down for a nap.  3) Nate looks like he's saying "Mom, I was just having fun!"   When I walked in, he was sitting in the middle of the crib, flipping the bumper around and was just laughing his head off!!  It was too cute!

Worship Wednesday - "Smile" by Chris Rice

I've noticed that I tend to change my song of the week around Wednesday so "Worship Wednesday" seems like a good title :-)

Taking the #1 place on my song list this week is "Smile" by Chris Rice.  Last night, Darryl and I were enjoying the quietness of the evening listening to some music and playing on our computers.  The Chris Rice CD came on and it brought back some great memories.  Several years ago, while camping in Muskegon, we went to Maranatha Bible Camp to hear Chris Rice in concert.  My brother Kel and his family had driven over for the day and attended the concert too.  The concerts at Maranatha were different; they were more intimate.  It was only Chris Rice, the piano and his guitar.  Nothing more.  It was awesome.  While listening to that CD it made me miss camping.  I love to camp - the fire, the smell of wood smoke in the air, the peacefulness at night, walking on the beach, taking drives, smelling all the different dinners and breakfasts cooking.  Not to mention we often reflect while gazing into that campfire.  We did not go this year.  We took Josh last year and had lots of fun but camping with two babies this year seem a bit much.  How would we fit two pack and plays into a small cabin? What if it rains again this year?  How to keep two on the go kids out of the fire pit?  Just too many variables but that doesn't mean I didn't long to just take off and camp.  We've already decided to camp next summer at least once.  We aren't 100% sure what we are doing but we have some ideas.  We'd love to buy a pop-up or camper but right now, it isn't feasible so we'll just get creative :-)  So it isn't so much this particular song that speaks to me - it is Chris Rice in general.  He is a true song writer so his songs are often stories put to music instead of music with words written to match.  Enjoy!

31 in 31 - day 28

Today's picture shows one thing - how horrible new recipes can be sometimes:

Oh boy - this was horrible!  It was supposed to be Sesame Chicken with Noodles.  Sounds kinda good, right?  NO!!!!  The recipe called for peanut butter in the sauce.  That should have been my first alarm since we don't normally like recipes with peanut butter based sauces but I thought "Oh, but it is Sesame chicken and I love Sesame Chicken - maybe that's the secret ingredient in the sauce!"  My second alarm should have been the fact that . . Darryl doesn't like Sesame Chicken at all LOL  So, after we both tasted this horrid dish, I went to taco bell and got real food !!

A Place for Everything, Everything in its place

 Organizing

I like to pick a goal, a plan, or a theme on a given month to plan my monthly "to do" or goal sheets around.  I know it is September 7th, and not the 1st, but doesn't it seem like Labor Day is the "start" of September since it is the "end" of summer?  Nothing had really hit me yet for this month but as I started to think about decorating for fall and than Christmas I realized that I had things that need a home.  Not a "for a few minutes until I need that spot" home but a permanent home.  You know what I'm talking about - the books you are always moving, the magazines that sit on the counter, your husbands hats that hang on a door, even dishes that sit on a counter because it is easier to put them there than where they should go.  I believe in the  Living with it concept.  What is that, you ask?  Figure out how you live and than base your organization around that concept.  Why put your husbands hats on the back of your bedroom door when he always leaves them by the entrance?  Instead find a place in the entrance for them that works for both of you; or why put your magazines on a stand in the living room if you only read them in bed before you go to sleep?  Or, I recently assigned the top of our entertainment center as the home base for our camera and video camera because that is where we use them the most - in the living room.  Now, we always know where to find them! The one truth that is stands is - "A Place for Everything, Everything in its place". 

So, for September - now that I have basically decluttered every room in my house, I have started deep cleaning those rooms, it is time to find homes for those last "floater" items.  They need homes or they need to go!  I need to find a home for my devotional books I'll be using with my new accountabilty group (more to come on that later); and for books I'm reading each quarter (info given - see the label "books" to see what I'm reading by December) and for our school related things such as craft supplies, the months story books and nursery rhymes.  Just all those odds and ends.  I just want to know where to put things instead of constantly moving them around!

Along this same idea, I'm giving my projects a place in the week.  I'm thinking that Mon-Fri will be focused on work - cleaning, keep things organized, running errands, working on my 40 x40 goals and such.  Leaving Saturday open for working on my Scrapbooking Projects so that i can lay them out on the dining room table and leaving it out all day long and Sunday will be for Football and Reading my books! 

Brownie Tart

In Darryl's words "This is the best brownie I've ever tasted" So I thought I would share :-)

Brownie Tart

6 tablespoonse unsalted butter
3 1/4 cups (20 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Grease and flour a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Melt the butter in a bowl set over simmering water.  Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitter iwth the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sguar, coffee, and vanilla on edium-high spped until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the cooled chocoalte.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and walnuts.  Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just combined.  Pour into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is puffed (the top may crack).  The inside will still be very soft.  Cool to room temerature before removing the sides of the tart pan.

Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips with the heavy cream and drizzle on the tart.


Notes: 
* I used a springform pan as I did not have a true tart pan and it worked fine.
* I melted the butter in the microwave and than stirred the chocolate chips until melted.  I did have to throw it all in the microwave for about 15 additional seconds to get the chocolate smooth
* We are drizzling hershey's sryup on the top when we cut a slice for dessert because I ran out of chocolate chips :-)  It might actually work better since we aren't eating it in one sitting; the chocolate doesn't soak into the tart.