• An Eye for An Eye: Often the most successful discipline takes the least amount of effort.  When my 9 year-old daughter left the lids off the markers and ditched them on the carpet (for the third time), I grabbed one of the washable markers and wrote “I love my MOM!” in big letters on her arms and forehead - then sent her out to play with her friends.  She was mortified, of course, but I’m pretty sure the message sunk in.
• Stairs to Nowhere: When I was little, my Dad would make us run laps around the house (one lap for each year of age).  I adapted this technique for my own house by making my kids run up and down our 15-step flight of stairs.  I love this one because it can be used for almost anything.  If they take 45 minutes to finish a 10 minute chore, 5 sets of stairs.  If they completely ignore me when I ask them to turn off the wii, 10 sets of stairs.  If they get out of a math test by telling their teacher I’m in the hospital having a baby, …well you get the idea.
• A Different Kind of Pillow Fight: There are few things I hate more than shouting - especially whiny shouting.  When they were little, I used to force the offenders to sit across from each other and sing the BYU fight song until they could be friendly again.  Now that they’re older I don’t have as much time to be the mediator so I’ve instituted a new rule - the kids are welcome to shout at each other as loud as they can as long as they cover their faces with a pillow and shout through it.  Generally I’ve found that the muffled result causes a lot of laughter and cools down any heated tempers.

Ok, you know the drill, I shared a few of mine now it’s time for you to share yours.  Good news!  This month I have a great little commenting incentive for you.  Mariah from the Etsy shop ‘look what Mariah Made with love‘ has generously offered to give away one of her incredibly popular Onsie Cuddle Sacs to a very lucky commenter.  These adorable little newborn garments are a perfect example of form meeting function - they’re made of gorgeous materials (don’t you just love that chunky grosgrain ribbon at the bottom?) and the clever design makes those frequent newborn diaper changes a cinch.  Whether you’ve got a little of your own or just want to have a fabulous baby shower gift on hand - you’ll definitely want to give this giveaway a try.

The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday (June 21) at midnight CST.  The winner will be chosen at random, contacted by email and announced here.  There’s no catch…you can choose any fabric you like from her collection and the shipping is included.

As always, to those of you who participate, thanks in advance for passing it on.

*This giveaway is now closed.

And the winner (chosen by the iPhone app iChoose) is #16 Rachal.  Congratulations on your big win, Rachal.  I’ll be contacting you via email tonight.  Thanks to all of you for sharing your parenting wisdom.

That’s when I came across a great idea called a Nightmare Snatcher from a company called Spiderbite on Etsy. Essentially, it’s a journal designed to catch and trap my kids’ biggest nighttime worries. They simply draw a picture of their particular fear inside and the furry monster on the cover will snatch up the fear and trap it for good.  Spiderbite’s Nightmare Snatcher Journal worked so well for my son that we ended up making our own (less fancy) version for my other kids. My kids call them Monster Catchers.

My kids love having their monster catchers, but they loved making them even more.  I let each of them pick their favorite color of fur and they designed their own monster faces.  It only took about an hour to create all three of them.  They have kept them tucked under their pillows ever since.  We’ve made several for friends too.  They make really fun and inexpensive birthday party gifts.

Since these little journals have been so successful in my house, I thought I’d pass the instructions on to you as well.

Please understand that this is an inexpensive, homemade version of Spiderbite’s really great idea.  If you’re in the market for an authentic and artfully-crafted Nightmare Snatcher Journal I strongly encourage you to visit their Etsy store and check out their fantastic selection.  They average around $25 each and are well worth the price considering the quality of the materials and the level of craftsmanship.

Here’s what you’ll need to create your own…

• 1 standard size composition notebook
• 1 section of furry fabric cut to around 17″x11.5″
• 1 sheet of white foam paper
• 1 package of assorted googly eyes (I like the great big ones for this project)
• Tools: a hot glue gun, a pair of sharp scissors, and a fine point marker or pen

Step 1:  Lay your composition book flat on the wrong side of the fabric and trim all edges so you have about an inch of excess on all sides

Step 2:  Fold your fabric over your book figure out where you’d like the mouth to go.  Hold that spot with your finger and mark the underside of the fabric to mark the mouth opening.  Cut on the mark to create a narrow slit with your scissors.

Step 3:  Fold the fabric back over the book and use your pen to mark the mouth line on your notebook.  This will give you a guide for your teeth placement in the next step.

Step 4:  Take a small section of your white foam paper and cut out some jagged teeth.  Use a hot glue gun and glue the bottom edges of your teeth to the mouth line mark on your notebook.  Fold the fabric back over the notebook and pull the tips of the teeth through the slit.

Step 5:  Use your hot glue gun to adhere the fabric to the spine of the notebook.  Make small notches in the corners and small slits at the top and base of the book spine to allow for easier covering then continue gluing the rest of the fabric.

Step 6:  Trim the excess fur off the inside overlapping fabric (this will help the book close a little more completely)

Step 7:  Figure out where you’d like to place your eyes and trim the excess fur in that area.  Use your glue gun to adhere the googly eyes to the fabric.

Step 8:  Use your remaining white foam paper to cover the ugly inside covers of the notebook (colored cardstock works too).

That’s it.  A simple, inexpensive way to beat back the monsters in just 8 easy steps.  One word of caution, this type of fabric sheds like crazy at first.  When you get home from the craft store I highly recommend taking it outside and shaking it very vigorously.  In fact, if the weather’s nice, I recommend saving yourself a lot of clean up by doing the entire project out on your deck or patio.  Good luck, everyone and happy monster catching.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

I tried out and adapted several different wheat bread recipes and finally settled on this one for three basic reasons.  1 - It’s made entirely from food storage ingredients (no refrigerated items needed).  2 - The finished product is good for sandwiches or toast.  3 - It freezes really well so I can make four loaves in one batch and have enough to last the entire week.

This recipe uses both wheat and bread flour.  If you like your bread more dense, you’ll want to increase your wheat flour.  If you prefer it fluffy, reduce your wheat flour and add a bit more bread flour.  I make mine in my Bosch mixer, if you’re using a KitchenAid you might want to half the recipe.  I’m not sure how much dough those machines can handle.

Ingredients

4 cups warm water (110 degrees or so)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp active dry yeast

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
4 tsp salt
6-8 cups wheat flour
4-6 cups bread flour (you can use all purpose too)

Directions

1. Add the tablespoon of sugar to the warm water and then add the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes
2. Meanwhile, add 2/3 cup sugar to mixing bowl.  Next add oil and then honey (use the same mixing cup - the oil residue will help the honey slip out easily).  Add salt and yeast mixture (it should be foamy) and blend lightly.
3. Add wheat flour one cup at a time and mix well.  I don’t really measure, I just keep adding wheat flour until the dough is thick, sticks to the beaters and starts to look like this…
   
4. Change to a dough hook attachment.  Add bread flour to the mixture half a cup at a time until it cleans the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky to the touch.  Increase motor speed and “knead” the dough for 6 minutes or so (you could also do it by hand on the counter - just increase the time to 10-15 minutes).  Continue to dust with flour as needed.  It will look something like this…
   
5. Turn your oven to it’s lowest temperature (I use my warm setting) and move the rack down to a low position.  Grab a large bowl and coat it lightly with oil.  With floured hands, form a smooth and elastic ball with the dough and drop it in the bowl.  Flip dough ball once to coat the entire surface of the with oil.  Cover the bowl completely with plastic wrap.  It should look something like this…
   
6. Turn your oven off, then place the bowl in warm oven (if you can’t touch your hand to the inside of the door, it’s too hot - open the door to allow it to cool).  Let it rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).  It should look something like this when it’s finished…
   
7. Lightly grease 4 standard size bread pans (I prefer glass because it’s easy to see when the bread has cooked through by checking the browning on the bottom).  Punch down the dough.  Divide it into four even chunks.  Shape the sections into loaves by tucking the dough under itself.  Place the sections in the pans and return them to the warm oven (you may want to warm it up again - just be sure to turn it off before you put the loaves in).
   
8. Let the loaves rise until they double in size or are about 1-2 inches taller than the pans (about 30 minutes).
9. Pull loaves out of the oven and preheat to 365.  Place loaves back in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  If your loaves start to brown too quickly, cover the tops with aluminum foil (I use a disposable oven liner because it’s faster and easier to work with).
   
10. Once your bread is cooked through, take pans out of the oven and place finished loaves on cooling racks.  Allow the loaves to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing (5 minutes if the smell of fresh baked bread is making your stomach growl and you can’t stand to wait any longer).
    

Doesn’t that look delicious?  Just wait until you cut yourself a thick slice in the morning and slather it with strawberry freezer jam.  It’s great way to kick off your day.  I promise, once you get the hang of making this each week, you’re family will never want to go back to store-bought again (as evidenced by my chubby little guy here).

Let me know if you have any questions or improvements on this recipe in the comments area below.  Good luck!  Just thought I’d pass it on.

My family was thrilled with the change but there was a small problem.  Each Monday I’d make four perfectly puffy loaves of whole wheat bread only to watch them be hacked to pieces throughout the week by my family.  It didn’t seem to matter what type of knife we used, we could never get smooth, even slices and my counters suffered from the constant crumbly mess.  I looked on Amazon for bread slicing tools and found several clunky contraptions.  However, none of them had good feedback ratings and they generally had a price tag of $25 or more.

Then, while I was perusing the “as seen on TV” area at WalMart, I came across this handy tool.  It’s a battery operated, twin-blade electric knife and it works like a charm on my bread.  The sharp blades slice without any added pressure so your bread never gets mashed or mangled in the cutting process.  The blades pop out with a push of a button and fit easily in the utensil basket of my dishwasher.  Plus, it’s cordless so it’s easy to use at the kitchen table and stores neatly in my cupboard.  Whether I need to carve up a roast or slice a birthday cake this handly tool is a must in my kitchen.  It’s called the OneTouch Cordless Knife.  I bought mine for $12 because it was marked down at WalMart.  You can also find it on Amazon by following this link.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

Are you craving a big batch of Honey Wheat Bread too?  I’ll be posting my scrumptious recipe tomorrow so be sure to check back soon.

I hate that feeling so I use a very simple trick to combat key loss.  When I come in from the garage, the first thing I do is flip on the light in the kitchen.  It’s also the last thing I do before I head to the car.  So, naturally, the light switch seemed like a great place to store my keys.  I placed a few peel n’ stick hooks on the switch plate of the light switch by the kitchen door and a few more on the plate near the front door.  Now no matter which door I enter, there’s always a spot to stash my keys.

I added a few more hooks to the inside of a cabinet near the back door as well.  I store all my spare keys there…just in case my regular keys have wandered off the hook.  (I learned this one from my brilliant Mom who managed to get all 10 kids out the door on a regular basis - I love you, Mom!)

As a side note, I also use a similar trick for my purse and mail.  I bought a heavy duty removable hook and used a left over plastic inbox from my Family Big Board project and mounted both on the back of the kitchen door.  When I come in from the garage, I add my keys to the switch plate, toss my bag on the hook, and throw the mail in the bin.  Within 3 seconds I have my hands free and nothing gets dumped on the counter.  Plus, when it’s time to head out again, everything I need is right there waiting for me.  It’s a really simple strategy that saves me tons of time.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

The blog’s author, Jana, is a mom of four and an exceptionally talented writer when it comes to story telling.  Her writing style blends raw honesty with a big dash of dry humor and it’s right up my alley.  I could relate to so many of her motherhood experiences.

Reading her blog reminded me of having one of those much-needed, theraputic laugh sessions with my friends.  You know the kind where you describe a horrific mothering experience to your friend only to have her say…”If you think that’s bad, wait till you hear this…”?  That’s what Jana’s posts are like.  It’s like having a friend who can always one-up you in a rough day contest.  And for some reason it’s really comforting to know that know matter how bad my day has been, at least it didn’t involve paper underpants (read the post and you’ll understand).

If you haven’t had the pleasure, you should definitely hop on over to Jana’s blog - TheMeanestMom.blogspot.com.  It was hard to pick favorites but here a few posts that jumped out at me as I was digging through the archives.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

All I Want for Christmas is a Normal Christmas Picture

A Fun, Kid-friendly Easter Craft

Guilty As Charged

I found several sites offering elaborate recipes for creating this type of cake but I wasn’t up for that kind of time commitment.  I wanted something I could whip out quickly so I cheated and bought all the components at the grocery store.  Here’s what I used…

1.5 boxes of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate cake mix
1 jar of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate frosting (to create the fudgy chocolate topping)
1 jar of Betty Crocker Fluffy White whipped frosting (to create the fluffy filling)
1 tube of Betty Crocker white cookie icing (to create the white spiral decoration)

To make the cake, I used the cake mix and bottom portion of my very favorite cake pan.  It’s called The Great Cupcake Pan from Williams Sonoma.  You could also use two 5-inch cake rounds stacked on top of each other.  I prepared the cake mix as directed and let the cake cool completely.  Then, I sliced about half an inch of cake from the top and set it aside - this creates a lid for the filling later.

To create the fluffy white center, I pressed a large biscuit cutter down into the remaining cake (you’ll want to stop about and inch above the cake base).   I used the spoon to dig out the excess cake and create a nice deep well for the filling.  I whipped the white frosting in the container with a fork before adding it to the well with a spatula.  After that, I replaced the circular top section of cake I had removed earlier.

I wanted the dark chocolate frosting to be glossy and smooth (like the original) so I put the frosting container in the microwave for about 45 seconds.  I poured the frosting directly onto the cake from the center and let it spread out on it’s own until it completely covered the top.  Once the chocolate frosting had cooled a bit, I used the white cookie icing tube to create the signature white spiral on the top.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, I was not going for perfection here.  I knew my little guy was just going do maul this cake with his bare hands, so I didn’t go to a lot of effort to make it look picture-perfect.  I’m sure if you’re willing to put in the time, you could make it look much better.  However, if you’re simply looking for an easy and inexpensive way to make a little kid’s day, this giant Hostess cupcake might be just the ticket.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

I must not be the only one because a few months ago one of my favorite podcasts, This American Life, dedicated an entire show to de-mystifying the financial mess.  They did away with the confusing economic jargon and put the banking crisis into terms I could easily understand.  The entire show was less than an hour in length, but it was jam packed with information to help me get a better grip on how the banks got into this mess in the first place and how we can protect ourselves from repeating these mistakes in the future.

If you’re in need of a little financial know-how and want to be entertained in the process, I highly recommend listening to This American Life: Bad Banks (2/27/09).  The podcast is free on iTunes or through their website.  Take the time to listen.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

First, I tried the WalMart brand, White Cloud.  They were significantly cheaper than the name brand diapers and it showed.  They were thin and loose and a total waste twelve bucks.  I ended up selling the rest of the pack at a garage sale for $1.  Next, I tried the Sams Club brand, Strollers.  Much to my surprise, they were awesome.  They were just as durable as the name-brand version and never leaked.  Plus, by opting for the generic diapers instead of the Huggies I usually buy, I save almost $300 per year.  I just wish it hadn’t taken me four kids to figure it out!  It’s painful to think how much money I could have saved.

So for today’s Talk to Me Tuesday post, I’m asking for your best (and worst) generic brand finds.  What products have you found that are just as good as the name-brand alternative?  On the flip side, what generic brands have you tried that didn’t stack up to your expectations?  Or, what name-brand products do you use that are worth the extra cash?  We’re all trying to budget a little more carefully these days so do your fellow MeckMom readers (and me) a favor by taking a minute to share your best money-saving finds in the comments area below.  As always, to those of you who comment, thanks in advance for passing it on.

My kids love Easter egg hunts.  They think it’s so fun to scramble around in the backyard and search for our expertly-hidden dyed eggs.  Although, one year our hiding spots must have been a little too tricky because we only found 75% of the eggs during the hunt.  The other 25% turned up a lot later…gross.  Needless to say, from that point on I’ve only used plastic eggs in our hunts.

Of course the problem with plastic eggs is that you’ve got to fill them with something.  My kids get plenty of sugar in their Easter baskets, so the traditional candy-filled route doesn’t appeal to me.  Little trinkets and stickers are also an option but I hate spending money on stuff I know I’ll throw away in a day or two.  Consequently, at our house I started a puzzle tradition for our hunt.

To do it, I print out two cardstock copies of an Easter picture (you can find the free downloads for these below).  On one sheet I type in the secret location of an inexpensive family Easter prize (last year it was dollar-store kites).  Next, I cut out the egg image from the picture and chop it into puzzle pieces small enough to fit inside the plastic eggs.  The second egg picture (the one without words) is left whole to use as a guide.  I place one puzzle piece in each egg and then hide them all over the yard.

When it’s time for the hunt, I give my kids the un-cut paper and a glue stick.  I tell them that there is a secret prize hidden somewhere in the house and they have to work as a team to hunt for eggs and uncover it’s location.  They run together all over the yard searching for pieces of the puzzle.  After they’ve each found a few, they come back to the main paper and try to glue them in place.  Usually, they find they don’t have enough pieces to complete the puzzle so they head back out to the yard and search some more.  Once they find all the eggs (and glue the pieces in place) they head off together to track down their prize.

My kids love the hunt.  They look forward to it every year.  It’s a great way to get rid of the selfish whining that tends to surface in egg hunts (”Mom, she took my egg! Hey, I found it first!”) and replace it with a fun “team” atmosphere.  Plus, it’s a really cheap (and sugar-free) way to perk up any Easter egg hunt.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

The files were originally created in MS Word.  If you have trouble using them try printing out two copies of the .pdf file and hand write your secret location on one before cutting.