Children need to feel loved in order to thrive. This book gives a lot of usable suggestions for how children interpret and feel love. What makes one child feel loved might not be the same for another child. Learn the love language of your child (or children).

I am giving away a copy of this book, The Five Love Languages of Children, and will mail it within the U.S. (Sorry, money is limited and I have to restrict it to postage I can afford.)

This is all you need to do to enter the giveaway: Leave a brief comment on this post with your name (first name is fine) and your email address. Your email address will be confidential and I will not share it with anyone. Names will be disqualified who do not leave email addresses because that is how I notify the winner. I will notify the winner by email to get their mailing address. Again, the mailing address will be confidential and I will not share it with anyone.

Deadline for entry is February, 10, 2010.

Using RANDOM.ORG to determine the winner, the winner is… Maria.  Congratulations, Maria!

If you would like your name entered twice, post about this on your blog and leave a comment with the link to your post.

*Watch for another book giveaway soon: The Five Love Languages. Learn your spouse’s love language and also your love language.

This sounds like a fun recipe to make with children:

• 1 cup of your favorite ice cream – NOT ice milk
• 1 cup self-rising flour

Let ice cream set out at room temperature until thoroughly melted, but still cold.  Fold in the flour.  Do not overstir.  Pour into greased muffin tin.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.   Makes 6 muffins.

The holidays are so fun when the kids come home!  It’s nice to have time to relax from the busy work and school schedules and enjoy being together.  We might play some video games on the Wii or maybe some of our favorite board games.   Watching all three parts of the Lord of the Rings is definitely on our list.

We’re already planning to do some Christmas shopping on Black Friday after Thanksgiving which means getting up soooo early.  Our daughter got me hooked on that, and so this year our son (who will be home from college) wants to go and even my husband plans to go, too.   It’s fun shopping with those you love, doing something totally crazy and different like shopping at 5 AM, and finding those terrific bargains.   Then we’ll probably go eat breakfast at I-Hop, where I have a really good coupon, and then go home and crash!   After that, we plan to set up the Christmas tree.  Makes for nice family memories!

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This is the diaper cake from one of our daughter’s baby showers.  I asked for directions on how to make it, and so here they are:

Start by rolling each diaper tightly and place a rubber band around it to secure it.  Place diapers next to each other to make a circular shape.  Place a PCV pipe (from a craft store) in the middle of the cake for stability of the layers.  Surround each layer of cake with a large rubber band (also from craft store) and then place ribbon over the rubber band using the favorite colors of the mother-to-be or the nursery colors.  Decorate with baby shapes bought at any craft store (or Dollar Tree).  You can make two layers or more.  This particular cake had three layers.

Some people think way ahead, and some are probably already planning for Halloween.  They may be thinking about ordering Halloween invitations for a party, planning all of the costumes, and making a list of who to invite.  Summer is a good time to plan ahead for an October party before things get busy with all the back-to-school activities, football games, homework to oversee, and the list goes on and on.  The timing is good for starting to plan a party without any rush and last minute hassle.

If you happen to be planning to have a Halloween party this fall, you might want to check out The Party Starts Here!.com for invitations that are the right style for you.

Need a quick & easy dessert?  Here’s a new twist on an age-old recipe for S’mores.

I remember making S’mores in Girl Scouts when I was growing up, and Girl Scouts are actually credited with the first written S’mores recipe in their 1927 Girl Scout Handbook.  (I wasn’t born for decades later, just in case you’re wondering.)

Here’s the simple recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• Graham Crackers, broken in half to make squares
• Marshmallows
• Hershey’s Chocolate Bars
• Maraschino Cherries
• Canned Whipped Cream

Place squares of chocolate bar on a graham cracker half.  Then place marshmallows and top with another graham cracker.  Cook in microwave just until the marshmallow puffs up big.   Drizzle melted chocolate on top.  Serve on a pretty plate with chocolate covered marshmallows*, whipped cream and a cherry.

*To make chocolate covered marshmallows, place marshmallow on a toothpick and dip in melted chocolate.  Place on waxed paper to cool.

Here’s an interesting little tidbit of info.  Today is 7-8-09, so when the clock says “10:11″ then you will have five consecutive numbers.  Some kids (of all ages) might think that’s fun!  It’s noon right now, so 10:11 AM has passed, but if your kids are up after ten this evening, they might think it’s cool to look at the clock on 7-8-09 @10:11.

This is the fresh fruit salad I made yesterday.  It’s great to keep in a Tupperware type covered bowl in the fridge ready for a quick snack, but just make sure you do not add banana to the whole batch.  If you want to add banana, just add it to what you’re getting ready to eat since bananas turn dark quickly.  However, the juices from the other fruits keep the apples from turning dark, so they’re OK the next day.  It’s so delicious (not to mention being healthy) that it’s hard not to eat a second serving of it!

INGREDIENTS:

• Organic apple with the peeling left on it, chopped (if it’s not an organic apple then it should be peeled because of higher levels of pesticides)
• Orange, peeled and sectioned and then cut into bite-size pieces
  
• Cantaloupe, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• Organic Strawberries (regular strawberries have higher levels of pesticides than most fruits), sliced
• Blueberries
• Nectarine, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• Grapes (not pictured)
• Fresh Pineapple (not pictured)
  

Click here to see a list of the top 12 fruits & veggies with the most amounts of pesticides.

These cookies bring back warm memories of childhood and growing up.   My mother made these often, and they were so delicious warm out of the oven.   They’re like a brown sugar cookie, and kids of all ages like them.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• (1 cup nuts optional – we don’t add the nuts)

Cream the eggs, brown sugar, and butter.  Add the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Form cookie dough into a long roll about 2 inches in diameter.  Wrap well with wax paper.  Chill for a few hours.  Slice and bake at 350 degrees as needed.  Bake 8-9 minutes for a soft cookie and 10-11 minutes for a crisper cookie.

The cool thing about this recipe is that the dough can be made a day or several days before it’s needed as long as it’s well-wrapped.  If it’s going to be kept for several days, it would be good to store the dough in a large gallon size plastic bag after wrapping with wax paper.