MomAdvice - Part 324

Amy’s Notebook 10.16.08

October 16th, 2008

I arrived back in town last night after a fun trip to California! I have so much to share with all of you and promise to do that really soon. Today I am suffering from jet lag and a bad case of exhaustion with an overflowing amount of work to do. I hope to be back in the swing of things soon. Until then, here is a picture of the Hollywood sign that we took after hiking it up to see it. I had the absolute best time and made some really great new blogging friends. I promise to share it all soon!

Since I am tired, I will skip the notebook experiment for this week, but we will be to our regular schedule next week!

I need to look through this Halloween round-up over here (@ Parent Hacks)

Have you ever heard of a dog poop composter? Very interesting! (@ shelterrific)

These chalkboard doors would be so nice in a guest room (@ Daily Danny)

This post on your life’s passions really got me thinking (@ my happy little life)

I love this secret reading room (@ Nesting Place)

These photo card ideas are so brilliant (@ Chica Schmica)

This birdy snack shack is too cute (@ design sponge)

This light minestrone recipe looks like a winner for my lunches (@ Lost Button Studio)

I am hungry for caramel apples after seeing this post (@ 101 Cookbooks)

These cat cupcakes are adorable (@ Serious Eats)

This fishbowl pumpkin would be a cute little Halloween project (@ Bella Dia)

Tags: Amy's Notebook, Favorites
Posted in Amy's Notebook | 3 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday: The Elvis Edition

October 15th, 2008

Michelle from Scribbit

Liz from This Full House

Tags: Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Family | 13 Comments »

Play It Again, Momma: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

October 14th, 2008

Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday treats was a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll. My mom would make these for us on Saturdays and we always fought over the ones that had the most frosting. Sadly, it was such a thrill when my dad worked in the mornings because that meant that there would be two extra rolls for us to fight over. Who could resist those rolls and the simple pleasure of having a sweet treat once a week?

I still love those cinnamon rolls, but at $1.69 a roll, they are an unnecessary addition to the grocery budget. What I do have though is flour and sugar, purchased in bulk, and a bread machine that can turn out cinnamon roll dough like nobody’s business. I figured I was on to something and decided to give it a shot and figure out if I could replicate my Saturday morning experience. It took a couple of Saturdays to tweak this recipe, but I finally am satisfied with the results. Lucky for me, my family didn’t mind being the guinea pigs so I have gotten this down pat for your dining pleasure!

To make my dough, I used the recipe from the homemade hamburger buns, except that I increased the sugar to 1/3 cup. I ran the dough cycle on my bread machine and when it beeped, I had the perfect dough for rolling.

I rolled the dough out into a 12×15 rectangle and then spread it with the following filling:

Cinnamon Roll Filling

1/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Spread the softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this all over the dough and then use your hands to gently press the filling in. Take the edge of the dough and begin rolling it up. Roll it tightly and slowly, being careful to keep all the filling inside. At this point you should have a long log that you can cut your rolls from. You can wrap the dough with plastic and store in the fridge overnight or you can slice your rolls (should make ten large rolls) and put them on your cookie sheet or pizza stone. Store in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pull the rolls out and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, immediately drop the temperature to 375 degrees and put the rolls in the oven. Cook these for approximately 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the rolls are cooking, I just make a frosting out of powdered sugar and water (I don’t measure this, but approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar to 1-2 tablespoons water mixed together should do ya!) When the rolls are done, drizzle your frosting over the rolls and serve them warm or room temperature (although they are best warm)

Amy’s Notes-

– The first time I made these, I put them on a pizza stone and they cooked very evenly. The second time, I popped them in a 9×13″ pan and only the ones on the outside got done. I would recommend placing these either on a cookie sheet (with a nice lip) or on a pizza stone.

– When you slice the cinnamon rolls, you can slice them with a knife or you can use dental floss and cut them that way. I find the dental floss to be a little more tedious so I stuck to slicing with the knife and reshaping the dough afterwards.

– The best part about making these cinnamon rolls is that you can vary the sizes and I can make mini-versions of the rolls for the little kids and tuck these in the center of the batch so that they don’t get overdone. The kids love these mini versions and I control the amount of sugar they are getting. Just give them a teeny drizzle of frosting and they will be set!

– You can reheat these in the microwave for a nice snack in the evening or for breakfast the next day. Place on a microwave-safe plate and zap for about twenty seconds. Makes a great mommy snack with a cup of coffee!

Sound Off: What is a favorite Saturday morning treat in your house?

Tags: Recipes
Posted in Breakfast | 8 Comments »

Redbox Code 10.13.08

October 13th, 2008

I arrived late last night in Los Angeles for the Suave sponsored, “Glamour Magazine Reel Moments.” event. I woke up bright and early at 4 AM and was ready to start tackling the day. That is what a difference in time zones does for me.

I will be sure to post some pictures tonight and today I will be posting the last day from my Walmart trip. If you missed it, here is day one and two!

In the meantime, you can enjoy a little Hollywood life of your own! Today’s free code for a Redbox movie is 7CB23W. This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight. Enjoy a free family movie together!

Side Notes:

– If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

– When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, “Rent with Promo.” Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

Here is an updated list of new releases:

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan
Former Israeli assassin who fakes his own death so he can move to New York and pursue his dream of styling hair in gratuitously short jean cutoffs? That’s Adam Sandler for you, who you can always count on to deliver the goods in totally absurd ways. Rob Schneider and John Turturro co-star in this whacky comedy.

The Happening
If they rated movies based purely on their otherworldly eeriness, every M. Night Shyamalan movie would be rated X. Surprisingly, this thriller – starring Mark Wahlberg as a science teacher in the midst of a mysterious psychological force threatening all humans – is M. Night’s first Rated R movie. Find out why.

The Visitor
Richard Jenkins (the deceased father on Six Feet Under) stars as a widowed college professor who’s simply going through the motions. But on a trip home to New York, he discovers two lively immigrants have moved into his apartment, and the friendship he forms with them might just open his future right up.

Kill Switch
You knew that Steven Seagal could act (and break pool cues over your head), but here he stars AND wrote the screenplay. Seagal plays as a famous homicide detective who follows a demented serial killer’s trail to Memphis, where he must negotiate a seedy underworld of sex and violence.

Iron Man
The unfairly cool Robert Downey Jr. takes on the role he just might have made for: a superhero with a sense of style. Here, he plays Tony Stark, a billionaire war profiteer who becomes a do-gooder/world-saver after escaping captivity with the help of a hand-built flying iron suit. Gwyneth Paltrow co-stars.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Jason Segal, Kristin Bell and Russell Brand star in this hilarious (and frequently uber-embarrassing) comedy about a heartbroken slob who travels to a Hawaiian resort. There’s pretty much no one there – except for his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend, and tons of awkward laughs.

Tags: Freebies
Posted in Freebies | 2 Comments »

Deliciously Spiced Pumpkin Bread

October 13th, 2008

Before I left for my trip, I wanted to make sure that we had a yummy snack for the kids to munch on. I checked the pantry and had all of the ingredients to put together some mini-loaves of my favorite spiced pumpkin bread in the world. Smear this with a little butter and a cup of coffee, and you have the ultimate coffee shop experience at home.

This batter makes four mini-loaves so I was able to wrap one and put it in the freezer, leave two out for eating, and I gave a loaf of it to my mother-in-law who took a day off to help us with the kids while I am out-of-town. Wrapped in tin foil, I stamped a tag with a little thank you rubber stamp and tied the loaf off with a little raffia. I hope nothing says thank you and I appreciate you like a loaf of this pumpkin bread!

The best part about this bread, of course, is that all of the ingredients can be found and stocked in your pantry. The other great part is that it is inexpensive and easy to make. That makes it a winner in our house!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in walnuts, if desired.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

Tags: Recipes
Posted in Desserts, Sides | 16 Comments »

Follow My Trips!

October 10th, 2008

Check out all the details on my trips by visiting The MotherLoot. I just posted our first day of activities there including tons of tips for throwing a frugal and delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

Not everyone was pictured here, as a few of our moms were flying in a little later. I will definitely be posting more pictures and sharing all that we learn on this trip on our product review blog!

Hope you can read it!

Tags: MomAdvice News
Posted in Announcements | No Comments »

Freebie Friday: October 10, 2008

October 10th, 2008

As always, a big round of applause to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping us with our Freebie Friday list. I couldn’t do it without her! She rocks! Don’t believe me? Be sure to check her coupon list for great deals and all week long for her freebies! Thank you, Heather!!

Health & Beauty

Live Platinum fragrance
Carefree & Stayfree (Walmart)

Food

Alpine Lace Cheese House Party
Better Homes and Garden Cookie Swap House Party
Holiday Butter Recipe Cards
Starkist Hook (for Vocalpoint members)

Entertainment

Halloween on a Dime free eBook
Maran Illustrated free eBooks
Horse Print for October on Ziggity Zoom
Plenty Magazine from Pepsi (click on green monster)
Babytalk Magazine

Home

Freepeats Free Lifetime Membership (offer ends Oct. 12)
Teaching Activities (Creative Teaching Press)

Upcoming Freebie Events:

OCTOBER
Free Night of Theater
Hormel Chili Master @ Walmart (enter zip for dates)
11 – Arm & Hammer Essentials demonstration @ Walmart
11 & 25 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinics, make a Skeleton & Pumpkin
25 or 26 – All You free sampling event 10am-4pm @ Walmart

NOVEMBER
1 – Home Depot Kids Workshop, make a Leaf Press

Tags: Freebies
Posted in Freebies | 2 Comments »

Notebook Experiments: How Will I Ever Stand Being By Myself?

October 9th, 2008

Experiment: How Can I Ever Stand Being By Myself?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.07.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Simple Dollar for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. Trent has a great list of fifty things you can do by yourself and you can pick any activity out of it for budget-friendly ideas that don’t involve spending any money!

Results: I know that today’s entry is a bit of a stretch, but I am leaving today for two trips and started packing my bags with things to do to keep myself entertained while I am waiting for my flight. What did I pack?

Well, I packed lots of yarn so I can crank out some knitted gifts while I am waiting at the airport. I picked this robin’s egg blue and a soft pink to mix in with a brown stripe. I have done this notebook experiment before, but not in these hues. I need to start working on these and plan to give these as gifts with some homemade soaps that I am ordering through Etsy. I just love how modern the addition of the brown stripe made this dishcloths and I think they will be a real hit!

I was a little concerned that I couldn’t bring my knitting needles on the plane, but I checked the guidelines and it said that knitters and crocheters are more than welcome to bring their supplies so I was very happy about that. Then I was worried about cutting the yarn, but saw that nail clippers were perfectly acceptable and after a couple of practice clips, I knew that I would have no trouble whipping up a few of these washcloths.

I have finally memorized this pattern so it makes it much easier to do it without so much thinking.

I also packed a few library books for reading…

Love the One Your With by Emily Giffin. I have never read her before, but I am really enjoying this book. Has anyone else read her? Do you have any recommendations for a favorite from her? So far I am really loving it!

Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica is another one I picked up. I know nothing about this book, but I guess there is a Waiter Rant blog and that is where the book came from. I waited tables through high school and after I got married so I have a few rants of my own. I am looking forward to reading this and hope it is a great light read!

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue is one I am very excited to read. I read her first book, Slammerkin, and it was really good! Her first book was a very steamy historical fiction book that I devoured in a couple of nights so I am hoping this one is just as good.

I also tucked our Nintendo DS in with a few games that Nintendo sent me to review. They are trying to get moms to give gaming a try so they sent some really fun brain games and crossword type puzzles.

Conclusion: I think I will be able to be by myself, but I know I will miss my babies terribly while I am gone! I will still be checking & posting so no worries that you will miss anything! I can’t wait to see everyone’s experiments and be sure to see the entire list from last week!

********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Tags: Notebook Experiments
Posted in Amy's Notebook | 6 Comments »

Amy’s Notebook 10.09.08

October 9th, 2008

I love this charging basket (@ oh, fransson!)

These are some cute knitting & crocheting projects for Halloween (@ whip up)

It would be great to make some of my own boxes for our gift cards this year (@ Craft Leftovers)

This recycled scarf blanket is so cute (@ Daily Danny)

These pumpkin muffins look like they would hit the spot (@ flipflops & applesauce)

I am making some of this pumpkin spice cream cheese for my bagels (@ Pinch My Salt)

This candy corn hat is hiliarious (@ Material Whirled)

These paper pumpkin ornaments would be a great craft to do with the kids (@ Hostess with the Mostess)

These paper fortune cookies would make a fun addition to a gift (@ ohdeedoh)

These fall leaf rubbings would be fun to do together (@ maya made)

I love these thrifty Halloween decor ideas (@ Today’s Creative Blog)

When I master knitting in the round I want to make this beautifully knitted hat (@ Soule Mama)

This idea for pounding golf tees into a pumpkin is so smart (@ Wondertime)

I love these ideas for handmade Christmas gifts (@ Handmade Homeschool)

These quick rolls would be great for weeknight meals (@ My Wooden Spoon)

This pumpkin cornbread would be so yummy with a big bowl of soup (@ The Recipe Girl)

Tags: Amy's Notebook, Favorites
Posted in Amy's Notebook | 2 Comments »

A Family Day at the Pumpkin Patch

October 8th, 2008

Our family decided to take a trip over to the pumpkin patch this weekend together. We decided to visit Amazing Acres in Edwardsburg, Michigan because we had heard so many great things about it. As soon as we pulled up and I saw the truly amazing varieties of pumpkins and gourds they had to offer, I just knew we made the right choice.

I loved that they had tons of wagons available so you could load your purchases right up into your car. The cobwebs gathering on a few of them just spoke of Halloween to me!

Can you see my favorite pumpkins peeking their heads out at me? I just loved all of these little pumpkins sitting in rows. I couldn’t resist getting inside to takes some shots of them sitting in on the ledge. Pumpkins have to be one of the greatest subjects for photography, don’t you think?

The first thing we had to do was take a hayride with the kids. For our family of four, the cost was $16 for a hayride and to visit the petting zoo.

They clang this old bell each hour to let you know that the ride is getting ready to start. We hurried over to make it for the very first ride of the day!

We were excited because our ride was the first one leaving so we got to stop and give the horses breakfast. The gentleman who gave us the ride turned and told us a little bit about each horse. “This horse is two years old and she likes to bite.” To which Ethan loudly replied, “Just like our Emily.” Everyone turned to our family and the guy asked who Emily was. “My sister,” he said with a little grin. I guess we have a little pony in our family.

The hayride pulled right up to the pumpkin patch where the kids could choose a pumpkin for one dollar. We were told if anyone picked a cell phone out of the patch, they would receive the biggest pumpkin in the whole place. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the poor guy’s phone, but as frugal as I am, you can bet that I sure tried!

Some had an easier time finding their perfect pumpkin.

Others had to think and contemplate much longer before settling on the pumpkin of their dreams.

After our hayride, the kids loved spending time in the troughs filled with corn. Emily left with about four corn cobs in her diaper after they practiced making snow angels and jumping and swimming in the kernels.