WFMW: Self-Rising Flour

(This is my offering for Works For Me Wednesday. Where I share something that...works for me.)

Kids, gather around and I will tell you the secret to really, really fluffy pancakes.

Ready?

Self-Rising Flour. No joke.

I bought a bag of SR Flour to make some biscuits last weekend. (The biscuits were heavenly, by the way. The recipe is here.) Then, Ming Wai was begging for pancakes, and I just wasn't in the mood to measure, sift and stir.

So. I dumped some SR flour in a bowl, added an egg and enough milk to make a batter, and cooked them up.

Holy Fluffiness, Batman! I think they topped out at about 1/2". That "rising" bit is no joke!

So. Keep SR flour on hand, and you are always minutes away from fluffy pancakes or biscuits.

The End.

WFMW: Felted Llama Balls

(Works for Me Wednesday. The part of the story where I, Aunt LoLo, share something with you, whoever is reading this, that...works for me. Catchy, yes?) 

Set up: 

• I have a front loading washer
• All of my bed sheets get changed on the same day, every other week.
• Bed sheets + tumble dryer = Bed Sheet Burrito

Am I right? After months of experimenting, I finally figured out an elaborate system where my sheets (usually) got dry and (usually) didn't roll themselves up into a cigar. First, I would wash all the sheets together - one set of King, one set of Full and one set of Twin. Then I would take the Full and Twin sets and load them into the dryer, as fluffed out as they would go, and run it for 30 minutes. That was usually enough to get them dry without giving them a chance to roll up. Then I would fold those, and run the King set through on the same settings. It worked about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time would find my still slightly damp sheets hung over the second story banister for the night, while they finished drying. 

No longer! While on a recent family vacation to Lake Chelan, WA, we were perusing the local Manson Farmers Market. (Best little farmers market, ever! Think of  your friend, the one with the garden just exploding with tomatoes, basil, zucchini or cucumbers right now. Now, picture that friend selling their produce at $1/lb to the tourists who just want to cook a healthy dinner while they are on vacation. Brilliant. Nothing pretentious, nothing expensive. Just backyard produce, at backyard prices.) 

Anyhow, perusing the farmers market, walking with Lo Gung, my three kids, my in-laws, my sister, her three kids, her husband, and my father. Suddenly, I hear Dad say, "Hey! Felted Llama Dryer Balls! LoLo, come here! Felted Llama Dryer Balls! That's just fun to say." Next thing I knew, he had plunked a $20 down on the table. "There. That's your down payment. Just make sure you pick up those Felted Llama Dryer Balls." The bemused woman behind the table explained - there were balls of felted llama wool, gathered from her pet llamas she keeps in the backyard. The balls were wrapped in sheer nylon socks, so they wouldn't shed wool all over my clean clothes, and the sock would shrink with my shrinking wool balls. She wasn't sure how long the balls would last - hers had been going strong for over a year, but "the internet said they would last for 2-3 years." They would fluff up my clothes, cut my drying time down, and keep them from balling up. My ears perked up. "Wait...will they stop my sheets from rolling together??!" Her eyes sparkled - she knew she had me. "Oh, yup! They'll do that!" 

Sold. 

I grabbed a bar of soap, wrapped in more felted wool ("it will gently exfoliate, and the wool will keep shrinking down around the melting soap!", to make the purchase an even $20. I showed my Dad, who amused himself for a few minutes getting everyone to say it with him. "Felted Llama Dryer Balls!" (My Chinese-speaking mother in law was the most entertaining of the lot. "Felted....Lamb...Die...Ball!" Fantastic. She is such a good sport.) I tucked them into my luggage when we got back to our rental house, and kind of forgot about them. 

Until yesterday! It was cleaning day, which meant a huge load of sheets staring me down. I put the whole batch into the washer, like normal. When they were done, I paused. I thought for a moment. I went whole hog. Three full sets of sheets, loaded together into the dryer, with three little balls of wool throw on top. "Here goes nothing!" (We live on the edge here, yo. Right on the edge.) 

Now, this wouldn't be much of a story if the balls didn't work, so I'll keep this short and sweet. The balls worked. Not only worked, but much better than I expected. The sheets were still separate! They were all dry! The balls were still holding together! 

I'd call that a success, y'all. Now, I'm sure just about any dryer ball on the market would give similar results...but, come on. Felted Llama Dryer Balls is just too much fun to say! 

(If you would like your own Felted Llama Dryer Balls, check out this selection on etsy!) 

WFMW: FoodSaver

(WFMW = Works for Me Wednesday. In the which I share little hints, products or tricks that are really working for me right now.)

This...is a side of ribs that has been sealed with a FoodSaver. To use the FoodSaver machine, you place your food into one of their special bags, load the end into the machine, clamp down the lid, and hit a button. The machine then sucks alls the air out of your bag, and heat seals the end shut. It takes about 60 seconds.

Ooh. Pretty. 

The FoodSaver machine was a little less than $100 at Costco, so it wasn't super cheap...but it wasn't the $200 model, either. Let me tell you why it's worth it, though. We do the bulk (heh) of our shopping at Costco, a huge warehouse of a store that specializes in all things LARGE. Their quality is great, but we have a hard time eating things before they go bad. Packages of meat, especially, are an issue. I would never pretend that I needed to cook ten pounds of meat for one meal, so those packages always get divided up and frozen as soon as we get home. My old method was to put things in Ziploc bags, squish as much air out as I could...and hope for the best. The results, as you might guess, more often than not included varying degrees of freezer burn. 

We picked up this machine a few months ago, and have been really happy with it. It is really simple to operate, and can seal up just about anything. The only thing I've really had an issue with was when I took a huge bag of frozen fish filets, and tried to divide those up and vacuum pack them. Because the filets were so hard, the bags couldn't get a good seal around them. Oh well - live and learn. 

So - FoodSaver works for me! 

(This isn't a paid endorsement or nothin'. FoodSaver doesn't even know I exist. Just wanted to share a product I've been enjoying lately!) 

LoLo Tips: Kids' Table

Would you look at that! It's Wednesday...so how about I give y'all a little tip, free of charge? Yeah? Good.

So, Ming Wai is 3...and inherently clutzy. When we're in the mall, she looks behind her while walking forward...which means she walks into posts.

Frequently.

She also regularly drags her arms through her dinner, or knocks it onto the floor. (Ok, not frequently, but often enough to make us wary.)

The other day I came up with this solution - a kids' table! It's a $12.99 LACK table from IKEA. (Originally intended to be a side table...but when have I been one to follow directions?!) She has some little red chairs, also from IKEA, that fit the table's height perfectly. It's just her height, which means she's not constantly reaching (and knocking!) things on (off?) the table. Best part? When she doesn't need them, they fit neatly under our kitchen table!

You might also notice that our kitchen table is missing its chairs. Those are lined up against the wall, 'choo-choo' style, so that Siu Jeun can't use them to gain access to the top of the table. (Because the only reason he has to be up there...is to throw everything on the floor. Everything.) The little LACK table (and plastic chairs) are light enough that Ming Wai can put them away by herself. Yea!

And that works for me. 

NaBloPoMo: Day 11 - WFMW: Balloons Away!

(Oy - my titles are getting really long!!)

(This is my offering for Works for Me Wednesday this week. Enjoy!)
On Tuesday, Daddy happened to be working from home, so as soon as Siu Jeun went down for his morning nap, I threw BBJ into the car and ran out to do some baby-free erranding with the Big Girl. One of our stops took us Trader Joe's, as they have the only inexpensive Tofu in town. ($1.50, as opposed to $3 at our "normal" grocery store.) BBJ's favorite, part of course, is the balloon that the checker usually offers her on the way out. The balloon presents a quandary, though. On the one hand - balloon! Yea! On the other hand...there is the distinct possibility that the balloon will slip from her grasp and float away. Forever.

Chilling.

Seeing as that's the case, she wouldn't agree to touch the balloon until we were home, and it was firmly tied to a chair.

(You know where this is going, right?)

After a few minutes of happily bopping the balloon, firmly tied to the chair, we suddenly hear a shriek. It was desperate, it was loud...and did I mention it was desperate? It was the sound of a girl who had just lost her balloon.

She had bopped the balloon, buffetted the balloon...and bonked it right out of its ribbon. We found it floating somewhere up near the skylights...at least 20 feet up.

We thought fast, and came up with a great solution: Tape on a stick!

A really, really, really, really, really long stick. (We bought it when we lived in our first house, and I wanted to clean the windows above the front door...also 20 feet off the floor.)

Our hero!

(Lo Gung and had a small, heated discussion over who got to be the Hero and get the balloon down. He won.)

(To spell it out: Get a looooooooooong stick, take a circle of packing tape, and stick it on the end. Poke the sticky end up to the balloon, and watch the grins pour in!)

That Works for Me!

For more great tips, hints and tricks, head over to We Are That Family.

NBPM: Day 4- WFMW: Easy Apple Pie

(This is my offering for We Are That Family's Works For Me Wednesday. If you're visiting from the carnival - Welcome! I hope you find something you like.)

Thanksgiving is part of my very favorite time of year. I was born on a Thanksgiving (I don't think the dr. was very thankful that he missed the game that day...) so Thanksgiving was always a time to celebrate my birthday, as well as the holiday. Pumpkin pie and birthday cake, every year! Mmmm.

This year might be my first year to host Thanksgiving, and I plan on making everything as easy as possible...starting with the pie.

I know everybody has an apple pie recipe that is The Best. It was Grandma's. It was Auntie's. It was Great-Aunt Bertha's Neighbor's Mother's...and it's The Best.

This summer, while on vacation with my family, I was faced with oodles and oodles of fresh, cheap apples and a need for pie. (We were in Wenatchee County, after all. Where's that? Look at the next box of apples you buy - if it's from Washington, it's from Wenatchee County.) I found My Best on Short Notice.

You ready:

Preheat your oven to 350. Grab a pie plate, and roll a pre-made pie crust into it. (You could use homemade, but really? Store bought always works. Perfect your homemade crust some other time.)

Peel, slice and core your apples. You'll need about a pound of them. You want the pie loaded about 2" above the rim, so eyeball it. Cut your apples into a bowl, and then toss in a scant 1/4 cup of flour, a scant 1/4 cup sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon (and a little lemon juice if none of your apples are tart). A dash of vanilla will make the pie really pop.

Pile the apples into the pie plate, then dot the top with a little bit of butter (about 3 T. total).

Situate the second crust from the box onto the top, and be sure to get some good vents into it with a sharp knife. Crimp the edges together (fold the bottom crust up over the top on and pinch them together). You can brush the top with a bit of milk, and sprinkle it with sugar to make it sparkle.

Bake the pie for about 30 minutes, or until the top is nice and golden and the apples are soft.
(If you can't tell, this is totally a Stand Back and Throw type of recipe. Like it sweeter? Taste an apple! Make it taste good...and you'll never go wrong.)

Then, sit back and know that you've just freed up a ton of brain space for more important things. Like seating arrangements. And a birthday cake for Aunt LoLo.

For more great tips, hints and tricks, head on over to We Are That Family!

WFMW: SingStar: Geek Edition

(This is my submission to Works for Me Wednesday, hosted by We Are That Family. For more fabulous tips and tricks, head on over!)

When you try your best, but you don't succeed...when you get what you want, but not what you need.....

When it's 5:30 and you want to scream and Daddy's not coming home for an hour, and the kids ARE already screaming, it's time for drastic measures.

If you happen to be a former Vocal Music major, and have access to a bit of sheet music and a stereo...

I give you SingStar: Geek Edition.

Now, if you need to find me, I'll be in the kitchen. Belting out Josh Groban. In Italian.

Because I can. And it makes me feel better.

If that doesn't work, try banging out some Coldplay on the piano for some DIY Rockband action! It Works for Me!

(No, seriously. It does. Singing really, REALLY loud is just like screaming...only it doesn't make the babies cry. Much.)

WFMW: Lysol Wipes

I really don't know what to call this post. However, it is Wednesday, and I feel morally obligated to tell you what works for me. This may not work for you at all! This might be a really bad idea for you! However...this isn't Works For You Wednesday...so let's proceed.

Fact #1: My son spits up. Often.

Fact #2: A troop of ants have made my living room a Pit Stop on the road home. They come and they go.

Fact #3: Messes left by both of my children in the living room are like a siren call to those little black buggers, and they can't resist.

Cleaning up BBJ's messes is fairly easy - confine all food and drink to the table (easier said than done - she sheds crumbs like I shed hair) and vacuum immediately if she does find her way into the living room with a graham cracker.

(Lucy's Birthday Party, June 2009)
BBJ hates the vacuum, so it's a pretty good deterrent.

Siu Jeun was a little harder. You can't exactly vacuum up the messes he makes on the floor.

(Lucy's Birthday Party, June 2009)

Enter Lysol Wipes!

Each and every time Siu Jeun makes a mess on my (hardwood) floors, I rush in with a cloth to mop it up, and a wipe to clean the floor. (Yes, I have to rush - do you know how nasty it is to see a mound of ants on your living room floor, pushing and shoving and trying to get at some sweet puddle your infant left for them? *shudder* I'm afraid I'll miss a spot, and be greeted with little black friends later on.)

In the past 7 days, we haven't seen any ants!

(Note: You could definitely do the same thing with a bottle of bleach solution and a rag....but I have a canister of wipes on my counter, so that's what I use.)

For more tips, hints and helps, head on over to We Are That Family!

WFMW: Forever Bread Bags

This isn't a paid ad (though I wish it was!). I've been making my own bread at home since last October. I got tired of baking bread every three days, so I started making a few loaves at a time. It was great...except that the second loaf was always a bit dry by the time I got to it. That was fine, since most of my bread goes into making toast for breakfast, but...still. Dry.

Since I've started baking the bread, I've also been looking around for good bags to store it in. Produce bags work, but they often smell like the produce they brought home. Grocery sacks work, but...how clean are they, really? Finally, I broke down and bought these bags at Christmas Tree Shop. They were $3 for 10, but I really couldn't find anything else.


Ohmygoodness, these things WORK! I finished my "2nd loaf" of bread today, which was baked last Thursday. It was still moist! Fresh! Spongy! I couldn't believe a bag would make such a huge difference...but it did. (And now that I've written this post, I see that the bags usually retail for $8-$9 for 10 bags. Looks like I need to run back to Christmas Tree Shop!)

These bags are reusable, and they Work for Me!

For more great tips, head over to We Are THAT Family.

WFMW: Stink Be Gone

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to another edition of.....

I can't really take credit for this helpful hint, but since the Original Author (that'd be Lo Gung) doesn't blog...I will. Call me altruistic.

I have an issue with Kitchen Odor. It can be paralyzing. It stops me from loading the dishwasher. (Eww! What if it stinks in there???!) It stops me from throwing away trash. (Eww! I know it stinks in there!)

Here's what we do now: Citrus Peels.


We eat a lot of oranges around here. (Yes, I know those are lemons. I bought a bag of them a while back to make marmalade. I'll let you know how it turns out!)

One night, after eating his orange, Lo Gung took the peels and set them in the dishwasher, among the dirty cups and bowls.

The next morning...the smell was gone! Completely. I tried the same thing under the sink, where the trash can is - just a few bits of lemon peel in a small bowl. The same result.

Do you know what this means?

Well, I guess it means I must now throw away my own trash, and load my own dishes into the dishwasher.

Now go forth, and citruscize those nasty odors!

For other great tips, head over to We Are THAT Family!

WFMW: Grow Green Onions

I thought this was appropriate for Earth Day! I have found a way, I think, to never need to buy green onions again! We cook a lot of Chinese food, and used to go through a large bunch of onions from the grocery store every week or two. Not any more!

I started with just two little onions, their green parts all used up in my latest culinary creation. Out came one of my little ramekins, and in went about 1/4" of water and the two onions. Just the whites were left, and the grocer had left their roots intact.

Have you any idea how fast a green onion can grow, with only the nutrients in its own bulb to support itself??! Pretty darn fast! I kept adding onions to the water as I used them up from the bunch in the refrigerator. They just kept growing! One inch a day? Maybe two?

I'm kicking myself for buying two bunches at the store a few weeks ago - I have so many beautiful, fresh, pesticide and bug free green onions sitting on my windowsill, it seems like I'm being short-changed somehow when I use the ones from the refrigerator!

To use the green onions on the windowsill, I just snip off what I need with a clean pair of kitchen shears. I'll probably transfer my onions to a small pot of dirt soon - I have some pretty green pots that would look nice in the kitchen. Either way, I have a very cheap way to support my green onion habit now!

That's what Works for Me! Head over to We Are THAT Family for more great tips and tricks!

WFMW: Diaper Pails

(If you haven't yet, make sure you head over to http://www.mcmommyandme.com/ to enter to win a handmade LoLo Craft children's apron. Hurry - you've got until 12 EDT TODAY!)

This has been floating around in my head for a few weeks..I've just GOT to share. Remember, this is just what works for ME...I can't make any promises!

Here goes. I'm a Diaper Expert. I've got two kids under the age of three, and they're both still in diapers. (You may now proceed to both Pity Me and Bow Before My Wisdom.)

When BBJ was born, we made sure we had all the Gear. This included a second-hand Diaper Champ that we picked up from a local 2nd Hand sale. It was clean, odor free, and promised the same for my nursery!

Ummm...Epic Fail. Any of you with any sort of a diaper pail know what I'm talking about. It's fine when the thing's shut, but - seriously? - actually removing the diapers from the pail might kill you!

Here's what I found out - diapers placed in a plastic-lined wastebasket, with no lid, gave off a lot less odor. Hardly any, in fact. (I use grocery sacks.) My guess is that they weren't all inside baking, so...a lot less odor. Besides that, a plastic lined wastebasket holds a lot less than your average Diaper Champ, so the diapers have a lot less time to...ripen?

Finally, look at the fine-print on your box of diapers. The chances are really good that there's a little snippet on there somewhere that instructs you to "empty solids into a toilet before disposing." Ever seen that on there? Trust me - empty whatever you can into a toilet before you chuck your diaper into your open, plastic-lined wastebasket, and everything will smell MUCH better.

So, that's what works for me! For more great tips, head over to We Are THAT Family!

WFMW: Bake a Better Loaf

Behold, Lo Gung's favorite bread. It is sweet and dense and soft and homemade. I usually make anywhere from 1-3 loves a week, and it's been that way since last fall. This bread is, in a word, YUM. (If you've forgotten the recipe, here it is: 1 cup warm water, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. yeast, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup honey, 3 1/2 cups flour.)

After making this bread a few dozen times, I've learned some valuable tips:

Use as little flour as you can get away with - reserve the last 1/2 cup and add as needed. (Remember, I do all my mixing in a Bosch - a countertop mixer). This gives a lighter bread and speeds up the rising a LOT. (From 3 hours to one hour in my chilly kitchen)

Add more yeast if you're pressed for time, up to double. This will speed up the rising as well.

Always allow adequate time for kneading. This also gets rid of a lot of the sticky factor, so you can use less flour!


If you're really domestic, raise the dough next to a crock pot for double duty, covered in a damp towel - chili and bread for dinner!

Always oil the bowl, and turn the dough to coat, for the first rise. The oil helps keep the dough from drying out because a dry dough is a dough that won't rise!

I hope this helps! Homemade bread is NOT tough. Give it a shot and let me know how it turns out! Now pop over to We are THAT Family for more great tips!

WFMW - Keeping a Marriage Together

(This post was originally published on September 24, 2008. As my most popular Works for Me Wednesday post to date, I submit this for WFMW Ultimate Tips Week. Enjoy! For more great tips, helps and hints, head over to We Are THAT Family)

My offering for Works for Me Wednesday this week is both dramatic in its depth and inspiring in its creativity. Stay with me on this one.


(Yes, that's really our moving truck. It was HUGE.)




How to Keep a Marriage Together, in a few easy steps.





1) Move across the country.


2) Unpack. Notice that a small piece has fallen out of a statue you and hubs purchased on a trip to China at the beginning of your marriage.


3) Offer a prayer and search frantically through all the unpacked boxes. (Umm, ok - I was on the couch "morning sick" and watched Lo Gung dig through the boxes. Same diff, alright?)


4) Find the missing piece (broken in two) and say another prayer of thanks. (The praying was all me, though. I'm all for all the help I can get!)


5) Notice, a few weeks later, that the sister statue also has a broken piece. (We noticed this, mysteriously, after a particularly boisterous lots-of kids get-together in our new home. Hmm...)


6) Purchase Quick Drying Super Glue. Now, this is very important - read the instructions. Notice that the glue bonds instantly to skin, but takes quite a while to dry on anything else. Fail to mention this to hubs.


7) Convince hubs that he must be the one to glue the pieces back together, since your shaky hands could not possibly get the job done.


8) Stand back, in admiration, as he deftly glues the pieces back together.


9) Laugh uproariously as you realize the hubs has glued his wedding band on.

(A kind man in a Mexican Restaurant in San Diego.)

The end. Repeat as often as needed. The move and subsequent loss of pieces of artwork may be omitted.



(MaMa and YehYeh. Aren't they cute?)

*Please don't crucify me over this post. If you really want to hold your marriage together, pray together. Don't let small things build up into big grudges. Check yourself every day and see if your marriage is headed in the direction you want it to be.



And if all else fails, glue his wedding band on while he's asleep - 'cause he'd look awfully silly trying to get a date while wearing a wedding band that won't come off!

WFMW: Tie-Down Blanket Tutorial

This is the part where I would usually have a great tutorial.



Not any more!! Please head over to my crafty blog if you'd like to learn how to make a great, quick, cozy blanket for your kiddos. Make sure you subscribe, or follow, or bookmark, or whatever if you'd like to follow my crafty adventures. I plan on having a lot of great tutorials up there, so you can make funky little things, just like me! 'Cause isn't that everyone's goal in life? To be like me?!

Ta!

WFMW: Better Shots with a Point n' Shoot

(This marks the last time that WFMW will be hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer. She has handed the torch off to Kristen of We are THAT Family. A big THANK YOU to Shannon, and HELLO to Kristen!)

My tip for the week has to do with flash photography. I take pictures of my kids whenever I see them doing something I want to remember...and those moments aren't always in fabulous daylight conditions! As I've played around with my camera, I've amde some discoveries about how to make evening shots of the kids look less "flashy" and washed out.

When taking a picture, it's great to make your subject fill the whole frame, but if you're using a flash, make good use of your camera's zoom feature! My camera (a small Canon point n' shoot) has a zoom function, and an additional digital zoom. I've found that by using the flash, and the zoom together, I can get decent shots without a big white shining in the middle of the subject's forehead!



(Standing close, with a flash, in a dim room)


(Standing further away, still with a flash, and using the camera's zoom.)

If you must capture memories after sunset, make the best of the situation!

Make sure to head over to Rocks In My Dryer to see all the other great tips!!

WFMW - Never Say No Cookies

*Don't forget to subscribe to Be Different...Act Normal. My giveaway starts tomorrow, and I'm one of SEVERAL this week!
*Edited - it's Giveaway day! Head over to Be Different...Act Normal for your chance to win an apron from my shop!

My daughter, BBJ, loves cookies...and chocolate...and treats....and vitamins...and broccoli. (Yes, really.) My daughter, you should know, is also two years old...which means that as much as she loves the aforementioned things...she hates it when I tell her 'no'!

When BBJ was born, my mother gave me some advice that she, in turn, had received from my father's grandmother on her wedding day. "Remove as many of the "no's" as you can!" If there are things BBJ isn't allowed to eat, I try to hide them. I have also been known to re-name good-for-you things so that she'll think they're a treat...but that's another story entirely. (Treat toast, anyone?)

This cookie is based off of a recipe from Lera at The Sky is Pink, but has since been modified ever so slightly to meet our needs. (This is also a favorite of my father in law - I made a batch for him this morning, and half of it is now on an airplane, headed for Home!) With all of the oats, and fruit, these cookies are a perfectly acceptable breakfast, snack, or treat for an active, growing two year old girl!

Never Say No Cookies

In a medium bowl, combine:
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup oil
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar

Mix this together with your hands - trust me! The last thing you want is little oil soaked sugar pellets. Let this sit for about 24 hours. (You can shorten this to 8 hours if you are using quick-cooking oats!)

The following day, add to the bowl:
1 cup dried fruit (we like a mix of raisins and dried pineapple - chocolate and peanut butter are also delicious!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 eggs, beaten.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine (again, hands are best for this). When all of the oats are coated in the wet ingredients, mix in:

1 cup all-purpose flour

Combine well and press into an ungreased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn golden.

Cool slightly, turn out onto a cutting board, and cut into bars.

Makes about 30 cookies

PS - I've finally updated my shoppe! Go check it out. :-) Thanks!

(Felt dolls, with changeable suits of apparel, and a new apron!)

WFMW: Gassy Babies

It has been so long since I wrote a post expressly for this carnival. (Could it be because I have a new baby and nothing works for me right now...not even on Wednesdays? Hmm?)

Dear readers, friends, guests - I come before you now to tell you I have found something that works for me! Please note - this worked for me. It is obviously not the answer to everybody's gassy baby problems. However, if I can help just one sleep deprived Mama...then it's all worth it!

(Men, unless you know a lady that could use this tip, I give you permission to skip reading this one. Don't worry - I'll see you tomorrow!)

With SJ, we have two issues. One was uber nasty spit up, usually in the middle of the night. It woke him up, which woke me up, which woke Lo Gung up...and thus everyone was miserable! I started playing with my diet, and came up with this: when I ate cheese pizza, we were up all. night. long. Same thing with chocolate! Icky, yucky, nasty...no more dairy or chocolate for me, for a while. (Pity me! On the plus side, I'm losing the baby weight quicker!)

The second issue was just make-'im'cranky gas. You could tell he was uncomfortable. (The screaming was a pretty good indicator!) Eventually it would work itself out, but those 15 minutes were certainly long! I did some online research (yeah, I know) and this is what I came up with: I have two kinds of milk. Foremilk is really sweet with lots of sugar. Think of this as an appetizer. After this attention-grabbing treat comes the hindmilk. This is where the fat is, and thus the stick-to-your-ribs power! With all that sugar, the foremilk can cause lots of gas!

I was nursing SJ on both sides, but he always fell asleep very quickly after starting on side 2. Do you see the problem? Now, I let him nurse just one side for as long as he likes. So far, so good! I can even put him down to sleep if I couldn't get the burp, and it doesn't wake him up!

So, sleep deprived Mamas, this is what worked for me. (Yes, this is all my life is about right now. Sorry, men.)

To see more tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

How to Make a Thank You Note Stand Out

I know many of you are in the same dilemma this time of year: You have so many thank you notes to write and send out...but how can you make sure that yours will stand out?

Just because I love you guys, I have broken it down to a few very easy to follow steps.

1. When you receive your gift, make sure to look the giver in the eye and thank her sincerely.

2. Take a few moments, that same day, to craft a card specifically for this person. They spent so much energy finding the perfect gift for you, you ought to put the same kind of thought into your Thank You.

3. As soon as you are able to take a few moments to sit down quietly, open the gift, and really savor your reaction. Write your note right away. Use your neatest penmanship - handwritten is best.

4. As soon as possible, hand deliver the note to the gift giver. They will appreciate the gesture and the thought that went into it.

5. Three days later, while cleaning up your kitchen counter, discover your carefully hand-written, hand-made card. Realize that you made two handcrafted beautiful cards, and gave the gift giver the blank one. As soon as the buzz disappears from your ears, call the sweet woman. Listen as she graciously laughs it off and expresses her appreciation that there is another person out there as scattered as she is.

6. As soon as possible, hand-deliver the real card and try to pretend this never happened.

7. Rest assured that your hand-made, hand-written thank you note will definitely stand out in this season of gift giving and thank you notes.

WFMW: Imparting My Wisdom

Y'all, I have a kid. I know what works for my kid.

Therefore, I'm an expert on kids. Are you following me, here?

(Ok, Ok...fine. I'm not an expert, and BBJ regularly lets me know it. However, for the sake of this post...let's just pretend I'm an expert on BBJ-type kids, and move on...shall we?)

For today's Works for Me Wednesday, I'd like to impart some of the wisdom I have gained while raising BBJ. Feel free to quote me, link me, worship me. Royalty Fees can be sent c/o Aunt LoLo, 123 I'm a Genius Drive.

(The pictures are of BBJ and Cousin Ernie last Easter. No, they have nothing to do with the post, but...let's face it: if I don't post pictures of The Kid, I'll lose about half my reader base. I know y'all are here just to see her!)

1. If your newborn likes to nurse, nurse. If they don't like to nurse, don't push it. If they are having regular wet diapers during the day, don't worry.

2. If your newborn hasn't had a bowel movement in a few days, and you're getting antsy, put a little vaseline on a clean thermometer, and, umm...yeah. It should move things along nicely. (Ask Wonder Woman sometime about the nice nurse who first demonstrated this technique, using Wonder Woman's (then) week old baby girl. The one who hadn't pooped yet? Very effective.)

3. If your baby gets diaper rash, clean her off in a nice warm bath or shower, using Cetaphil or a similar soap-free cleanser. Pat the bum dry afterwards, slather on Desitin and put plenty of diaper powder in the diaper. When your baby wakes up in the morning, the diaper rash should be mostly healed. At the very least, it should be better. If your diaper rash specimen is bleeding, don't ask me what to do. This has never happened to my baby, therefore it is an Urban Legend and doesn't happen in the real world. I've never seen it, it doesn't happen. Moving on. (Never mind that I regularly afflicted my mother with the treatment of bleeding, nasty diaper rashes 27 years ago. I don't remember it. That doesn't count. )

4. If your toddler decides on, say, a Friday that all she wants to eat is cheddar cheese and bananas, thankyouverymuch, be prepared for a fairly poop-free weekend. Should you wish to end your poop-hiatus, feed your child as much Orange Juice (watered down, half and half) as she likes. She will then proceed to poop upwards of 5 times a day for several days, and eat like a horse. You can thank me later.

5. If you should desire that your precious toddler sleep through the night, this is very simply done. Wait for an evening when your little Precious One wakes you up at least twice. When the sun finally rises, haul yourself out of your bed a third time to go and retrieve your (now very cranky) toddler. Hand your toddler over to her Doting Grandparents. (What, you don't keep yours in the cupboard? Run out now and get some before Costco is all out! They always sell out quickest before the holidays.) While the toddler is distracted, hide Every. Last. Bottle. in the house. Hide all the lids, hide all the bottles, hide all the little nipples. Then, hand your Precious One a sippy cup full of warm milk. When she refuses it, calmly put it back in the fridge and never mention Bottles again. If she asks for a bottle, hand her a piece of toast. Don't back down, don't waver. There will be no tantrums, there will be no excessive looking for hidden bottles. (Remember, I have exactly One Child, so I'm an expert here.) Enjoy your 8 hours of sleep!

(Unless of course you're 7 months pregnant...then, enjoy going to bed at 1 AM because your precious Baby Boy is about to come down with a nasty case of the hiccups every. single. night. just as you're about to go to sleep. Too bad, so sad. The only thing that can cure a Baby Boy of hiccups is to have his toddler sister chew him out by pressing her mouth against your belly and feeding her lines. Unless, of course, your toddler is sound asleep because you hid all her bottles and she has no reason to wake up. In that case....yeah, you're going to bed at 1. I suggest opening an Etsy shoppe to kill time.)

(Kiss: FAIL. Sorry, Ernie.)