Do you need to figure out a affordable gift to give to your friends or family members without breaking the bank?  Want something they can use and that you are happy to give them?  We have a handful of easy to make gifts that cost you next to nothing to make and give to loved ones.&

Make a Wine Tasting Party Bag or Wine Placecard Table Settings

Do you have a friend or family member that loves wine?  Well if you are a wine drinker you probably have old corks in a drawer or you could go to a local wine shop and ask if they have used corks you can have.  Take 6-8 wine corks and exacto blade and cut off the a think strip of the length of each of the corks (approximately 1/10 of the cork)-just enough to get the cork to sit flat on the table.  Now cut a thin v shape groove across the length of the top of the corks (just big enough to fit a piece of paper in the groove).  For Wine Placecard Table Settings, put the cut wine corks in a cute box or bag, along with small blank placecards and a nice note about the Placecard Holders.

If you want to give a Wine Tasting Set- put the wine corks, placecards, or square notecards, along with a set of pens and 8 notepads in a lined box or a bag with instructions for hosting a Wine Tasting Party.  Another option is to include 4 wine covers and stencil a number on the cover that go above the label of the wine to hide what type of  wine it is, but most people can vote and comment on each wine, even if they see the label.  RedEnvelop sells a nice Wine Tasting Set but it is $70.00!!!!

Make Wine Charms

Wine Charms are very easy to make and they are very affordable.  You will need to purchase beads and wire rings.

Track Santa's Sleigh Online on Christmas Eve

Want to get your kids to bed on Christmas Eve? Go to www.noradsanta.org There are a few things you can read ahead of time, but the real action takes place on Christmas Eve when you can go online and see where Santa's Sleigh is at.

Write Santa a Letter and Receive a Letter From Santa

Have Your Kids write Santa a Letter and either Mail it or you can take it to Macy's where there is a special Mailbox for Santa. You can even get Santa to send your kid/s a letter either by going online and paying around $8.00 for a letter from www.santaletterz.com or you could just send your child a letter from Santa yourself.

Make Reindeer Food for Santa's Reindeer

Let your kids make Reindeer food on Christmas Eve. You mix oatmeal with ,strong>colored sprinkles (can can add crushed candy canes or glitter-but those are a little bit messier)and put in a bowl or plastic bag. Before it gets dark, let your kids sprinkle your front or back porch with the Reindeer Food. Let them know it will help the Reindeer see your house from up in the sky.

You can also give the reindeer food as a little party favor for kids before Christmas. Mix up the Reindeer Food and put it in little snack baggies with a ribbon and tag, or you can use the small colored drawstring bags. Attach a tag that says:

On Christmas Eve, sprinkle the Reindeer Food by the entrance to your home.

Merry Christmas to all!

Ice Skating at an Outdoor Rink

It is that time of year when many parents start to think about the toys their kids want versus what we would like to get our kids. I look around and see so many toys in our house and I cannot imagine bringing in anymore of the same types of toys. That is why I try and find toys and kid products that will encourage my children to use their imagination, stretch their thinking skills and observation skills and even get them excited about science, animals, or art.

Of course, there is a place for my kids' Holiday wish list, but I try and keep those items to a real minimum and let Santa surprise them with gifts they will enjoy but would have never seen a commercial for these toys.

I have selected some toys and kid products that I know would interest my kids and that are educational. Many of them help kids develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, or observation and exploration.

I encourage you to think about buying your kids, or a niece or nephew or grandchild, a great gift that will teach them to explore their world and, through play, help them build life long skills.


Farm Floor Puzzle
-$28.50- Kids 12 months and up

My Pattern Puzzles

At Mommie 911 we try to find some of the most fun and unique toys that children will really enjoy and actually use. We all know about those toys that get the initial excitement and never get played with.

Here are our Christmas 2008 Picks.

KIDIJAMZ STUDIO
by Vtech

Here's an interactive music station where the kids can record their own songs and then play the music back on a detachable music player. Lots of musical instrument sounds and digital voice effects. Musical scratching disc and light-up keyboard to be play DJ.
GLOW STATION
by Crayola can create with Light!

This unique Glow Station lets kids draw with an innovative light wand in dark spaces. So cool and it rolls up for easy storage. Lots of creative playtime guaranteed.

Need a great new soup recipe? Well this one is perfect for Fall and Winter. The best time to try it out is after Thanksgiving when you are left with a little turkey, a little cranberry sauce, and other odds and ends. This Soup is easy, takes less than 30 minutes to make and cook.

Even my kids LOVE this SOUP! It is truly light, refreshing, yet hearty all at the same time. It is a new twist and step up on a traditional turkey or chicken soup. Yum!

To make the Turkey Cranberry White Bean Soup with a hint of Orange you will need:

Ingredients:

1 tsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves-minced
1/4 White Onion-diced
64 oz Chicken Broth or Turkey
2 Cups Cooked Turkey Meat (can be more or less)
1 cup Water
1 can Cranberry Sauce diced (less if fine)
1 can White Beans with Liquid (Nothern Beans)
1/2 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Coariander
1/2 tsp. Poultry or Stuffing Seasoning or Sage
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1/4 tsp. Thyme
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
Pepper to Taste
1/4 tsp Juice of Orange or 1/8 Orange Juice (optional)-adds a hint of citrus- think Heffenweizer with an Orange)

In a Large Stock Pot add 1 tsp Olive Oil over Medium Heat. Add garlic and onions and cook until soft (approx. 5-10 min). Add turkey broth,water, and diced turkey, and all seasonings. Then add beans and cranberry sauce and juice of orange (optional). Let simmer on Med-Low Heat until ready to serve. Or make the night ahead and reheat the next day once flavors have time to marry.

Serve warm with crusty bread! Enjoy!

For Vegetarians: Make this soup but replace broth with Vegetable Broth and Turkey with Crumbled Tofu- it is Amazing!

I have several ways I cook Salmon and a few recipes I work with when I am serving Salmon. The first way I love to use Salmon is to make Homemade Salmon Cakes with a Spicy Honey Mustard Sauce. Salmon Cakes are a favorite in my house and friends request I make these for them. They are much tastier (and different) from crab cakes, which I do enjoy.

Ingredients for Homemade Salmon Cakes

8 oz of cooked Salmon (cook it, or use leftovers or from a can/pouch)

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

¼ cup of Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

¼ tsp thyme

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

¼ tsp Oregano

¼ tsp Basil

Sprinkle of Salt and Pepper

1 tsp of lemon juice

1 Tbs Olive Oil or Butter

Ingredients for the Spicy Honey Mustard Sauce

½ cup reduced fat Sour Cream (or regular)

¼ cup Honey Mustard Dip/Dressing (I use Ken's)

1-2 tsp of hot sauce (like Texas Pete) or you could try 1 tsp of horseradish or cayenne pepper instead which will work

1-2 Tbs of Brown Sugar

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Time to make: 25 minutes. 10 to prepare cakes, 5-10 to cook, and 5 to prepare the sauce

Technorati Profile

Today there are so many food choices it is sometimes difficult to navigate a trip to the grocery store, not to mention trying to find healthy food choices,especially if we have kids in tow.   We hope to help you navigate through your local grocery store and give you some basic advice about shopping for healthier food options and which products our families love.

If you have not ever watched the show that was on TLC last year called, Honey, We're Killing the Kids you should look it up on www.tlc.com. The show brought a nutritionist and family counselor into the homes of many different families and showed each family what the effect of poor eating, the lack of exercise and the family's current lifestyle would do to the family's kids in 10, 20, 30, 40 years and the results were terrifying. As the kids were shown at different ages using a computer program and gathered data, the kids looked heavy and older than their ages (in many cases the kids are already having health issues at the age of 6,10,14. The Show helped the families learn to eat healthier, get rid of the junk food and unhealthy foods, get exercise and limit screen time for tv and video games.

The show is a perfect example of what is happening to most of America - we are depriving our kids of the healthy foods they need to grow and giving them foods that hurt their bodies (unhealthy foods, sugary drinks, and fast food ... most of these food have little or no health benefits and tons of adverse effects.) Often parents do not seem to realize the harm they are causing to their children now and in the future just by making poor or no food choices for their kids.

Parents often say, “I hope when my child goes off to college or moves out they make the right decisions.” Or “I hope they can take care of themselves.” 

What I would say to those parents is- it is the early lessons they learn from us that allow them to succeed in life.

This is not an article coming from an academic but rather a parent that wants the best for her own children and who was a child and has grown into an adult and observed hundreds of others move through these stages with varying degrees of success.

First of all, the truth is that the earlier we start teaching our children important lessons and give them responsibility, the easier it will be to continue those lessons as our children reache their teenage years and approach their twenties.

If we want to raise a child that will be a responsible, productive adult, who can take care of themself, we need to start paying attention to the messages we are giving our children even when they are very young. 

Of course, we should put having fun and allowing kids to explore their worlds first, but we should be slowly introducing money management, teamwork, household responsibility, ownership and social cooperation to our children.

Start Teaching Lessons Early
 By the time your child is 3 you can already have them help you with easy tasks around the house.  When you are doing laundry, allow your child to help you.  Let them help carry the clothes or put them in the dryer or help you pour the detergent in the washer.  It is fun to help mom at that age and without even saying anything you are starting to lay the foundation for teamwork, cooperation and household responsibility.