Doctor Who

The new Doctor Who Christmas special comes on 

this Christmas at 9/8c 

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite desserts to make.  I love to find different cookie recipes to get the perfect cookie to make.  My favorite place to search for recipes is food.com, which used to be recipezaar.com.  I love their search options and the reviews on them.


I found a really great Choc. Chip recipe, which had 4 1/2 stars with 47 reviews.  I made it today and my husband says that they are better than the Toll House cookies.  This recipe will definitely be a recipe I will use again in the future.


World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened (a good way to soften the sugar fast is to put it on top of the stove while the oven is preheating
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or less if wanted)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream sugars and butter.
3. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.
4. Combine dry ingredients together in separate bowl and gradually add to creamed mixture.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Roll into balls and place onto non-stick cookie sheets about 2" apart.  If the balls are actually rolled smoothly then the cookies turn out nicely shaped.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  We like to take them out a minute early and let it finish a little bit from the heat on the pan.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make the cookies.

Flu Season

Now starts the flu season.  My toddler Ethan has been sick for the last couple days.  He woke up yesterday morning and this morning with vomit all over him.  He also kept throwing up all morning yesterday morning.  Today he has a fever and doesn't feel well at all.


I thought I would share some tips to help get through the flu season.


Preventing The Flu in Toddlers and Children

• wash hands
• Hand Sanitizer is a good thing to keep on hand
• Vitamin C, orange juice

If You Catch the Flu, Getting Rid of It

• Keep washing hands
• Keep taking vitamin C, works great for my husband, gets rid of his flu/cold fast
• Get lots of rest
• Make sure you stay hydrated, Gatorade helps, it replaces electrolytes.
• Stay warm, but also don't get too hot
• Watch the temperature, make sure it doesn't go too high.
• Baths may be helpful and relaxing.

Coloring

My daughter, Hannah loves to color.  Coloring is one of her favorite things to do.  I've noticed her getting better and better with her coloring, she used to just scribble on the whole page.  Now, she seems to be trying to color in the lines and using more colors.  She's also learning her colors, and she is also noticing that her crayons are the same colors as some other things like clothes.  This morning she was holding a blue crayon, and said, "Mommy, this is the same as your shirt."

I've found some coloring pages on the internet.
        -Nick Jr has some great coloring pages and activities.
               -Nick Jr sorts them, by age and type.
       - There are some coloring pages at Crayola.com too.
       - Of course, there are coloring books at the store.

I like to store all of the coloring things in one place.  I've found that a bucket or container works well for storing them, I have a rectangle shaped box that fits everything in it and then keep the crayons in a crayon box.

Leapster Explorer

The Leapster Explorer seems to be a pretty hot toy this year.  It was released in July of this year.
I got it for my daughter in August, and I must say, I love it.  I think it is the best thing I have ever bought my daughter.  It is so educational and keeps her attention for long periods of time.  I love how its a touch screen and the kids can learn to write.  The box says for ages 4-9, but my daughter is 3 and uses it easily and loves it.  My 1 year old actually loves to play with it, although he does get frustrated with it.  It is very kid friendly, plus it has been thrown on the ground many times, and it has not broken, it's still in good condition.

                               

Games
They've got quite a few games for the Explorer.  The one's that we have are Toy Story 3, Dora, Mr Pencil, Tangled, Pet Pals, and the Camera Accessory.  My favorite game so far is the Mr Pencil game.  It teaches how to draw and write letters.  I'm really excited about the Camera game, my daughter will get that one for Christmas.

The price on the Leapster Explorer is $70.  At leapfrog.com, it is on sale for $65.  The Games are priced at $25 and are on sale at leapfrog.com for $20.

IPod Touch

I've been finding some good deals for the IPod Touch lately, so I want to share them.  Gift card offers.



Best Buy
     8 GB $229.99 and you get a free $40 gift card
     32 GB  $299.99 and you get a free $40 gift card

Amazon
     8 GB $214.99 and you get a free $25 gift card
     32 GB  $269.99 and you get a free $25 gift card

Target - in store only
     8 GB   $225 and you get a free $25 gift card
     32 GB   $295 and you get a free $50 gift card


So the best deal for the 8 GB would be either Best Buy or Amazon.
The best deal for the 32 GB would be Amazon.

Homemade Stuff on Etsy

Here is a list of 10 things that might be worth looking at:

1.  Sterling Silver Peach Adventurine Rhinestone Dangle Earrings - Handmade - Blush Berry

2.  Teal Blue Organza- Swarovski Crystal Blossom Hair Pins- set of 2

3.  Red Christmas Stocking Bobby Pins

4.  Snowman 2010 - Original Acrylic - Winter Painting

5.  Ivory Pinup Holiday Flower Hair Clip

6.  Brass Tree Branch with Pistachio Raspberry Blossoms and Frosted Green Leaf Necklace

7.  Baby/Toddler Striped Tutu

8.  SNOWBERRY - Round Chunk Votive Candle 6pk

9.  Kawaii Christmas Cinnamoroll Tea Light Candle Holders

10.  All You Need is Faith Trust and a little Pixie Dust - Vinyl DECAL - wall art sticker graphic with stars and Fairy with wand - Girls decor

Diaper Deal on Amazon

I've been getting a huge deal on Amazon.com on diapers and wipes.  They have a deal where if you subscribe and save, you get 15% off and if you have an Amazon Prime Mom account, then you get an extra 15% off, which is a total of 30% off.  There is another coupon in the Parents magazine, it is usually orange or green, for 20% off.  I see it every month in the magazine.  So, you can combine that with the 30% to make it 50% off.  I've seen one before in the Parenting magazine too in August.  I don't know if they still have it in their magazine, but in August, I used the Parents magazine one and the Parenting magazine coupon plus the 30% off and got a total of 70% off diapers.

So, say you have $30 diapers, you can get it for $9
30% off subscribe and save
20% off coupon in Parents magazine
20% off coupon in Parenting magazine

Also, be sure to check out the Amazon coupon page to see if there are any coupons for diapers.  All you have to do is click on the coupon and it will be added to the cart.  You may have to refresh a couple of times to find a coupon.