EASY Crockpot Crab Chowder

My son and I ate a LOT of crab chowder during our recent visit to Virginia Beach. Why?  Because the crab was fresh and each restaurant's version was better than the last!   Junior loved it so much that upon our return, I embarked on a quest for simple recipe I could make at home. Since we're on the road a lot in the fall, I looked for one I could make in the crockpot. I tried several recipes, modified them, and here's the end result (drumroll, please!): 

Linda's EASY Crockpot Crab Chowder

* Makes about 6 servings.*  Prep time about 10 minutes. * Cooking time 5 hours.   *Calorie content: no idea.

Ingredients:

1 pound of crab meat or imitation crabmeat – diced

1 cup chopped onions (I use frozen ones)

2 cups of diced, unpeeled red potatos

2 10-ounce packages of frozen corn

1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

1 T paprika

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 cups of water

12-oz. can evaporated milk

2 T Old Bay Seasoning

1 T Xanthan Gum (thickener) as needed

½ cup of bacon (I use jarred bacon you find in the salad fixings aisle)

2 T liquid smoke

Here's the EASY part:  

 

1. Load all of the ingredients EXCEPT the evaporated milk and crab meat into your crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on high for 4-1/2 hours.
3. Stir in the crab and evaporated milk. Cover and cook 30 more minutes.
4. If the soup is too watery for your liking, stir in the Xanthan Gum and cook for 20 more minutes; if it's STILL too watery, stir in more of the gum.
   
   
   
   
    That's IT!   
   
   
   
   
   
    

This recipe is going to be a staple of ours this coming Winter. It's easy to make and the crockpot ensures that no matter what time family members come home, they'll have a hot meal ready.

Try it and let me know what YOU think!

As always, thanks for reading!   Come back soon, y'hear!  

5 EASY Ways To Re-Use Stained & Outgrown Kids Clothes

I WANT to believe it's Spring, but it's 29 degrees outside and my car window was covered with sfrost this morning! Ugh! And even though I CAN'T (grumble, grumble) put away the kids' Winter clothes just yet, I'm starting to purge. They've both grown over the last few months and some things are just not fitting. Still, being a crafty, frugal person, I'm physically unable to just throw out some of these items. 

Sure, I'll donate some clothes, but I'm going to reuse a good amount, too. Here's how:

Tie-dying is a GREAT way to re-use clothes

1. Hand them down - The teenager's sweatpants and t-shirts come to me. Yep, mom wears her son's clothes! They're great for hanging around the house in and for use as exercise clothes.
   
   
   
   
2. Turn old dresses into shirts and tops - My daughter's old dresses get cut in half. The top, obviously, becomes shirts. Fringe the bottom to make them look a little more modern. The bottoms I turn into skirts. Just turn over the top few inches, add a little elastic, and they're great for wearing over leggings.
   
   
   
   
3. Tie-Dye - Stained clothes get tie-dyed. I've become a mistress of tie-dying because you can easily cover stains by just using a darker dye. My favorite colors for this are dark blue and black. Add a little glitter paint to the item and it becomes a veritable work of art!
   
   
   
   
4. Make pillows - Sentimental tops are turned into pillows. Just sew any openings, fill with stuffing, and they look great on a kid's bed. 
   
   
    

   

   The pink pillow used to be one of Diva's dresses.

    
5. Pass them on - When my son was a baby, my mother-in-law balked at me accepting hand-me-down clothes, but I see nothing wrong with giving and receiving perfectly good used clothing. A friend gives me her daughter's clothes and I pass Diva's old, non-stained articles to other families.

No matter what your economic situation, re-using is a good thing. 

Purge and use the tips above to get extra use from your kids' old clothes. 

~~~

Thanks for reading!

Which Tips & Life Hacks Worked For Me Last Year

Since I've just joined The Ultimate Blog Challenge which asks that you write every day for, I think, at least the next month, there will be a lot more material on this blog. That means I'd better get my tushy in gear finding life hacks, recipes, tips, etc. that I can actually recommend. 

I am always on the lookout for tips & life hacks that make things easier.  Life is too short to spend it reinventing the wheel!

Not to toot my own horn, but in looking over my posts last year,

I think these proved most valuable to the majority of readers.

10 Indoor Activities To Do With Kids – I'd forgotten how much snow we'd already had by the time I wrote this one. It's also nice to see the snow sculptures my daughter made last year.

A Lazy Mom's Guide To Winter Decorating – Next week I'll be ripping the Christmas stuff down and taking out some of my Winter stuff. This post offers a link to a great tutorial on making paper snowflakes.

How To Find Family-Friendly Trips InYour Area  – Based on the blast we recently had at The Turkey Hill Experience in which we learned how to make ice cream (review coming up), I'll be looking for more companies that offer tours. And now that money is especially tight, the tips offered in this post are even more appealing.

5 Ways To Prepare For Spring  – Assuming we survive what's being predicted as an upcoming Snowmageddon, these serve as good reminders on what needs to be done before Spring.

Mom's 'Must Dos' Before The Kids Get Out Of School – Again, a nice checklist of what needs to be done before the troops are out for Summer.

Posting information means I have to research that data and really think about what might be useful to other parents. This is stuff I talk about with the moms I meet as we try to figure out this parenting-gig. I hope some of these posts help you. And stay tuned – there's a lot more coming up this year!

10 Things To Do Before The Kids Go Back To School

Although no one, except retailers, wants to think about the end of Summer, it's only 7 weeks until my kids go back to school. And there's still SO MUCH to do! Here's a list of things you might want to accomplish before sending the minions off with their backpacks to another year of higher education:

1. Make a list of places/activities you want to see/do before the Summer ends. These are things you will regret if they're not done. For us, there are some water-parks we want to visit, friends we need to see, etc.  Try to end the Summer with no regrets!
   
   
2. Buy bathing suits and Summer-related items now, while they're on sale. Stores are busy stocking up for Fall and Winter and you can get some great buys now. I know Diva is going to be at least one size larger next year (all bets are out on the Teen who might wind up being 8' tall by the end of August), so buying bathing suits in a Large is a no-brainer. 
   
   
3. Take inventory of your in-house school supplies. It's time for me to empty out the old backpacks and put away any supplies the kids have sent home. Then I'll take stock so I can replenish our School Supply Cabinet in anticipation of the coming year.
   
   
4. Evaluate backpacks and lunch sacs to see if the kids will need new ones. By September, the stores will probably be low on both, so seize the moment!
   
   
5. Make sure you've gotten any necessary doctors' visits in. I dropped the ball on this one and now the kids aren't getting their physicals until the second week after school starts. That's not altogether bad, since they'll be able to get their flu shots at the same time.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Make a list of the projects you plan to accomplish in the Fall after they're in school. Mine include some painting, re-grouting, and a Momvacation Day at the beach.
   
   
7. Send musical instruments in for tuning and cleaning.  Every year while we're on vacation, we send Junior's woodwind instrument in for regular maintenance.  This way, come that first band practice, he's ready to go.
   
   
8. Check school websites for deadlines. The deadline to order Diva's school supplies through the PTA is coming up. Thank goodness I checked the website! Also, Junior has packets he needs done before the first day of high school. Funny how he never mentioned those. Similarly, sports forms are usually due in sometime during the Summer.  Stay on top of this now, so you don't have a sidelined kid in the Fall.
   
   
9. Start filling out your calendar for the Fall/Winter. Putting Back-To-School nights, etc., on the schedule now means you won't forget them when things get hectic in early September. 
   
   
10. Download some free planners at http://www.productiveflourishing.com/free-planners. This site lists all kinds of planners including ones to help you blog, monthly planners, productivity jumpstarters, etc. They can help you with all kinds of projects.
    
    
    Summer is moving all too quickly! Continue to make memories now and plan for the upcoming months. Parenting is hectic enough – get ahead of the game NOW! 

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And The Geek Parent: www.thegeekparent.com.

Damn The Ice Dam

Photo by C. Capozzi

I was in the den when I first heard the drip-drip.  It was a curious sound, one you don't expect to hear, but there it was.  The funny thing was, I couldn't find it. Then I heard more drip-drips. My heart sank.  They seemed to be coming from the ceiling around the window.  Then I spotted them...coming from the space just behind the windows. My stomach turned. I knew what was causing the drips, something I had absolutely no control over: ice damming.

The Winter it happened, we had had a ton of snow and even though we had had the gutters cleaned in the Fall, they had filled up with ice. Then the water runoff from the roof got trapped and with nowhere else to go, it backed up and got under the shingles, finally leaking into the house. I tearfully called my roofer who explained that until the ice and snow melted, there was nothing he could do. Maybe that was true, but in the meantime I couldn't let the water ruin my house! Now let me, once again, say that I am NO expert in roofing, gutters, mold or anything. But, as a homeowner, I did a few things which I really believe mitigated the amount of damage we experienced when this happened a few years ago. Here's what I did, what worked and failed:

1. The first thing I did was panic.  How can you NOT? Water was dripping in all along the windows in my den, with no end in site. And my beloved roofer said he couldn't do ANYTHING to help me?! Argh!!! Panicking didn't do anything constructive, but once I got passed it, I felt better.
   
   
2. Then I grabbed containers and towels. I used pots and pans from the stove, but in hindsight, those one-use aluminum pans used for cakes and lasagna are better for dealing with leaks. They can be squished into tight spaces and you don't have to worry about disinfecting them when you're done. I used towels so I wouldn't hear the constant sound of dripping water. Later on, I added some vinegar to the water in the pans to reduce the smell coming from the water and, hopefully, lessen the amount of mold in the air.
   
   
   
3. Where I saw water pooling on the ceiling, I drilled a tiny hole. This was actually recommended by the roofer. Water, obviously, spreads when it has nowhere else to go; giving it a channel minimizes staining and damage.
   
   
4. Since there was a good amount of water on the carpet, I blotted it up and ripped up the edge of the carpet to expose the padding. Now I had been in the carpet padding business for many years before I had kids, so when I purchased padding, I KNEW to stay away from foam padding which gets smelly when exposed to water. The padding I'd had put down contained a vinyl barrier to repel moisture, so I pulled up a bit of the padding as well and put a shoe in there to keep it up off the floor underneath. Then I fished out a fan from the basement and set it up in the area of the leaks. My thought was that circulating air would help dry the area up and lessen or stop mold from growing.
   
   
5. While it was snowing and raining outside, I would periodically swab the leaks and the area with a bleach solution to, again, keep the area as clean as possible.  I don't know if that did do anything, but swabbing gave me something to do and that control made me feel better.
   
   

Mother Nature eventually stopped pooping on us and we all went outside to see what was going on with the roof. Since I knew that chipping away at the ice would be dangerous and could hurt the roof and gutters, I nixed that. I attached a hockey stick to the tree trimmer we had (the photo at the right looks something like our tree trimmer) using duct tape and then my husband gently took some snow off the area near the gutter.


We still had a mess of ice up there, so I did a quick Web search and found a great idea off the site www.thisoldhouse.com. I filled a bunch of knee-high panty hose with calcium chloride ice melter and hubby positioned the hose every 6 inches or so in the gutter. The calcium chloride melted through the ice and allowed the water to flow down into the gutters and off the roof (here's the link explaining this method: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/skill-builder/0,,211604,00.html). It didn't stop the leaks completely, but definitely slowed them down. Oh, and I took pictures of all the damage just in case we needed to submit proof to the insurance company if we decided to file a claim (we did not because our deductible is so bloody high, it just didn't make sense to). 


When enough of the snow melted, eventually our roofer did come and replaced some of the shingles in the area of the leaks. He also repositioned the gutters. The result? Even with the mess Mother Nature is inflicting on us this year, no leaks!


For more information on ice damming, click on these links:

• http://www.handymanusa.com/articles/icedams.html – This is my favorite link because it actually shows a diagram of a roof and what's happening during ice damming.
  
• http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/inficedam/infdam.html – This article talks about the pros and cons of heating cables which are recommended but don't necessarily cure ice dams. The site also has a link to a question and answer area I found informative.
  
• http://homerepair.about.com/od/exteriorhomerepair/ss/Ice-Dam_2.htm – You'll find lots of diagrams here and although the article is long, read through it. The part on what a roof rake is and why you will want to get one is great.
  

We're getting another 6” tonight, so excuse me while I go get milk and bread at the store. We don't really need it, but it seems to be the thing to do around here just before another storm.


Please check back in with me in a day or so. I'm going to invade my son's iPad and I'll be writing about some fun apps for adults at this site and a few child-friendly apps for www.thegeekparent.com.


Ahoha!

Bye!  Come back soon!

UPDATE:  3/3/14 - 11:58AM - We had, probably a hamster's paw full of snow.  My sympathies to you south of me, who got the brunt of the storm. 

Snow Joke! Funnies To Warm You Up This Winter

"Knock-knock!  Knock-knock!  Why won't you say, "Who's there?'"

I'm struggling, seriously struggling, to find humor in this brutal Winter weather. So here are some jokes I'd like to share with you:


It Was So Snowy That...

• UN weapons inspectors suddenly decided that chemical weapons might be hidden in Hawaii.
  
• The squirrels in the park started throwing themselves at an electric fence.
  
• Roosters began rushing into Popeye's Chicken to throw themselves in the fryer.
  
• Children were using a new excuse to stay up late: "But Mom, my pajamas haven't thawed out yet!"
  
• Rats began bribing stray cats for a snuggle.
  
• We pulled everything out of the freezer and huddled inside it to keep warm.
  

(Source: www.jokes4us.com)                

--


What do you call 50 penguins in the Arctic? LOST! Penguins live in Antarctica.

How do you keep from getting cold feet? Don't go around BRRRRR-footed.

How do Eskimos make their beds? With sheets of ice and blankets of snow.

How does an Eskimo keep her house together? With igloo.

What's a snowman's favorite breakfast? Frosted Flakes.

What do snowmen call their offspring? Chill-dren.

What do women in the Arctic use to look younger? Cold cream.

What's an ig? An Eskimo's house without a loo.

What kind of Math do Snow Owls like? Owlgebra.

What do you get if you cross a snowman and a shark? Frostbite.

What time is is when little white flakes fall past the classroom window? Snow And Tell.


--


“The snow doesn't give a soft, white damn whom it touches.” - E.E. Cummings


“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” - Carl Reiner


–


Lessons You Can Learn From A Snowman*

• It's fun to just unplug and hang out in your front yard.
  
• We're all made up mostly of water.
  
• The simplest accessories are the best.
  
• If you smile, even when you're not happy, it can help you to feel happy.
  
• Carrots are good for you.
  
• A little creativity (in how you build a snowman) is a positive thing.
  
• Always wear a scarf in the Winter.
  
• Don't get too much sun.
  
• Being a little bottom-heavy is okay.
  
• If you look down and can't see your feet, you're probably not active enough.
  

(*adapted from a piece found on http://www.athropolis.com)


--

Thank you for reading!   And Happy Valentine's Day!  Do something special for yourself, whether you're single or attached, okay?  You deserve it! 

Making Sure You Have The Right Shovel Before You Kill Yourself

 

The other day, a friend of mine was joking, “I don't know why people have to keep buying snow shovels. What? Do they throw them out at the end of the year?!” I hope not. My husband and I have had the same shovels for many years now, but I can understand that snow shovels might break. The blade could disconnect from the handle or a plastic blade could crack. A shovel might become ineffective if, for example, the edge on a metal blade dulls and doesn't break crusty snow or if your physical condition changes, leaving you unable to lift a heavy shovel.


The experts at Popular Mechanics (www.popularmechanics.com) list a variety of snow shovels and I'm sure more models hit the market every year. Our family owns several  and I didn't understand why until I realized that they're designed to do different tasks. Our 30-inch scoop-blade model (the gray one in the photo) works well for pushing/scraping ice and snow; its curved blade and weight make it prohibitive, however, for shoveling by anyone except my husband. The red, square-nosed shovel is also metal, which means it's durable, but the weight is, once again, problematic for me, although the teen does well with it. The blue, plastic 18-inch shovel is my tool of choice because it's light and great for even the heaviest of snow. Lastly, we have a child's shovel; initially, I thought this was a waste of money, but the one pictured is at least ten years old and was passed down from the teen to his sister. It performs well for my little girl, but is more important for the message it sends: everyone in our family pitches in to help, even the youngest member. This shovel is also great to keep in the trunk of your car for those times when you're plowed in.  Tip:   If you don't have room in your trunk for a shovel, carry a dustpan. Before I had kids, I carried a metal dustpan and it came in mighty handy if I was stuck in slush or mud.


Before and during the Winter, it's important to keep shovels well-maintained. Check any screws to make sure they're tight and before a snowfall comes, coat the blades with WD-40 or a lubricant so that the snow slides off the blade and doesn't stick to it. There's nothing worse than lifting a load of heavy snow only to have it stick to the blade!


Speaking of lifting, stretching before you shovel is a MUST! Shoveling requires the use of muscles that may not get used the rest of the year and it can be a very strenuous workout. Stretch your back, shoulders, and hamstrings. Dress in layers so you don't get overheated. Pace yourself and keep hydrated. Lift using your legs, not your back.


As for a “shoveling strategy,” my husband contends that shoveling before the snow has completely stopped is silly, while I insist that it's valuable (and the folks at Popular Mechanics agree). It's easier to shovel several layers of snow than a foot of the stuff, especially if it's heavy and wet.  I clear off our cars first so that I don't wind up re-shoveling the same area twice. Next, I clear off the area between the car and the street next, knowing that I'll probably have to do at least part of that area again once the snowplow comes through. Lastly, I do the rest of the driveway. I also shovel a path to the garbage cans and, if a big storm is on its way, an area for the generator in the back of the house.


For more resources on shovels and shoveling itself, visit these links:

• Popular Mechanics (www.popularmechanics.com), again, contains a lot of info including, as I said, types of shovels and strategies for shoveling snow (I'm so happy then concurred with mine). Their 16 Cardinal Rules For Shoveling Snow (http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/outdoor-projects/16-cardinal-rules-for-snow-shovelling) is a must read.
  

• Spark People (http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=85) allows you to calculate how many calories you burned doing it.
  

• The Washington Post's article on 8 Attempts To Make Shoveling Snow Easier And More Fun (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/01/21/8-attempts-to-make-shoveling-snow-easier-and-more-fun) is a great read on some innovative, creative ways inventors have come up with for moving the white muck.
  
  
• The Art Of Manliness (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/02/04/how-to-shovel-snow-like-a-man) contains an interesting, somewhat cringe-worthy, article on shoveling snow. The author starts out by saying that there are certain tasks that “almost invariably fall to men” such as killing spiders, unsticking jar lids, unclogging toilets, and shoveling snow. Clearly, he doesn't live in my house where I do ALL of those things. While I found the article to be amusing, I did have to pop an antacid while reading it.
  

Our local weather forecaster is, once again, predicting several inches of snow later this week, so I may be heading over to Home Depot to buy a new shovel since I think we could use another plastic model. I'll be trying a few models out, before I buy one, to make sure I'm comfortable when I have to twist and dump the snow. I may only use a snow shovel for a few months out of the year, but during those months, it's an essential piece of equipment.


Thanks, once again, for reading! Please check in with me for a bunch of jokes related to snow and Winter as I desperately try to see some humor in it.  Snow-kidding! (Sorry, I couldn't resist...)

I can't wait until Spring!

Plants & Snow: A Complicated Relationship

I've mentioned quite a bit that here in the Northeast, we've had a LOT of snow. As I type this, there's another 3 inches coming down on the ground. Funny, but whereas a few months ago we would have freaked out, now the announcement of that kind of precipitation is met with a shrug and a “Just 3 inches?”


Anyway, because of the ice storm we had last week, the family and I spent an hour or two outside yesterday, gently getting ice and snow off of our bushes. I know snow is a great insulator, but combined with ice, too much of it can pose a real danger to plants, making them more susceptible to breaking (for more on this, click here: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1994/12-9-1994/snowdam.html). Indeed, several of our arborvitae were bowed and touched the house. As we unburdened them, they gently started standing straight again – not completely, but well on their way. Similarly, Diva helped get some large chunks of snow off the massive azalea bush in front of the house. Not only will it keep the bush from cracking, but I think access to even the weaker Winter light will help the plant grow.


Indoors, the dry heat from our furnace combined with the heat given off by our fireplace, can really dry out houseplants. Instead of just using tap water, I've been using melted snow to water them. I was doing it to save water and because I know snow contains nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are beneficial to the plants. In doing some reading, I discovered that apparently there's even more benefits to using snow. According to the website Clean Air Gardening (www.cleanairgardening.com), in experiments done at the Siberian Botanical Garden, it was found that veggies that were watered with melted snow “grow twice as fast as those fed regular water” and melted snow is actually easier on plants than regular water (here's the link to that article: http://site.cleanairgardening.com/info/watering-plants-with-snow-melt.html). All I do is fill a bucket with snow (obviously, make sure you take snow that's untainted by the salt you use on walkways) and put it in the basement to melt. After a few hours, I have what's been called “poor man's fertilizer” and it's free!


I'm tired of the snow and I hope it hasn't damaged my bushes too much. Using it to fertilize and water my plants gives me hope that something good will come out of all this white stuff on the ground. As with all relationships, the one between plants and snow isn't good or bad.  It's just, well, complicated.

Diva loves the snow.

Thanks so much for reading!  Please check in with me again, won't you?

More Storm Preparation Tips

 

Diva built a snowlady the other day.  She was sad because there wasn't much snow.  That's not a problem now!

Yesterday we had 7.9 inches of snow. Tomorrow we're going to have 8 inches more plus 2 inches of freezing ice. And on Sunday, we're due for an additional 10 inches of snow. Uh-huh.  Welcome to the Northeast where, by next Tuesday, we'll have a good 28 inches of wet, mucky, frozen stuff on the ground. My kids have had so many days off from school that my daughter woke up this morning and asked if she had to go. “What's the point? We're going to have off tomorrow anyway!” she exclaimed. She's probably right. I am SO sick of Winter!


With this lull between storms, I re-read a post I'd written a few months back on How We Prepare For A Storm (http://isithotinheremmm.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-we-prepare-for-storm-what-helped-us.html) and did a few additional things which I'd like to share with you now.


Ice on top of snow means power outages, so a few weeks ago, we brought the generator into the garage. About an hour ago, I went out and shoveled a path so that, if we need the generator, my husband can haul it to the backyard where we'll station it at least 10 feet from the house (click here for a Fact Sheet from the Connecticut Department Of Public Health which talks about carbon monoxide safety: http://www.ct.gov/dph/lib/dph/environmental_health/eoha/pdf/co_disasters.pdf). I also secured our recycling can with a bungee cord so that in case of high winds, our recycling won't blow around, and I lubricated our shovels with WD-40 so that the snow doesn't stick to them. A quick look in the garage told me that we do, indeed, have kitty litter for traction and salt to melt the ice on our steps while a large rubber container filled with firewood sits by the front door in case the power goes out.


Speaking of losing power, I went to the gas station to top off the tank; if we run out of gas for the generator, we have a doohickey which will siphon gas from the car so we can pour it into the generator. The early part of the afternoon was spent running to the grocery store for extra batteries and provisions, our local library to stock up on movies and books and later on I'm making a run to our local liquor store so that my husband can have a heart-healthy glass of red wine to enjoy while we're stuck inside with our blessed children.


Lastly, while I'm trying to be as prepared as can be, I'm avoiding as much media coverage of the storm as I can. Ever since Hurricane Sandy, folks around here justifiably panic but neither the kids nor I need to hear, over and over again, how “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Just as with Sandy and all other storms, we'll weather it as best as we can, with gritting teeth and plenty of mumbling. I am SO sick of Winter!

Thank you for reading! Please check back in with me in a day or two.  Hopefully I'll have power and will have dug out from whatever is coming tomorrow.  And if you're in the midst of a storm or are about to get hit with one, good luck!

10 Indoor Activities To Do With Kids - Redux

Note:  In my last post, I promised Chinese New Year Crafts.  I'm going to print those TOMORROW because, as I type, the Northeast is being hit by yet ANOTHER snowstorm which has, thus far, dumped 4" of snow in my drive way.  For that reason, I thought some of you might like to see, once again, this post which was published a few weeks ago .  These activities are saving my sanity this Winter and I hope they can save yours, too. 

This is proving to be a snowy Winter, therefore, I have been incarcerated, errr in, with the kids quite a bit. Prying their eyes from video is always an Olympic challenge so I've been reaching into my Mom's Bag Of Tricks to find indoor activities that will keep them busy. The Teen is usually happy playing his clarinet or reading a book, but keeping the very active Diva (8 years old) has been difficult. Here are some activities that have worked for me and will, hopefully, work for you:

1. Bring the snowy fun inside. Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean the snow has to stay there! I grab a big ol' lasagna dish and fill it with snow. The fun begins with building snowy creatures, then we move into painting the snow using food coloring and watercolors. After that, we use the snow to build “snow castles” and finish by pouring the melted snow into the plants. This kept Diva busy for about 2 hours yesterday!
    
   

   Fill a pan.

   Diva's snowpuppies & snowlady.

   Diluted food coloring and even watercolors work well for paints.

   She achieved a pseudo Monet technique.

2. Marshmallow Toss and Marshmallow Building. Note: the Toss is better in a room with washable floors or put a plastic coating, like an old shower curtain, down on the floor because this can get a bit sticky. Throw marshmallows to see who can get them the furthest. For Marshmallow Building, use them to build towers. You can use spaghetti, skewers, or toothpicks to help connect them. Who can build the tallest before it falls down?
   
   
3. Have a scavenger hunt (here's the link to a previous post I wrote in which I outlined how: http://isithotinheremmm.blogspot.com/2013/12/10-activity-ideas-for-xmas-eve-or.html ).
   
   
4. Discover what's magnetic.  Give your kid a magnet and let him/her discover what in the house is magnetic. Furniture handles, doorknobs, hooks, some jewelry are all candidates. If you're really ambitious, you can then discuss the principles of magnets, etc.
   
   
5. Reinvent their bedrooms. Who doesn't like to re-do their rooms?  This project is all about making them happier, plus, it might get them to clean their room. Invite your kids to think outside the box and help them redecorate their rooms using objects in the house. How can they gain more storage? Can they section their room into a “reading nook” or “fashion table”? What can they do to make their room better fit their needs?
   
   
6. Build a tent. My daughter LOVES to do this! Grab some old blankets and sheets and let the kids build a “Kids Only” zone. With any luck, they'll stay in it for a bit.
   
   
7. Pay the older kids to babysit the younger ones. It'll give you an hour or two of peace and keep everyone occupied.
   
   
8. String popcorn. Let the kids string some popcorn for the outdoor critters and hang the “garland” over a bush or in a tree.
   
   
9. Play I Spy. Someone picks a color, shape, or item and then says "I spy something..." The other players have to guess what the lead player spies in the room.
   
   
10. Have a Crazy Outfit Fashion Show. Grab a box of winter garb and other pieces of clothing. See who can come up with the craziest outfit.

Got any more suggestion? Add them in the Comments section!

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Again, Chinese New Year crafts are coming tomorrow - I promise!

10 Ideas For Making Schlepping Your Kids Fun, Or At Least Bearable, This Winter

While waiting for my daughter at gymnastics the other day, I learned Mandarin, knitted a blanket, and caught up on all my correspondence. I can't wait for tomorrow's session when I'll give my car a tune-up in the parking lot of the gym and negotiate world peace before she gets out.
 
Yeah, right.  Schlepping and waiting for my kids, while I consider it my job as a mom, is something I abhor! Granted, it benefits them in so many ways, but it's time consuming and oh so boring (do you hear the implied whine in that comment)! It's too cold around here to do anything in The Great Outdoors like going for a walk or even keeping my car door windows open, so what to do with those 14 hours per week of commuting and waiting, outside of retreating into the amazing, yet somewhat mind-numbing technological vacuum that is my Smartphone? And what about activities sans video screen? 

Well, here are some ideas I've come up with for making the schlep, bearable, if not downright fun. Some activities can be done with your children, but most are for without.      

1.  Car Games – If your kid is not a talker (apparently Diva has not mastered the concept that Mommy can't hear when she shrugs her shoulders in response to a question), use the time in the car to play some games. “I Spy” and “Spot The Out-Of-State License Plate” are two, but there are others we play such as:

• The Crazy License Plate Game – Take the license plate in front of you and make up
  crazy phrases to describe the driver. For example, FCB21M could translate into Five Cute Babies with 21 Moms.
  
• Count The Number Of Idiots On Cellphones – Here's a diversion with a message. In my area, many people still, unfortunately, talk on cellphones while they're driving even though it's DANGEROUS and AGAINST THE LAW. The kids know this is wrong and we've talked about why it's so bad, but we can't do anything about it, so we've turned it into a challenge. We try to count how many stupid adults they see driving while talking on cellphones. Another benefit to this game is that it alerts me to which idiots probably do not have their minds on the road. Our highest count so far: 15 people in 30 minutes. Shame on those drivers!
  
• What Are They Saying – Some people in traffic are quite animated. We try to figure out what the relationship is between drivers and passengers and what they might be saying.  
  
• What Are They Doing – Sometimes you can see into people's houses while you're traveling. We try to guess what they're doing.
  

2.  If you're alone, catch up on YOUR music - My kids like artists I don't, so while I'm driving or waiting, I listen to the much-forbidden tunes I like, you know, from a time when singers actually held a note instead of all this “yodeling” they're doing these days. When the car is parked, it's fun to cut loose, something I cannot do with the kids in the car because I'll “embarrass” them, and sing my heart out.  Who cares if people are watching?  It's fun!

3.  Podcasts, books on CD, etc. - Check your local library and use their electronic resources. I love the ones mine offers because I can download a book and when it's “due,” it magically disappears from my device without incurring any late fees. Also, my church's website will let me download the minister's sermons, so I listen to them on weeks I can't get to services.

4.  Read - One of the aspects of waiting I actually like is that, if I leave my computer at home, waiting for Diva forces me to read. With that in mind, Junior wants to accompany me to one of her gymnastics classes this week because he needs to study for a mid-term and he's more likely to do it without the temptation of his computer.  Boredom has a way of forcing you to do what you have to do. 

5. Connect With Your Other Children – Twice a week, Junior and I use the time Diva is at gymnastics for some sorely-needed mother-son time. We grab a burger or frozen yogurt and spend the time talking. We've even bowled a game or two. The defined time frame means he can see an end in sight , something the Teen seems to relish.

6. Bring A Portable Piece Of Gym Equipment – This portable peddler was only $32.66 on 

Amazon.com. I watch my daughter exercise and get some of my own while I wait for her.  Alternatively you
can jog or walk in place while you wait. If people are looking at you, who cares?! At least you're making good use of the waiting time!

7. Journal or Scrapbook – Many places that hold children's activities also have party rooms. If no one is using that space, ask if you can. Spread out and catch up on scrapbooking or use that time to journal.  Just remember: if you're using the establishment's WiFi, do not go on sites where you'll need to plug in your password.  For more in Internet security tips, read this article I wrote for the site SavvyGeekMom: http://savvygeekmom.com/2013/12/protect-yourself-from-identity-theft-before-
you-become-a-victim.

8. Clean Out Your Car – I know this isn't glamorous or fun, but it's one of those “gotta dos” I never want to do. Grab a garbage bag and, if it's not too cold, clean out the passenger area and trunk of your car..    Re-imagine it.  Is there a better, more efficient way to organize it? Grab this opportunity to do it!

9. Plan The Week's Meals – Throw a few cookbooks in the car and plan what you'll be cooking this week.  With our schedules, I use the crock pot a LOT and waiting for my daughter is the perfect time to figure out what's going to go into the pot.

10.  Catch Up With A Family Member Who Does Not Have Kids Or Whose Kids Are Grown - My mom friends are all busy at the same time, but this time slot is perfect for calling older family members I haven't spoken with for a while.


Now, here are a few Don'ts for the Schlep & Wait:

• Try not to do any non-essential shopping. Sometimes we shop as a way to alleviate boredom. Resist the urge! Your budget does not need the extra strain of “boredom shopping.” Put the credit card down, Mom.
  
• Don't mindlessly eat the kids' food. I carry snacks for my kids and have to remind myself that that's “their” food, not mine. I don't need the protein bars. They do.
  
• Don't sleep while you wait. I know one mom who accidentally overslept in the car while waiting for her kid. How embarrassed she was when her cellphone rang, reminding her to pick up her kid, when she was parked right outside the gym! And if you slumber in the gym, who needs to see you drooling or hear you snoring?
  
• Don't go too far. Traffic happens. Don't take a chance on being late for pick-up.

Driving your kids around is a part of modern parenting. They, thankfully, have so many more activities and options than we did when we were kids.  Why not make the best of it? Now if I can just get that Wiggles' song “Big Red Car” (Toot-toot-chugga-chugga Big Eed Car. We'll travel near and we'll travel far.”) out of my head...sigh...

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Thanks for reading! Please check back in when I'll review a children's game which may or may not be fun (I haven't played it yet).  I'll also be passing on some very useful info about at least one important website you MUST know about!

Happy Monday!

5 Weight Loss Behaviors That A Lazy Me Can Actually Follow

When I think of what Heaven is like, should I make it there, I think of food. I get so much pleasure from eating that in my vision of Heaven, it's full of good quality, unlimited eats. I even have my menu set.  I'll have chocolate-chip ice cream for breakfast, cheesecake as my mid-morning snack, followed by a massive Italian sub for lunch washed down with gallons of whole milk. At 3pm (if there is such a time in the Afterlife), I'll have unlimited Munchkins and dinner will consist of deep-fried calamari and french fries with a side of nachos. My midnight snack? Doritos and beer. And the best part? I won't gain any weight!

Like Cosy in her food bag, I'd live in a bag of Doritos if I could. 

Now back to reality. A few years ago, I lost 60 pounds in 4 months on the Bead Diet (http://www.accuweight.com). No, this is not an endorsement for that diet, and yes, I really did lose the weight that fast. The Bead is an extremely disciplined method which turned me into a raving lunatic for those four months, but it was either that or the lap band surgery; the Bead was, at least, non-invasive. Anyway, I've put a few pounds back on and since I can't afford to go back on Beads (it costs about $75 every nine days or so and the commitment is for a few months), I need to get those pounds off on my own. I've been on diets practically my whole life, so I know how to do it. Most of us do. The challenge is finding a method that I can live with. Here's what I'm doing so far:

1. Drinking more water and seltzer. Back on Beads, you were supposed to drink half your weight in ounces in water. What that means is if you are 150 pounds (not that I am), take half of that (75) and you're drinking 75 ounces of water or about 9 cups a day. Sounds like a lot, but it's actually doable. No only will drinking more water flush out impurities, but it'll keep my belly fuller (I really should take out stock in Charmin every time I do this). And, often when my I think body is telling me it's hungry, what it's really telling me is that I'm thirsty. I've found, in the past, that when I'm hydrated, I eat less. 
   
2. Inviting myself to eat more fruits and veggies – not mandating it. The other morning, I went into the grocery store and gave myself permission to buy anything in the produce area that I liked. I looked around at the copious display and, like a kid in a candy store, went wild! I grabbed red peppers, yellow zucchini, mushrooms, peas, and broccoli, anticipating the amazing stir fry I'd make for lunch. I smelled the cantaloupe, salivating at the sweetness I'd enjoy later. I planned a snack of fresh navel oranges for later. It was a lot of fun!
   
3. Wearing clothes that actually fit instead of my “fat” clothes. Often in life, I find the “fake it, till you make it” way of thinking works; this is one of those times. Baggy clothes make me look fatter and make me feel shlumpy. Wearing fitted clothes, making an effort to dress well, and pretending I'm thinner than I am makes me feel better. It also makes me more likely to continue with my healthier ways.
4. Working out, in some way, every day.  In a previous post (http://isithotinheremmm.blogspot.com/2014/01/3-fantastic-product-reviews-some-of.html), I reviewed the WiiFit Plus I received for Christmas. I love this product and have been using it every day, mostly because the device “notices” when I haven't done it. The damn thing makes me feel guilty if I don't at least check in with it daily (grumble, grumble). Plus, the games on WiiFit are oodles of fun and I can do some of them with the kids.  Even if I don't feel like doing an aerobic activity, I can always work on my balance and strength, so at least I'm doing something.    
   
5. Not eating after 7pm. This is the hardest challenge I've taken on, but I know it's for the best. My body does not need food in order to sleep. If I get hungry in the evening, I have a cup or two of tea and go to bed. Granted, this is tough the nights we don't eat until later, but I'm trying.

So far I'm down three pounds this week. I'm not out of breath when I climb the stairs and actually look forward to doing the WiiFit. I'm thinking that even if I don't lose any more poundage, these five behaviors are positive ones that will help me feel good in the long run.


Now I know you're probably being inundated with emails touting weight loss miracles, but this article on WebMD contains some good, relatively “painless” suggestions, and, in fact, mentions a few that were in my post: http://women.webmd.com/features/weight-loss-tips. Oh, and although my ideas did not come from this article, I was happy that WebMD was on the same page.


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Thanks for reading!


This Winter, I'm doing more schlepping than usual to and from gymnastics, soccer, etc. Life's too short for it not to be pleasurable, or at least , bearable. Playing games and surfing on my phone is getting boring, so check in with me in a day or so and I'll share some tips on how to make schlepping and waiting a bit more pleasant. Have a great rest of the weekend!