Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

Our poor little Finlay is sporting this face right now? What are these little dots you may ask? Sadly, it's hand-foot-mouth disease; a highly contagious virus common among infants and young children. Here is some information about the virus in case you happen to get it in your family. I found a lot of great information on the CDC's web site (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm). Go there if you want more detailed information.
Basically the virus causes fevers, mild diarrhea, and little bumps/eruptions/rashes all over the body. The most painful eruptions are in the mouth and make it difficult for some children to eat and/or drink. My boys had the bumps all over their chins, knees, elbows, hands, feet, and diaper area. Their bums looked they had been dragged over the pavement. It was scary the first time I saw it. They also had the eruptions in their mouths, but it didn't seem to affect their appetites.

The illness begins with a high fever. Children are usually pretty lethargic during the fever. This is Finlay when he had the fever, but we didn't know he had the virus. This is the point at which children are the most contagious. A few days later the eruptions start to appear. I took the boys to the doctor and she told me there isn't really anything that can be done. The virus just has to run its course. Since it is highly contagious, the main way to deal with the disease and keep it from spreading is to keep the babes at home.

My boys had colds the week before they got sick, so they had already been home bound. I wasn't sure how they got the virus. However, it has a germination period of 3-6 days so they probably had the virus at the same time they had their colds.


Tips on Preventing the virus:
- Just use common sense good hygiene techniques. Wash your hands before and after meals, after using the bathroom or changing diapers, after playing with toys or playground equipment, etc.
- Don't let children give other children kisses during this season. Don't let them share cups or eating utensils with other kids.
- Even if you do everything possible to keep them from getting the virus, they can still get it. Just let it run its course.

Tips of dealing with home bound children who are going stir crazy:
- Read lots and lots of books.
- Dance and sing to as much Christmas music as possible.
- Let them jump on your bed, or inflate an air mattress and let them jump to their hearts content.
- Let them play your keyboard or make homemade drums.
- Check out lots of Elmo, Thomas the Train, and Little Einstein DVDs from the library and let them watch the movies throughout the day. They think this is a treat (at least our boys do who aren't usually allowed to watch more than 15 minutes of TV a day and none on the weekends).
- Have them "help" you make banana bread (I let them put their hands on the measuring cup while I pour the ingredient into the bowl). Don't feed the bread to anyone who doesn't live in your house.
- Let them color.
- Watch birds through the window.
- Let them take every book in the house off every bookcase.
- Let them take lots of baths with lots of bubbles and bath toys.
- Have Dad come home early from school/work to rough-house with them.
- Grin and bear it!

How to Use a Pumpkin

I love fall and the fun and flavors that come with it. I especially love pumpkins. Here are some ways to get the most use out of your pumpkins. First - use them as chairs for your children. My boys loved to sit on their pumpkins while they read books or played. They sat on the pumpkins for weeks before we actually used them
Second - make dinner in a pumpkin. This is a fun Halloween or fall recipe to try.

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small to medium pumpkin (we used a large pumpkin and just increased the cooking time)
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 (4-0z) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (10 3/4-oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 (8-oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Cut off the top of the pumpkin and throughly clean out seeds and pulp. Save the seeds for later. Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain fat. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup. Simmer 1o minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell. Replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin on baking sheet. Bake 1 hour or until pumpkin meat is tender. Remove pumpkin lid and serve meal.

Third - roast the seeds. Even the little boys liked to snack on these.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
seeds from 1 pumpkin
1 Tbsp butter per cup of seeds
salt to taste

Wash seeds thoroughly in a colander and put on paper towels to dry. Place them in a skillet with butter and salt. Cook and stir until all seeds are well coated with butter. Bake in a shallow pan for 30-45 minutes in a 250 degree oven.

Fourth - Make pumpkin doughnuts using the cooked pumpkin flesh (puree it first). These doughnuts are easier to make and we think tastier than regular doughnuts.

Pumpkin Doughnuts
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
vegetable oil for frying

Combine the eggs and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Combine the pumpkin, buttermilk, and oil. Beat into the egg mixture. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. When well mixed, refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. The dough will be very soft and wet. Turn the dough onto a WELL-floured sufate, roll to a thickness of 1/2-inch, and cut with a doughnut or cookie cutter into rings. Pour the vegetable oil into a heavy skillet to a depth of about 4 inches. Heat the oil until it reaches 375. Use a candy thermometer. Using a spatula, ease the doughnuts two at a time into the hot oil. When one side is golden and the doughnuts float to the surface, turn with a spatula. When golden on both sides, take the doughnuts out of oil and place on paper towels. Coat with cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar.


Fifth - puree the rest of the cooked pumpkin and freeze to use later on. We look forward to using the rest of our pumpkin in breads, cookies, and pies!

Football Cookie Recipes

Victory Sugar Cookies:

Cream together: 1 cup butter and 2/3 cup sugar
Beat in: 1 egg
Combine and Add: 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 1/2 cups flour

Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Chill dough 3-4 hours before rolling. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 8-10 minutes or until barely colored. Frost cookies.

Frosting: 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. butter, 1 Tbsp. milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp lemon juice

Combine. Beat until smooth. Add food coloring. (I love this frosting - it's really more of a glaze and slightly hardens on the cookies so you can stack them on top of each other without the frosting coming off).

Chocolate Nutbutter Cookies

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk

• Heat oven to 400.
• Beat sugar, shortening and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs.
• Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Beat into sugar mixture alternately with milk.
• Drop cookie dough onto greased baking sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork dipped in flour.
• Bake 6-10 minutes or until bottoms are light brown.

Dark Chocolate Molten Cakes

Once a week Ricky and I like to experiment making fun desserts. For his birthday I got him some custard cups. We tested them out last night and found a new favorite. We made our own version of molten cake from various recipes we've seen. It was so yummy! The perfect ratio of cake to "molten" chocolate. It was perfect served straight from the oven with a scoop of ice-cream (or two or three) on top. It was even better than Chili's molten cakes. We had to dump the boys in the tub immediately after eating this because they were both covered in chocolate.


1 - 6.8 oz Dark Chocolate Hershey's Bar (milk chocolate would probably work too, but the dark was excellent)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 eggs
6 Tablespoons flour

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray four custard cups with cooking spray. Place cups on baking sheet.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter on HIGH one minute or until butter is melted. Stir with a whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in powdered sugar until blended. Blend in eggs. Stir in four.
3. Bake 13 minutes or until sides are firm but centers soft. Let stand one minute. Run small knife around edges to loosen cake. Invert cakes into dessert plates or bowls.
4. Serve with ice-cream.
   

How to Shop a Dollar Store

In our quest to live within our limited budget Ricky and I try to be as frugal as possible. We have found that shopping at the local dollar store saves us a lot of money. However, dollar stores are only great bargains if you know how to shop them. Here are the tips we've discovered for shopping dollar stores:

• Make a list before you shop: We like to keep a running list of the supplies we are running low on. That way when we head to the store we only get the items we actually need. Since everything is so cheap at a dollar store its easy to end up buying a lot more things than you need. Even at $1 a piece it can add up.
• Buy cleaning supplies: Most dollar stores offer name brand cleaning products for much cheaper than other stores. We buy window cleaner, dish soap, furniture polish, and other cleaners at the dollar store. Avoid cleaners with weird names like "LA's Totally Awesome stain remover" and things like that. Stick the names you know.
• Buy bath supplies: You can get great deals on shaving gels, bubble bath, hair brushes and combs, hair gel, toothbrushes, bath grips (so kids don't slip and fall), bath toys, etc. Dollar stores tend to carry most of these items in name brands. We buy our toothbrushes at the dollar stores and see the same brushes in the regular stores.
• Buy children's seasonal toys: You can find cheap sand pails, water toys, big rubber balls, Christmas toys, books, etc. Just make sure they are age appropriate and look sturdy enough for your child to play with.
• Buy craft supplies: Thing like felt, thread, coloring books, construction paper, finger paints, and other art and crafts supplies are cheap at dollar stores. We have used them for numerous projects.
• Be careful about buying food: Usually dollar store food isn't as fresh as buying from the grocery store. If you want to buy food, drinks, or candy just make sure to check the expiration and use-by dates. Make sure you can use the food quickly. We like to buy dollar store candy to make homemade ice-cream.
• Never buy batteries.
• Buy holiday decorations: If you want your house to look festive, but you don't have a lot of money dollar stores are the way to go. They have cute decorations for the right price. You can buy Christmas stockings, wrapping paper, garland, figurines, window clings, etc. You can also buy birthday banners, fun tablecloths, balloons and more.

Happy Shopping!

Cookie Dough Brownies

If you love brownies and cookie dough - you will love this!

Bottom Layer:
1 (9x13-inch size) brownie mix and ingredients listed on the back of the box
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

Topping:
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Make brownies according to package directions. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan. Bake 25 minutes or until done. Allow brownies to cool completely.
3. For the filling, mix butter and sugars together. Stir in milk and vanilla. Mix in flour. Spread filling evenly over cooled brownie layer.
4. In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate chips. Spread melted chocolate over filling. Refrigerate at least two hours. Keep refrigerated. Makes 24 brownies.

I'm a slacker

I know I've been a huge slacker this summer, but never fear, I will be back in business now that school is in session.