Jacob and Abi Beutler Family

While I was letting Ben and Liz fluff up our couch cushions for me by letting them jump on them on the floor, I thought to myself, "I wonder how many mothers out there know this trick?" So, in honor of Halloween, I give you five tricks. And if you are reading this, consider yourself "tricked" into posting some of your own tricks, in either comment or blog form.

1. To keep your kids "around" but out of the kitchen while you cook dinner or to get some vegetables into them, put some cut veggies (carrot sticks, bell peppers...) on the dinner table and let them snack/pick away while you finish dinner. Ben and Liz love this occasional pre-dinner ritual.



2. You can machine wash and dry stuffed animals/cloth toys. I used to shun away from buying cloth toys and stuffed animals from used stores. After all, most of those toys say "spot wash only". Well, then Lizzie came along and she is a big stuffed animal fan. And I am usually too thrifty to buy new. One day, I gave in and bought a used and germy stuffed animal...EEW. I went home and threw it in the washer, wondering if it would survive. It did! So I threw it in the dryer (who wants mold growing on the inside while it dries on the outside). And the stuffed animal survived. Good as new. So now I wash and dry all cloth toys and stuffed animals. I've even washed and dried a talking Woody and talking Jessie, and they still work. But it doesn't for the mega sized teddy bears...pity.



3. A kitchen timer is a useful gadget when it comes to discipline. I use it with Ben and Liz to keep them in their rooms when they wake up to early ("Stay in your room until you hear the DING"). I also use it for time-outs, to limit TV, to speed up the bedtime routines or chores, and reading time. It's good because you can let the timer take the blame. You could even use it on yourself (to...ahem...limit your blogging craze).



4. You can extend your baby powder with constarch.



5. Chinese cooking is really easy and fast if you remember four things: start rice, make sauce, prep veggies, and piping hot pan. Sauce can be any combo of soy sauce/vinegar/broth with some seasoning like coriander/ginger/garlic/red pepper mixed with some cornstarch. Carrots are the only veggie that need to be in thin peices, as all the other veggies cook fast so chop/slice them up with speed. Piping hot pan. Add some oil. Oil saute your meat (5 minutes), then veggies (3 minutes) and stir in sauce. By then your rice will be done and you'll be a chinese guru. Add some nuts for a sassy crunch.

Jacob recently enlisted Benjamin and Elizabeth as his helpers. Then went to Riso (Jacob's work) and picked a bunch of Paradise Apples (baby sour apples) and made apple jelly. Ben and Liz loved the quality time with their father, and the jelly isn't that bad either.