Season Greetings and Happy Reading!

Hello All!

I know it has been a while since I have written and for that I apologize. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with some good sales for parents and some excellent crafts for kids. I think I may have found a few really good ones.

Recently, I was giving two American Girl magazines for my daughter and was amazed at the number of great ideas they contained. I wanted to share a few of those with you. I also wanted to update you on the latest sales that The Ultimate Book Soiree can offer though Barefoot Books. If you haven't checked out the website please do. These books are amazing. www.ultimatebooksoiree.info

As aways, I'm open to your suggestions and crafting ideas.

Thanks!

Phyllis








Fruit Pizza
This is a wonderful idea for those holiday sleepovers and even a family Christmas event.

Ingredients
1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice cookie dough and arrange on greased pizza pan, overlapping edges. Press dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
2.In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. You can chill for a while at this point, or continue by arranging the fruit.
3.Begin with strawberries, sliced in half. Arrange in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle. If bananas are used, dip them in lemon juice so they don't darken. Then make a sauce to spoon over fruit.
4.In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind. Allow to cool, but not set up. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.


This recipe was taken from allrecipes.com. You can also find a mor kid friendly version of this pizza in the July/ August 2009 edition of American Girl Magazine.

Learning through doing- Activities to keep your kids hopping

My daughter loves following me around. I know this may not be new to many of you but I never imagined to what extent. So, in an effort to always make our day a learning experience each daily duty is a mini activity. For starters we create lists. My daughter can not read yet but she can draw pictures. She will create a picture list of our "to do" list and I will add the word next to the image. This does several things. She will begin to learn organizational skills, perfect her art skills and word recognition.

Together, we work diligently on checking off all items on our list. Our next big activity is to learn a new language. I will keep you posted on the results!

Work together and stay involved in your children's lives. It is never too late to show them how much you care.

Thanks!

Phyllis

Take a trip around the world with a book

I know this sounds awful but I truly hate traveling. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy visiting different people and seeing new things but the getting there part is just terrible. Maybe I should try a 1st class flight or a luxurious cruise. Well. that's not quite in the budget this year but it sounds GREAT otherwise.

Since my daughter has been born, we have greatly limited our travel to where ever can be reached by car. When she gets older, I'm sure this will change. I have tried to introduce my housebound offspring to many places though books. It is not the same as being there, but when you can't your imagination will always take you to your destination.

As a side note, the wonderful thing about children is they embrace ever new adventure. No matter the distance, it is all the same to them. A lot of fun!
Barefoot books has a great collection of children's fun and adventure titles. I have included a few of my favorites.

Tips and Tricks...MSN Today

Happy Wednesday to all...I hope the week so far has been bright. I have attached a link to a few very clever ideas posted today on MSN. There are 50 ideas for using old/ retired items around the house. Some are misses but most are hits. Please let me know what you think.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-home/cleaning-organizing/staticslideshowrs.aspx?cp-documentid=21889122>1=32001