The Gift of the Magi is a short story written by O. Henry in the early 1900’s.  The story is at heart of what the holiday season and gift giving should be about… a selfless act to make another person happy… it’s not about the money you spend that’s important… it’s the sentiment behind the...

My nephew Nick creates his own recipes. How cool is that!  Here you’ll find his Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake recipe with a note he wrote about cooking from scratch… Dear Mama Lisa, I made this peanut butter chocolate cake for my mom, on her birthday. Her two favorite ingredients are peanut butter and chocolate. Her birthday is...

There’s nothing like playing with your daughter’s hair and making a fancy do to make her feel special.  I’m normally not to good at hairdos.  Recently though, I was taught this simple trick… Get some fancy mini hair claws.  Then, take thin amounts of hair from each side of the head above the ears and bring...

Emanuela Marsura is a preschool teacher in Italy.  She wrote to me about how her students cook in her school: "We do cooking every Friday. We have prepared: gnocchi with potatoes, taralli napoletani, cakes and many biscuits! The Children love Friday!"  Cooking is a great opportunity for kids to learn… they measure the ingredients...

This year my daughter’s class is doing a nice, simple project.  They’re not buying Valentines from the store to give to all the kids in the class.  Instead, they’re each cutting out hearts out of construction paper.  On one side they’re putting a classmate’s name and on the other side they’re writing something...

This recipe makes sugar cookies a little healthier by substituting whole wheat pastry flour for some of the multipurpose flour, canola oil for some of the butter, and honey for some of the sugar.  I already posted one version of this recipe.  This new one uses less eggs and less ingredients overall.  My husband...

  There’s a science lesson in making natural brown food coloring.  I recently wrote about creating natural red food coloring from the water made from cooking beets.  Once you make red food coloring from beets it’s easy to get brown. Here are the basics to making red food coloring: Peel about 3 beets and chop them up...

It’s very satisfying to make your own food coloring out of natural ingredients.  It’s also educational for children to see how people used to get color out of fruits and vegetables.  Not everything has to come pre-bottled from a factory! Since Valentine’s Day is coming soon, today I’ll explain how to make red and pink...

Ben’s Bells is a project based in Tucson, Arizona, whose primary goal is to spread kindness. The tragedy that started Ben’s Bells was the death of 3 year old Ben.  After Ben’s death, his family found that little acts of kindness were what brought them through their tragedy.  They started making bells and hanging...

Sugar Cookies are traditionally made in the US for holidays and other special events, especially when kids are there.  In the past, I posted a recipe for Sugar Cookies made with whole wheat pastry flour.  Here’s a recipe for more traditional Sugar Cookies… Recipe for Sugar Cookies 1 cup Butter 3...

Sugar cookies are nice to make for holidays and special events.  They look so festive.      Making cut out cookies is a fun way to get your kids to learn about baking.  They can start learning to follow a recipe, roll out dough and then make the shapes with cookie cutters.  This recipe makes sugar cookies a...

This reindeer went to visit my daughter’s school the other day.  Actually, she made him… but look how he came alive!  He’s ready to learn. All you have to do to make a candy cane reindeer is to glue a red pompom on a candy cane as a nose, 2 googly eyes above it and a...

Here are some simple instructions to create a handprint ornament.  It can be used as a Christmas decoration or for Chanukah or Mother’s Day or any time you want to hang something cute!   1.  Cut out a circle using a thick piece of paper of the color of your choosing (about 6...

A lot of people are still having a tough time financially.  Even if you’re not, who can’t use ways to spend less money for Christmas, but still give nice, fun gifts?   One great idea is to trade in old electronic games and equipment to GameStop for credit towards new toys.  You won’t get the...

My daughter made these thumbprint guys in art class today. They’re made with paint and Sharpie permanent markers. All you do is dip your thumb in paint and make thumbprints in different places on thick paper.  Let the thumbprints dry.  Then add details with a black Sharpie marker.  At top you can see a guy skating...

This is what I thought when I took my doggie for a walk yesterday… MP3 of Doggie Walk Dogs love to smell everything!

Growing up my family always had dinner together.  To this day, I remember this ritual. My husband and I have kept up the tradition with our kids.  It’s the one time we can all enjoy each other’s company.  No chores, no work, no nagging, no computers, no TV, etc.  It makes it that we eat...

  We read Go Dog Go by PD Eastman to our kids for years when they were younger.  They loved it!  The climax of the book was a big dog party.  By chance, we threw a party for our 1 year old pup this past weekend.  Who would’ve thought after all those years reading the book...