Pumpkin Streusel Muffins...Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Always looking for a good excuse to make something with pumpkin, I thought this was a perfect day for pumpkin streusel muffins.  So they're not healthy...oh well, it's Halloween!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins...perfect for a fall day!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. salt
1 c. pureed pumpkin
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs

For streusel topping
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
3 T. cold butter

Combine dry ingredients in medium sized bowl.  Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined.  In separate bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients...breaking apart the butter and incorporating it into the dry ingredients with your fingers, until crumbly.

Put muffin batter in muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.  Top with a generous sprinkling of streusel topping.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin cups.  To test for doneness, insert toothpick in center of a middle muffin.  It should come out clean, with no wet batter clinging to the toothpick.  Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!

Cookie scoops and paper condiment cups...great for making muffins and cupcakes

Handy tips for making cupcakes and muffins...
Use a cookie scoop for putting batter into cups.  They come in various sizes.  Cuts WAY down on mess!
If you want to make a lot of muffins in a short time, consider using paper condiment cups (you can find these at restaurant supply stores and stores such as Cash and Carry, and Smart Final).  You can put twice as many muffin cups on a cookie sheet and bake as normal.  The cups hold up all by themselves.  You can also use the small paper condiment cups for making mini muffins and cupcakes.  They're adorable!

Core values

Sisters can be taught how to get along  :)

Society's views of child rearing seems to change with each passing decade.  The focus shifts depending on current issues of the day.  A look at presidential first ladies gives us a glimpse of this trend.  Nancy Reagan in the 80's used the slogan, "Just say no (to drugs)".  Laura Bush advocated literacy in the 90's.  Hillary Clinton believed, "It takes a village (to raise a child)".  And Michelle Obama is currently promoting against childhood obesity.

While all of these causes are noble and worthwhile, they don't focus on time-tested and tried values and standards that have been proved to produce well-adjusted children and happy families.  Without strong values, taught in the home, families are left to shift with the tide of popular policy and opinion.

What are some of these core values that are so important?  I came up with my own list and then googled the subject and found that all of the values I wrote down were also listed in numerous articles and blogs.  Apparently, these are not radical ideas.  :)

1. Honesty.  How can a society (from the family to a global society) survive without its members being honest?  Being honest is not an excuse for being cruel or harsh. 
2. Respect.  Our children need to learn how to be respectful to their parents, teachers, other adults, younger children and their peers.  I guess that includes just about everyone!
3. Charity.  By this I mean service.  When children are taught how to help other people, they gain a perspective broader than their own little world.  Service also helps children learn...
4. Gratitude.  Being thankful for what you have is a value that we all could improve on!  There is too much of "I WANT!" in our families today.
5. Kindness.  This goes along with respect.  Being unkind hurts.  Children who are kind, find that they have more friends and better relationships with their family.
6. Work.  Whether it's regular chores or periodic jobs, work teaches the concept of following through and being responsible.
7. Obedience.  A two edged sword here.  Blind obedience can get a child into trouble if they trust everyone they come in contact with but being obedient to parents and teachers is absolutely essential to a child's safety and well-being.
8. Humility.  Ok, I didn't see this value listed in the articles I read, but there are too many children who lack this vital trait.  No one likes a cocky, show-off, bragging child.  Being humble reminds children to be thankful.

You're probably not going to see a first lady promoting these core values anytime soon.  It's too bad.  If more parents, leaders and teachers were to address and act upon these values, I think we'd have more children grow up to become happy, contributing members of society. 

So, dear mothers, it's up to us.  Maybe I'll address each value in a separate blog during the next week or so.  It's worthwhile stuff  :)

What a child IS vs what a child DOES

Self portraits...wonder what mischief they're planning  :)

When you've had it up to here with your children, when you wonder how you're going to survive...remember this...there is a difference between what a child IS and what he DOES.

A child is endless potential, a work in progress, boundless energy and imagination, a loved member of the family.  A child is not a miniature adult. He is a CHILD.

As such, he is going to make mistakes, try your patience and test his limits.  It's all part of the process of growing up.  You have the awesome responsibility of guiding and teaching your precious children to be well adjusted adults and this process is going to take until they ARE grown up.  You can't expect your young children to have adult behaviors and thoughts.  Even teenagers sometimes act more like toddlers than almost adults.

Regardless, their frustrating behavior is not who they are.  When you are irritated, remember that you are irritated at their BEHAVIOR, not them.

Halloween ideas

All ready to go out!

Halloween has been a time-honored celebration for hundreds of years.  Its roots go back to Celtic traditions of honoring the dead and the end of the harvest season.  A far cry from what it is today  :)  Children look forward to Halloween as a time to dress up in scary or cute costumes and eat large quantities of candy.

Our world is no longer the safe place it used to be (if it ever was) but that doesn't mean that you and your family still can't have a fun time.  If you're not comfortable with taking your children around neighborhoods, knocking on strange doors and having them beg for candy, there are several options to consider.

1. My personal favorite...For years (at least 30), our church has organized a "Trunk or Treat" activity where church families come to the church parking lot, park in a very large circle with car trunks pointing inward.  Each family can decorate their trunk whatever way they wish.  All the children go trick or treating to the different cars where candy and goodies are handed out.   The children have the satisfaction of getting to go trick or treating and getting their candy and the adults have an enjoyable time socializing.  It can be as simple or fancy as you wish.

2. Little children don't need huge bagfuls of candy so you can scale down their activity to just visiting grandparents and other relatives and close friends.  If the candy is really for you  :)  consider going to the store the day after Halloween and buying yourself the kind of candy you want...probably at least 50 percent off too!

3. Start an annual tradition to go to a pumpkin patch or corn maze on Halloween.  Let the kids dress up in costumes and spend an afternoon getting exercise and running off all their energy (hopefully!).  Pick up a fresh pumpkin while you're there to carve at home.

 4. Several malls and communities plan trick or treating activities, again so kids don't have to go to unfamiliar places after dark.  Usually held in the afternoon, they have games, activities, contests and of course, candy.

5. At home parties (not for little children) with scary movies, popcorn, hot chocolate, apple cider and of course, candy.

Cute little kitty  :)

6. At home parties for families whose kids have allergies, illnesses and food sensitivities.  Look for some of the "tame" Halloween movies that are geared towards children (like "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown") and fix treats that all can enjoy.  No one should be left out.

Whatever you do, take lots of pictures and have the kids brush and floss before they go to bed!
 

An annoyance

Just a pet peeve today.  I wish parents wouldn't let their children answer the phone until they are old enough to speak clearly and answer appropriately.  Sure, it's cute to hear little Johnny's voice answering the phone but sometimes the person on the other end actually needs to talk to an adult with an actual reason.  If you're busy and can't come to the phone, let an answering machine take the message.  If you don't have an answering machine, it's time to buy one.

Oh, another thing...when little Johnny IS old enough to answer the telephone, teach him basic phone manners and phone safety.  You never know who is going to call your home.  Teach him to never give out information that the parents aren't home.  Never give personal information.

I'm a big fan of answering machines, in case you couldn't tell  :) 

Thrifty Thursday - Excess

It started out innocently enough...your little girl was given a Beanie Baby for a gift and she loved it.  So, being a "good" mom, you buy her another one...and another one...and her friend buys her another one...and the relatives buy her Beanie Babies for holidays and before you know it, a special shelf, then a whole bookcase (maybe even a whole room!) is devoted to the Beanie Baby collection.  While your daughter truly enjoyed the first and maybe the next few, it didn't take long for the magic to be replaced by the urge to collect more. 

Excess.  We're all prone to it.  It all boils down to the mindset that if one is good, then two is better.  But is it true?  We only have so much space in our homes.  Do we really need to fill up our homes with things bought with the sole purpose of acquisition?  How many books do we need?  How many kitchen gadgets?  How many knick knacks?  How much fabric? How many toys?

Things cost money.  They cost time.  They cost precious living space.  Is it possible that enjoyment decreases with the amount acquired? 

So many people complain that they don't have enough space and want a bigger home.  Or they say they don't have enough money to meet their needs.  Yet those same people often have large enough homes and decent salaries.  What if those same people learned how to control their craving for excess?  Would their lives be happier?  Might they actually enjoy the possessions they have?  Would  they have the money to live within their means?

Although it's hard to resist the things you have a soft spot for, remember that things are just things.  And too much of a good thing is still too much.  Excess is the enemy of contentment.

24 hours in a day?

We all have 24 hours in a day, right?  Maybe not and here's why.  Everyone sleeps somewhere between 6-10 hours a day.  That time can't be counted as productive time (unless you count the body renewing itself during sleep).  Husbands (and often wives) work 8-12 hours a day and that is time outside of your control.  What is left is the productive time that you get to choose how to spend.  For some people, that might only be 4 hours or less each day.  Not much is it?

With that in mind, can you see how important it is to choose how to spend your precious time?  Do you really have time to watch two hours (or more!) of TV every night, just to keep up with the latest sitcom or drama?  Do you really have time to browse Pinterest and FB for hours on end?

I'll admit that I'm sometimes guilty of doing just those things but it's a rare day, not the norm.  Where is the time for exercising?  For spending time with the kids?  For spending uninterrupted time with your husband?  For enriching activities such as service, gardening, education, personal hobbies?  When are you and your husband going to get around to home maintenance and organization?

If you put time into perspective, you'll see how important it is to choose wisely the small amount of time you actually have.  My husband's saying, "There isn't enough time to do all the wonderful things there are to do" is very true.  It's up to us what we do.