Witches
Ingredients:
1 quart grape juice
1 quart orange juice
1 quart ginger ale
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a Halloween punch bowl. Add spooky Halloween decorations, such as spooky ice-cubes or a gruesome mask made of punch.
To make a mask, fill a plastic mask with punch and freeze overnight. Unmold and add to the punch bowl.
Vegan Halloween Party
When Halloween rolls around, many of us love to throw spooky parties. Throwing a vegan party, however, requires a bit more planning as animal by-products are not allowed to make an entrance at this party. Do not fear (or maybe you want to!), there are many different kinds of
Tantrum Tips and Tricks
New parents are enamored with their babies. However, babies quickly grow and before you know it they
Smart Ways of Tackling the Terrible Twos
When you first have your baby, you
Vegetable Soup for a Crowd
Serves about 12
Ingredients:
6 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 celery stalks, sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
3
Everyone enjoys a good party with family and friends when there is tasty food involved as well as some delectable drinks to be had. Halloween is a time a year when people can let loose by dressing up in a silly outfit or a frightening one, so why not let them get in the mood with some of these Halloween-inspired beverages.
Italian Fruit Punch
For those of your friends who like to drink, a great choice is the Italian Fruit Punch, which is a fast and easy drink to prepare for awaiting guests. The combination of Limoncello, Maraschino liqueur, orange juice, sparkling water, and ice will have your guests living it up in no time.
Ingredients
* 2 cups orange juice
* 2 cups sparkling water
*
Tips to Raising Confident Children
Parents want only what is best for their children. They want their children to be able look to the future with the self-confidence to reach for the stars and overcome any obstacles along the way. The following tips will give you the tools you need to help your children do just that.
The best way to raise confident children is to be confident. Show your children that you are confident in your own abilities even if that means you don
How to Prevent Choking in Toddlers and Babies
No parent wants to think about their baby or toddler choking. It
Sweet Potato Crisps
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
4 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400
Preserving Late Summer Flowers
Flowers that bloom in the summer are gorgeous – it is no wonder that people choose to save these flowers as long as they can by pressing and drying them. There are many methods to preserving flowers and each can be tailored to your style. Experiment with some of these preserving methods and find the method that works best for you.
* The simplest way to preserve flowers is to air dry them. Flowers can be air dried virtually any place where there is low humidity. You might consider using your attic, a pantry or even your closet.
To air dry flowers, tie them in small, loose bunches to avoid crowding and hang them upside down in a low-humidity place. In this fashion, drying the flowers can take up to two weeks depending upon the humidity level. Flowers can also be dried laying flat or standing upright in a vase or other container. Be careful with upright flowers, though, as they tend to lose their shape easily.
* Pressing flowers is another way to preserve them. To press flowers, all you need is some paper and a heavy object. The only downside to pressing the flowers is that they will lose shape as they are pressed flat. To press your flowers, place them between sheets of paper such as newspaper or old pages from a book. You can layer the papers on top of each other and then place a heavy object on top of the papers to press the flowers.
This method will usually take between two and four weeks to allow your flowers to be completely dry. It does not matter what kind of paper you use as long as it is not glazed. Glazed paper, such as wax and parchment, will not absorb the moisture and may make for moldy flowers.
* Flowers can also be dried in a flower-drying solution. Silica is a great way to dry flowers without much work. Place silica in a container and arrange flowers in the container. Silica should be covering the flowers and the drying process will be done within the week, depending upon how many flowers you have in one container.
Brightly-colored flowers tend to be the best preserved. Deep colors will fade slightly while white flowers will turn a slight tan or off-white color. Almost all flowers can be preserved and there are many ways to preserve them. Preserving your flowers is a great way to ensure that you have color in your house through the winter months.
How to Plan a Fantastic Birthday Party
Everybody loves a party, particularly if it
Spooky Marshmallow Eyeballs
Makes 20
Ingredients:
20 marshmallows
20 cranberries
Red and blue icing pens
Instructions:
Push one cranberry into the centre of each marshmallow. Draw bloodshot lines with the icing pens all over the marshmallow. Set aside to dry and serve as a spooky snack.
CPR
Newborns don
Keeping Your House and Basement Mold Free
Depending upon where you live, you may experience a problem with mold in your house. Other factors include how old your house is and what the weather is like where you live. Keeping your house and basement mold free is important because mold makes your home potentially dangerous to your family.
Do you have family members who seem to always have a cold? Do they sneeze or have a runny nose? How about asthma or chronic fatigue? All of these can be symptoms of having a mold problem. In extreme cases, breathing the mold spores can lead to serious health issues or even death.
Mold grows and flourishes in cool, wet or dark areas of your home. It could be your basement where the waterproofing is faltering or the attic where there is little ventilation and possibly a leaky roof. You could also find mold in and around sinks and bathtubs. Leaky faucets are notorious for the spread of mold.
Go through your home and take the sniff test. If you smell a musty smell, there
Pros and Cons of Gymnastics Training for Kids
Gymnastics is one of the most widely recognized and eagerly watched sports during the Summer Olympics. Parents remember past gymnasts who have become household names. When their children see the sport they want to try, too. Here are some pros and cons of gymnastics training for kids in case you
Macaroni Salad with Ham
Ingredients:
3 cups macaroni pasta
1 cup diced ham
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
How to Preserve Your Late Summer Fruits
You have worked all spring and summer long to grow your garden with great success. You discover that you cannot possibly use all of the fruits that have sprung up in your garden. No problem – preserve them for future use. You can use different methods to preserve your fruits such as canning, freezing and drying. You can even use a simple recipe and create your own jams, preserves or butters to further indulge in. Best of all, by preserving your fruit you are ensuring that you are not letting all of the labor you put into your garden go to waste.
Freezing
The easiest way to preserve your fruit is to freeze it and store it for later use. How to freeze your fruit depends on the type of fruit. For berries, drain the berries in a colander for about 30 minutes then lie them on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer overnight. You can take the berries out the next day and bag them when they are completely frozen.
Melons should be cut out of the rinds and sprinkled with sugar before freezing. The sugar helps to preserve the flavor of the melons. All fruit needs to be placed in a freezer bag or freezer safe container and marked with the date of freeze. Frozen fruit can be kept in the freezer for up to one year.
Canning
Canning is another great way to preserve your fruit. Pick the fruit when it is at its ripest for canning methods. Cut the fruit up and place into canning jars. You do not have to use sugar to sweeten the fruit, but like when freezing melons, using a simple syrup will help keep your canned fruit
Hot Apple Cider Punch with Calvados
Makes about 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
3 cups apple juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
4 whole cloves and 3 whole allspice berries (in a spice bag)
How to Throw a Halloween Party for Adults
Everyone enjoys a good Halloween party but when it comes down to it bad food, drinks, or a lame theme can be a deal breaker. So in order to get your guests excited about your next Halloween party, be sure to impress them with these few simple tricks that will have them coming back year after year.
When people arrive at a party they generally are looking to eat, drink, and be merry, so make it a point to have good food at your party. Themed food ideas will have your guests in shock and awe when they arrive. Imagine the squealing of disgust and intrigue when your guests discover a bowl of worms on the table ready for eating. With a little gelatin, food coloring and flexible straws, you can make these worms yourself.
If you are looking for laughter, include a kitty litter cake recipe that will have your guest wondering if they should try it or not. The pure amazement or in some cases befuddlement will have guests enjoying the food that you have put together. Browse around online for some spirited recipes to enliven your party.
A fun Halloween party needs a theme, and it can be just about anything the mind can come up with. However, if you happen to be stumped, take a look at these ideas and get the ball rolling. How about a
Halloween Fun for Toddlers
Celebrating Halloween with toddlers brings a certain element of innocence to the mix. With a toddler, it may not be possible to go out and party like you normally would, and trick or treating can get tiresome for your toddler very quickly. Safety is always an issue with toddlers as they are very naive and can be scared very easily. Here are some top tips to keep your toddler safe and still enjoy the holiday.
* Avoid scary costumes. Children, especially toddlers, are prone to night frights. It is also very difficult, if not impossible, for toddlers to separate reality from the