Tips

Father’s Day: Stay In and Make Dad One of These Scrumptious Recipes

Posted on June 17, 2016

For Father’s Day, people sent me a bunch of great recipes that readers can consider whipping up for dad in lieu of taking him out to eat and spending a fortune at a restaurant.

Why not start dad’s day with breakfast in bed? Need a recipe or can’t decide what unique or non-traditional thing to whip up for dear old dad? Don’t worry. Check out this old Mode post I dug out the past with 40 Breakfast recipes.

From the folks at Finlandia Cheese, there is this yummy recipe for Bistro Swiss Cheese Pizza with Sausage.

Spicy sausage and sweet cherry tomatoes are paired with our creamy, nutty Swiss Cheese and baked to crispy perfection. Served with a lightly dressed salad, this is a deliciously easy weeknight meal. INGREDIENTS 1 (8 ounces) pkg mild or hot Italian sausage 1 large prepared pizza crust 1 cup Finlandia Swiss cheese, shredded Chopped Cherry tomatoes 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice sausage into small thin slices. Cook until browned; drain, approximately 10 minutes. Sprinkle dough with shredded cheese, spread sausage evenly on dough. Top with cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Yum!

They also offered up a recipe for making Brisket Grilled Cheese. INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons Finlandia butter* 1 clove garlic, minced, crushed or chopped fine 2 slices sour dough bread enough thinly sliced & heated brisket to cover one piece of the bread – don’t skimp but you also don’t want too much 2 slices Finlandia* cheddar cheese 2 slices Finlandia* jack cheese 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce – the mayo kind, not the grainy ‘prepared’ kind DIRECTIONS Put butter and garlic in a small bowl – mix well On one slice of bread, spread the horseradish sauce, add 2 slices of cheese, then the heated brisket, then the other slices of cheese, then top with last slice of bread Spread half the butter/garlic mixture on the bread and cook in a hot non-stick pan until golden brown Butter top side, flip and continue cooking until the bottom is golden as well Eat – but not too quickly even though you’ll want to *Finlandia butter is available at select COSTCO locations and other fine retailers.

I was intrigued by a sushi burrito recipe on Hampton’s Creek‘s YouTube channel of healthy recipes. I am definitely going to try this out!

How about a Father’s Day Barbecue? Here are all the dishes that must be included.

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Tips

Eco-Friday: 14 Apps to Help You Monetize Extra Stuff & Rooms in Your Home

Posted on June 17, 2016

You got lots of stuff in your home and all that extra items and even extra space could make you extra cash. What a great eco-friendly way to upcyle and reuse the old than to sell some of it of it for cash?!

Mortgage payments, property taxes and utility fees can pile up every month to put a considerable ding in our bank accounts. But an enterprising homeowner with a laptop and a smartphone can quickly turn every room in his or her home into an avenue for extra cash. There are dozens of amazing new apps and online services that let you find creative new ways to monetize the extra space in your home.

Check out this infographic which offers some great ideas:

Tools to Monetize Extra Space in Your Home Created By: Homes.com

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12 Last Minute Father’s Day Gift Ideas for Under $100

Posted on June 16, 2016

Father’s Day is this Sunday. If you’re scrambling for a gift and worried you wont’ find the perfect gift in time, calm down. You’ve got a few options.

Fortunately, if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can get same, next or two-day delivery for free. Or if not, you can still get a gift in time if you select one now.

Here are some items we saw and like:

Got a dad who loves music? Amazon Tap – Alexa-Enabled Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a good bet. It is a portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enable speaker that gives users rich, full-range sound. Dad simply taps on the microphone button and asks for a song, artist or genre. The Tap can stream from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Tidal and more. It’s about $99 on sale. Get it before the price jacks back up!

For that gamer dad, Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition is perfect. It comes with Amazon Fire TV, Game Controller, two games, and a 32 GB microSD card for expanded storage, and includes two games ($24.98 value) – award-winning Shovel Knight and critically-acclaimed Disney DuckTales: Remastered. Dad can take his gaming to the next level with the included Fire TV Game Controller. It is designed to fit comfortably in his hands with precise and responsive controls. Or, he can enjoy private listening using the headphone jack with Dolby Audio support.
For that DIY self dad, the Dewalt Lithium-Ion Compact Drill/Driver Kit is a good bet. This streamline drill is convenient and has everything dad needs for a weekend project and also runs $99 on sale now for Dad’s Day.
For the dad who loves premium and superior sound, get him Beats Solo2 Wired On-Ear headphones in black. It too is going for $99 right now and can be delivered by Saturday if you order soon.
For that dad who would love to mix up his work wardrobe with some happiness, Happy Socks has a very nice gift kit of three awesome and colorful socks for $40.

For that lover of Star Wars, how cute is this BB8 car charger? It is definitely a unique gift and costs $39.99 at ThinkGeek.

If getting something delivered is out of the question, consider a digital or online gift.

For a dad who just got his first DSLR camera or is eager to learn how to master his photography skills, get him this $59 online Photography Master Class.

For the dad who has always wanted to build a new shed, there is an online How to Build a Shed training course he can be gifted for justg $37. Not bad.

The gamer dad who loves race driving and wants the next best thing to being in a Formula 1 or an Indy race care, there is this Virtual Reality Race Car Game he can play online, also for $37

Does dad want to get rippedd in no time flat and cut corners but without pills and spending hours in the gym doing cardio? Consider gifting him Muscle Matrix. The trainer that produces this series promises to show his online clients a muscle building hack he discovered through trial and error before becoming a celebrity trainer himself. It costs $47.

How to Make Wine Make Homemade Wine Winemaking at Home

Is dad a lover of fine wine? Then a Wine making course for $17 could be his thing. This particular one is down from over $100! Wow!

For a more traditional gift, which is over the $100 budget, we like the toughest watch around. Reactor makes the world’s most durable and progressive sport watches. The Titan was designed to be the toughest watch on the market to meetthe grueling needs of men in the military, law enforcement and the avid outdoorsmen. It is a bit steeper and goes from between $299 to $499 depending on the style.

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Potty Train Your Toddler FAST These 30 Blogs

Posted on June 15, 2016

Potty is a major milestone for your toddler, one that almost always requires a significant amount of patience and a bit of guidance for the parents and caregivers that are coaching them. Thanks to the Internet and the virtual village of experienced parents, childcare providers and childhood experts that maintain blogs, there’s a wealth of easily obtained information to be found. From preparation to bed-wetting help, here are thirty of the blogs that will help you turn your little one into a potty training success story.

Potty training is a major milestone for your toddler, one that almost always requires a significant amount of patience and a bit of guidance for the parents and caregivers that are coaching them. Thanks to the Internet and the virtual village of experienced parents, childcare providers and childhood experts that maintain blogs, there’s a wealth of easily obtained information to be found. From preparation to bed-wetting help, here are thirty of the blogs that will help you turn your little one into a potty training success story.

Potty Training Preparation

As with so many things in life, the level of success that you and your child will experience is largely contingent upon your level of preparation. Getting your little one ready to transition out of diapers requires some advance planning, as these bloggers can attest.

Potty Training For Boys

Potty training a little boy presents a unique set of challenges for moms and female childcare providers, which might be why old wives’ tales assert that potty training a boy is more difficult than it is with little girls. These five blog posts tackle the issue of potty training from the little boy perspective, helping parents and caregivers get their little guy out of diapers.

INSTEAD ANOTHER PACK OF DIAPERS, GET THIS KIT PROMISING TO HELP YOU TRAIN YOUR BABY IN 3-DAYS

Potty Training For Girls

Every little girl is different, and will have her own unique experience with potty training. However, dads and male caregivers may find it daunting to assume the task of helping her break free of the diapers. These five blogs focus on potty training methods specific to little girls, rather than general, gender-neutral insights.

Elimination Communication

Popularized by celebrities like Mayim Bialik, the elimination communication method of potty training begins during early infancy and relies upon a parent or caregivers ability to properly time diaper actions and to take cues from a baby’s behavior regarding the matter. Elimination communication is also referred to as “infant potty training.”

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How Growing Up without Your Mom Makes You a Kickass Mom

Posted on June 10, 2016

If you didn’t grow up with your mom because she passed away when you were young, she was unable to care for you and your siblings or she was uncaring or walked out on you or your dad, there’s a bright light out of this situation.

You may grow to become an even more resilient person and develop the determination to be even more present and available for your child or your future children. Larissa Krutewicz of Living in Color curated a few articles and essays addressing this issue.

It’s all about how growing up without a mom makes you a Badass one. Read on:

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First Time Parents to Be: The 10 Tasks You’ll Have to Master Before Baby Arrives

Posted on June 10, 2016

Even if you have read all the books and been to all the classes, you cannot know exactly what it is like to be a parent until it actually happens. Every new parent encounters surprises and unexpected challenges. And while most of these challenges are easily overcome, they are quite serious given the fact that you now have a young human being’s life, comfort, and happiness in your hands. There is no reason to panic, though. Most new parents hit their stride within a couple of weeks, and the everyday tasks become second nature. But if you are preparing for the arrival of your first, here are ten tasks to be familiar with.

1. Feeding: If your baby will be breastfed, then this task falls largely upon the mother. However, there are numerous small things dad can do. He can bring the baby to the mother during those late night feedings. He can provide comfort and encouragement. He can also talk to the mother and attend to any of her needs while she is feeing. And if you will be feeding your baby formula, then obviously it is a job that mom and dad can share.

2. Bathing: Newborns do not need to be bathed very often as long as they are cleaned well with each diaper change. Since they are not yet crawling around on the floor or eating messy foods, they generally do not get dirty. There are a few ways to bathe newborns, the most popular ways being sponge bathing and bathing in special tubs for infants.

3. Shampooing: Many newborns are initially averse to being shampooed. We are used to it from doing it all our lives, so it is hard to imagine how strange it must feel to a baby. However, if you are gentle and use a tear-free shampoo, your baby should get used to it after just a couple of baths.

4. Burping: There are a few burping positions that tend to help babies get those air bubbles out of their stomachs. Holding the baby to your shoulder, face down on your lap, or sitting up on your knee are all common methods. All involve patting the baby gently on the back, though some babies need a little more firmness. With trial and error, you will find the best burping position for your baby.

5. Changing diapers: For new parents, the diaper-changing process is often the most daunting one, but within a week or two of having your baby you will be able to do it in your sleep (and sometimes this will not be too far from the truth). If you have all the supplies, including clean diapers, cotton balls, soft washcloths, clean clothes, and ointment or powder, the process becomes self-evident. Hopefully your childbirth class will take you through the process once or twice.

6. Dressing the baby: Getting the baby dressed is not quite as easy as one might think, because babies tend to move around, yet we must be gentle with them. That is why it is always a good idea to have loose baby clothes that can be taken off and put on easily.

7. Lifting and holding: When being held, babies like to be comfortable and fully supported. It takes time to adjust to the world outside the womb, so when carrying your baby, think of it this way: Your job is to make the baby warm and comfortable. Remember that her muscles are still undeveloped, and she needs help getting into a natural position.

8. Trimming nails: You will need special nail trimmers for babies. These are easy to find at any baby store or online. Most babies are born with long nails, and the nails grow surprisingly fast. Trim them every couple of days so that she does not accidentally scratch herself.

9. Swaddling: Babies love to be wrapped up tightly in a light blanket. This works for comforting babies who are crying, helping them get to sleep, and keeping them warm on cool days. Find a good set of instructions on swaddling the baby and practice a few times with a blanket and a doll.

10. Going out: Many new parents are surprised by how much anxiety they feel when going out with the baby for the first few times. Whether you are in a car or walking, there is just something strange about being out and about with a little one in tow. You will get used to it, though, and soon you will not think twice about it. Just make sure you have all your supplies on hand, including all your diaper-changing supplies, a change of clothes, a blanket, a pacifier, and baby sunscreen.

Get on it, parents!

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Fight Summer Brain Drain with These Fun Summer STEM Projects For Kids

Posted on June 8, 2016

Parents, are you scrambling about looking for camps, sporting activities and other projects for your children to engage in this Summer?

Brain drain is also a big issue for children during summer months when a lot of kids engage in mindless activities. If you would like to keep their mind sharp while doing some fun educational activities, we found some wonderful ideas from Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the U.S.. The organization has collaborated with some of the best teachers in the country and come up with a list of educational activities for kids to enjoy doing this summer.

Here are some ideas:

April Moon (@aprilsunshine77), Robert and Patricia Kern National Teacher of the Year – Waxahachie, TX, PLTW Engineering Master Teacher

1. Take a field trip to your local wastewater plant and / or water treatment facility. Tours are usually free but need to be scheduled beforehand. This is a great way for kids (and parents) to learn about water management processes and what we can do to help conserve water and properly care for our water resources. Water management systems involve many fields, including, but not limited to, biology, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and environmental engineering.

2. With so many products now being manufactured, many students do not get much experience with hand tools. One great summer project is to design and build a small structure with your kids, such as a dog house or a tree house. There are many design plans online that you can study before creating and building your own design!

3. Want a fun and educational adventure for the whole family? Visit a glass blowing studio to see demonstrations and / or take classes. This is a great way to experience the beauty of combining STEM with art through a creative manufacturing process!

4. Girls: Watch the TED Talk about Debbie Sterling (inventor and CEO of GoldieBLOX) about her journey as a female engineer and her quest to inspire young girls to pursue engineering.

Kelly Wheeler (@kwheeler_kelly), PLTW Launch Teacher of the Year – Menifee, CA

1. Roly Poly Adventures: Science Experiments with Pill Bugs! My daughter Madison is obsessed with roly polies! I found a great blog with wonderful science experiments to do with her over the summers using the Pill Bug!

2. Marble Run (Purchased Product) – My kids love the Marble Run. The set comes with curves, chutes, and wheels for the kids to design amazing marble runs!

Cardboard Boxes! There are so many fun things you can create with cardboard boxes to inspire the inner engineer in your child!

a. Design and build a car out of cardboard. Families could park their cars in the living room and enjoy a family night watching a movie in their own drive-in!

b. Design an arcade game! Get some inspiration from a 9-year-old boy named Caine who created his very own cardboard arcade. http://cainesarcade.com

c. Create a miniature golf course. Q-Tips and paper towel and toilet paper rolls work great!

4. Inventors Box!

My son Colin who is 10 loves to invent and create at home. This activity is inspired by him.

By having a “Tinker” Box at a child’s disposal it will encourage them to use their imagination and natural curiosity to design and build, not to mention it can also store all their items for building. I have a couple of rules for my kiddos at home: if it’s in the box, they can use it how they see fit in their designs. However, if there is something they want to use that is not in the box, they must ask for permission.

Items to include in the box: small boxes, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, yarn, egg cartons, empty butter tubs, broken toys, old toy parts, tape of all kinds, empty cereal boxes, white glue,glue sticks, paper clips, string, left over craft materials, construction paper, aluminum foil,plastic wrap, cotton balls, and any recycled materials around the house. The list could really go on and on. Make sure all materials are safe for children to use.

One fun idea for your child’s tinker box is to design a boat that can hold 10 to 20 pennies and then try to float it in the sink, bathtub, or small pool.

5. Books are always great ways to introduce students to STEM and their inner inventor. Here are a few of my kids’ favorites.

a. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Sprires

b. What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada

c. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Beth Fox (@bfox01), PLTW Gateway Teacher of the Year – Lenoir, NC

The Engineering Encounters Bridge Design Contest is an Internet-based competition that provides middle school and high school students with a realistic, engaging introduction to engineering. While the contest for 2016 has ended, you can still download the free softwareand try your hand at bridge design to get a leg up on next year’s competition!
Robot Virtual Worlds – Expedition Atlantis! Download this fun activity to learn how to code, incorporate math skills, and expand on your proportional reasoning skills!

Chris Hurd (@CazHSTechLabs), PLTW Engineering Teacher of the Year – Cazenovia, NY

Our local university, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), offers a “RoboCamp” that is great for students. They actually have a week long robotics camp, as well as weekend programs. Look up a university or college program like it close to you. What kid wouldn’t like to go away for the weekend or the week and delve into the world of robotics?

2. Attend a local “Rocket Launch”! See rockets large and small take to the skies on a monthly basis at a local rocket club’s launch site. The Syracuse rocket club hosts a monthly launch and invites the public to come and watch, and even build one and launch it with them! They meet monthly, and launch monthly, and their members come into my classroom for Tech Club to work with my students on a regular basis. I have a group of students right now building a 6’ tall, two-stage rocket that requires six engines and a license to launch!

3. Visit a local science museum or STEM-based museum to keep students’ interest piqued all summer long. Most have daily activities and lots of hands-on displays as well as an I-MAX theater.

Darwin Shorters (@MrShorters), PLTW Computer Science Teacher of the Year – Charleston, SC

1. Try your hand at the various tutorials on the MIT App Inventor website. Basic tutorials are great to start, and once you have a basic understanding, I suggest the QuizMe tutorial to help students understand the concept of List and how to use indexes to iterate through them.

Dr. Julye Adams (@DrJulyeAdams), PLTW Biomedical Science Teacher of the Year – Georgetown, KY

STRETCH your body. Use stretching techniques to become more flexible. Then research the changes in your ligaments and muscles that have to happen for you to become more flexible. Record your observations.
Design your own toothbrush. What do you wish could be better about your current toothbrush? What issues do you see with it? Design a better version and test it. Record the steps you took to identify the problem, design a new toothbrush, and your final observations in a notebook.
Investigate a “crime.” Ask your parents to set up a mock crime scene. Then make observations and deductions from the scene to determine what happened.

4. Collect water samples from different areas in your house and backyard. Look at small drops with a high magnification magnifying glass. Do you see anything moving? Then research the various things contained in water.

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Father’s Day: 10 Apps for Stay-At-Home Dads

Posted on June 7, 2016

Apple’s powerful iPhone is one of the most popular mobile devices on the market and is widely celebrated for its ability to help busy professionals streamline their lives and boost their productivity. Working as a stay at home dad is definitely a full-time job and the iPhone can help you manage all of the different responsibilities that come with it. These 10 apps are effective tools for dads who stay home with their children and act as a primary caregiver, offering plenty of advice, tips and assistance along the way.

Parenting Ages & Stages – Parenting Magazine is a beloved and trusted resource for parents. Now, their advice, tips and useful parenting information is available through this free app, which is fully customizable and will provide you with age-appropriate developmental advice and information about various milestones.
Library Locator – If you can surmount the obstacle of helping a little one to understand the importance of being quiet in the library, a world of wonder and imagination opens up for her. With this free app, you’ll be able to find all of the libraries in your area, hitting every Story Hour along the way!
ICE (In Case of Emergency) – When an emergency or crisis strikes, information that you know like the back of your hand can escape you. That’s where this powerful free app comes in handy, allowing you to store all of your emergency contacts and other relevant information. When you need to access your child’s blood type, allergy information or a list of medications he’s on, it’s all at the tips of your fingers with ICE.
CBS Sports – Keeping up with the score isn’t always easy when there are little ones to attend to. Thankfully, this free app will allow you to follow all of your favorite teams, accessing scores, stats, news and highlights while managing your parenting duties.
Habit Changer® Feeding Your Kids – Making sure that your children eat well and learn to make good dietary choices as they get older is a very important part of successful parenting. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most complicated. This free app will help you instill good eating habits and reverse less healthy ones though a series of small changes.
Chore Bank – When kids are expected to complete a list of regular chores, it can help them learn a sense of responsibility that will follow them well into adulthood. This $1.99 app not only helps stay at home dads keep up with which chores have been assigned and which are completed, but also any allowances or spending money earned.
WebMD – Knowing when to treat at home and when to consult a professional can be both confusing and a bit frightening. When your child’s health is in question, you’ll want a respected and trusted resource. That’s where the free WebMD app comes into play, loaded with features like Symptom Checkers, Drug Information and First Aid Essentials.
Find My iPhone – Even if you try to keep your iPhone away from little fingers, there will inevitably come a time when a child is so entranced with your expensive device that she can’t resist. Unfortunately, that’s usually also when she’ll misplace it somehow. This free app helps you locate one missing iOS device by using another.
The Weather Channel® – Planning a big, exciting outing only to be foiled by rain because you forgot to check the weather forecast can make for very unhappy children, which is why this free app should have a place on your iPhone. Get not only up-to-the-minute forecast information, but also push alerts for severe weather and high pollen levels.
SimplyNoise – Dads who have discovered the magic of a car ride or washing machine know the power of white noise to soothe a restless sleeper. This $0.99 app features high-fidelity white, brown and pink noise that can lull your little ones to sleep in no time.

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How a WAHM can Run her own ‘Camp Mom’

Posted on June 6, 2016

If you are like me and other work at home moms out there, you kind of dread Summer a bit because it means you will be responsible for keeping your children busy, entertained and intellectually stimulated so they don’t have too much Summer brain drain. You will have to do all that while managing your work obligations. Oy vey!

Many send their children to summer camps but a lot of camps only operate on a week or two-week increments and they can get very costly. To ease the challenge, it is a good idea to establish a strict schedule that includes work time, play time, and other activities in between. Without a routine, your work or project obligations can suffer and you risk having your kids play video games and watch TV all day.

I’m re-sharing some suggestions of activities I came up with:

Use the morning to institute some reading or math drills time.

If you live near a library, use its facilities and take advantage of their summer reading challenges.

Go to the craft or dollar store and pick up supplies and incorporate an hour on some days for crafts.

Use card or board games for non-electronics hours.

Do outdoor activities close to home like make visits to the local park. My middle kid, who is a nature and animal lover, enjoys heading down to our town creek and exploring the dragonflies and frogs. My eldest likes riding his bike around the block and my youngest enjoys playing make-believe with her My Little Pony toys in the front yard.

Tack on active play time as well. Take a trip to a local tennis or basketball court. Toss the softball in the backyard. We go on a half mile loop in our town and stop periodically to do jumping jacks, burpees, situps and pushups in the evening. It’s a great way to stave off the summer excess weight gain as well.

Plan trips to the beach at least once during the summer.

Incorporate treks to the pool on a twice a week basis if you can.

If the budget allows, family visits to the roller rink, go cart track or cultural museums are other things you can do.

Here is the schedule I created for myself and hope to follow stringently. I’ve tried to allocate enough time in between for transitioning from activity to activity and made sure I put in ample time to work. You are free to use it to specialize your own schedule. Good luck and have fun!

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Father’s Day Countdown: Best and Worst Movie Dads

Posted on June 5, 2016

Bellyitch

Just in time for Father’s Day, Zimbio assembled a very cute list of the best and worst TV movies along with a short little explanation of what made them get that designation. My faves among the list

BEST TV DADs

Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird

Universal Pictures

Played By: Gregory Peck

Year: 1962

Key Quote: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood

Columbia

Played By: Laurence Fishburne

Year: 1991

Key Quote: “Any fool with a d— can make a baby, but only a real man can raise his children.”

Bryan Mills in Taken

Fox

Played By: Liam Neeson

Year: 2008

Key Quote: “If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you,

THE WORST

Norman Osborn in Spider-Man

Sony

Played By: Willem Dafoe

Year: 2002

Key Quote: “You’re weak. You were always weak and you will always be weak until you take control!”

Dr. Evil in Austin Powers

New Line Cinema

Played By: Mike Myers

Year: 1997

Key Quote: “Kill the little bastard. See if I care.”

Melvin “Mel” from Baby Boy

Columbia

Played By: Ving Rhames

Year: 2001

Key Quote: “Deal with your son…Deal with him before I kill him!”

Check out the full list HERE!

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