Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

What you need

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter @ room temperature
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla



0. Preheat oven to 375 F
1. Stir flour, baking soda, salt & set aside.

2. Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add peanut butter and both sugars, beat well. Add egg, vanilla and beat well.

3. Add dry ingredients on low and beat until mixed. Don't pour all the dry ingredients in at once - divide into 2-3 batches, pour & mix and then pour some more, etc. It'll save your arms some trouble.

4. Shape into 1 inch balls. If you like, you can roll these in granualted sugar and you'll get pretty sugar crystals on top of the cookies, but this sugar is additional to the 1/2 c in this recipe.

 

5. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Make criss-crosses with a fork. Don't push too hard or your cookies will spread thin. Use the tip of the fork to get the mark with minimum pressure.

6. Bake @ 375 for 10 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan and continue to cool on rack - if they last that long.

PBK acrylic containers

So despite the high price, I bought a set of acrylic containers for our preschooler's lunchbox from Pottery Barn Kids. The description said "the tight fitting lids make them perfect to toss in backpacks or beach bags". Um... were you talking about the drinking bottles?

We've had this set for about a month now, and of course they weren't used daily - maybe once a week? Twice at most. But the lids are no longer tight and I have to put a rubber band around it to make sure it won't go loose in the bag (so much for tossing into any bag, unless you want your food rolling around in it).

It cost $16.50 for all three (the sandwich sized container & two smaller containers) plus the incredible California tax of nearly 10%, and is doing far less than the iKea containers that sell for$4.99 for 17 containers (and that I got for free while attending a church picnic). Less pretty but at least it holds its lid.

Clothing labels

Looking for a neat way to label preschoolers' clothing, lunchboxes, etc etc has been another chore for me until I came upon these labels called Stitkins.

I have tried using Sharpie markers and other permanent markers on plastic lunch containers and clothing labels which presented several problems:

(1) Plastic containers: They wash off in about 3 washes. Meaning they disappear. They start to fade with one wash. So it turns out, the markers are not really permanent after all (they're only permanent on surfaces where you don't want them to be!).

(2) Clothing labels: It bleeds as you write, so you have to write really big but the labels are really small. And what about all these brands that don't have labels to start off with? Do you mean for me to just write on the cloth??!!

(3) Shoes: Similar to the plastic containers. Doesn't last very long, especially on the crocs.

But Stitkins come in a variety of sizes, do not need ironing, and last in the dishwasher and laundry (apparently for 10+ washes. I will test exactly how long they last!). I am looking forward to NOT rewriting every three days.

Jammy Sammys

May has been a slow month. I was beginning to wonder myself if I had run out of new things to buy! But alas - after putting the kid in school, I finally had a chance to stroll through the aisles of Whole Foods without distractions (e.g., carrying a kicking and screaming two-year old) and rediscover the joys of shopping.

My current obsession is with packing preschool lunches. This is a chore and it also feels like the mom is being evaluated when the teacher notes everything you pack for your kid every day. So I was perusing the aisles for easy but healthy foods that I could pack, that the kid would actually eat. This is when I ran into Revolution Foods Jammy Sammys.

I am passionate about peanut butter. I love Reese's peanut butter cups and I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches (with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Trust me, it makes a difference). I have been this way for as long as I can remember. I can't say the same for jelly - that is, until I discovered Goober Grapes. (Research shows... this product was first made in 1968. But then, why was it so popular in the 80's?) Then my love of PB&J evolved into a desperate love affair with the Smuckers Uncrustables, which I am devouring at the speed of at least one a day, minimum.

So although preschool is a nut free zone, I couldn't help but notice this promise of snack-sized PB&J treats that are organic and supposedly healthy. The kid often naps in the car, so I convinced myself it would make for a good snack on the way back home. I couldn't wait for the day to go by, so I had to open a packet and try one for myself.

HOW WRONG COULD I HAVE BEEN?!

I think it's really difficult to go wrong with peanut butter. But this was gross. I am clueless as to why Revolution Foods is so popular with foodie moms these days. There was no creamy peanut butter texture or the sweet nutty flavor. All you get is a very bland, gooky bar that is somewhat like a mini Nutrigrain bar but I mean, I think Nutrigrain would get upset at me for comparing it to this thing. It was soft to the touch, so your fingers sink into it, but there's no cream and just a strange colored jelly. Yuck, yuck yuck! I had to swallow a full bottle of water to get the texture/feeling out of my mouth.

Is this concept truly too good to be true? Can anyone please create a lighter, PB&J version of Nutter Butter please?

Toilet Seats for Potty Training

What an odd topic to move to - from BB creams to potty training! Welcome to the world of being a mom...

My son has been in toilet training for more than six months now. We haven't been pushing him - last summer, out of the blue, he mentioned that he had to go #2, I sat him on a toilet seat, and voila! Life became atleast 30% better for me :)

But there has been no progress since then (actually, some backwards progress which has gotten me into trouble because now I've become lazier about checking, and he sometimes goes without letting me know) and we've had more than enough time to evaluate our toilet seats.

We started with the Baby Bjorn, which I thought was a total rip off - $30 for a toilet seat cover? Come on! But this was six months ago, and I have total appreciation for their product (it's worth every penny).

Not only are the colors fun and vibrant (we are now using the red, but we've had the blue one as well and I think there's also one with a black trim), they also work well in terms of matching any kids' bathroom. It also has a dial in the back so you can adjust the seat to fit any toilet. (I've used this on multiple toilets, but for some reason, never needed to use it.) But the highlight of the design is in the little bump (if you look closely at the picture, you can see it) in the front center of the seat. Let me tell you why this bump is soooo verrry important!

The first time we traveled after he began potty training, of course I forgot to bring the toilet seat along. With the 3,000 other things I needed to pack, the toilet seat was the last thing on my mind! We were on vacation for 10 days, so we ran into the situation where, I didn't have a toilet seat and my son would not go without one (although it had been a couple of days since)! I of course rushed to the nearest Target to find a solution, and the only thing that I could find was The First Years soft toilet seat cover.

The First Years toilet seat was half the price of the Baby Bjorn, and although I wasn't too happy with the color (not so vibrant, medium toned blue - what if my kid is a girl and doesn't like blue?!) but at the same time, not only was this "temporary", it was also half the price. When I was originally shopping for toilet seats, I didn't even think about another brand, so I was pleasantly surprised to find almost the same thing for so much cheaper. (Okay, I know I'm supposed to be a conspicuous consumer, but $15 for a more vibrant colored toilet seat? I mean, even I would think twice.)

So I bring this back with me, sit my son on the seat, and it starts doing its magic. Ah, I breathe a sigh of relief. All of the sudden, a stream of pee is flowing out the front, the relief is nowhere to found, and you have a hysterical mom trying to minimize the damage and block the flow somehow. I never had this problem at home, and then it hits me. This new toilet seat does not have the bump!!

I don't know if this is an issue for little girls, but this is definitely a huge deal for me as a mother of a boy. Had I known this, I would have been more than willing to pay the atrocious amount they charge you for overnight shipping to get the Baby Bjorn instead (the Baby Bjorn toilet seat can only be found online or at certain specialty shops - which wasn't an option for us at the time, we were on vacation).

It is such a simple thing but makes a world of difference for parents. Seriously, I know some people think the whole Baby Bjorn thing is over-rated, but after that fiasco, I am sooo sticking to brands I trust, especially when it comes to children's products!

Kids' clothing - Zutano

Not to be rude, but to be completely honest, I've returned nine out of the ten clothing gifts I've received for my son. This leads me to believe that giving clothing gifts is, in general, a bad idea. (Gift cards? Don't worry, it's not rude or impersonal. I love this!) Every mom defines "quality" and "value" differently - whether it be brand, color, design, price, etc. My sister-in-law, for example, refused to let our niece wear anything pink when she was a baby, because pink made the baby appear to be pinker (you know how newborns are kind of pinkish). A friend had an issue with where buttons were placed. I, personally, have an issue with Armani Kids t-shirts, because the neckline is tiny and inelastic, and it turns my son's face into a squinty eyed monster when we try to pull it off before putting him in his bath. (To be fair, he enjoys this and doubles over laughing after looking at himself in the mirror, but I doubt this was what they were truly aiming for).

One of the very first clothing gifts I did keep was from my husband's PhD advisor. He has two little ones himself, which gives him a leg up, but still since every mom/dad is different that doesn't explain everything. We received a set of Zutano jacket (which is more like a cotton jersey cardigan) and pants, and since then, I've spent hundreds on this brand for my son with zero regrets! First of all, the cotton is really high quality - soft, light, and thin - and perfect for babies. Secondly, they place the buttons appropriately on t-shirts! So whether they sleep on their backs or play on their tummies, you don't want the buttons to press into their little bodies. They've placed the buttons on the shoulder running sideways, plus they are not difficult to button up or open. Finally, their prints, stripes, and solids come in color combinations that easily mix & match, so when they throw up or spill on a shirt, you don't have to a) change everything they're wearing 5 times a day or b) have your kid looking like a fashionista's nightmare (matching colors, please!).

The downside is that these things are not easy to find. They used to be sold in one of the tiny shops in downtown Ann Arbor, but that store has since closed down, and I am buying them online on various sites (http://www.comfykid.com/ is where I got started, but there are many more!).

Zutano is much cuter for the under 24mo crowd - now we've outgrown this size and I'm searching for a reliable replacement. If you're searching for the perfect baby shower gift (especially for me!), have a look.