gift idea

RUDOLPH NOSES (As requested by Drew)

/ Katie P. Tolley, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC / 1 Comment

Rudolph Noses are the delicious blending of pretzels, chocolate kisses, and M&Ms… Oh, it’s so tasty…

IMG_6151We were given these treats years ago from my BFF, Michelle. She makes all kinds of tasty goodies. Drew has since named them Rudolph noses. We’ve been making them for a couple years now, and give them as gifts to teachers and friends.

Drew thought it would be a great idea for me to share how to make Rudolph Noses with all my Mom’s Daily Dose friends. So, here you go…

  1. Use small twist pretzels, lay them flat on a cookie sheet.IMG_6149
  2. Unwrap lots of Hershey’s Kisses, eat a few and put the rest on top of the pretzels as in the picture above.
  3. Put in the oven at 350F for 2 minutes.
  4. After you remove them from the oven, push an M&M into the middle of the Hershey’s Kiss.
  5. Let cool over an hour before trying to store them. They will be gooey for quite a while. This is a good time to taste them to see if they are too gooey to store. 😉

If you’ve never enjoyed the blending of salty pretzels, milk chocolate, and crunch candy coated M&Ms, you just don’t know what you’re missing. These are always a hit. Hope you get a chance to make them sometime soon.

I’m hoping to share a few more tasty treats throughout the Holidays, so stay tuned.

Here’s to hoping you and yours Enjoy the journey this holiday season!!

 

One way to make ’em smile… Pets!

/ Katie P. Tolley, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC / Leave a comment

I have to tell you about the latest additions to our family! We brought home 2 little kittens today!! Drew and Josh are so excited! They chased the babies around the house for the first hour; until they realized that it would work better to sit and let the babies come to them. Initially, we planned on getting Drew a kitten for her birthday a few weeks ago. As we waited the couple weeks the kittens needed to get bigger before leaving the shelter, we decided we needed 2! Getting a pet for each kid in the house sounded like a better idea. Yes, dogs are nice, but, we don’t have the time at home that a dog requires right now, and in the past we have contemplated gerbils or hamsters. We have even had a few fish and hermit crabs, but that didn’t end well. Kittens are what we decided would fit best into our family.

Every kid needs a pet! It teaches a little bit of responsibility. Yes, I know I will be the one doing all the work, but a Mom can dream can’t she. 😉 Pets also give unconditional love, what more could we ask for!?! When children are stressed or down, a pet can be great therapy. Having a companion that is always there with unconditional love is very heartwarming. Having a loving pet to cuddle with can help improve self esteem and self confidence, that’s a win-win situation. And, having a kitten to snuggle and cuddle with really does make the kids smile! Drew has been giggling for hours now. Tonight, Josh and Drew are both in their respective beds, with kittens laying next to them, it’s just priceless!!

Josh has decided to name his kitten “Kwai”. This is a slant from Kawai, which means “cute” in Japanese. Josh is my out of the box thinker, so researching a name took days for him. I must emphasize the word research, because that is exactly what he did. He spent time on the computer looking up different words and their meanings. Josh has taken to Japanese ever since his fascination with Bey Blades, I’m sure most mothers of boys can relate to this phase. Josh has decided he wants to learn Japanese, and I guess this is the beginning…

Drew named her kitten “Jules”. This came from one of her favorite movies, Rio. There is a bird named “Jewel” in the Rio movie. She has asked for a blue macaw, but, that just wasn’t going to happen. We told her the bird would be living here longer than she would. So, when she first started talking about names she came up with Julie. This was very interesting because we live on property that my great-grandfather first purchased and developed in the late 1930’s, and his wife’s name was Julia. Coincidence?? hummm?? I think not… makes you wonder, now doesn’t it. Well, it makes me wonder who is still wondering around this place! It warms my heart and makes me smile. My cousin, Julie, who lives 3,000 miles away in Cali thinks it’s just a great name. You can guess where her name came from, now can’t ya?

Well, all I can say is, adding a pet to the family is a great idea. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while, but the timing hadn’t been right until recently. Me getting my masters, kids too young, but now that the kids are 6 and 10, it works perfectly. And, as I said, one way to make ’em smile is to get a pet! Kids love animals, and animals (usually) love kids. They just go great together, kind of like peanut butter and jelly. So, as you travel along this exciting journey called parenthood, Get A Pet!! Get whatever pet works for your family, it really doesn’t matter what it is to the kids. You will be glad you did, and your kids will be glad you did too! Just ask anyone that has a pet, and they will agree, no doubt about it!

So, if you want to make ’em smile….Get a Pet for the family to enjoy!!

As always, I’m hoping you Enjoy the Journey!! 😉

“I Got Mail!!” A Cool Gift Idea

/ Katie P. Tolley, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC / 2 Comments

Remember when you were a kid, and there was mail for you! It was so fun and it made you happy! Much different from the junk mail and bills we receive as an adult. It gets less fun as we grow up. 😉 I wanted to share a birthday gift idea our family has been doing for years now.

Send a magazine subscription to your friends for their birthday!

Most kids have plenty of toys, and really don’t need more. You don’t always know what toys friends do or don’t have. I remember being embarrassed more than once when my kids were given a gift and they would say, “Oh, I already have that.” Most parents get tired of picking up, and making their kids pick up toys.

Most kids magazines will come 10-12 times a year. Most of the kids magazines I have come across range from $15 – $20 per year. There are plenty to choose from: Nat Geo Kids, Ranger Rick, Ladybug, and Zoobooks, just to name a few. There are different magazine options for different ages too. Zoobooks has a 3 different magazines, 0-2 yrs, 2-6 yrs, and 6-12 yrs. National Wildlife Federation sponsors Ranger Rick (7-14 yrs), Our Big Backyard (4-7 yrs) and Animal Baby (2-4 yrs). Animal Baby is perfect for the preschool age group. Drew Elizabeth still has many of her Animal Baby magazines, and now that she is learning to read, loves going back to them because they are easy enough for a beginning reader!

 Just order the subscription online, and get a birthday card or make a birthday card to take to the party and write that the magazine subscription is on its way! Many subscriptions will take approximately 4 weeks to arrive. Some kids aren’t too excited when they get the card, but once the first magazine arrives, the excitement of receiving a gift reappears!

I remember one friend telling me that her daughter would get excited and say, “My magazine from Josh is here!” Another friend told me that her son loved Animal Baby, and would talk about Drew giving it to him every time it came in the mail.  A few friends have even asked for a renewal subscription as a gift the next year for their birthday.

So, as you celebrate with friends along this journey, remember that magazines are a fun and educational gift idea that continues to give all year long! I hope this idea is helpful as you continue along your parenting journey! 😉

zoobooks-tigers

 

National Geographic Kids