What’s Missing?

Start your family meal off right with the What’s Missing game. You can find this game as well as many others in the Original Family Dinner Games.

What’s Missing?

• One person closes his or her eyes

• Everyone else takes one item from the table (salt, napkin, fork) and hides it in their lap. Then the first person opens his or her eyes and tries to guess what’s missing.

• Alternative: Try having only one person take an item off the table and the others closing their eyes. The first person to guess what’s missing wins and gets to take the next item.

Angel Hair Pasta with Olive Oil and Sautéed Vegetables

Ingredients

Cook the pasta according to the box directions. In a small saute pan, add the olive oil, garlic, salt, and Italian seasonings and sauté until the garlic is slightly browned. Add your vegetables and sauté for another minute or two until cooked. Mix with pasta and serve.

Helpful Hints and Tips

Save time by buying the pre-minced garlic in a jar rather than the whole cloves. This will save time by avoiding the peeling and chopping. You can usually find the pre-minced garlic in your vegetable aisle.

Make family meal preparation easy and less stressful with either our monthly family meal planner or our new weekly meal planner.

Summer Memories Picture Frame

By Rondi Hillstrom Davis

Use this picture frame as a Father’s Day gift or to showcase favorite photos from your summer vacation.

Ingredients
Compact Disk Case
Salt Dough (see recipe below)
Saucepan
2 Photos
Scissors
Paint

Directions

• Trim your photos to 5 inches square.

• Place the photos, back to back, inside the CD case and close.

• Use the salt dough to make a standing base for your frame.

• Stir over low heat until thick and rubbery.

• Remove from heat. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of wax paper until cool enough to handle.

• To make a base for your frame, roll out a piece of dough about 6 inches long and 1 inch thick.

• Press the edge of the CD case halfway into the dough to make a standing base.

• Use the remaining dough to decorate the edges of the frame. You can also press beads or sequins into the dough.

• Allow the frame to air dry. Depending on the humidity, this may take several days.

• When dry, paint the frame.

Salt Dough Recipe

About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that’s jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com

Back to School Strategies and Printables

Start the new school year off right with these back to school strategies and printables.

• Get your act together by making a list of everything you need to get done and buy. You can use our free back to school do list and buy list

• Ease your stress by not waiting until the week before school starts or worse yet after school has begun to buy school supplies. Avoid the crowds and the picked over bins and go early. You can also help your school by shopping at either Target or Office Depot for your supplies. Both of them will make a donation to your local school for every purchase you make.

• Save money by not spending money on school supplies you already have at home. Before heading out to buy supplies, quickly go through your items at home to see what you can re-use including notebooks, scissors, rulers, backpacks and lunch boxes.

• Avoid schedule conflicts by making sure your family calendar is up to date with everyone’s schedule including work commitments, doctor appointments, and extra-curricular activities.

• Encourage the kids to take ownership of their homework and responsibilities by using chore charts,  checklists, or reminder notes.

• Begin thinking through your routines and strategies, so that everyone can start the school year off on the right foot.

I’ve Become One of THOSE People

I like to pretend I’m laid back and easy going. You know the kind, the person that doesn’t sweat the small stuff, worry about deadlines, or doesn’t need a “do list” to get the most basic things in life accomplished. And every year I pretend I’m one of the laid back cool people by scoffing at the people in Target buying school supplies at the end of July. Saying to myself in my cool laid back way, it’s only July! School doesn’t start for another month! These people are crazy! Are they really that busy that they have to buy school supplies a month in advance?

And so I wait in my cool laid back way until a week before school starts and causally stroll into my local Target with four kids in tow to buy school supplies which are probably going to end up costing me $200. And suddenly my cool easy going demeanor slowly melts to the floor as I become overwhelmed with the crowds of parents and kids clustered around the very depleted and picked over bins of school supplies. Everyone of us trying to read through our lists, keep track of kids, and maintain a sense of politeness. Grabbing whatever we can that is even remotely similar to the “suggested supplies” provided by the school, calling our friends on our cell phone in a panic over glue sticks hoping they bought enough for both of you, and trying to convince your 10 year old daughter that the Barbie folders they have left really are cool. Every 5th grade girl will have one!

And so this year I finally admitted that I really am one of THOSE people, you know the kind, the uptight, “do list” or die kind of people. And humbly walked into Target along with the other uptight, “do list” or die kind of people a full 40 days before the start of school. And we very calmly and casually (well as calmly as possible with four kids in tow) bought our supplies. There were no mom melt downs in the store, frantic calls to my friends, or arguments over the Barbie folders. Just peace, calm, and the sad realization that I really am one of THOSE kinds of people.