Since we are coming off a week full of snow days due to Snowmageddon 2016, you can be sure every single parent will be searching for things to do with their kids to break this cabin fever. While Washington, DC seems like the perfect place to visit during the spring or summer, there are tons of awesome family activities to keep you and your little ones entertained in the winter. To see my list of things to do with kids in DC during the winter, click right here!
Archives for January 2016
How to Prepare Your Car for Winter
If you live on the east coast and you are still digging yourself out from the latest snowstorm, I’m right there with you! But it seems like we have some time before another round of snowstorms hit us, so now is a good time to take a look at your car to make sure it’s ready to handle the wear and tear that winter can have on your car. Click right here to find out my list for the best ways to prepare your car for winter.
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Copyright: Julia Eisenberg
Winter Driving Tips for Teens
Growing up in South Western PA meant that when it was time for me to get my driver’s license, I needed to learn how to drive in snow and ice because I could expect months of frigid temps and Mother Nature’s harsh winters every year. Even before your teens leave the driveway, there is a lot they should know and inspect. Before you hand your teen the keys to the car during the winter, make sure they know all of these important tips. Click right here to be magically transported to the article.
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Copyright: Ben VanderVeen
Winter Car Life Hacks
Brrrrrrrrrr……. when it’s cold outside the LAST thing I want to do is get into the car and drive anywhere. However, staying inside until spring just isn’t an option around here. However, I’ve got a few easy and effective car life hacks that are perfect for winter. I’ll show you how to clear up foggy winters for good, a quick way to get inside a car that has a lock or door frozen, and an easy DIY de-icer for your windshield. So until winter is over, let’s just stay inside and drink lots of hot coco and if you do have to leave, try out these hacks! Click right here to be magically transported to the article!
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Copyright: Joanna Kopik
The Best Snacks to Pack Your Kids for a Car Trip
On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again. Are you singing with me? Good, I knew I liked you! My kids are snackers. All day long they graze and snack and graze and snack. So when we are in the car, it’s the same thing: snacks, snacks, snacks. Unfortunately the easiest snacks for car trips aren’t always the healthiest. But with a little planning and extra care when packing, you’ll keep those tiny bellies full and you’ll feel better about their snack options too. So if you are headed out on a long car trip with the family or you have kids that like to have a snack while you travel here, there, and everywhere, here’s a few ideas for the best snacks to pack for your kids on car trips. Click right here to be magically transported to the article!
11 Incredibility Easy Baking Life Hacks
You know, genetics are a funny thing. My mom and I look so much alike, it actually shocks people. I haven’t lived in my hometown since I was 18, but when I visit my parents, a rando stranger will walk up to me and ask “Are you Kim’s daughter?” I open my mouth and let out one of those powerful mom yells, and it’s not my own voice that comes out, it’s my mother’s! However, while I may be twinning with my sweet Mamma, where genetics failed me is that my mom is an amazing and creative bakers, I am talentless and hopeless baker. Sigh. But I so want to be a good baker and my kids love to bake, so I have some simply clever life hacks to me less disastrous when baking and make
Sometimes a recipe calls for soften butter and usually I forget to take that stick out of the fridge before I start baking, but don’t fret and try this hack. To soften butter and bring it to room temperature in just a few minutes start by placing the amount of butter you need for the recipe on a dish (if you cut it up first it will work faster). Fill a glass with super, hot water and let it sit for a minute or two. Dump the water out, quickly wipe out the remaining water and place the glass over the butter you have on the dish. In about two-three minutes, your butter is room temperature, soft and ready for baking. This method is better than sticking it in the microwave because it doesn’t melt your butter and you won’t end up with hot spots.
If you want to create intricate designs or five cookies or cupcakes faces, don’t try to use the icing in a tube. Use a plastic syringe (the kind you use to give kids medicine) filled with icing to decorate cookies and cupcakes with precision! This is perfect for drawing faces and adding details even if you don’t have a steady hand and I love doing with kids because they can decorate and not squeeze the entire tube off icing on a cookie.
Decorate your desserts like a professional by using cookie cutters or PlayDoh cutters as stencils for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Gently place the cookie cutter on the dessert and add sprinkles inside the cutters. This is great for numbers and shapes likes stars.
Feeling fancy? Give your cookies and cupcakes a sophisticated look by putting a piece of lace over the dessert and shaking powdered sugar on top. It leaves a beautiful design.
Slice a cake perfectly by running the knife under hot water for a few seconds, wipe the knife off, and watch and it slides right through the cake!
Save money by buying white icing and use Jell-O to color and flavor regular frosting. Yummy!
Need sprinkles? Make your own by adding a scoop of granulated sugar into a bowl and add a few drops of food coloring. Place on a baking sheet and bake for ten minutes in a 350* oven.
If your cake is crumbling while you are trying to ice it, place your cake in the freezer for twenty minutes to create a sturdy cake that won’t crumble under the pressure of adding icing.
Need Buttermilk for your recipe but don’t have any? Here’s an easy fix! Stir one cup milk with one tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar and let it get to room temperature (around ten minutes) and there you go!
I have bags of brown sugar in my pantry and fridge and they are hard as a brick, but not anymore!
Add a slice of apple into an airtight container and in a few hours, the brown sugar will soften. Putting a wet paper towel in a bowl with the sugar in the microwave for 20-30 seconds works too. You can also store the brown sugar with a slice of white bread and it will keep the sugar soft, won’t affect the taste, and they bread won’t get moldy.
Have a recipe that calls for confectioner’s sugar but don’t have any? Put granulated sugar in a blender under it has a powdery consistency and you are ready to go!
The only rule to using these hacks, is if you bake something yummy, you HAVE to share with me, OK?