charise's Profile

The after market seat protectors you can buy aren't recommended, by car seat safety experts. I don't see how this would be any different. It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's safe.

My husband has a hyphenated name. My mother-in-law hyphenated her name and all her children have the same last name. When my husband and I married, I heard all the jokes about multiple hyphens. I'm not sure who would think that is even an option. I mean, really?

I thought about it a long time. Do I just keep my maiden name? Do I take the hyphen? Do I hyphenate with my name and only one of my husband's names?

Ultimately, I decided to take my husband's name and keep my maiden name as my middle name. I knew we wanted children and it was important to me that we all have the same family name. My maiden name is very uncommon, however, so I may have chosen differently if my niece and nephew didn't have hyphenated last names. They'll continue on with the family name.

I kind of love how confused people are by my last name and how shocked they are that my husband came with a hyphen. It makes a great conversation starter.

We're selling a Gulliver in Albuquerque. If anyone is interested... we have it posted on craigslist.

My son is too young for peanut butter or nut butters, but I have several friends who are allergic to peanuts or other nuts. If you really like the pb&j bar idea, why not use sunflower butter? It tastes very close to peanut butter and I've never met anyone allergic to sunflower seeds. It's comparable in price too.

I think any finger food will work. In my experience, any food is kid friendly if it's cut small and in cute shapes. I love the fruit kabob idea and my niece loved hummus at that age.

I water bath can my pickled jalapenos with a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water without problems. Perhaps the difference is that I use salt? I know that salt helps preserve and keep bacteria at bay as well. I could see needing more vinegar when not using salt.

I agree with GDW. Cloth is much cuter!

I don't fine it gross, but a teddy bear??? What a waste of a precious resource. Encapsulating or burying under a tree I get, the rest, not so much.

I wonder if putting a few charcoal briquettes in the dryer (not with it on, obviously) and letting it sit a day or two would help? Charcoal absorbs odors really well.

To me, it's not a snickerdoodle without cream of tarter. They need that bite that cream of tarter provides.

I use an old Pillsbury recipe and they always come out chewy and stay that way until they are gone. Mine don't turn out so flat like the picture though. I'm surprised they stay chewy. In my experience, flat cookies dry out faster.

Polenta with poached eggs and greens sauteed with a little olive oil and some salt. If you are eating with your friend, you can add hot sauce to yours.

Pasta with butter and cheese. Plain, but safe.

Can your friend eat miso, mirin and soy sauce? I've made a great Japanese eggplant stirfry that has a sauce made of those. It does have onions and peppers in it, but those could be omitted and you could add a protein or other vegetables and serve with rice. I believe it's 2T of miso, 1T soy sauce and 1T of mirin. You could probably omit the mirin and a bit of water if necessary.