Best Places to Get Free Online Books

These days, good books are not just found in stores and in libraries. But, books, print or online, can be expensive. However, there are quite a few places to find great books online for free!

Check out these resources:

1. The Online Books Page
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

2.The Gutenberg Project
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/

3. Page by Page Books
http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/

4. Online Storytime by Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/online-storytime-books-toys/379003588/

5. Magic Keys Online Storybooks
http://www.magickeys.com/books/

6. Storytime for Me
http://storytimeforme.com/

While print books are best for snuggling in bed, online libraries are a great resource for new books and old favorites. A good way to expand your library for free!

Make Your Own 100 Calorie Snacks!

100 Calorie Snacks!

Eating right can be a challenge. And often, it is almost impossible to tell what is a correct serving size. Here is a list of snacks to satisfy every craving for 100 calories or less!

Happy Snacking!

1. Mini PB&F: One fig Newton with 1 teaspoon peanut butter.
2. Chocolate Banana: Half a frozen banana dipped in two squares of melted dark chocolate.
3. Frozen grapes (any color): 1 cup (about 28 grapes), stuck in the freezer for 2+ hours.
4. Honeyed Yogurt: ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt with a dash of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon honey.
5. Spiced Orange: One orange— about the size of a tennis ball— sprinkled with cinnamon.
6. Grilled Pineapple: 2 ¼-inch thick pineapple rounds (about 1 cup), grilled (or sautéed) for two minutes or until golden.
7. Berries n’ Cream: 1 cup blueberries with 2 tablespoons whipped topping.
8. Stuffed Figs: Two small dried figs with 1 tablespoon reduced-fat ricotta stuffed inside. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
9. Oats n’ Berries:  ⅓ cup rolled oats (cooked with water), topped with cinnamon and ¼ cup freshberries.
10. Dark Chocolate: One block, or three squares.
11. Nut-Stuffed Date: One Medjool Date filled with one teaspoon natural unsalted almond butter.
12. Chocolate Milk: 6 ounces skim milk mixed with 2 teaspoons chocolate syrup.
13. Cinnamon Applesauce: 1 cup unsweetened applesauce. Or, try this homemade version!
14. Citrus-Berry Salad: 1 cup mixed berry salad (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and/or blackberries) tossed with one tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice.
15. Maple-Pumpkin Yogurt: ½ cup non-fat regular yogurt (go Greek for extra protein!) with 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree and 1 teaspoon maple syrup
16. Chocolate Pudding: One 4oz package. Try a fat/sugar free version.
17. Chocolate Covered Strawberries: Five strawberries dipped in two squares melted dark chocolate.
18. Tropical Juice Smoothie: ¼ cup pineapple juice, orange juice, and apple juice, blended with ice.
19. Vanilla and Banana Smoothie: ½ cup sliced banana, ¼ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, and a handful of ice blended until smooth.
20. MYO Banana Chips: One sliced banana dipped in lemon juice and baked.
21. Baked Apple: One tennis ball-sized apple, cored, filled with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and cinnamon, and baked until tender.
22. Fruity Waffles: One 7-grain frozen waffle toasted and topped with ¼ cup fresh mixed berries.
23. Skinny S’more: Two graham crackers with one roasted marshmallow and one small square dark chocolate.
24. Cinnamon Graham Crackers & Peanut butter: Two graham cracker squares with 1 teaspoon peanut butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
25. Cereal and Milk: ½ cup rice krispies with ½ cup skim milk.
26. Milk n’ Cookies: Five animal crackers with ½ cup skim milk.
27. Warm Spiced Cider: 6 ounces apple cider with sprinkles of cinnamon and nutmeg, warmed.
28. Citrus Sherbet: ½ cup lime sherbet (about one standard-sized ice-cream scoop) with ½ sliced kiwi.
29. Café Latte: 8 ounces steamed skim milk with 1 shot espresso.
30. Jelly Beans: 25 of ‘em! 
31. Marshmallow Pear: ½ pear diced and topped with 1 tablespoon marshmallow fluff.
32. Protein Shake: One scoop protein powder with 8 ounces water (choose from tasty powder flavors like cookies n’ cream and chocolate peanut butter!).  
33. M.Y.O. Popsicle: 8 ounces lemonade frozen in an ice pop mold, or use a small paper cup as a mold.
34. Apple Chips: Munch on ¾ cup. You can use this recipe!
35. Carrots n’ Hummus: About 10 baby carrots with 2 tablespoons hummus.
36. Pistachios: A couple handfuls— about 25 nuts (Crackin’ them open will take more time and avoid grabbing 25 more).
37. Cheese n’ Crackers: Five Kashi 7-grain crackers with 1 stick reduced-fat string cheese.
38. Dippy Egg: One over easy egg with ½ slice whole-wheat toast, sliced (to dip in yolk!).
39. Cheesy Breaded Tomatoes: Two roasted plum tomatoes sliced and topped with 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
40. Curried Sweet Potato: One medium sweet potato (about 5 inches long) cooked for six minutes in the microwave and mashed with 1 teaspoon curry, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
41. “Cheesy” Popcorn: 2 cups air-popped popcorn with 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast— it’ll taste like real cheese!
42.  Guacamole stuffed Egg Whites: Halve a hardboiled egg, remove yolk, and stuff the empty space with 2 tablespoons guacamole (avocado, lime, cilantro and salt).
43. Grilled Spinach and Feta Polenta: 3 oz polenta (about the size of a deck of cards) cooked with 1 ½ cups water and topped with 1 teaspoon feta cheese and a handful spinach.
44. Soy Edamame: ¼ cup boiled Edamame with 1 teaspoon soy sauce.
45. Dijon Pretzels: Two pretzel rods with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
46. Crunchy Curried Tuna Salad: ½ cup canned tuna with 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 tablespoon chopped red onion, and two ribs celery (chopped).
47. Greek Tomatoes: One tomato (about the size of a tennis ball) chopped and mixed with 1 tablespoon feta and a squeeze of lemon juice.
48. Shrimp Cocktail: Eight medium sized shrimp boiled and served with 2 tablespoons classic cocktail sauce.
49. Smoked Beef Jerky: About 1 ounce— look for low sodium versions!
50. Cheddar and Tomato Soup: ½ cup tomato soup with 1 tablespoon shredded low-fat cheddar cheese.
51. Kale Chips: ½ cup raw kale— stems removed— baked with 1 teaspoon olive oil at 400° until crisp.
52. Sweet Potato Fries: One light-bulb sized sweet potato sliced, tossed with 1 teaspoon olive oil, and baked at 400° for 10 minutes.
53.  Cucumber Sandwich: ½ English muffin with 2 tablespoons cottage cheese and three slices of cucumber.
54. Turkey Roll-Ups: Four slices smoked turkey rolled up and dipped in 2 teaspoons honey mustard.
55. Mixed Olives: About 8 olives.
56. Antipasto Plate: One Pepperocini, a ½ inch cube of cheddar cheese, one slice pepperoni, and one olive.
57.  Pumpkin Seeds: 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, sprayed with oil (just a spritz!) and baked at for 400° for 15 minutes or until brown. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
58. Choco-Soy Nuts: 3 tablespoons soy nuts with 1 teaspoon cocoa nibs.
59. Wasabi Peas: About  ⅓ cup of these green treats.
60. Balsamic Veggies: 3 cups raw peppers (any color!) dipped in 2 tablespoons balsamic reduction.
61. Cheesy Roasted Asparagus: Four spears (spritzed with olive-oil spray) and topped with 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, baked for 10 minutes at 400°.
62. Cucumber salad: One large cucumber (sliced) with 2 tablespoons chopped red onion and 2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar.
63. Spinach and Feta Egg-White Scramble: Three egg whites scrambled and mixed with ½ cup rawspinach and 1 tbsp feta cheese. Cook in frying pan or zap in microwave until egg whites are no longer runny (about 1-2 minutes).
64. Crunchy Kale Salad: 1 cup kale leaves chopped with 1 teaspoon honey and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
65. Chick Pea Salad: ¼ chickpeas with 1 tablespoon sliced scallions, a squeeze of lemon juice, and ¼ cup diced tomatoes.
66. Grilled Garlic Corn on the Cob: One small-sized ear brushed with 1 teaspoon sautéed minced garlic and 1 teaspoon olive oil, grilled until tender.
67. Pretzels & Cream Cheese: 15 mini pretzel sticks with 2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese.
68.  Bacon Brussels Salad: Seven brussel spouts thinly sliced and mixed with one piece lean bacon, chopped.
69. Rosemary Potatoes:  ⅓ cup thinly sliced potato tossed with 1 teaspoons olive oil and a teaspoon of chopped rosemary.
70. Spicy Black Beans: ¼ cup black beans with 1 tablespoon salsa and 1 tablespoon non-fat Greek yogurt.
71. Caprese Salad: 1 ounce (hockey puck sized) of fresh mozzarella with ½ cup cherry tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.
72. Goldfish: About 40 fishies…try the cheddar kind!
73. Chips n’ Salsa: 10 baked tortilla chips with ¼ cup salsa.
74. Mini Ham Sandwich: Two slices honey-baked ham with 2 teaspoons honey mustard rolled in a lettuce leaf.
75. Lox Bagel: ½ whole-wheat mini bagel with two thin slices of lox.
76. Chocolate Trail Mix: Eight almonds, four chocolate chips, and 1 tablespoon raisins.
77. Apples and Cheese: 1 non-fat mozzarella cheese stick with half of a baseball-sized apple (any variety), sliced.
78. PB & Celery: 1 medium celery stalk with 1 tablespoon peanut butter.
79. Cottage Cheese Melon Boat: 1 cup melon balls with ½ cup non-fat cottage cheese.
80. Carrot and Raisin Salad: 1 cup shaved carrots with 2 tablespoons raisins and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
81. Tropical Cottage Cheese: ½ cup non-fat cottage cheese with ½ cup fresh mango and pineapple, chopped.
82. Blue-Cheese Stuffed Apricots: Three dried apricots with 1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese.
83. Rice Cake and Almond Butter: One rice cake (try brown rice!) with 2 teaspoons almond butter.
84. Sweet n’ Spicy Pecans: Five pecans roasted with 2 teaspoons maple syrup and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
85. Apples n’ Peanut Butter: ½ an apple, sliced and dipped in 1 teaspoon natural peanut butter.
86. Chocolate Hazelnut Crackers: Four wheat thins dipped in 1 teaspoon Nutella (or other hazelnut spread).
87. Strawberry Salad: 1 cup raw spinach with ½ cup sliced strawberries and 1 tablespoon balsamic.
88. Cacao-Roasted Almonds: Pop in eight almonds.

Thanks to GreatList.com for all the amazing ideas and recipes!!

Halloween Costumes for Families

Infant Angry Birds Costume

Spirit of Halloween Alvin Costume 

Halloween is truly a family event and what better way to celebrate than with themed costumes for the family! When your children are small, they will enjoy dressing up to match mom and dad. That won't be the case for long, parents, so enjoy it while you can!

Here are some ideas for themed Halloween costumes:

• Angry Birds
• Raggedy Ann and Andy
• Madagascar 
• Toy Story
• Crayolas
• Peanuts
• Sesame Street
• the 60s
• Scooby Doo
• Star Wars
• Alice in Wonderland
• Grease
• A-Team
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (and Chippettes!)
• Barbie, Ken, Skipper, etc
• Tetris Blocks
• Beekeepers and bees
• Pac Man and Ghosts
• Fly Swatter and Flies
• Care Bears
• any of your family's favorite movies, games or books!

Tetris Family Costume

Why Ratios Matter- From a Parent's Point of View

I remember people telling me that kids don't come with instructions.  Still, I read book after book to find something, some answer as to how I was going to handle being a father.  I learned how to tend my daughter's needs when she was hungry, gassy, sleepy, or just needed a diaper change--pretty straight-forward stuff I thought, no problem, I've got this! I even became quite adept at packing her diaper bag!  As time passed by, we settled into a routine, and knew how to handle the day to day part of raising a child.  We came to love her more and more each day as our lives began to take shape around hers.  Well, those days became years very quickly and now it was time to trust her care to someone else.

We looked around feverishly to find the right preschool program for her; the due diligence must be done!  I could pull into the parking lot of some of these places and just know that it wasn't right. I scrutinized every last detail of the school from the first second I walked in, to the second I walked out.  How clean was it?  How long has this teacher been doing this?  Is that what you call a playground?!? What will my child be learning? What do they serve for lunch? Can we get a hair sample from everyone employed at this school?  We exhausted our fair share of teachers before we finally figured out what we really wanted to know.  Will our child be safe?  Were these teachers equipped physically, emotionally, and with all the support that they needed to ensure my child's safety?

Overwhelmingly, it came down to this--how many kids will one teacher be responsible for?  Look, I've hosted a few children's birthday parties, and I've seen my home in the aftermath after just a couple of hours of just trying to keep the damage to a minimum!  That was with the help of my wife, and the few brave parents that didn't bolt out of the door as soon as kid party drop off etiquette allowed it!  I couldn't fathom how any one person could handle that, and I wanted to know exactly how they intended to do it.

That's when I learned about the teacher to child ratio.  That became just about the first thing I wanted to know.  As important as it is that my child begin to build a strong foundation in mathematics, literacy, and science, knowing that her teacher had some back up was every bit as critical.  Having as many eyes on my child as possible put me at ease.  I knew full well how she got into everything, I mean, let's face it, my kid was unruly at my house---I'm a man, we have a high threshold when it comes to letting our kids run amok before we actually do something about it!  So, how many teachers would be there to look after my one child wrecking crew now that she has joined forces with a whole battalion of kids with the same appetite for destruction?!?

That's exactly why the ratio was a major point of concern, and ultimately, the school that we chose had one that was quite favorable.  After three children, I am now a decorated veteran-parent and I've seen things that would have made a first time parent want to ball up in a corner and cry---and maybe someday we'll get back to those--but for now, let's just hold the fort and make sure our teachers have plenty of reinforcements!

Chris Derrick is a father, an author,
and a blogger. You can find his
musings on life, parenting and living
in the South at:
http://myunregrettablelife.blogspot.com/

Community Helpers

    One of the things that I have always enjoyed about the Steiner Ranch area is the sense of community.  Steiner Ranch really seems to rally together, whether it is a concert in a park, school fairs, or the various groups that meet throughout the week.  However, what does it mean to really be a part of a community, and what does that word mean?
   
 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community 
defines the word community as: (n) a unified body of individuals. 

    I don't know about you but those words can really make a person feel secure, confident, and warm inside.  Our communities are important to us, as well as the people that embody them.  
   How can you teach your child(ren) about community or help them to feel "a sense of community".  First, we must start by explaining to our children what a community is!  Our community is where we live and is full of people we often see! 
   In October our students will get the opportunity to learn about community and community helpers.  We will introduce the students to specific jobs/careers that are more popular when it comes to actually being a contributor to the safety of the community; police/fire men and woman, EMT, nurses, doctors, and soldiers.  In addition they will learn about the careers people chose that also benefit our communities; teachers, mail carrier, bakers, butchers, vets, bus drivers, etc. 
   Great ideas to get your children involved in the community are volunteering opportunities: serving Thanksgiving Dinner to the less fortunate, making cookies for the fire department, sending letters to the soldiers over seas, making thank-you cards for the police department, etc.

    Make sure to engage in conversation with your child throughout October asking them what they have learned and what their idea of a community is!  We will also have a mailbox set up in the lobby for your child to "mail" a letter to their teacher. 
  

Enjoying the Second Half of Summer Break

 

Well, I can't believe that summer is already half over! It is amazing how time flies, and it is also amazing when you look back and note all of the hard work put into making “fun” happen. With all the prepping and planning to create memorable experiences, it is easy to forget to enjoy it yourself! As parents, you can be busy planning vacations, weekend get-a-ways, pool parties, slumber parties, or just a good ol' get together in the backyard, but how often do you really get to enjoy yourself during these events?  Well it is time to stop and breathe and enjoy these last few weeks. 

                In my line of work, I am always inundated with materials pertaining to children.  I get emails, fliers, faxes, and magazines on a weekly basis, and all of it is filled with articles pertaining to raising children.  “Should your 10 year old watch Pg-13 movies?” or “How to potty train in 10 days!”  However, recently I have been exposed to ideas to bring families closer; fun activities for everyone to enjoy.  I would like to take this time to share those with you.

 In this month’s issue of Parenting magazine, Janene Mascarella suggests that you create a “yes jar.” Every time you are busy and have to tell your child no, you have them (or you help them) write the activity on a piece of a paper and place it in the jar.  Then, when you have spare time you pull the ideas from the jar and enjoy these activities.  You don’t even have to be an expert for this next one; read every night to your child.  Reading a book or two is the best way to close out not only your child’s day but yours as well. 

                Dr. AlanGreene, who is a pediatrician and wrote the best-selling book Raising Baby Green, suggests that you dedicate 7 meals a week to eat with your family.  Dr. Greene continues to clarify in the August 2012 edition of Parenting that “First, I said meals, not dinners. Dinners may work for your family, but for mine the easiest to coordinate hands downs is breakfast.”  Dr. Greene continues by saying that it is important to eat at the dinner table and not around the t.v., and that this is a good way to bond and teach healthy eating habits.

                In addition to family vacations, weekend outings, and other summer activities that will build life long memories, try doing some small projects together.  Find what really interests your children; it could be baking, treasure hunts, exploring nature, researching new ideas, or crafting.  I stumbled across this great website that mails you a “craft box” monthly; www.kiwicrate.com.  The boxes from Kiwi Crate come complete with everything you will need to dive into a craft; they offer a variety of crafts from gardening to dinosaurs.  You can order month by month at your discretion or sign-up for a yearly membership (paying in full and receiving one month free). 

                Lastly, record your summer fun!  Create a family journal writing the adventures you had, or start a scrapbook!  At the beginning of this year my husband and I started a memory jar and we write our 2012 memories on a small piece of paper and place them in a mason jar.  We plan on reading back these memories to each other on New Year’s Eve!  Just some ideas, but the most important thing is to just have fun!

Summer Fun for Families

Summer means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To elementary children it means camp, or days spent at the pool. To tweens it means hanging at the house catching up on all your favorite t.v shows, video games, etc. To teenagers it is time to spend with their friends on the lake, at the pool, or the mall. To parents it means how I am going to entertain my children for the next three months. Austin, Texas is a beautiful place to raise a family and it offers a lot of amenities to families that are either free or very inexpensive. There is a wonderful website established by mothers here in the Austin area; it is called Free Fun in Austin. This website sends daily emails to inform you of events that are happening around Austin and outlying areas. I recommend everyone to sign up on their email list.



For all of us, summer is a time to spend with family and catch up with our children. Check out Austin ’50 Free Anytime Fun Adventures in Austin’, courtesy of Free Fun in Austin.