411

My friend Michelle just told me about this one and then I read it in a magazine. But, perhaps you, like me, have had your head under a rock and didn't know that the next time you need a phone number instead of dialing "411" you should dial "1-888-FREE-411". You'll hear a quick ad and then be asked for the city and state. Plus, it is FREE. 

Now if that isn't Good2Know, then I do not know what is!

Delicious from Baltimore, MD

In January, our family headed to Baltimore for Cousin Joey's Bar Mitzvah. We had a wonderful time celebrating and touring. We came back with 2 great bits of 'food lover' information that are Good2Know! The first is a cookbook you will want to own and the other a restaurant to visit when you head to Maryland.

While at Cousin Jeff's house, we began talking about cooking and he shared with us a great new cookbook he had found. It is called Cooking Jewish 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family by Judy Bart Kancigor. Now, you certainly need not be Jewish to enjoy these wonderful dishes including black & white cookies, chocolate chip cake with mocha frosting and applesauce muffins. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? The recipes are delicious, but the stories about each one and the member of the family who contributed it make you feel like you know them personally and may even inspire you to collect a few recipes and stories of your own. A neat book to read even if you do not cook.
Cooking Jewish 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family

Poulet, or chicken in French, is a wonderful restaurant and take-out place in Lutherville, Maryland. Chef-owner, Jonathan Soudry, has created a great spot with wonderful chicken dishes, savory & sweet crepes and a wide variety of sides & breads. The desserts are also not to be missed including the 18 flavors of homemade ice cream. Now, you may be thinking this sounds nice, but why blog about it. Well, our beautiful 5 yr. old daughter has life-threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts and so does the daughter of Chef Soudry. In this case, this means, each and every dish at Poulet including the ice cream (we tasted all 18) were safe for her to eat! An incredible experience and worth the plane fare for every nut allergy sufferer! You can find them at Poulet Catering
 

Yummy and Good2Know!

Games for Kids Online

My son, who is 8,thought he could contribute a few things that are Good2Know. I hope we'll hear from him from time to time. He recommends the following sites for kids looking to have safe, fun online!

Miniclip http://www.miniclip.com This one is fun because there are many choices of games and many varieties based on what you enjoy such as action, sports, etc.

Club Penguin http://www.clubpenguin.com Club Penguin was recently bought by Disney and is a safe and free penguin community where the child creates a penguin and its environment.

Webkinz http://www.webkinz.com While this requires purchasing a Webkinz, it's like 2 toys in one. First, you get a cute stuffed animal and second, you get to play with its online version all for about a $12 investment.

PBSkids/go http://pbskids.org/go This totally free website has games and activities based on the wonderful TV shows of PBS. Some that my son likes are Cyberchase and Fetch. His sister likes WordGirl.

These are all Good2Know!

Website Finds for Organizing!

Eric, my husband, volunteered to head to the grocery store this evening and I certainly would not want to stop him. He did need; however, a list and rather than start from scratch, I looked online to find a grocery list tool. Well, not only was I able to make my list, but I also found several other tools and ideas on this site that are useful. Generally, I try to steer clear of mass marketing sites, but this one is Good2Know! http://www.scottcommonsense.com I'll be sure to post other list making sites as I find them!

Today was an insightful one for I also found two other Good2Know sites to help me stay more organized.

One is for packing and I heard about it from another mom. I tried it out for our upcoming California trip and it is really neat! Give it a whirl at http://upl.codeq.info

Lastly, I am looking for a way to organize and keep track of my books. I had five minutes and came upon this site. I am just beginning to try it and you may like it, too! http://www.librarything.com

These sites seem Good2Know!

New Baby

A friend in Oregon had a baby last week which got me thinking about things that are Good2Know when you are a new parent. Congrats to you, Allison! These come to mind right away...

My husband recommends that all new parents purchase gas drops of some sort (Little Tummys or Mylacon) as gas pains for an infant can easily be eased!

Our good friend Connie suggests new parents bring Baby Oragel with them to doctor appts. requiring shots. Rub a little on the injection site to numb it!

When the baby gets a little older, my pediatricians' wife (who is also a pediatrician) suggests buying a good quality wooden spoon with a short handle for baby to bite on. 

We certainly would have been lost without our Sears book collection especially the Baby Book, the Sleep Book and Breastfeeding Book! They are Good2Know!

In the Kitchen

We received an ice cream maker for our anniversary. Actually, we first received the attachment for the Kitchen Aid (which by the way is one machine every kitchen that cooks needs!) that would allow us to make ice cream, but after some hunting around, I decided the Cuisinart maker was a better deal. First, if you look around, you can find one that come with a free second bowl (thus allowing you to make a second batch immediately following the first). I chose the red one and experimented with my daughter (age 5) and her friend yesterday. We made lime sherbet and vanilla ice cream! Let me tell you this is absolutely delicious, took only 30 minutes tops and all the children here thought it was the best they'd ever tasted. Next week, we'll try some with mix-ins.

The reason I add this to my list of Good2Know In the Kitchen is that we're now able to make delicious, healthy (or not) ice cream, sorbet, etc without preservatives, added colors et al. And... for those of us with children who have food allergies, this allows me to know exactly what's in there! Now that is Good2Know!

Healthy Kids = Happy Mom

When my children were little, I often read books on parenting from the Sears collection. Now, I've found another book I had to share. It's entitled, The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood, and it is just the right-size book, organized just so, that I can read a snippet and help the children (and the grown-ups) in our family eat a little better. It's Good2Know!

We've always eaten a lot of fruit especially in the summer. To get the kids to eat dark cherries, which are great for you, but not get frustrated with the pits, I purchased a pit popper from my kitchen store. It's fabulous and makes eating the cherries fun! I now saw they have one with a splatter shield attached - how smart is that! It's Good2Know!