Staying Sane

Ever seen a mom surrounded by kids and wished you could pick her brain?  A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family tackles topics such as:
–Treating each child as an individual
–Stretching the budget to fit another child
–Fitting a large family into a medium home
–Tackling Mount Laundry
–Managing multiple children and activities
–Finding time for yourself and your spouse

To see what people are saying about this book, click on the picture.  And if you want to see what Mary Ostyn is up to these days, visit http://owlhaven.net

I’ve moved!

For new content from the Owlhaven, please visit me at http://owlhaven.net
This month my oldest daughter is getting married, and I’m blogging about affordable weddings. I’ve got new recipes up too, including awesome ones for brownies and donuts. (Sorry, this isn’t a diet blog!) Head on over so you won’t miss anything.

Review: My incredibly neat Epson Artisan printer

Just a reminder:  most of my posts these days can be found over at http://owlhaven.net

Hope to see you there too!

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One of the super-lovely perks of blogging is cool things to review.  This week’s arrival at the Owlhaven was unusually awesome.  An Epson Artisan printer/copier/scanner/fax.  I probably would not have sprung for this baby on my own, being a tightwad and all– it runs nearly $300.  But now that I’ve seen it and played with it….oh, who am I kidding?   I really am too cheap to spend $300 on a printer.  But let me tell you, this printer is.sweet. 

It prints black and color text up to 38 pages per minute.  It can do a 4×6 photo in amazing quality in 10 seconds.  It has a document feed feature as well as several different paper trays for various sizes of paper and envelopes. And it’s wireless!  Which means it can sit in my bedroom, out of sight, and I can print from the living room.

I haven’t played with this tons yet, but I did print off some really gorgeous 4×6’s and 8×10’s from our recent family photo shoot. The paper that came with the printer was really high quality and supposedly will last many years.  And the photo quality was JUST stunning.  My husband came home, saw the 8×10 and asked me where I’d had it printed.  He was shocked to hear that the printer was sitting on my desk.

I also tried out the copy machine feature– a huge bonus for a homeschooling mom like me.  My first attempt at the copy machine feature (without reading any instructions) netted me 4 nice looking handwriting pages in less than 2 minutes.  The machine is very easy to use and it is smokin fast.  I am going to have fun playing with it some more.

Review: Kid Kleen Bath Blizzard and Aqua Doodle

Just a reminder:  most of my posts these days can be found over at http://owlhaven.net

Hope to see you there too!

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With Christmas coming in a couple months, I wanted to mention a couple of fun toys that I received to review this month.  The first one is called the Kid Kleen Bath Blizzard.  You hook this little gizmo over your tub spout, pour in bubble bath, and turn it on for a cascade of bubbles during bath time. When the provided bubble bath runs out, you can use your own bubble bath, which is nice.  Less nice is the fact that it takes 4 C batteries.  I’m not sure how many baths that will get us.   But all in all this is a fun toy that is a lot of fun for kiddos in the bath.

The other toy I got to look at is the Spinmaster AquaDoodle Draw and Doodle Mat.  This drawing mat is good sized.  You can spread it out on the floor and let kids draw on it using a special water-filled pen.  The water makes marks on the mat that disappear once the mat is dry, so kids can use this again and again.  It even has how-to-doodle hints around the sides of the mat.   I’m not sure this is better than crayons and paper, but it is a fun item, especially for days when you don’t have the energy to deal with crayons and markers and the mess that they create.

Book Review Bonanza and Giveaway

(Note:  the majority of my posts these days are owlhaven.net.  Head on over there if you don’t want to miss out on the action!)

Today I have three books to tell you about.  And I’m giving one of them away!

The first is called The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sushi and Sashimi.   I have to begin by saying that I’ve always been constitutionally opposed to words with “Idiot” in the title.  No matter how clueless I happen to be on a particular topic, I simply refuse to call myself an idiot.  However, when I was contacted by the publisher offering one of their titles for a review, I could not resist the sushi one.  And given the fact that I didn’t even know what sashimi was before I got the book, maybe in this case the Complete Idiot title fits me better than I’d care to admit.

I have made lots of Korean-style sushi before, but never learned how to make the rice taste ‘right’– ie like sushi that I’ve bought — so that was the section of the book where I went first.   The description was clear and easy to follow.   Also in the book there are recipes for all sorts of sushi variations.  I was especially pleased to see a vegetarian section.  Seafood can be spendy, and I’ve wondered if it is possible to make something yummy that is meat free. The answer is yes. I’ll also be trying some of the recipes that work well with imitation crab meat.  I would have liked this book better if it had more pictures, but it is worthwhile, and I am looking forward to trying some of the recipes.

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The second book I have to talk about — this is the one I’m giving away!– is called First Lego League: the Unofficial Guide.  Several years ago my big boys did a lot of playing with Lego Mindstorms, Legos that let you build and program robots.   These days there are more advanced Lego robotic kits available.   In fact, there are robotics competitions for preteen kids all over the country.   If your kids are robot builders, and if you are interested in starting a Lego League of your own, this book would be a great tool.  It covers the history of this sport, gives hints for organizing your own team and even talks about robotics construction.  At the moment none of my kids are really into this, so I’d love to share my copy with any reader who might be interested in having this book.   Leave me a comment and tell me why you’d like this book, and I’ll send it to the reader who seems most likely to get some good use out of it!

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The final book is one that I am itching to read in its entirety.  Dateable:  Are You?  Are They? snagged me in the Christian bookstore simply because of its title.  By the time I’d read 10 pages without putting it down, I’d decided it was most likely a book that would also interest my teenagers.   I handed it to my daughter in the car after we got out of the store, and she was still reading it 5 miles later as we drove.  The book was written by youg adults and has a breezy approachable style.  It warns of the pitfalls of casual dating relationships, and explains the different ways that guys and girls think.

I remember as a teen getting all sorts of grief for wearing the type of clothing that was in style then:  super-tight jeans and short shorts– and I didn’t really understand why my dad was so concerned.  After several years of conflict over the issue, my dad sat down and explained to me the way a girl’s clothing affects a guy’s thoughts.  Finally I understood that his restrictions were less about me and more about them– about the ripples I made around me in the world. Though I still didn’t love the rules, I understood the ‘why’ behind them.  This book has that same type of talk with girls and guys, in a very teen friendly way.  Kids who read this book will come away with a better understanding of the opposite sex.

Cabbage Patch Kids

I’ve been busy doing 30 Days of Nothing over at my new blog, but wanted to write here about a product I was able to review recently.   The original Cabbage Patch kids were introduced in 1983.  I was in high school and past the doll age at that point, but got into the craze a few years later when my own daughters were given them as gifts.  I have to confess that I have never found the looks of the dolls especially appealing, but I did love that each doll comes with her own name and birth certificate. And– more important — my daughters loved them.

That’s why when I was recently offered a sample of the new 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Doll, I accepted happily.  There are African-American ones available, which is important to me as a mom of African American kids.  The doll that I was sent is actually fair-skinned.   I think my 3 year old will like that  (it’ll be a Christmas gift– shhh).  90% of her dolls are African American, but it is nice to have a little variety.  I know from experience that these dolls are extremely well made, and I was surprised to read in the press release that they will be selling for only $29.95.  For some reason I’ve always thought  that these are very expensive dolls, but that seems like a reasonable price to me.

One thing that is fun about these dolls is that they are big enough to wear preemie baby clothes, which I sometimes find at yard sales and thrift stores.  No doubt you can also buy more outfits at the toy store, but I am too cheap for that. Anyway, if you’re starting to think about a Christmas gift for a little girl in your life, there’s another option to consider!

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Remember, most of my writing is now over at http://owlhaven.net.  Head on over there and subscribe if you haven’t already!

Still here?

If you’re reading this in your feedreader, you’re still subscribed at the old Owlhaven and you may be missing out.  Come join me at http://owlhaven.net if you don’t want to miss anything.   This coming week I’ll be sharing recipes, as well as beginning the adventure of trying to spend no more than $200 at the grocery store during September.  Can I do it?  Come see!

Today at the new Owlhaven

This morning over at my new blog at owlhaven.net I’ll be sharing 10 ways I’ve used zucchini lately. Come on over!

And for those of you who asked why I decided to do ads over at my other place (I’ve heard from two people), here’s my answer:

One of my goals as a freelance writer is to help support my family. Over the years I’ve sold stories to magazines, written for adoption.com, and recently, wrote a book. I love blogging enough to write ‘Owlhaven’ for free– in fact for the past 2-1/2 years, I’ve done just that. But it is something that takes an hour or two of my time each day, and as you all know, John and I are raising 10 children, and we’re doing so on a moderate income. There are always demands on my time and there are always bills to pay!

When I was approached by BlogHer and learned that I could make a moderate amount of income by giving them a few inches of space, I decided to give it a try. BlogHer allows me veto power over the ads, and they don’t restrict my writing in any way. I am giving them a trial and am pleased at the thought of being able to buy a few bags of groceries each month simply by doing what I love.

As far as my reader’s response to the ads, please investigate them or ignore them, whichever you prefer. Though they they take up a little bit of real estate, they won’t be changing the writing on my blog, and I trust you all will be able to see that. Thanks for being faithful readers! I so much appreciate you all!

Click the orange button if you’d like to add my new blog to your feedreader.

Panic attack

OK, people, maybe I shouldn’t care so much, but I am missing a bunch of you over at my new place. PLEASE come on over and hang out with me at http://owlhaven.net I’ve got a new recipe over there today!

I’m moving–please come with me!

That’s right– Owlhaven is moving to its very own domain: http://owlhaven.net. The wonderful Cheng Leng just got the last posts imported there. Come over and hang out with me, and by all means please subscribe to my new feed via RSS . That way you won’t miss a thing.

Also would you please, please, pretty please, change my url in the sidebar of your blog, if you have me listed there? Thanks so much! I am excited about this move. For months I’ve been itching to try out some of the many cool plug-ins written for wordpress. I just added one that lists the names of the top commentaters to my blog. It’s very fun, so come try it out!