In my humble opinion, there is not a better cookie in the world than a well-made chocolate cookie. I am about to tell you how to make the perfect chocolate cookie.

The Perfect Chocolate Cookie

Cocoa drop cookie, the best chocolate cookie. They are not only delicious, but very easy to make as well.

The ingredients required for this recipe are: ¼ cup butter, softened; ¼ cup shortening; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg; ¾ cup buttermilk; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 ¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour; ½ tsp baking soda; ½ tsp salt; ½ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened; and 1 cup of chopped pecans.

1. Cream the shortening and butter with sugar; beat in egg.
2. Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla
3. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the first mixture.
4. Stir in the pecans, and chill the cookie dough for about an hour.
5. Use a teaspoon to drop the dough onto a greased baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies.
6. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until set.
7. Then cool and frost with a simple chocolate or vanilla icing if desired.

Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Here is the recipe for another great cookie, the chocolate covered shortbread cookie recipe. For this you will need: 8 ounces butter at room temperature; ½ cup powdered sugar; 2 cups all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon baking powder; 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted; and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Knead with your hands to made sure they are well mixed
3. Press into lightly buttered pans.
4. Bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes.
5. Cut into wedges while they are still warm or break them apart.

There are many fabulous recipes out there but here are two of the best. Remember these recipes around the holidays and you can present your friends and family with delightful treats that will be remembered the rest of the year.

About The Author

Dave Owen is the webmaster of cooking information To get more information about cooking visit http://french.lookwhatsfordinner.com To find “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Cooking!” visit Cooking Guide.

Is your child stressed out? Some people think only adults experience stress, but it affects our children too. Here’s how to help your child manage their emotions.

We often view our kids as happy-go-lucky beings without a care. But children can also experience stress. Not only do they get anxious about things in their own young world–school, friends, peer pressure–but they also can be deeply affected by outside factors such as war, natural disasters and other unsettling world events.

In fact, the list of contributors to childhood stress can be quite long. Many stressors are the result of family problems, like divorce, a death or a parent’s job loss but there are also less obvious triggers such as moving to a new city or the birth of a new sibling.

As a parent, you can become attuned to what’s a normal amount of anxiety for your child and what is not. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, use the following tools to help your child handle it better.

Tuning into Anxiety Attack symptoms

1. Tune in to their moods.

Pay attention to your child’s behavior. Take the time to talk to your child to get to the root of the problem. Ask questions like “How are you feeling?” “What’s happening at school?” or “How are things with your friends?”

When you show concern for their problems and issues, it’s reassuring to them and they’ll be more responsive to that attention.

2. Watch the same shows they do.

If you have younger children, you certainly don’t want them watching the doom and gloom of daily news shows. Children’s minds are like sponges in they absorb almost everything they see or hear.

They are especially sensitive to negative energy, pain or suffering. Shows like the news can be traumatizing and anxiety-producing for younger children.

It’s important to discuss with them what they’ve seen. You can’t tell them that it’s never going to happen to them but you can say,”We’re going to do everything we can to protect you”. It’s also a good idea to let them know whom to call and what to do in case of an emergency.

3. Focus on the positive.

There is obviously no way a child can be shielded from a major trauma such as a death in the family, a house fire or a natural disaster. Instead, help children count their blessings. Comfort and reassure them by saying, “We’re strong and we’re going to make it.” “And as difficult as it may be, try to maintain everyday routines.

For many young victims of floods or fire, for example, going back to school, even in another city, can help bring some normalcy back to their disrupted lives. What can also help is to make sure children have positive outlets like physical activity, going to the movies or spending time with friends.

4. Lead by example.

Children often learn to deal with stress by mimicking how you respond in challenging times. Even if you don’t tell your child that you’re about to be laid off from your job or that you’re worried that your marriage is on the verge of breaking up, they can still pick up on your stress.

They may not understand the underlying causes but they can hear the strained tone and elevated volume of your voice,which gives them the message that something’s going on that may affect them too.

That’s why it’s so important to show them good coping skills. If you light a cigarette, have a drink, or use foul language when you’re under pressure, your little one may internalize that as a coping method.

Instead, model healthy behavior during difficult times, such as writing in a journal, de-stressing in a hot bath, sharing how you feel
without blaming, or taking a walk.

5. Instill confidence.

When children are young, there are times when you will have to come to their defense and help them handle tough situations. But as they get older, you also have to let them champion themselves, which builds their confidence in their ability to resolve problems on their own.

One of your missions as a parent is to know when to step in and when to stand back. Your response will depend on the child’s temperament, maturity and the situation.

For example, your third grader may be able to confront a taunting classmate on their own, but a serious case of bullying may warrant your intervention.

Still, always make sure your child knows you’ve got their back. Tell them, “Try it on your own first,but if you need help,let me know and I’ll be there.”

To Your Great Life and Health…

About The Author

Michael Atma is an internationally known author, speaker & success coach. Known as the person to talk to when you’re ready to enjoy massive results, Michael offers simple yet proven strategies to improve the quality of your life in just minutes. Michael’s writing comes straight from the front line of good health and successful living

Michael Atma had helped thousands of people to enjoy the benefits of natural stress relief that meditation brings. Michael has developed “The Ultimate Relaxation Program” which includes his highly acclaimed stress relief CD – The Ultimate Relaxation!

FREE details:=> http://www.theultimaterelaxation.com

The arrival of a baby lightens up the entire house. And with the baby, comes a lot of happiness, colour, gaiety, fun and a whole lot of relatives and visitors who come to see the baby. Guests keep pouring in with a variety of gifts. There can be many wonderful gifts for a new born, but if you want to make them really impressive, then you can go for personalized baby gifts.

Personalized baby gifts are gifts that have something related to the baby or the family into which he / she is born. These gifts can bear the name or the initials of the name of the baby. They can also carry a picture of the baby or the baby with a family member or the entire family.

Basically, the idea is to make the gift very special only to the family or the kid. It should be something that would symbolise their identity. Therefore it has good chances to be close to their heart and they can put the gift up somewhere as decorative piece.

Personalized baby gifts are great when the baby is a toddler or just beginning to learn letters and names. However, it is best appreciated when the kid grows up and by now knows his / her name well enough. And not just kids and babies, personalized gifts are always appreciated by people, despite age or gender.

In the mad frenzy of our professional life, we hardly find the time to visit shops or local stores to get personalized baby gifts. But now you can order wonderful personalized baby gifts whenever you want to with the help of internet. There are many good online stores that deal in baby gifts and knick knacks.

Ordering for them is also quite simple. Within a few clicks, you can add things to your shopping cart and get them delivered. With such beautiful and personalized baby gifts, you can make both a baby and the parents feel touched and elated.

Author is a well known business writer and currently writing on WOW baby gifts products like baby gifts.

One of the best times I’ve ever had was making Halloween costumes for my children, nieces and nephews. Finding something that was both safe, easy to put on and take off and within our limited budget wasn’t all that easy to find.

The simplest and the safest toddler Halloween costumes or those suited for infants, should not interfere with their movement, their eyesight or their halting walk. They will invariably want to practice this on the steepest of steps leading to a home at which they trick or treat, or that party you permitted them to attend.

The ability to wear clothing under the costume is helpful when the climate is not so warm during this time of year, particularly if the costume will be worn over a jacket and additional clothing. Be certain that neither infant nor toddler Halloween costume impedes the movement of the children’s extremities; bunching or gather outfits will make it difficult to walk.

Toddler costumes which are purchased or made should be checked over completely to assure that safety comes first. This includes the review of masks as to not obstruct vision. Far better would be face painting, which in no way interferes with their ability to see what they are walking toward or what may be coming toward them. Flowing costumes which are lengthy should be inspected to be certain that they are not too long and will create hazards when walking or running. Wonderful new toddler Halloween costumes are available which include the use face paints rather than a mask.

Among some of the more inventive I’ve seen recently included a leopard, a dinosaur and a cheetah, which incorporated two piece costumes, with face painting, that allowed for ease of use when the little one invariably had to shed the costume to use the bathroom, or found it necessary to readjust clothing beneath it.

Infant Halloween costumes should have no small parts which may come loose and placed in a child’s mouth while you aren’t looking, nor should they have any type of heavy hood materials which might slip down over a child’s face while they are placed in the rear of a car in the car seat.

Both infant and Toddler Halloween costumes have become far safer than they once were. Materials used are normally flame retardant. Be certain that yours are, as it is difficult to be constantly aware that a child adheres to safety rules with regard to the candles placed in the jack o’ lanterns. Swap candles for glow sticks to be safe.

Toddler Halloween costumes and infant Halloween costumes should be fun and interesting, not a hazard which may take what is a night of magic and fun to something far less than that. With a bit of care and inspection of what your child is wearing, your Halloween will be safe and fun for you and your child.

Susan writes about Halloween Costumes and offers advice for Infant Halloween Costumes & Halloween costumes.

One of the first things new parents discover is that putting baby to sleep is not always easy.

Coming out of the gate, it’s often difficult to put a newborn down. This isn’t because babies don’t want to go to sleep, rather it’s because parents aren’t quite ready to stop staring at their tiny new bundles of joy.

Before too long, however, most parents find themselves more than ready for a break. This is when they find putting baby to sleep is quite a job in many cases.

While it is hard to discern right away if a newborn will fall into a three, four or even five-hour schedule, there are things parents can watch for to help them figure it out.

Scheduling is always a good thing to have in place, but there are other signs to be aware of beyond the time on the clock.

Here are a few simple signs for when it is probably time to put your baby down for a nap:

* She starts rubbing her eyes. This is a fairly good indicator that she is tired. Even if she’s only been awake for an hour or two, in the first few weeks of life, it’s normal.

* Yawning. It’s hard to deny this signal even in adults. If she’s yawning, try letting her rest.

* Loss of eye contact. If she starts looking away a lot, she might be too sleepy to try and maintain eye contact. If this sign is coupled with the others, it is time for a nap.

* Cranky behavior. When babies start fussing, at least half the time they are nothing more than tired. This will become very evident in the toddler years, but it counts in the newborn days, too.

Learning that putting baby to sleep when she is tired is a great way to start establishing a routine and getting a schedule going. If she does happen to have her nights and days mixed up, don’t necessarily try to fix this in the first few weeks of life.

As she gets a few weeks under her bonnet, however, slowly adjust the schedule. In the meantime, you can help yourself by watching for her cues and creating a bedtime routine.

When a good bedtime routine is in place, putting baby to sleep comes a little easier.

For creating a routine, consider a very basic plan at first.

The initial routine can include nothing more than a cuddle, a song and a kiss on the head. As she gets older, you might want to incorporate a story, play time or a few others things.

Should baby be having trouble falling to sleep, there are things you can do to help.

The first is to make sure there is nothing wrong with her. If all appears well, check her room for distractions, lighting issues or even too much sound coming in.

If baby’s room is as comfortable and even as dark as possible, chances are putting baby to sleep will not be that difficult - especially if she’s put down when she’s really tired.

Once you get a hang of the signs and can bring yourself to actually put her down, you are sure on the winning path and closer to a good night’s sleep.

Getting a handle on putting your baby to sleep is almost never easy. So, don’t count on marathon sleep session coming for quite some time.

For 21 more free Surprisingly Smarter Baby Sleep Tips you can start using today for a good night’s sleep, just send a blank email. ==> mailto:smartersleeptips@getresponse.com or visit ==> http://www.babydevelopmentnews.com/babysleep.html

Ready for a puppy? Great! If you are looking for a dog that will work best with your family, consider the fact that dogs between the ages of 1 and 5 are best with children. This is because dogs in this age range aren’t as excitable and wanting to play rough as puppies do. Small dogs at this age aren’t old enough to suffer health problems that make older dogs cranky.

The best way to find a puppy good with kids is to adopt one from an rescue center. And there you can ask them what kind of temperament the puppy has. Many shelters test puppies to see how they react to a child environment. Puppies from shelters normally live with volunteers who train them to get used the experiences they’ll find in their permanent home. Ask for a pet that has lived with children.

When at the shelter, test for yourself how the small dog reacts to a gentle touch to his ears. Touch the paws and try putting your finger in his mouth to see what he does. On the floor, try running around and make some noise. Watch the reaction. You are looking for a puppy that accepts the same behavior you will have around your house.

Did you know you can adopt dogs from guide-dog training programs? These are pups that didn’t make the cut as a seeing-eye dog, but make wonderful pets.

If your heart is set on a purebred dog, my advice is to look at the mother and father of the puppy you’re interest in. Their temperament will tell all. If they are sweet, the puppy will be as well. It would surprise you to find many dogs considered good with kids are mean spirited because of the parents.

That said, there really are some breeds better than others for homes with children. For example, the sporting breeds of retrievers and spaniels are known to be gentle. They enjoy to be touched and their bite is generally soft. They are high energy, however, and as puppies can have sharp teeth that can hurt when they nip.

As the world now longs for toy breeds, believe it or not, these aren’t the best with children. The are more self-preserving and can get hurt much easier than a large breed. Dogs that were bred to herd, like border collies, can chase children and bite them.

If you are serious about finding if the dog will be best with your family, you can employ the services of a professional dog trainer in your area and have them run a temperament assessment. They charge around $75 an hour - but it may be worth it. If you use the trainer later with your dog, they will probably do the assessment for free.

In a 2006 study on dog bites by Pediatrics, they recommend that parents wait until children are of school age before getting a dog. Babies were the most likely to be bitten by dogs they knew. Always supervise interaction between dogs and kids.

by Dave Jackson

Baby showers are parties thrown for friends that are pregnant. This practice has significantly changed over the course of the years and has gradually become more and more elaborate and planned.

Baby showers can make an expectant mother feel more secure in the fact that her friends are all pulling for her and giving moral and financial support. Usually the baby shower is organized by non-relatives. But today, there is isn’t abnormal to find family members, support group members, church friends and pretty much anyone except the expecting mother.

Inviting the Guests Who should you invite? Usually, the guest list will only include those nearest and dearest to the expectant mother. It wouldn’t hurt if she gets a first look at the guest list so that she can suggest who should be invited. If you are planning a surprise baby shower, you will have to do a little research on who should be attending instead of running the list through the expectant mother.

If the child is not a firstborn, you may opt to keep the number of guests down to the closest to the mother. Firstborn baby showers tend to have a larger guest list since it is, after all, the mother’s first time.

The thing to remember is that the nature of baby showers is intimacy. So, for any baby shower party, try making the gathering one of intimate friends.

You could use informal ways to invite these guests: email, phone and others. Invitation cards and other letters are the best way, however, as they provide a tangible, traceable evidence of invitation. Plus, it is the most sure and formal way to invite a person - and in many cultures - the only way.

What About the Guys The nature of the party is probably going to tend towards the feminine side; if the organizers of the party have a provision for this, then inviting men would be fine. It also depends on the men, since the party may dwell on topics such as pregnancy, children, and other motherly topics, they might not be that excited to join. All in all, it depends on the preference of the organizers.

Venue Anywhere! As long as it can keep with the placid and fun nature of the occasion, any place would be fine. The more usual places on baby shower lists are backyards, formal halls, restaurants, and basically any room that has the amenities to make a baby shower successful. Just make sure the venue is not crowded and stressful to the mother-to-be. It also pays to make sure the venue is set long before the actual baby shower happens.

When to Throw a Baby Shower Usually this is one or two months before her due. The baby shower is the perfect time to get your friend baby needs and stuff she may not have had time to purchase yet. It has to be well-timed though - not too close to the due date, and not to far as to whittle down the excitement.

Baby showers are a pleasant surprise to expecting mothers. It takes a lot of the stress of expecting a child off of their minds and provides a means for friends to show support and concern (and of course, baby gifts) to expecting friends.

A properly coordinated baby shower will be greatly appreciated and forever remembered by mothers long after they have delivered their children.

For more information about this part of planning a baby shower, please refer to my baby shower guide at:

http://www.bruisedonion.com/products/baby_showers_guide/

For More Information Resources and Helpful Articles about Parenting and Baby visit:

http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/parenting/

http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/baby%20names/

http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/babies/