Pumpkin Bread Recipe for Halloween

Happy Halloween!

It’s Halloween and it’s raining, not surprising for the Pacific Northwest. I remember scrambling on rainy Halloween’s when my kids were little to keep them dry while still showing off their costumes. I learned to use saran wrap very artfully. I also learned an excellent pumpkin bread recipe that soon became a family favorite. Even today with the kids all grown up, I still make loaves and loaves of the bread to distribute at Halloween and Thanksgiving. I thought I would pass on the recipe for you to share with your family.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2/3 cup shortening

2 2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 lb canned pumpkin

1/3 cup water

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 1/3 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Blend shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to mixture. Then blend in pumpkin and water. Sift together baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and flour and blend into wet ingredient mixture. Fold in chopped pecans and crushed pineapple. Bake approximately 55 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Anigan Menstrual Underwear

Anigan Stain Free Menstrual Underwear

Here at Dot Girl Products, we are always on the lookout for new products that will help periods be a little less messy for girls (and their mothers) and we just found a new product you all will love.

Anigan Menstrual Underwear has just been introduced to the market. The stain-free, guaranteed not to leak period panties look and feel exactly like other pretty underwear you would want to wear everyday. There is a wide range of colors and styles to make that time of the month as fashionable as the rest of the month.

The company is so sure of their product that they have made a guarantee that if the panties ever stain, you can return them for a free pair. This is a pretty strong statement that they believe in their product.

Anigan has paid special attention to the needs of pre-teen girls with sizes and styles appropriate to that age. You don’t know when your daughter is going to start her period. Slipping a pair of menstrual underwear into her backpack or locker means she’ll be prepared at school and at other activities. This will help relieve some of her anxiety about that all important first period and whether her clothes will get stained, a common worry among young girls.

We’ve looked at other period panties on the market. There are very few companies that venture down this path and when they do, the panties are generally one color with few sizes available. Anigan has taken a giant leap forward with the variety of colors and styles, your daughter may want to wear this underwear all the time!

To check out all the styles and colors available from Anigan Menstrual Underwear follow the links from their ‘Where to Buy‘ page. The product listings goes into more detail about what materials are used to provide the stain free, leak proof guarantee the company is offering.

Day of the Girl

Today, October 11, 2012, is the first ever United Nations Day of the Girl! From now on it’ll be every year on October 11^th.

According to the United Nations, this annual Day will “help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential.”

The campaign for this Day was started by Canadian girls who inspired School Girls Unite, an organization in the Washington, D.C. area, to mobilize support in the United States. Since 2004, School Girls Unite has focused on the right of every girl in the world to get an education. Girls everywhere are confronted with stereotypes, discrimination, abuse, violence, and other reasons that limit opportunities now and in the future.

Why does the world need a Day of the Girl? Here are just a few reasons the organizers at Day of the Girl give:

Illiteracy – By 2015 more than 64% of the people in the world who cannot read will be women
School Dropout – Only 30% of girls in the world get to go to some kind of secondary school.
Forced Marriage – One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15
Violence – In the United States more than half (54%) of all rapes of females happen before age 18

How can you help raise awareness about Day of the Girl and help solve some of these issues? Talk to your daughter and her friends, your friends and neighbors, church community or other groups you belong too. Educate yourself about girl issues in your town or city. Perhaps the local schools need reading tutors or a high school student needs a mentor.

There are also excellent websites that discuss girl issues and list organizations that work to improve the lives of girls worldwide. Half The Sky is one example.

By improving the lives of girls, we will improve their families and communities, and the lives of the future children. Visit the Day of the Girl website to learn more and find out how you can help.

Menstrual Period is a Vital Sign

Isn’t it nice that so much of modern machinery is equipped with warning systems to alert us to their problems? Even my washing machine has a light system to let me know what’s wrong with it. We monitor the vital signs of our bodies in much the same way. Basic vital signs include body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure. Our menstrual cycles can also be considered an indicator of our overall emotional and physical health. Regular menstrual cycles are a sign of a well running body.

It’s typical for a young girl to have irregular periods as her body adjusts to the monthly cycle of ovulation and menstruation but there can be times when the irregularity has an underlying cause. This is why it’s important to pay attention to your daughter’s period while teaching her to track it herself. You need to know what is normal before you can determine what isn’t normal.

Some common causes of irregular periods include stress, traveling, a high level of physical activity especially combined with low body weight and excess weight loss or gain. These conditions may self correct as situations change but if your daughter goes 3 or more months without a period, it’s a good idea to see a doctor to check for underlying problems. Having a record of her cycle will be extremely valuable information for her health care provider in these cases.

Medical conditions that disrupt the menstrual cycle include Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which affects 5 to 10% of teenagers and young women. Common symptoms are obesity, excess facial and body hair and acne. Primary Amenorrhea is when a girl has not started menstruating by age 16 and Secondary Amenorrhea is when menstruation has started and then stopped. Amenorrhea is linked to low bone density at a time when girls should be building up their bone mass.

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI), affecting 1% of the population, occurs when the ovaries don’t produce enough hormones causing periods to become lighter or cease altogether. These conditions require careful diagnosis and treatment by a medical doctor. If you have any questions or concerns about these conditions or any other symptoms you should see your doctor.

Knowing when to expect her period is also a great way to manage premenstrual symptoms. Teaching your daughter to track her periods encourages her to be proactive for a lifetime of good health.

Little Women – My Favorite Book

I just finished my annual reading of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It is my favorite all-time book. The picture you see in this post is a picture of my copy of Little Women. It was handed down to me from my mother and was already well worn when she gave it to me. About 15 years ago, my sister Ann had the book re-bound and had the cover art saved and attached to the new front cover. This ensures the book will last for many more generations with the original cover art intact.

Every year when I finish Little Women, I ask myself why I love the book so much. I have added reasons over time. I am the oldest of four sisters so stories about sisters always interest me. I strongly identify with Jo, the character that Louisa May Alcott based on herself. Jo is an independent minded young woman who wants to make her own way in the world at a time when independence in women was not celebrated. And I enjoy novels set during the Civil War.

I think this year though I enjoyed the book because of its representation of family values. And I’m not talking about traditional family values so often talked about in political circles. Family values in Little Women is represented by a group of individuals who happen to be related to each other who pull together when times are tough. The group also lends support to others who are in need of a family. This is best represented by how the girls treat Laurie, their neighbor’s orphaned grandson.

It is the story of facing things head on and rejoicing in what you do have instead of complaining about what you don’t have. The girls do complain that they don’t have money for the finer things in life, however, they learn to substitute with simple pleasures and home made gifts.

Little Women is a great book to read with your daughter. It encompasses U.S. history, positive family interactions and romance. If you or your daughter have already read the book, give us your thoughts below.

Team vs. Individual Sports for Your Daughter

Team vs Individual Sports for Your Daughter

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a big Olympic sports fan. I have tried to watch as many hours as possible and even though I missed the gymnastics and swimming competitions I’ve been able to watch many other events, especially volleyball and water polo.

And as I have watched all these elite athletes competing I have remembered how much my daughter Hayley enjoyed her years playing basketball. Being part of school and select teams helped her gain confidence in herself, built skills for working in a team environment and kept her in shape. Which got me to thinking about whether it is better to participate in a team or individual sport.

Certainly both have their advantages. Team sports require constant communication during play which can especially help an introverted girl. Team play also fosters a sense of belonging, a ready group of friends, and a shared experience. If there are personality conflicts between players, the conflicts have to be worked out or set aside for the team to succeed, which teaches so many lessons about dealing with life’s adversities in order to reach a goal.

Individual sports requires a commitment that always amazes me. To watch Gabby Douglas or Missy Franklin excel means admiring all the many hours that they put into training because they themselves wanted to succeed. There was no team to lift them up when they were down, no one to disappoint if they didn’t show up to practice one day. They relied on themselves to achieve their goals. Of course, they had coaches and trainers and family members to support them. But when it came time to compete, they were alone on the floor or in the pool.

Both individual and team sports have their advantages depending on what suits your daughter’s personality. And as a parent, I was just glad to have my daughter interested in something that inspired her and let her have fun. In the end, that is most important, whether it be sports, music, art or other activities.

First Period Stories from our Readers

It’s that time of the month again when we get to publish some of our reader’s first period stories. We appreciate everyone who sends us your story and look forward to hearing from more of you. We will always ask your permission before sharing your story.

Please be sure to share the stories with your daughter to let her know she is not alone in this step towards womanhood. Note that stories are not edited for grammar.

Ana’s Story
I can remember my first period experience like it was just yesterday even though it has been well over 18 years. My mother hadn’t talked to me about it. She was a single mother of four and working two jobs. I was left to fend for myself. I had to grow up too fast; thank God for my 2nd grade teacher who helped me out and gave me a quick but nourishing run down of what was really happening to me and why. Because at that moment in time I thought that there was something really wrong with me and I also thought that I had done something to cause my private parts to bleed. I was really really scared. And now 18 years later my own daughter is going through this and I have tried as much as I can to give her as much information and support that she needs so she isn’t as scared as I was. I hope I am doing well. Thank You for letting me share my story.

Luanns Story
One of my illnesses as a child (having a number of them) was my thyroid being underactive. I began taking medicine for it. My mother kept asking our doctor when I was going to start. He told her to let things be and it would come naturally. Finally, at 14, it happened. We were visiting my cousins in Tallahassee, FL and had gone swimming at a lake. I had to take my cousin to the bathroom because she was too little to go alone. I went too and noticed something brownish in my bathing suit. I thought maybe I had some diarrhea or something. When we got back to their house, I went in the bathroom to change and realized what it was. I stayed locked in the bathroom for almost 3 hours until my mother yelled at me through the door and I told her what had happened. She got some pads for me and I made it back home to TN. She told our next door neighbor about it and their oldest son told me ‘congratulations, you’re a woman now’! Talk about embarrassed! My mother didn’t talk to me and I didn’t ask, so I was pretty clueless. Now, at 47, I’ve already spoken to my 10 year old about it and am hoping to have better communication and understanding.

National Girlfriends Day is Today!

National Girlfriends Day is celebrated on August 1st each year. I personally think we should celebrate our girlfriends every day. However, having one nationally recognized day does make it a bit more fun and official.

Where would we be without our girlfriends? The women that hold us when we cry and laugh with us when we are happy. And always tell us the truth, even when it hurts. Those are the girlfriends you can always count on in a crisis.

I am not the best at keeping girlfriends. I have moved several times in my life and each time I tend to leave friends behind. I think it is because without face to face communication I tend to lose touch. My three younger sisters hang on to their friends much better and luckily they passed that gene on to my daughter. Even though her friends have scattered from our town for college and jobs, Hayley still manages to visit them and keep up on their lives.

What does friendship mean in today’s digital age and how do you encourage your daughter to keep friends that will support her throughout the life? I think the first thing to stress is that friends are not kept to be used. In other words, there has to be a genuine interest in the other person and a willingness to be there for each other. If one friends always takes and never gives, then the friendship will probably not last. This is true of any relationship.

I also believe that friends need to speak up when they sense a friend may be heading for trouble. This should be done in a non-judgmental way that conveys support and concern. Staying in touch in times of crises is also important for friendships to thrive.

And lastly, stay committed and connected. Dating a new boy does not mean not seeing your girlfriends. In high school, Hayley and her friends would frequently have ‘Girlfriend Nites’. Boyfriends weren’t allowed and the girls were able to keep girlfriend connections intact.

And as far as the digital age is concerned, Facebook does make it easier to stay in touch. But nothing replaces picking up the phone to hear a friends voice or getting together for a walk in the park to catch up.

London Olympics Big Step for Women

Terri and I in our Olympic uniforms

The London Olympic Games start tonight and I can’t help but remember how much fun Terri and I had while working for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee during the 1984 Games.

I was just three years out of college and had my dream job as the Payroll Manager for the Olympic full time staff. During the games Terri worked as a clerk in a downtown hotel. Even though it was an overwhelming time for both of us (my husband and I were also moving into our first home), it was a blast being part of the Olympic games in one of the best cities in the world.

The 1984 Olympics was also the first time that a women’s marathon was held. This was noteworthy for obvious reasons. Through the years women’s sporting events had slowly been gaining parity with men’s events and a women’s Olympic marathon was a huge step in the right direction. It was also noteworthy because the route went within a block of our new home. We gathered a large group of family and friends together and walked down to watch the women run past on the main street through our town of Culver City.

The American Joan Benoit was the favorite to win the marathon. She already held the women’s world record. I still remember Benoit as she ran past, leading the pack. The crowd waved American flags and cheered her on. We were all thrilled to be so close to these Olympic athletes who had worked so hard to be part of the Games. Benoit went on to win the race and set the first ever women’s Olympic record.

With the 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece the modern Olympic movement began. Women were not allowed to participate. At the 2012 London Olympics every one of the 205 participating countries will send at least one woman athlete to the Olympic Games. What a wonderful step forward for the women of the world!

5 Tips for using Lavender during Menstruation

Lavender blooming in my garden.

Summer time is my favorite season in the Pacific Northwest. The sun is shining (mostly), there are dozens of art festivals to attend, and lavender is blooming in my garden. As I enjoy the fresh scent and scour Pinterest for lavender craft projects, I started thinking about the healing properties of lavender and how those properties might help with menstruation complaints.

I did a little research and came up with a few lavender ideas that you and daughter might want to try during your menstrual periods:

1. Lavender flowers, whether fresh or dried, produce a wonderful soothing scent when crushed between your fingers. Since relaxation is a good technique for relieving menstrual cramps, try crushing a few flowers and inhaling slowly. Think relaxing thoughts and conquer those cramps.

2. Lavender oil can be added to a nice warm bath for a relaxing pick me up and overall clean feeling during menstruation. I keep lavender triple milled soap from Trader Joe’s stocked in my bathroom – another lavender treat for any time of the month.

3. Use fresh or dried lavender flowers to make a tea. Add one heaping tablespoon of the flowers to a tea pot and then pour boiling water into the pot. Infuse for about ten minutes. What a fragrant way to relieve anxiety and stress and possibly reduce menstrual headaches. Make lavender tea a part of your daily routine. A nice ritual for you and your daughter to have some quiet time together.

4. Having trouble sleeping during your period? Sprinkle lavender oil on your pillow before going to bed. Or make a sachet filled with dried lavender flowers and tuck it into your pillowcase.

5. And here is my favorite idea since I always would crave sweets during my period – bake some lavender cookies! Another great project for you and your daughter to do together. Combine the cookies and the tea and you will probably find that tea break becomes the best part of your day.

If you need lavender for these projects, be sure and stop by my house during the summertime. I will be happy to supply you!