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Here is a great item I came across today. Although Emily Rose also has basic hangers, here a nicely decorated set of 3 you could buy to spruce up your American Girl wardrobe.

As the mother of a 5 year old girl, I have a lot of expectations, hopes, and dreams for what her future holds.  I try my best to instill the qualities she will need to survive in adulthood.  She will need confidence, empathy, strong will, and determination to name a few.  She will need these qualities if she is to be successful in business, or at home if she chooses, when she is surrounded by men. (Her father, brothers, husband, uncles, grandfathers, nephews, and sons.)

It is with this in mind that I am more conscious of how I raise my two small boys.  Of course, our boys need all the same qualities as our girls, but there is another side to boys today that we should not overlook.  With many households relying on two incomes, men are now taking on more responsibility in the home.  Girls are taught to be nurturing from a very early age, but boys are often overlooked in this area.  Many men are not thrilled to see their sons playing with dolls, or dressing up in Mommy’s shoes.  And sometimes this kind of play is discouraged for boys. 

My son Jack is three and is “all boy”.  He loves trucks, tools, tractors, sports, and superheroes.  However, on occasion, he likes to copy his sister and try on lip gloss, walk a baby in a stroller, or dress up with tinkerbell wings (although I have to admit he is usually superman, when he wears the wings, because as you know, superman can fly).  My husband I encourage this kind of imaginative play just as much as when he works side by side with Daddy fixing things with his tools.  We encourage this play in the hopes of helping our son develop into a stronger man.

Stronger man, playing with dolls?  Yes!!  Tomorrow’s men need to be more nurturing than the men of today.  Most of our fathers did not have an active role in childrearing or home-making.  But fathers today are different, the nuclear family is different.  Did my father ever change a diaper?  NO WAY!!  My husband however plays an active role in raising our children.  Our husbands didn’t learn this role as children, so they often stumble through this process.  Some shine, others have a much harder time.  Our sons, however, will have role models in their fathers, and possibly even some grandfathers who are redefining their own roles. 

It is important that we raise our new generation of boys to be more nurturing, and caring.  It is important for them so that they won’t struggle in adulthood surrounded by their moms, grandmother, aunts, sisters, wives, and daughters.  It is also important because our sons are the ones who will be waiting at the end of the aisle for our American Girls, and it is our Sons who will be fathers to our Granddaughters.  When we raise our American Boys, we are raising them for our American Girls.

So let them dress up, encourage affection, let them cry, let them take dance class, let them bake with Mommy, teach them to not squash bugs.  Teach them all the things that our American girls will look for and love in a father, husband, or son.  And rest assured that even in Tinkerbell wings they will find a way to be Superman!  Because, as everone knows, Superman can fly.    

By, Michelle - Customer Care   

We have quite a variety of new products posted today - some really fun stuff.  For summer how about a shark wetsuit for your American Girl Doll, or our 18 Inch doll Jellie Shoes (they come in 4 different colors).  The little ruched sun dresses are so cute - they are available in 3 colors and at only $12.99 are a real steal!  Does your American Girl Doll fancy herself a brave and spirited Native American like Hiawatha?  Well here is the cutest Hiawatha outfit that has a lot of pieces (including boots) to wear on her adventures.  How about some nurses scrubs so that your doll can make her hospital rounds?

We have lots of new outfits that fit your Bitty Baby too.  These adorable stars and hearts rompers are here just in time for the 4th of July.  Your Bitty Baby might also want to play “Bride” and won’t she look the part in this gorgeous Bitty Bride gown?

All these new products and more have been posted at Emily Rose.  Please come by and visit and let us know what you think when you purchase something by leaving us a product review - we need your feedback to keep improving our products and service to you - our favorite customer

Then why not put them together: Chocolate Risotto! It may sound strange but I can tell you from personal experience that it is yummy.  I found this recipe when I was looking for something different to make for dessert.  In our household we have a liking for Italian food and sweet things; this combines both.  You may have had creamed rice before and this just gives an added twist to that dish.  A twist that everyone loves - chocolate.  When making it, the only things you need ot watch out for are to ensure you use semi-sweet chocolate and that you take the time to properly stir in the heavy cream at the end.  Other than that it is pretty straight forward.  Here goes:

1 cup risotto rice

2 1/2 cups whole milk

3 ozs semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of ground cinnamon

4 tbs heavy cream

fresh raspberries and chocolate caraque to decorate

chocolate sauce, to serve

1 - Put rice in non-stick pan.  Add milk and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is very soft.

2 - Stir in the chocolate, butter and sugar.  Cook, stirring all the time over very gentle heat for 1-2 minutes, until the chocolate has melted.

3 - Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and heavy cream.  Cover pan and let stand for a few minutes.

4 - Spoon risotto into individual dishes and decorate with raspberries and chocolate caraque.  Serve with chocolate sauce. 

Although I would much rather children play with their American Girl dolls (see Parenting article) I do understand that there comes a time when they do need to be put away for safe keeping.  This may be as children grow and move to other things, or if you want to keep them for a future generation.  Either way here is a way to keep them in great condition. 

First of all make sure your American Girl dolls and the accessories are properly cleaned and free of dust and sticky things.  Then wrap each piece separately and carefully in sheets of tissue paper (the American Doll accessories should be wrapped individually also).  Once they are wrapped you should put them in a hardy cardboard container or box.  If you can get any of those silica packs that are normally included when you purchase dolls clothes and such like then put a few of them in the container to keep the contents dry.  Next it is important that you store the container in a place which is climate controlled and out of direct sunlight (so as not to fade the contents)  - somewhere like a linen closet of even under a bed.  This will ensure that the American Girl dolls and the accessories stay in great shape for years to come.

Some important “no, no’s.”  Don’t keep stuff in the attic or garage as temperature variances will only accelerate aging.  Also never out the dolls in a plastic bag as moisture gets trapped there and will lead to disintegration over time.

Summer is coming and your kids are about to have loads of free time.  Pretty soon and you will start to hear the common summer refrain, “What can I do Mommy - I’m bored!”.  Well, Emily Rose is here to the rescue.  We will be scouring the web for great craft, activity and fun ideas for you and your kids to share some quality time together this summer.  Here’s one we came across this morning.  You have a whole three weeks before July 4th - so there is no excuse for no having all your kids decked out in cool, red, white and blue tie dye t-shirts.  Sherri Osborn from About.com has listed detailed steps for guaranteed success in this fun summer Red, White and Blue t-shirt project.  Why not make it a family affair and include your American Girl?  You could pick up our Three Tee set and make a matching tee for your 18 inch doll member of the family as well.

Have fun with this one.  We would love to see pictures of your results.  Send them to us and we will post them on Emily Rose as inspiration to others.  Happy tie-dying!

Congratulations to our first contest winner JoAnn Buttocolla!!!  JoAnn is the winner of our fabulous 18 Inch Doll Trunk for American Girl.  JoAnn - please send us an email through the store to claim your prize. 

Next month’s contest?  It’s up to you.  What would you like to win from the Emily Rose store?  Please leave a comment below to help us choose which Emily Rose product will be the next contest prize.

Our cool Trunk Contest ends at midnight tonight.  Check back tomorrow for our winner!

This time of year some of need help getting creative with our kids.  Well 5 Minutes for Mum is trying to help.  Starting yesterday they are posting 8 days of new ideas (and some freebies) to keep things busy in your household.  There’s a contest for each day too - just leave a comment on each separate post for the items that you’d like to win.

Here’s the link: http://www.5minutesformom.com/3636/creative-summer-days/

Here’s a fun, (extremely) short quiz on the web for your daughter to do.  It consists of 5 questions that ask generally about her character and then link the answers to the American Girl which most resembles them.  Harmless fun really but it does link to several other short quizzes that may be of interest. 

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/1OqCz0K/Which-American-Girl-are-you?view_quiz=1