{We're Thankful for Cookies}

This weekend we got together with a neighbor for the "Great Cookie Bake-a-Thon!".   There's a bunch of different ways you can tackle baking with toddlers- they key is making sure that everyone has a task, even if that task is simply holding onto a whisk.  

LuCk & Co. had a fun time in the kitchen.  Lucas honed his butter mashing skills. Abby, our guest, whisked a mean egg. Chuck just hung around the kitchen taking in the sites, and all three of them enjoyed some sampling along the way.  We measured ingredients out, counted how many eggs we cracked, and stared into the oven watching cookie magic happen! 

Baking with toddlers can be fun! Here's a few tricks of the trade to make this a little bit more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Recipe for Success

Choose a recipe that leaves a little wiggle room.  We made chocolate chip cookies.  At the end of the day, its hard to go wrong with sugar, eggs, flour, and chocolate.  There's a LOT of room for error, or as I like to call it, "experimentation."

Prep

Have everything you need in arms reach.  When I watch cooking shows, I am always in awe at the level of preparation that goes into getting everything set up.  I try to emulate this when kids aren't around.  It's an absolute MUST when the kids are in the kitchen.

Get Everyone Ready

Once their hands are washed, most recipes can be divided into "wet" and "dry" ingredients.  If you have multiple bakers in the kitchen, you can assign some one to be "in charge" of each of these things.  Lucas went to town creaming the sugar and butter!  He is a mashing machine!  

Don't Forget the Fun 

Have some containers filled with ingredients for the kids to to play with. There's a lot of waiting in baking; having bowls filled with a little bit of flour to play with while you are waiting for a batch of cookies to come out of the oven, reduces the risk of real ingredients getting sampled.  

The cookies are baked and all packaged up to bring to the Senior Center on Wednesday! They may not win any competition, but I sure hope the folks we deliver them to can taste all the love that went into these (and don't notice that a few chocolate chips may or may not be missing) 

I wouldn't be telling the whole story without the disclaimer that this will be messy and the end result will vary.  There may even be some crying involved.  Chuck reminded me that baking is a very sensory rich environment: there's a lot of clanking and whirling and buzzing. Baking with a group is chaotic; and although a full-blown toddler sensory overload meltdown was not in this recipe, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. 

Sometimes I need an activity like this to remind me that even though I had visions of mommy/daughter bake-a-thons this winter, I may need to re-envision my vision.  Chuck is super sensitive to sounds right now (hey, she's 23 months old, what do you expect?), so the noise of the mixer really bothered her.  She's also been super clingy lately, and its really hard to measure out flour while balancing a toddler on your hip. Even though I wanted her to get her hands in on the action, Chuck was perfectly content watching from the sidelines (or in my arms) and chewing on a whisk.  I need to remind myself that "that's OK".  And it is.  There will be more chances to bake cookies in this girl's future.     

{Surviving Thanksgiving Part III: Teaching Toddlers To Be Thankful}

With a little over a week until Thanksgiving, we have been thinking a lot this month about all the things we have to be thankful for. I've spent a lot of time focusing on what to cook, and how to keep my kid at the Thanksgiving table for 30 minutes.  The reason I put this much planning and thought into these things is so when next Thursday arrives, we can spend time actually giving Thanks.

Lucas and Chuck give us so many things to be thankful for, observing them experience new things, listening to them giggle, and watching them share secrets with each other.

It got me thinking, "how can I get my kid to be thankful? Is that even possible?"

I don't think there's a single person in the world who sets off on the adventure of parenthood with the goal of raising a self-centered child.  Twenty-two months into it, I have to honestly admit, I can see how some kids become self-centered.  I'll give you the play-by-play: the first months of my daughter's life, I gave her what ever she asked for.  My main goal was to decrease the amount of crying that came out of her.  If buying her a golden pony encrusted with diamonds would have made that happen, I would have done it.  About a year ago I had "a moment". Chuck was doing something wrong at the dinner table, I looked at her firmly and said "no".  I didn't raise my voice.  I didn't look upset, but she knew that I wasn't pleased at that moment. The above photo is the result of this interaction.  I snapped it right before things took a turn for the worse. Her little lip came out, her eyes welled with tears, and I felt horrible.  What ever it was that she did that was so wrong (I honestly can't  even remember it at this moment) was it so bad to make my baby girl turn into a melty mess?   It was this moment I realized that I was no longer just some lady taking care of a baby; I was a parent.  I was overwhelmed with guilt: did I over react?  I'm not a giant believer in tough love.  At that precise moment, all my heart wanted to do was scoop my daughter up in my arms, tell her I was sorry, and explain that everything would be OK.  I realized though, that I couldn't do this.  I had to stand my ground.  I had to let her cry.  It was the longest 30 seconds of my life.


I am a complete word dork. I am especially fascinated by words that are both nouns and verbs. The moment that I realized I was a parent, was made infinitely more sublime by realizing I was, myself, both a noun and a verb.

Parent (n): One who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures and raises a child; a father or mother.
Parent (v) bring up.

So, how do you (the parent) teach your child to be thankful? How do bring up your kid to be thankful?  This is still a work in progress in my household, and probably will be for the next several decades; however, this is the plan I am going to try.  It follows the age old philosophy of "Monkey See.  Monkey Do."

Model Being Thankful (Monkey See)
Chuck's first words were rather normal, "mama," "dada," and "baba". It was her next words that made me proud: "day dew."  That's Chuck for "thank you".  She still says it; sometimes at inappropriate times that it makes it almost comical.  I choose to believe that she picked this up from all the times I would say "thank you" when someone did something for me (picked up a toy, brought dinner to the table).  It makes me realize that if you want your child to be thankful, you have to model this behavior yourself.   I hope her little "day dew" blossoms into a thousand heartfelt thanks within her lifetime. I hope she one day realizes exactly what she is saying and why she is saying it.  Right now, however, we have to start some where.

Do Thankful Things (Monkey Do)
Next week Lucas and Chuck are going to get together with some friends and deliver cookies to our local senior center.  Is this going to save the world? No, but hopefully we'll bring a little joy to people who may not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families, or maybe to someone who's just having a blah kinda day.  Will Lucas and Chuck know why their moms lugged them to the senior center?  Probably not, but if I waited until Chuck understood things, well, then I'd be one bored mama.  What I really hope is that this is something that becomes a LuCk tradition, and in 10 years Lucas and Chuck will say, "hey, Mom, you know how you've lugged us to the senior center for the last 10 years?  Well, I've been thinking about it, and why can't we go to the senior center every Thursday?" 'Cause, hopefully this will bring a smile to everyone's face.*

I'd love to take credit for all these ideas, but being a mother in the 21st Century, I Googled "how to teach my kid to be thankful".
Here's the most helpful resources I found:
Teaching Children to be Grateful 
5 Ways to Raise a Grateful Child 
How to Raise Grateful Kids




*also, because I couldn't leave you with a pic of my miserable daughter, without a few smiles to balance it out. 

{Project: Seeds!}

When I was a little girl, I would wander away from my mother at the market.  She never had to work that hard to find me; she knew exactly where I would be.  There was an aisle at the market that had large barrels filled with dried goods: rice, beans, and grains.  I was always elbows deep in the rice barrell.  I loved everything about the way it felt; it was smooth and cooling.  I dreamed of filling a pool with rice and going for a swim . . . . . Many (many) years later, I am happy to say that I frequently dream of floating through a sea of rice.  The seed was planted in the aisle of that Market, and it stuck!

With the weather turning a cooler, we've been hunkering down a little bit more.  Fall is that in-between season when you pack up the water toys, but it's not quite time to bring out the snow gear.  This year, as I was packing up the kiddie pool, I got this gut feeling that Chuck was not quite ready to say goodbye to her beloved summer water playthings, and that got my mind working overtime.  Basically, it ended up with this phone call:
Husband: What are you doing tonight?
Wife: I'm going to the gym and to the hardware store.
Husband: What do you need at the hardware store?
Wife: Birdseed.
Husband: We have birdseed leftover from last winter.
Wife: I need more.
Husband: How much more.
Wife: About a kiddie pool's worth

To answer your question, "yes, my husband thought I was insane." I've seen seeing a bunch of sensory tubs on Pinterest and floating around the blogosphere, so I was feeling a little inspired.  Karen and I thought long and hard over what to fill the pool with.  At first we thought of feed corn, but after many many phone calls, we couldn't seem to locate a small enough batch.  I reminisced about swimming through rice, but it was just too wasteful. Then Karen mentioned bird seed, and it just clicked!

So, we did what any normal moms would do, we spent our Friday night at the gym and the hardware store feeling our way through the aisle of birdseed.  In case you're wondering, it takes about 40 pounds of birdseed to fill your average 12 gallon swimming pool.

Sunday morning, the sun was shining, the leaves were blowing, the air was crisp, and Chuck and I anxiously waited for Lucas and our buddies to arrive.  We dragged all 40lbs of seed down to the back yard, pulled the string on the bag, and dumped it right into the small blue pool.  Karen & I had made all kinds of educational guesses as to what would happen next.  They ranged from "this will last 10 minutes", to "they are going to have SO MUCH FUN".  We were slightly skeptical of where this playdate would land on the "fun-o-meter"

I am pleased to announce that all four kids dove right in!  The filled up buckets over and over and over again.  Drove trucks through the seeds.  Explored the seeds with their hands.  We had kids from eighteen months to over three years old happily occupied with a pool full of birdseed for a good 45 minutes. That is about an eternity in mom-years.  They were so occupied that the three of us moms looked at each other and wondered "why didn't we arrange for some sort of adult playdate?"   Or, at the very least "why didn't I make a pot of coffee for my adult guests"

I can sit here and list the five million reasons why filling a pool with birdseed is great for the kids (it helps with their cognitive development, social skills, physical skills, communication skills,  …. I really could keep going), but sometimes its fun to sit back, and watch your kid actively learn and experience something new!  Chuck was truly in her element! She loves filling containers, so this activity was perfect.  Lucas loves digging with his trucks, and the seeds provided a happy alternate to the dirt and sand that he is familiar with. 

Karen & I did make our best educated guess on what to fill the pool with.  Here's a helpful check list you may want to take to the hardware store with you when the mood hits! Have fun and happy exploring! 

• What does the material feel like?
• What does the material smell like?
• What does the material look like?
• What does the material sound like?
• Would you mind if your kid ate it?
• Does your kid have any tactile preferences? (For example: Chuck HATES sticky things, so filling the pool with whipped cream may have to wait a while)

 
And, don't worry . . . we are working on about a thousand ways to re-use 40lbs of birdseed!

{Surviving Thanksgiving Part II: Play with your Food}

There is a certain element of nostalgia that enters my house when the holidays roll around.  Whether its baking pies, pureeing pumpkin, roasting vegetables,or mashing sweet potatoes, sentimentality permeates everything I do in the kitchen. I am acutely aware that with each and every scent that fills my home, I am creating memories for my family.

Holiday food evokes a certain comfiness  in my brain.  So many of my childhood memories are so strongly associated with food, that a simple whiff of gravy (albeit from a jar) makes me feel like a kid again. Comfort foods define this time of year.  Not only do they fill your tummy, but they embrace you like your favorite childhood blanket.

The thing about Thanksgiving foods is there are so many that are naturally appealing to toddlers (and puree nicely for those without teeth.)  I'm not going to tell you what to cook, because I think planning your family's holiday meals is a personal decision.  The very fact that I demand the Stouffer's Stove Top Stuffing of my childhood over whatever gourmet version my mother makes this year, proves this point (very embarassingly).  I am, however, going to tell you the story of my apple pie. 

Nothing quite reminds me of Thanksgiving as much as apple pie.

In eighth  grade I took a Home Economics class at school.  By "Home Economics", I really mean we learned how to scramble eggs and make a pie.  That year, for Thanksgiving, I told my mother that I was going to bake pies.  My mother is fantastic cook, however, baking is not her passion.  Regardless, I decided we were going to have a homemade desert for Thanksgiving.  I made everything from scratch. I purchased a pastry cutter to make the pie crust; I peeled bags of apples; I intricately decorated the crust exactly as my teacher had. I wish we had iPhones and Instagram back then, because that pie was beautiful.  My family ate the pie, and I was happy.  In future years, I upped the ante and made multiple pies.  In the interest of time, I decided to buy the Pillsbury dough frozen.  No one noticed that my love and effort weren't in the dough, my family ate the pie, and I was happy.  As the years went by, Thanksgiving desert became "my thing".  Every year my father still tells me that he can pick up a pumpkin cheesecake from Costco, and I try to explain the love and effort that goes into my pies.

Last  year, with my 11 month old daughter in tow, that love and effort hit a major snag. I put Chuck on the floor of the kitchen, gave her some kitchen things to play with, and started rolling out my dough. I quickly realized that baking a pie was not going to be easy to do one-handed with my attention divided.  As I was trying to get my beautiful homemade, handmade pie into the oven, I tripped over one of the measuring cups that she was playing with on the floor, dropping the pie, and breaking the pie plate. Shocked, I sat on the floor temporarily defeated. Then, I did what any new-mom would do: I pulled myself together and I faked it.  I pulled a Pillsbury dough out of the freezer, filled it with pre-made apple-pie-filling, decorated it with my piecrust cutters, and showed up at Grandma's house.  I didn't lie, or pretend that I baked it from scratch, and no one really seemed to care.  My family still ate the pie, and I was happy. 

 
This year, to keep myself Martha-organized, I have developed a little survival plan of my own. It is my hopes that these tips will help me prepare my meal with as little frustration as possible.  

With that said, I now pass on my second thanksgiving survival tip: be prepared and plan some fun in your menu! Play with your food!  You may be able to host a Thanksgiving feast of blog worthy proportions, however, right now, you are just trying to survive Thanksgiving with a couple of fun stories to share with your Grandchildren.

Enlist the help of a tiny kitchen assistant (and some adult ones)
On the cusp of two years old, Chuck is definitely joining me in the kitchen this year!  I hope to enlist her unique skill set to help me crumble up crackers for the stuffing.  Given the right task, toddlers can make great kitchen helpers.  They can assist in giving veggies and fruit a "pre-rinse".  Toddlers also find cleaning up a lot of fun!  Chuck is great at picking teeny tiny things off the floor, and wiping surfaces clean (her innerMartha would be proud).

This year, when an amazing friend asked what she could bring to Thanksgiving Dinner, I happily texted back "desert."  Though I still love to make pie magic happen every Thanksgiving, I always welcome help. I hope that one year, Chuck will take up an interest in pie baking, and the pie-making torch can be passed on.

Plan for accidents 

Knowing I have a back-up plan makes me slightly less anxious about things going wrong.  When I am purchasing the ingredients to make Thanksgiving magic, I always buy a few extra.  I figure the worst-case-scenario is that I wind up with frozen pie crust in my freezer, and the possibility of a fake-n-bake pie in my future. As my pie was hitting the floor that Thanksgiving Eve, I was concocting a back-up plan.  I knew I had extras of all the ingredients used in my now splattered pie, so i had all it would take to fake-n-bake another pie. What, me panic? I think not!

Play with your food
For Thanksgiving, my "innerMartha" says that you should play with your food. There is nothing formal about hosting toddlers at the Thanksgiving table (and I'm pretty sure Martha would be OK with that). I had a great time making a "fruit turkey" with my niece last year!  There are so many fun food creations to make for or with your kid!


Follow our Pinterest Board if you need a little inspiration!


Remember, you are feeding your family and friends around the same table, and that is what matters most.

{Project: Play-Dough}

It was 6:45 on Saturday morning when I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming down the hall. I dared not open my eyes in hopes that those small feet would climb into bed with me to cuddle and buy me few more minutes of sleep (or, maybe bring me a coffee) but really who was I kidding? It's one thing to be awake at 6:45, it's another to hear these dreadful words come out of Lucas’s mouth: “Lucas make cookies?” 

What?! Are you kidding me?!

Honestly, I love being in the kitchen with my child, but not at 6:45am on Saturday. Lucas was relentless. Lucky for him, his mama can whip up a mean batch of play-dough, even before that first cup of coffee kicks in. 

Play-dough is one of those timelessly classic concoctions that allows for endless learning possibilities. Almost everyone knows the smell (or taste) when you pop open a nice fresh can of Play-doh. With that in mind, I decided to make this batch of play-dough extra special and seasonal by adding pumpkin spice to it. It was a fun twist on regular dough and the first of many scented doughs to come. Our sense of smell helps form memories. By making scented play-dough, I am hoping to provide Lucas with special memories for years to come!  

Of course, since Lucas is a toddler, play-dough also called for a fun experiment with taste! Lucky for Lucas, homemade playdough is 100% edible so explore away!  The funny thing is, he tasted each ingredient as it was added but had no interest in eating it once it was all mixed together or cooked. 

Another great thing about play-dough is it is fun all by itself. No need for fancy play-dough tools. While we were making it I was thinking of all of the kitchen gadgets we could use with it. We ended up using two potato mashers and two plastic spiders left over from Halloween.

Amazingly, this project kept Lucas occupied for over an hour! He doesn’t even play with his beloved trains or trucks for that long of a stint! Play-dough is open ended so the possibilities are endless. Follow your child's lead and make anything he can imagine! We made everything from hot dogs to birthday candles to a basketball hoop. 

Extra LuCk
Check your spice cabinet for new and exciting scents. You can also use liquids like vanilla extract or even coffee! If you are feeling extra adventurous, you can add glitter too!

Want our secret recipe? We like to share!  Click here to download the guide!

{Surviving Thanksgiving Part I: Setting the Scene}

I was eight months pregnant the first time I hosted Thanksgiving.  We had just moved into our new home, and I was eager to start creating some traditions of my own.  I'm a "celebrator" at heart, so its not like you had to twist my arm to make this all happen. I purchased a set of thematic ceramic desert and serving pieces with coordinating napkins and candlesticks.  I heated a pot with cider and cinnamon sticks, and filled my home with the scent of Thanksgiving.  We all cozied up in my little hundred-year-old house and had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving.  Appetizers were served on my wedding China.  Wine (and non-alcoholic sparkling cider) freely flowed.  I sat back and wondered what Thanksgiving Future was going to look like.  

So, what does Thanksgiving look like now?  Well, I can promise you this:  those newly purchased ceramic desert plates are kept far away from Chuck.  They probably will be for many years.  I invested in some fancy melamine dishwear for my little one last year.  That got me thinking, "what can I do this year to make Thanksgiving go 'smoothly' "? I mean, we all want to have fun, create memories, and relax a little.  Setting aside time for family dinner has always been important to me, so Chuck knows how to sit at the table; however, most of our meals last about 15 minutes on average.  I'm not sure if Chuck is going to be able to "hold it together" through an entire Thanksgiving meal. 

First, and foremost, know that things will not be perfect.  Keep repeating this to yourself. "This will not be perfect" "This will not be perfect". Make it your mantra for the month or so.  "This will not be perfect", but that's OK.  Because, what it is, is realistic.  That is so much better than perfect. 

Second of all, set realistic expectations. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me a good Pinterest as much as any one else.  But, sometimes, it gets my expectations a little out of whack with reality (see above).  Not every occasion needs to be celebrated with a thematic zany food-art, embroidered dishtowels, or a countdown calendar.  Growing up, our most coveted Thanksgiving heirloom was this ceramic turkey that holds the cranberry sauce.  Valuable? No.  Priceless? Yes!  That's the thing.  You don't know exactly what your family is going to hold on to and sew into the fabric of their memories.  I'm pretty sure my mom never envisioned that ceramic turkey being the thing us kids got excited about seeing every November. 

Let's talk about "expectations". My goal is to see if I can get Chuck to "survive" 30 minutes at the Thanksgiving Table.  Unlike the adults, she is going to need more than food and beverage to entertain her.  So, with that, this is my first Thanksgiving suggestion: Embrace the Idea of a Kids Table.  And by "Kids Table", I mean "The Table".  I want my family all sitting around the same table, so why not use some toddler approved tricks to entertain all your guests!  

About a year ago, Amazon accidentally sent me 50 lbs of rolled Kraft paper instead of the 10lbs that I ordered.  This is perhaps the best mistake that has ever happened to me.  I have used this paper to cover tables for various celebrations in the past year.  It's absolutely perfect! When I was trying to think of ways to entertain Chuck, I instantly thought of that roll of Kraft paper and some crayons.  I mean, it works beautifully in diners across the tri-state area, why not in my house?  Kraft paper can have a rustic elegance to it that I think it absolutely perfect for Holiday celebrations.

I use elements of whimsy and surprise whenever I need to entertain Chuck for long periods of time (waiting for the pediatrician, car rides, waiting for dinner, waiting for dada, waiting for  . . . just about anything you can think of).  Toddler Truth: they like to touch and explore things with their senses!  So set the scene appropriately:give them something at the table to touch and fiddle with!  Give them something new to look at!  Make your table whimsical, and you may just be able to pull off 30 minutes of a relaxing Thanksgiving celebration!  

So, with this in mind, here are a few of our favorite Kids Table ideas!  
1. I love these Martha Stewart Corn Husk Dolls!  Chuck is really into dolls right now, so I'm pretty sure that these would entertain her for a little bit! 
2. These little owl treat bags would be a great way to keep little hands busy.  My daughter loves filling containers with odds and ends.
3. Covering the table in Kraft paper is a must!  This way no one has to worry about spilling the gravy on grandma's heirloom tablecloth. 
4. Invest  in some festive melamine dishware.  Not only is it more colorful and entertaining than my "adult plates", but I don't have to worry about it breaking. 
5. Last year, my niece and I made this "fruit turkey".  It was a perfect activity to keep us busy while the adults were getting the turkey cooking. 
6. I love the idea of a "please-touch-me" centerpiece.  Gourds come in so many interesting textures, shapes, and colors, that this could be a win/win situation.

Photo Credits 
1. Martha Stewart
2. World Market 
3. Country Living 
4.  World Market 
5. LuCk    
6.  Good Housekeeping


Follow our Little Celebrations board on Pinterest to see more ideas!