Unforgettable Childhood

After a year of letting this blog sit without typing a single word I have decided that I needed to come back and write here again. One never quite knows where life will take you. And life has brought me back to this place. After five years of being at home with my kids, my youngest started kindergarten this year and I headed back to work.

Fortunately, my work has taken me to the school, where I am surrounded by kids everyday. Now I have the opportunity to not only create memories for my own kids, but I have the opportunity to create memories for many kids.

I realized one night, as I was laying awake thinking about new art projects and how I was going to teach multiplication x3 to third graders, that maybe this blog is exactly where I should be writing.

So here I am, starting a new chapter, in a very familiar place. As my middle daughter once said, when you are exploring and discovering it is called Excovering. So I guess you can say that I am reexcovering ways to create memories that will last a lifetime with kids.

One of the most fun parts of being at Grammy’s house is that she is an amazing baker. YUM!

My waistline is not appreciating it very much, but the girls are getting a glimpse into my childhood.

Nadia joined Grammy in the kitchen on Friday to bake Peanut Butter Cookies.

This recipe is an old one. We couldn’t put a date on it, but this is a picture of the cookbook it comes from.

These cookies stay so soft and moist. I asked my mom to share her trick. She says she takes them out when they are not quite done. No wonder it is hard to replicate her recipes. The recipe says to take them out when they are light brown in color. She just peaks at them a few times to get them just right.

Here is the recipe.

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cream first four ingredients together; blend in beaten egg. Sift together dry ingredients and add to first mixture. Add vanilla and blend well. Chill dough several hours. Form into balls the size of a walnut; place on cookie sheet, press down with a fork in a criss-cross design and bake in 325 degree oven until a light brown color.

Enjoy! It is so much fun to let my kids spend time with Grammy recreating some of the memories I remember. I guess my mom created an unforgettable childhood for me, too.

Now that we are back in my hometown, my kids get to experience the things I did when I was there age. One of those things is the Park Carnival. It was the highlight of the summer when I was young.

It isn’t quite the same now, but it was fun to have them participate. They still had a great time.

One of the requirements as a parent is to supply some of the prizes for the carnival. Each child that is involved in summer activities is asked to bring a cake for the cake walk and 2 12-packs of pop.

Of course, I couldn’t just throw a little frosting on a cake, I wanted to do something a little more fun. I spent the entire day getting them ready, but it was worth it.

My girls used a lot of their tickets at the cake walk to try to win their own cakes.

I am not sure how many tickets they used, but little one accomplished her goal!

Do you have a a summer carnival that you participate in with your kids? Do you love the cake walk, too? I know I do and I can’t wait to eat little one’s cake

Last week when I took a little trip to Barnes and Noble I found this awesome game. I had played it once with my girls and they really loved it, but I had not been able to find it to purchase it for our family.

I was so excited when I went into the game section and they had one left. We have played it at least a half a dozen times since I bought it a week ago.

My seven year old is not to young to play, in fact she beats us half the time.

Our four year old is the keeper of the blocks so it keeps her busy even though she is too little to play.

Our nine year old doesn’t think she is too cool to play this game and it challenges her more than a lot of the games we play.

It is a game that our entire family really enjoys. We have also played it with my mom and sister and they loved it, too.

Sometimes a new game is a flop, but that is definitely not the case with Qwirkle. The concept requires matching of shapes and colors with a little Sudoku twist.

During the fall and winter we have a lot of family game nights and I am sure this will be a family favorite when the snow flies.

Do you have any favorite family games?

My girls love to get an empty notebook. There minds are full of stories that they can’t wait to get on paper.

On one of my last trips to the library I found a really cool book, Look At My Book by Loreen Leedy.

Each of the girls grabbed a brand new notebook and we opened this book for ideas and inspiration. This book breaks down writing into brainstorming, genres, research, illustration. It is a step-by-step book on creating a book using their imagination and creativity. I absolutely love it and they did, too.

My oldest daughter did a great job brainstorming using a Word Web.

My middle daughter made a list of Nature words before she began her story to get an idea where she wanted to go with it.

My youngest daughter doesn’t write yet so she illustrated pages and then told me the story that needed to be added to the page.

My girls are on a summer break from school, but this is a fun way to get them to keep learning. I can’t wait to see where their imaginations take them next time we sit down to write.

It is time for me to make an appointment for my littlest to go to the dentist for the first time. Considering that she attaches herself to me whenever we go anywhere new, I am pretty sure that going to the dentist might be a nightmare.

When I saw the opportunity to receive the book Melvin the Magnificent Molar from Julia Cook and Laura Jana, M.D. I knew that I wanted to get a copy.

Here is a little preview of the book:
Meet Melvin, the lovable tooth. Through Melvin’s view of the world, this book encourages children in a fun-loving, unique way to actually want to brush their teeth. By promoting brushing, flossing, and regular visits to the dentist, Melvin shows readers young and old how to make sure they will have happy teeth and healthy smiles that will last them a lifetime!

The colorful illustrations and story do a great job of teaching a child to brush their teeth and a trip to the dentist. My daughter loves the book. It is my hope that this book makes her first trip to the dentist a little easier.

I made a list today of all of the amazing things I want to do with this blog.

I have good intentions, but moving and summer put together have put a hold on all of those good intentions.

As we get settled in, I hope to post on a regular schedule with all of the fun activities we have on our agenda. We are working on writing right now and this weekend we are off exploring. In the next couple of weeks we hope to visit DeSmet, South Dakota. One of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood homes.

But for now, I am joining in for New Friend Friday with a few pictures of our summer fun.

I hope to see you back here at Unforgettable Childhood. The purpose of this blog was to spend quality time with my girls, creating, exploring and learning.

With the busyness of our culture today we have to be intentional with our kids. We have to take back our family time from society. We have to teach them to use their imaginations. We have to be purposeful in limiting technology time and encourage active, outdoor time.

I can’t wait to share my ideas with you in the next few weeks, but right now the sun is shining in South Dakota and we are off to play.