MADE FROM SCRATCH

Do you like to bake from scratch or do you prefer a box mix for baking? Personally, I find box mixes to be less of a mess but made from scratch is so much tastier.

Nora, one of my 11 year old twins, has been asking to bake something from scratch for quite some time and today she finally got her wish. We had several bananas that were on the brown side (hardly ever happens in house with 8 people) and I decided that banana bread would be a great first “made from scratch” item for her to bake.

She did 99% of the work herself. She found the recipe, the first recipe she found said to “let the bread stand overnight.” She decided she would prefer a recipe that allowed us to eat it immediately so she went to Google. She found the recipe she wanted and got to work.

She preheated the oven, found all of the ingredients on her own, and did all of the mixing, mashing, and stirring on her own. When it was ready, she poured it into the loaf pans…. and like most of us have done 100 times she realized she forgot to oil the loaf pans😂.

She asked me how important that step was and I simply replied,”pour it all back into the bowl, rinse and dry the loaf pans, spray them and try again.” I explained that she would hate to have her bread be ruined because it stuck to the pan. She agreed and finished it like the recipe said.

While it was baking my house smelled amazing and when it was finished Nora proudly had everyone try it… HOLY MOLY it was DELICIOUS!

I believe giving our kids freedom to experiment in the kitchen is important for many different reasons.

Understanding how important it is to follow directions and pay attention to small details can really make a difference as they become adults. Also, knowing that when you make a small mistake you can pour it back in the bowl and start over allows to know that a simple mistake doesn’t mean a failure it means you try again.

Teaching them independence by allowing them to choose what to cook, finding the perfect recipe, finding the ingredients, and executing it by themselves (knowing you are there if they need a little guidance) helps them build confidence in themselves.

Do you let your kiddos cook or bake? If your little one is younger do you allow them to help you? What is your favorite thing they make you?

Pictured is my delicious slice of Nora’s banana bread.

Remembering 9/11

Do you remember where you were? Who you were with? What you were doing? I’m sure most people over the age of 25 remember where they were on that fateful day.

I had slept on the couch the night before, while my 2 month old baby slept in her cradle in the living room. I remember waking up to the headline flashing across the television screen “America Under Attack?” I distinctly remember thinking that it was a movie so I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. When it hit me that it was not a movie I got up just in time to see the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

I was only 16 years old and I was terrified. I woke up my family and we watched the news together until I had to go off to school. At school the news was on in every classroom. I remember the principal coming into my U.S. History class and telling my teacher to turn off the television. As soon as the principal was down the hall my teacher turned it back on. After all, it was U.S. HISTORY!

The next few weeks were surreal. I had never before and have never again felt so close to the other people in our country.

I still mourn for those that lost their lives in the attacks, the first responders that gave their lives saving others, those that died on Flight 93, and all the other that have died as a result of that day. I would love to hear your story. Where were you?

Picture credit

Maiden voyage on the PF-Bobber

For the last month or two our family has really enjoyed fishing together. We pack up all of our fishing poles, tackle boxes, snacks and head to what my Hubby decides is THE BEST place to fish that day. It could be one of many places along the Columbia River, the Snake River, the Yakima River, or even a random pond around where we live. When we get there we set up our little fishing spot, pull out our fishing gear, and fish and fish and fish. Usually without any success. Although, Perry has been known to catch a frog or two.

So, for the last month Trevor (Hubby) has been doing countless hours of research on different boats and rafts. He was convinced that if we just had a small boat to get out ON the water we could start catching fish. So, for our anniversary last month I surprised him with the Excursion 5 from Amazon.

Of course, with our busy schedule we weren’t able to get it on the water until yesterday. We decided to go to the local mud hole and got it all set up. We were pleasantly surprised with how much room it had. It fits 5 of us pretty easily and it’s even pretty easy to maneuver. The first time off the dock it was just Trevor and Perry rowing with Nora, Dani and Stephie as their passengers and they didn’t have any problems (We bought an extra set of oars).

After a few times around the dock, us girls left Trevor and Perry there to fish ON the water. Low and behold, about 30 minutes later I got a text with the next picture… Perry caught a fish!

We all agree that the $125 price tag on this boat was worth it! Trevor even let me name it because I bought it for him. I had several names on my list of options but finally settled on the PF-Bobber.

We anticipate many more adventures on this little boat and highly recommend one for your family if you are looking for some easy and cheap family time.

How do you spend family time? Do you like to do things on the cheap like us? I’d love some more ideas.