Peanut Butter Play Dough

Not much to do on a semi-rainy day like today, so here is something that I put together. Most ideas I have on Pinterest require a well-stocked house with various supplies, which I lack, so this was what I ended up with. Not the greatest activity, but fun (and yummy) nonetheless and impressive under the circumstances. I found a few recipes for peanut butter play dough, and then I did what I generally do: improvise! I put in some peanut butter and sugar, and then added flour till it reached a consistency I was happy with. I added food coloring to some of it, I could've done more but I figured that the kids just mush all the colors together anyway, and colored peanut butter is not very appealing.

Thank you Aunt T for all your help and input!I hope the kids don't end up with stomachaches...

Fire Truck Birthday

There is nothing my guys like more than fire engines and firemen. I mean, any truck will keep them happy, but fire trucks are probably the best. When I saw this fire truck cake tutorial I knew I had to make it. It's easy enough even for an amateur like myself, but still so impressive. I learned that I can't work on my cakes with any kids around, because then it becomes "don't touch anything!" instead of "wow this is fun! and "come look at what I just added!"

This little guy was my own addition, after looking at countless cakes on CakeCentral. It was actually a lot of fun to make, even though it took a lot of time. It was my first attempt at using fondant, and I was quite pleased with the results.

Tie-Dye Cookies

These aren't the chocolate chip variety, but I figured it would be apropos to start this blog off with baking- cookies, specifically. Today was the upsherin of Big Guy Jr., but more on that later. I enjoy coming up with activities to do with my kids, especially ones where we can get creative, and I have endless ideas and good intentions. However, many of these ideas include preparation, or lots of supplies that I would need to buy (especially in our current post-move situation), or time or space or other factors that I don't have. But baking is something I can always do, and there are many recipes or variations of recipes that are fun and creative. And as you know, or you'll find out, I enjoy baking as well as coming up with projects, so that's always a possible option.

So the morning of these cookies I was thinking of what to do with the kids in the afternoon, but of course there was no major project that I was prepared for. In addition, it was Thursday and I thought it would be nice to have some home baked dessert for Shabbos, so my Mommy head was trying to figure out how I would keep two full-of-energy boys busy while I baked, when it hit me: Baking IS a kids' activity. (I believe in it, like I said before, but sometimes I forget.)

I've seen these tie-die cookies before, but all my cookbooks are still packed away in boxes, so I kind of had to improvise - not that hard because it's pretty basic. I took a regular sugar cookie recipe, divided it into 3 bowls (yes, I have 3 bowls, believe it or not), and added food coloring. The boys had such a fun time mixing the colors, and they really felt like they were playing with play dough. I wasn't sure how this would come out, but it was great in the end, and they even tasted good. The challenge I had was letting go and allowing the boys to have fun without intruding too much on their creativity. I had an image of how I expected these to turn out, but they did their own thing. Also, I had to relax and bre-e-e-a-the when they kept sneaking bits of dough into their mouths, and tell myself over and over that this is for them to have fun!

Even Little Sis joined in the fun! (but not the eating- she's too hesitant of new things for that).

The final product. I know, I know, they don't look so bad... that's because these are the ones I made. The ones the kids made... well... they just didn't get photographed!