Save for a Rainy Day

There are times when I run out of engaging things to do with the little ones.

It's usually when it has been raining for days. And it's cold. This past weekend, there also happened to be a little snow. It's times like these when I might call up a teacher friend for some ideas. (Shout out to Chantell and Sarah!) And here's one I'd like to bookmark.

So simple, yet I always forget about this opportunity that is right under my nose! After a really good scrub down and disinfection, I filled up the kitchen sink with soapy water.

Add some small containers, et voilà!

You would've thought that I'd filled the sink with a bunch of cuddly puppies or cute kittens. I don't mean to brag, but I did get a "You the best mom ever!" (From the two-year-old.)

Oh...the bonus is that you'll inevitably mop the floor right after. You're welcome!

Food Hug: Indoor S'mores

Prediction: we will be spending a lot of time indoors this weekend. So much rain that maybe could possibly kind of turn into snow. And the cold. I'll need to have a few plans for distraction. Perhaps some indoor 'camping' could be a fun idea. Put a tent in the living room and let the kids lay inside after a family singalong and popcorn. Ha! They would never go to sleep (you thought I was going to make a joke about a family singalong, didn't you?). Either way, I think we should eat some s'mores- yes?

This was a quick and easy experiment turned great dessert. I melted a small amount of chocolate chips and a few jumbo marshmallows- both of which we already had on hand. Then the graham crackers...tear along the perforated lines to get the perfect bite sized s'mores. All ingredients were eyeballed to suit how much sugar I was willing to feed the family and how much I had in the pantry.

Indoor S'mores

Chocolate chips

Marshmallows

Graham Crackers

Butter

Melt marshmallows... Use about a tablespoon of butter and melt it in the microwave in a large glass bowl. Once melted swirl it to coat entire inside of bowl in butter. Add marshmallows and toss in the residual butter. Microwave on medium high in one minute increments. Warning: (and also the coolest part of this experiment): the marshmallows will puff up while being heated. A lot. Keep an eye on this because I'm CERTAIN that melted marshmallow would not be fun to clean out of a microwave. Continue to stir marshmallows after each minute, try to incorporate the residual butter. This should take a total of 3 minutes, tops.

Melt chocolate... I used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate, but I've heard folks swear by microwaving it too.

Assemble... Break graham crackers into desired size and lay pairs out on parchment paper. Spread a layer of chocolate on one side of your 'sandwich.' Spread a layer of marshmallow goodness on the other. Note: it will be messy (you have eaten s'mores before, right?) so only go overboard with the filling if you're into cleaning up that kind of thing. Put them together and enjoy the warm embrace of this food hug.

These were so easy! I think total running time may have been 15 minutes. My kids went nuts over these and kept saying things like, "I really like sandwiches now!" Yikes.

Enjoy!