Holiday Muddy Buddies

Happy Halloween

I have to start off with apologizing for my absence! You know how it goes, everyone has that one month or season where you're just insanely busy and it's a major struggle to get everything you want, done. Sadly, my blogging has taken a back seat lately because October is our busiest month of the year! I seriously have at least a dozen posts headed your way; I just have to find the time to get them posted! 

Since I am so behind with my posts and today is Halloween, I thought I'd share a fun seasonal/holiday recipe, and then I'll go back and start posting, in order, all the other posts I have planned, lol.

To me the holidays are never complete without loads of fun food, especially recipes that are easy for kids to make. On Halloween we eat a plethora of festive foods, but this year we added in Halloween Muddy Buddies. This is a super easy snack mix to make, so much so that even your little ones can lend a hand. This recipe is easily adapted for any holiday with the appropriate colored chocolate M&M's. Since it is Halloween, we used Halloween colored M&M's.

Holiday Muddy Buddies

Ingredients 

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

9 cups Chex cereal (I used a whole box of Aldi brand corn Chex cereal)

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 bag holiday colored chocolate M&M's

Directions 

Line two large jelly roll pans with parchment paper. Pour cereal into a large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave. Pour melted chocolate mixture over cereal and toss with spoon until evenly coated. Pour cereal onto cookie sheets, dividing evenly. Cool in fridge for 30 minutes. Pour cereal back into large bowl and toss with sugar. Add M&M's. Ready to eat immediately or store in air tight container.

I realize a lot of conservative Christians do not celebrate Halloween, and I 100% support that decision. (We went many years without celebrating the day!) But, now we've adapted the holiday to fit our lifestyle and simply use it as an opportunity to create fun family memories. We are intentional to keep it light, fun, and void of the dark scary stuff that often overshadows a fun day to dress up and use your imagination. 

Making festive food is just another wonderful addition to our family's Halloween celebrations. It didn't take more than an hour (and not all at one time) to make this fun treat. My kiddo thought it was a great festive snack. There was nothing spooky or 'bad' about this snack mix ~ only a special holiday memory of baking with mom on Halloween. Life is what WE make it to be, even a holiday like Halloween!

So to all our fellow Halloween celebrating friends ~ be safe, make those treasured memories, and enjoy your evening!

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Kids in the Kitchen: Memories Not Messes

As mothers we want to make every moment we have with our children count. We often hear the old adage "Quality over Quantity"; which certainly seems applicable when raising children. Our attention is pulled in every direction. The demands of motherhood are extreme and nonstop. A mom is expected to be everywhere and do everything with a smile on her face, all the while never tiring. Well, we all know that just simply isn't going to be the case ALL the time. And so we find ourselves on a 'mommy mission' to find those little nuggets of time to create as many memory making opportunities as possible. One of my personal favorite ways to spend time with my children is while I am baking and cooking.

Let's face it, we have to eat. Kids have to eat. Okay actually they want to eat constantly, but typically not the food we are preparing, sigh. Why not incorporate them in the food prepping process? Yes, I know you can do it faster and with far less mess; but remember as mothers, we're looking for as many opportunities as possible to spend QUALITY time with our children. I find that when I'm cooking or baking with my kids, that they have more of my undivided attention than with any other activity we could do together. Which for me, makes the positives far outweigh the negatives of my children being in the kitchen.

Cooking and baking is fun for children. It's one of the best sensory learning activities a child can do AND it's a life skill they can take with them forever. Even if you can't cook or bake, there are simple meal prepping activities you can involve your children with as you work to get the meal ready for everyone to eat. I have found the following 5 simple steps to help me remain focused on purposing to include my children in our family's meal prep even when it isn't the easiest process.

1. Remember you're raising children who will become adults, and the art of preparing a meal is a huge asset for their future nutritional needs as well as budget.
2. When children are involved in the cooking process, they are more likely to eat the food.
3. As they get older they will be able to carry more of the workload of preparing family meals, therefore giving you an occasional break from kitchen duty.
4. Responsibility is a good thing, it gives children confidence and the encouragement to believe in themselves in many different aspects of their lives
5. Time in the kitchen with anyone, especially children, often leads to the best conversations which helps to further deepen a parent/child relationship.

While it may not be the easiest to cook or bake with a child 'underfoot', I can assure you the treasured memories you are creating deeply overshadow any inconveniences. Purpose NOT to look at the mess, they can always be cleaned up, but look at the sweet child who WANTS to be with you, gleaning from everything you have to share. There will come a time when they will no longer be in your home to create special memories and make those messes.

Even with all the demands of motherhood it is an awesome gift and one that shouldn't be taken for granted. While none of us will ever be the perfect mother, we can look for opportunities to spend quality time with our children. I challenge you to let your little ones bake and cook with you, relax, smile, and enjoy the journey. Make some messes but more importantly make some priceless memories.

With Love & Hope,
Jennifer