Showing posts with label love language. snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love language. snow. Show all posts

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"Oh, I'm a Gummy Bear. Yes, I'm a Gummy Bear. Oh, I'm a yummy, tummy, funny lookin' gummy bear! Oh yeah." 


That is the heart of was is playing in my house right now!


Who doesn't love Gummy Bears? Whether it's the candy, the song, or the TV show from my childhood, there is nothing but love - at least that's the case in my house!

There was a knock on our door Thursday; but as soon as I answered it all that was waiting on me was a box. But not just any box. A magical box with the words Amazon Prime written on it. Inside, was this silicone bear mold! Perfect for ice, chocolate, or those yummy little gummies!


Pirate did a spectacular un-boxing video. I'll link it here as soon as I get it posted. In the heart of full disclosure: it may not be today! 
I'll try. #momlife

How cute are these? I got them from a seller named Alpha & Sigma. I actually received them at a discounted price*, but knowing now how much we enjoyed this product, I feel the price tag is worth it! 

Every so often, Mr. Incredible has to work on a Saturday and we end up home bound. I wanted to make sure we had a fun day, so it was the perfect day to play in the kitchen.

Once we got Tootsie Roll down for her afternoon nap, and one trusty google search later, we landed at Skip To My Lou where she had this amazingly easy recipe for Gummy Candy. 

You guys! 
We followed it to a tee. It was perfection. 

I'm thinking it took us under twenty minutes to get to the point where we were filling our bear molds. I feel like we made really good time, considering in that time we ended up rescuing Tootsie Roll from her nap time (she wasn't feeling it yet!), and played some soccer. 

Truth be told, there's some potential for 'messy'. And by "some", I mean a lot of potential for messy. But where there's a mess, there are things like memories and love. 



Then we stuck it in the fridge for the shortest 20 minutes known to man. Really, it was closer to 15. We couldn't wait! The little bears popped out of the silicone so, so easily! And they left absolutely no residue behind.

Look at that little guy! Pirate was beside herself in love with this activity. She packaged some up for her grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousin; she ate a handful of them, and we called this a WIN for today! I couldn't have been more pleased with how this all came out!
THEY. TASTED. SO. GOOD.
All the sweetness and chewy texture was there. They were a little sticky, but that was fine. It didn't take away from these little bears' awesomeness at all.

A few details before I forget: 
We were able to full about 70 of the 100 empty little bear spots.
When the mixture cools, it firms up. We stuck it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to reheat and soften it. We had no issue with it.

And, that's it!

What did you think? Leave us a comment, what's your favorite candy? Have you ever made gummies with a mold? What should we try next?

As always, come back for more! Like us at Caffeinated Melly on Facebook so you don't miss anything! 


* I received this at a discounted price, but nothing was required of me in return. I do not owe this company a review, a blog post, my firstborn child, or anything else. I am happy to review this product for the fun of it, my opinions are always my own. 
What a crazy title. 
I mean – what on Earth?! Am I right?



 We just spent a few days snowed in, but with the temperature now in the fifties and the rain we had yesterday, the snow is gone! Today the children went back to school for the first time since Thursday. Snowed in over the long weekend, we had an amazing amount of quality time as a family. Time we don’t usually get. So as much animosity as I bare toward the icy evils of snow itself, this winter weather has felt like more of a blessing than anything.  

As I have said before, Pirate loves few things more than a good craft and quality time. To her, quality time fills her little heart up and she feels loved. So while she was in school I made a mental list of a couple of her favorite things that we could do together while Tootsie Roll napped.



We started with crafts! Her face simply lights up when art is involved. She gets that from her daddy. I thought it would be fun, since our snow had melted, to make pictures with melted snowmen. She told me that her snowman traveled to Florida. He melted under a palm tree with coconuts. A happy way to go.

When I tell you that art is not my forte, I mean that with every fiber in my body … and then some. I am not an artist. I got an F- in art in 7th grade. I can provide references upon request.  I’m a writer. 

However, it’s not about perfection. Motherhood is never about being perfect, don’t ever think it is. This was about Pirate and spending time with her on her level, meeting her where she is and letting her enjoy being a kid.  A kid who likes things that I don’t. And that’s perfectly okay. So when she asked me why I wasn’t also making a snowman, I had to take a step back and pick up a crayon.

Pirate's snowman melting under a palm tree. It was a sunny day.
My snowman melted on a beach.
Our next adventure sent us to the kitchen. Hot Dog Pie was on the dinner menu. Over the summer, we created what soon became one of Pirate’s favorite meals. It is basically Jiffy cornbread mix with cut hot dogs mixed in. It sounds crazy, but it’s actually pretty good. Even Mr. Incredible has enjoyed it once or twice. Pirate adores it, and if you asked her to describe it she couldn’t… because she’d be too busy devouring it!

It’s a recipe so simple that Pirate made a cooking tutorial. If you are interested in seeing her teach you how to make it be sure to comment below and tell us!

We took it out of the oven and it smelled delicious. It looked delicious!



I started to transfer it onto a pretty plate to take a picture and it broke into pieces. It was a sad mess.


But again, none of this is about being perfect. Life is a mess. Motherhood is a mess. It’s supposed to be. When we’re obsessed with being perfect, we’re going to fail every time. And that's exhausting. 

Did the crumbly meal did bother Pirate? Ha! No. To her it was a delicious mess. In fact, our six year old girl ate 3/4 of this Hot Dog Pie with a two glasses of milk!



We finished our night playing with Tootsie Roll, she woke up in time to have some dinner (minus the hot dogs), an obstacle course in the living room, homework, stories and bed. Pirate told me that she was glad that was a good day with her favorite things! And that makes my heart full.


I hope you enjoyed our crazy adventure today. What do you do to spend time with the little people in your life? What crazy food does your family adore? 

Comment below, I’d love to hear from you. Remember to tell us if you want to see Pirate’s cooking tutorial!

Pirate playing in the first sprinkling of snow.

At about 5:45 this morning, we got the call telling us school would be canceled due to inclement weather. Hooray! Hooray! Snow day! 

Morning came and morning went. Snow hadn't arrived yet. I decided that I needed to run to the store while I could. While there was still bread left on the aisle. Before milk was impossible to find. I needed to go before the apocalypse. Zombies. Snow. Whatever. I needed to go get the essentials. 

Fruit, milk, sugar and coffee creamer. I had what our house needed to survive the winter weather. Truth be told, I expected very little. My main reason for going to the store was to beat the rush. I made it outside to see the beginning of snow. 

Two things crossed my mind. First, "I want to take a picture, but the camera won't pick it up." And secondly, I remembered Loralei Gilmore and her love for winter's fluffy present. "I smell snow," she would say every year when it snowed. I wanted to post that as my status. I however don't share Loralei's love for the snow. Not at all. Mr. Incredible had to listen to me rant about it a few minutes ago! 


I do however, love the fun it offers to my children. 

We live in the south, and in our area snow happens a couple times per year and maybe an inch or few at a time. It's just enough to cancel school and plaster smiles on some little faces. So, that's enough for me to be excited about this snow day.

I got home to find that Pirate had already started collecting snow in a cup. "I need something to make it a slushy," she said. So I offered her some coffee. It came with a mixed review. "It's disgusting, but good. Mostly disgusting."
Pirate and her coffee snow slushy.

Tootsie Roll got her first taste of snow. Literally. She wasn't sure what exactly to make of it but she had no objections!

We played in the snow until I could no longer feel my toes. Until Pirate remembered that she is a warm blooded creature and not a snowman. Until Tootsie Roll had eaten her fill of snow. 

Now remember, snow is not my thing. But loving my family is. Pirate feels loved when she has our full attention. Quality time is so important to her. It's her love language and she will outright ask for time together. 

Right before Christmas, I came across a blog on Pinterest that had words I needed to read. While its focus was on marriage, the application goes so much further. It was about how to love somebody when you aren't necessarily feeling the love. As a parent, as a human being in any relationship, there are times when it's not easy to feel the love; just like there are times when you are so smothered by love it's crazy. It's life!

A quote from a book suddenly became an intentional goal for me. A resolution that I don't annually make this time of year.
“When an action doesn’t come naturally to you, it is a greater expression of love. Ultimately, comfort is not the issue. We are talking about love, and love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself. Love is a choice.” — Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages)
Snowballs. Snow angels. Snow coffee slushies. Frozen toes. Chattering teeth. Time with my children and filling their little love tanks. That was just the beginning to our snow day!


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SNEAK PEAK to what's NEXT:


#snowday
#familyfriday
#gamenight
#diy
#whodoneit

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