Mini-me moments
A smoothie recipe and love notes, handmade by my kids
In parenting you often wonder if anything you do rubs off on your kids (ideally, any of the positive!) Recently I had not one but two surprising moments of delight when I saw glimpses of my this in both my kids.
On one occasion my six-year-old started pulling items from the kitchen to make his own snack. (Usually making his own snack is just grabbing a pre-packaged baggie from the pantry.) In this case he dragged the blender out of the cupboard, grabbed the remaining strawberries from the counter, tore the greenery off, halved some lemons, and threw it all in the blender. He is quite an experimenter so I was curious to see where this was going. Truthfully I was very dubious about his “plan” working out, but I vowed to go with it.
I played it cool and let him lead, and he even went along with some of my casual suggestions. We ended up with simple and yummy lemonade smoothies. I was really impressed that he came up with his own recipe and was patient enough to test it out! We took it to the next level by turning the leftover smoothie into popsicles. The pops were gone in a matter of days. Even better, Gus was very proud to tell his brother that he made them.
It feels like, just maybe, all this time I spend in the kitchen making meals and snacks and treats for my kids is rubbing off. And perhaps a little spark was ignited in his own love of creating for others.
Gus’s Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie Recipe
1 large handful of whole strawberries, greens torn off
4 lemon halves, dug out of the blender by mom, then juiced
1 handful of ice
A few squeezes of honey (~1 TB)
Untouched greek yogurt, honey and sprinkles from breakfast, about 1/2 C
Instructions:
Blend and enjoy!
Note: Make sure the blender lid is on tight and the speed is not cranked up to 10!
Pour leftovers into popsicle molds and freeze overnight
While Gus doesn’t often explain himself, my four-year-old is much more overt about his plans. Last weekend I heard him, out of the blue, yell across the house, “Dad! How do you spell I love you?”
I was very curious a. why I was not being asked for involvement, and b. what he was up to.
A few minutes later he exclaimed: “I wrote ‘I love you Dad’ and ‘I love you Gary’, and I left them in his car!”
Then he ran over to Dad. “I left notes in your car for when you go to work tomorrow! Do you have work tomorrow?”
One of my favorite pastimes is writing and mailing cards, as well as leaving small surprises for people. Finn had recently helped me decorate his dad’s workplace for our annual Valentine’s Day “heart attack,” so it seems that some of my modeling might be rubbing off.
If these two things - creating heartfelt notes and food for family - are the things that sink in for them, I know we’re on the right track. Maybe they are seeing me through the things I love to do, or maybe they are feeling the love that I put into it for them. Either way, it’s a win.
Gus was telling me all about how when he turns 7 yrs old he will be able to make pancakes, and smoothies and hot chocolate for everyone! I guess he is getting a jump on it!