Wrestling with Rainy Day Restlessness

What do you do on a rainy day? I am rarely at a loss for what to do. That is what books and recliners are made for.

So why is it so difficult for a seven year old to see the value in my wise advice to “ Go read a book, or take a nap?” No, instead, I hear the words, “There is nothing to do,” nestled in between his claims of being hungry.

Well, things went a bit better the last rainy day we had thanks to my daughter. She decided to take my advice and read, but what she ended up reading were some of my old cookbooks. Somehow, she came across a recipe for peanut butter playdough and I knew I had been handed the proverbial stone that was about to kill two birds at once. My restless 7 year old, as well as my daughter were able to design and create and when they were all done, EAT. It was just the diversion I was looking for, since I had a whole rack of clothes that needed measuring before we could put them up for sale in our eBay store, The Casual Woman.

For all of you who have young children who occasionally can't think of anything to do but eat, I decided to share the recipe with you.

Peanut Butter Playdough
½ Cup peanut butter   ½ Cup powdered milk   1 Tbsp Honey

 








A menagerie of creative extras like raisins, chocolate chips, toothpicks, etc to add arms legs eyes and so on.

You'll see everything from flowers to snowmen, from dogs to space aliens. But more importantly you'll see smiles.

Do you have any favorite ways to engage bored and restless little ones? Share your ideas with us so we can build up our arsenal of rainy day activities. And if you have any pictures, post them to our Facebook page so we can enjoy them too. Thanks for reading.

Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.

Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, Baby!

  We have so many imitation things offered to us these days like imitation foods and synthetic fabrics.

To me margarine just doesn't compare with butter and I prefer cotton or linen to polyester(even if the real thing does wrinkle easier). But what I truly appreciate is a person who is the genuine article. Someone who doesn't patronize and who offers a sincere smile.

We have been blessed over the years with the best of neighbors, and I have made it a goal of mine to be the same to them.

For example, our family became friends with a real southern lady when we moved into our first home in Western North Carolina. She was about 80 years old when we met her. She taught us a lot about what it means to be a neighbor over the six years we lived there. Within a week of our moving in she had brought us a loaf of friendship bread, and our love for dear Mrs. Morgan only grew from there. My boys would walk across the road to take her homemade cards and crafts they had made. She would in turn fill them up with homemade grape juice and other goodies. 

Something Mrs. Morgan taught me personally was the value of having certain staple ingredients on hand. Real ingredients like butter, buttermilk and self-rising flour (yes, it has real ingredients in it). To this day one of our favorite treats is Mrs. Morgan's Fruit Cobbler (That is what we call it).

Mrs Morgan's Fruit Cobbler

(Just remember 1+1+1+1)

1 cup self-rising flour 

1 cup sugar 

1 stick melted butter 

1 cup buttermilk 

2 cups fruit or berries (or a can of pie filling) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the bottom of a 9” X 9” pan with the fruit or filling. Combine the other ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. 

Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream or sweet whipping cream.

This is so yummy. Perhaps if you decide to try it you could make an extra and share it with a neighbor.
If you have any quick and easy recipes that you have shared with a neighbor or any other ideas on how we can be the “real thing” to our neighbors, share them with us. Thanks for reading.


Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.