There was a time when I liked to cook, but for the past 4 years I have been cooking for just one adult, one extremely picky eater, and one eater who loves food (in very, very tiny portions).  Fun and cooking are just not words I associate with each other any more.

Yet, I never say, “I can’t cook.”  That phrase annoys me.  Whenever someone says he can’t cook, I wonder if he is illiterate.  Is this person completely incapable of using a measuring cup?  I mean, really, you don’t have to be a culinary school graduate to chop an onion.

My smugness has met karma.  When I planned this experience, I envisioned a blog post entitled, “Baked a Pie From Scratch.”  Notice that the last two words were removed from the title.   Apparently, reading a recipe is a little harder than I thought.

I printed out a recipe for a “Single Pie Crust” since we were only making one pie.  I felt so smart for thinking ahead and making this a two-day experience.  We would make the dough for the crust on Friday and the pie filling on Saturday.  We were having company Saturday afternoon, and the recipe said the dough had to be refrigerated for at least 4-6 hours.

Making the dough was not complicated.  We just had to combine flour, salt, water, and an entire stick of butter.  The ball of dough seemed a bit small, but I figured it must expand or something in the refrigerator.

The next morning, we made the cherry filling (also easy) and began to roll out the dough.  Immediately I saw that this was not nearly enough dough for the top and bottom crust of our pie.  Not only were the kids disappointed, but I was horrified to realize that an entire stick of butter goes into one half of the crust on a pie!  No wonder pie is so fattening!

Apparently, it is common knowledge to everyone but me that a “single pie crust” does not mean it is enough for an entire pie.  If one is making a pie with a top and bottom, a “double pie crust” is needed.

There was no time to chill another ball of dough.  At the last minute, we ran to the grocery  store and bought a refrigerated pie crust.

When we returned home, we decorated our pie crust by cutting out little shapes.  The effect was cute, and the kids were proud to serve our semi-homemade pie to our family.

Now that we know exactly how to read a pie crust recipe, we will definitely bake another pie.  Leah already has big plans for a lemon meringue pie.

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I had suspected that something was wrong with him when he appeared to be changing color over the course of the past few weeks.  He went from a mottled black and gold color to a totally pale gold color all over.  He looked so different that my mother suspected that we had gotten a new fish.  One day, when the kids were out of earshot, she asked if the kids noticed I switched their fish.  When I told her I had not switched fish, she didn’t believe me.  She winked as though she was in on a joke.

So, I wasn’t completed surprised on Friday morning when George was resting on the bottom of his bowl as his food floated on the surface.  It was apparent that he was dying, and I wanted to prepare Luke and Leah for it.  I told them he looked sick, but I don’t think that they understood this meant his death was imminent.

When Leah and I came home in the afternoon, George was on his side and struggling to swim.  It was so pathetic that I actually considered euthanasia.  Watching this tiny fish suffer was painful for me.  I cared more about him than I realized when watching him struggle to right himself brought tears to my eyes.

Leah cried and put her hands into the water.  She wanted to cuddle him for a minute.  Normally, I tell her to leave the fish alone, but it was heartwarming and bittersweet to see her try to comfort him in his dying moment.

I was still debating whether or not it was ethical to euthanize a goldfish when Luke came home from school.  I told him to say good-bye to George, as our little pet didn’t have much time to live.

Luke cried uncontrollably for a few minutes.  He said George was his best friend, and he didn’t know what he would do without him.  He would feel bad every time he passed his fish bowl.

I encouraged Luke to talk to George and tell him how much he loved him.  I told Luke that I don’t think fish understand us, but he is sure to feel our love.

Luke followed my directions, but he was still grieving.  Leah joined in his crying.  I knew this was the part where I was supposed to tell the kids that George would go to heaven.  It would be such a pleasant thought- our little fish swimming in a big bowl in the sky.

I decided not to mention heaven at all.  I’m not even sure humans go to heaven.  I just couldn’t bring myself to tell them I believed George had somewhere else to go.  Instead, I told them that we would bury George in the grass, where his body would slowly turn to dirt.  His body would return to the earth, but we would always have our memories and any love we felt for him or from him.

George died a natural death (with no help from me) later in the day.

The grieving process for a goldfish is very complicated.  Luke and Leah genuinely cared about this little fish and were his sole caretakers.  They were responsible for feeding him and cleaning his bowl..  So, naturally, they felt bad about his passing.  On the other hand, they have already asked for another pet.  Luke said it was time to “move up a level on pets” and get something like a cat, who would play with him.

So, the children alternated between crying and planning for their next pet.  They are already considering another goldfish named George the Second.  They’d really like a cat, but they know I am not convinced that we need one.

We buried George under a tree.  As the children dug the hole, they almost seemed chipper, but when we started to cover his body, they sobbed.  Tears sprang to my eyes.  It is hard to watch your children grieve, even if it is just for a goldfish.  We all said one nice thing about our beloved pet and started to head inside.

Luke asked for a minute alone.  I’m not sure, but I think he might have said a prayer.

This week, we’ll mourn George, the best little pet our family has had.  Next week, we might move up a level on pets.

The idea of using duct tape as a crafting medium intrigued me, so I put it on our list of things to try.  Now, Leah absolutely loves making any kind of craft.  Luke is not nearly as excited about crafting.  So, I had to find something that I thought would appeal to both of them.  When I saw a tutorial for making Duct Tape Wallets on Frugal Fun For Boys, I knew this would be the project we’d try for New Experience #21.

I bought 3 rolls of printed duct tape at Staples and two rolls of colored duct tape at Lowe’s.  If you decide to try this yourself, I recommend going to Lowe’s first.  Plain duct tape is much cheaper there.  If you can convince your kids to use the old-fashioned silver kind, you’ll save even more money!

This project was a lot of fun for the kids, but it did require a lot of patience.  We needed to measure every piece of tape we cut, so it was a slow-moving activity.  In fact, we spread the activity out over three sessions.  Each session was about 20 minutes, which was about as much time as the kids could handle.

Both of my kids are good listeners, so they measured carefully and only unrolled as much tape as they needed.  Sometimes the tape would get stuck to their hand or to the cardboard mat we were using as our cutting board and they would get frustrated.  I’d swoop in to help, only to make it worse.  The kids kept laughing because I was having the worst time with the tape.  It would stick to one hand.  As I tried to pry it off one finger, it would get stuck to another.  I was the comic relief of the wallet-making project!

I wasn’t sure if Luke was enjoying the project or not until we got to his Little League game after our second session of making the wallets.  He was sitting in the dugout with his friends and I overheard him say, “Hey guys, guess what?  I am making my own wallet out of duct tape!”

It was nice to know he was already feeling proud of his creation.

When our wallets were done–complete with spaces for all the credit cards they wished they had, Luke and Leah put their money inside.  They can’t wait to go shopping!

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New Experience #15:  Recycled Our Own Paper

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So, for New Experience #20, we visited George Washington’s Headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey.  Since it is part of Morristown National Historical Park, the visitor’s center has free Junior Ranger activity guides.  If you ever visit a National Park, I highly recommend the Junior Ranger programs. My kids really enjoy them.

Washington’s Headquarters is made up of two parts:  a museum and the mansion where George Washington lived from 1779-1780.  We first explored the museum, which was filled with artifacts from daily life during the Revolution and military items.  This could have been a very dry museum, but our handy little Junior Ranger guide had a scavenger hunt inside.  You might remember that my kids are big fans of scavenger hunts, so they happily looked through exhibits for obscure objects like shoe lasts and kept a running tally of how many times they saw George Washington’s face in an exhibit.

After we explored the museum, we took a tour of the Ford Mansion.  Guided tours are the only option for visiting this part of the headquarters.  The guide was very informative and interesting to me, but the tour was definitely geared towards adults.  Thank goodness we had those Junior Ranger guides!  The kids designed their own National Parks and filled out a puzzle page while the man explained the history of the house.

Both Luke and Leah did enjoy peeking into the rooms of the mansion.  Leah loved the fancy bed linens and tea sets.  Luke liked hearing about where George Washington worked and slept.  I was amazed when the guide described one simple wooden table as the “Pentagon” of the American Revolution.  It was the spot where all military strategy and correspondence happened.

After visiting Jockey Hollow and Washington’s Headquarters, our family has truly gained an appreciation for the comforts we enjoy in 2013.  Even though the house is truly a mansion, the people who lived there during the Revolution never enjoyed the things we take for granted.  Simple things like indoor plumbing, heating, and antibiotics were not yet invented.  My children couldn’t believe that kids their age would be expected to work long hours to help support their families.

When the tour was over, we stopped in the gift shop to get the Junior Ranger badges.  The kids proudly wore them home.  Luke is still very interested in learning about the American Revolution, so we are reading a book and watching Schoolhouse Rock videos about it.  I think I am learning as much as he is!

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You can imagine their surprise when a large manila envelope arrived on our doorstep.  It was too big to put in the box, so the mail carrier propped it against our front door.  Luke saw the return address said “The White House” and his eyes widened.  He asked his sister, “Do you know who this must be from?”

When she did not answer, he yelled dramatically, “The President!”

Suddenly, the two of them were jumping up and down and screaming.

The kids worked together to tear open the envelope. The letter was addressed, “Dear Students” and was clearly a form letter, but the kids did not seem to notice.  They were so excited that the president wrote back to them.

In their minds, the president of the United States read their letters carefully, thanked them for their response, and was probably sitting in the Oval Office crafting a new law based on their ideas.

It warmed my  heart to see that the children felt their government cared and listened to them.  While I am sure some adults feel the same way, I don’t know any who do.

The best part of the correspondence was a picture of Bo, the Obama family’s dog and a little booklet about a day in his life.  My children don’t even like dogs, but they loved the little book.  Seeing the White House from a dog’s eye view was right at their level.

So, thank you to the White House staff who took the time to write back to little citizens who care about their country.  It made my children’s day and made us all feel so patriotic.

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New Experience #40: Paid Respects at Arlington National Cemetery

New Experience #15:  Historical Reenactment

Some of you seem to be under the impression that I am this super-mom who goes with the flow, never raises her voice, and has wonderfully behaved children who never argue with her or each other.

Now, I realize I may be at fault for creating this false impression.  I happen to be a pretty positive person and write about the best moments of each New Experience.

So, to clear up this misconception, I’ve decided to write only about the worst parts of tie-dying our own t-shirts.  Besides, there were far more low moments in this experience than happy moments.

5:30– We ate dinner early on Wednesday, so we would have time to tie-dye the shirts.  I find it is always helpful for my kids to have an incentive to eat their food.  Therefore, I must have said twenty times, “Eat your dinner or we are NOT tie-dying shirts.”

6:00– Threats must have worked because plates are clean and kids are helping me set up the area outside.  I told Leah at least 10 times not to shake the dye bottles.  Of course, she shook a bottle of dye and squirted it all over herself.  Did I mention the dye is permanent?

6:10– We are ready to begin the project.  I lay down the law.  We don’t shake the bottles, We carefully drip the dye onto the shirt.  We keep the plastic gloves on our hands.

6:11– Bottles are being shaken, dye is being squirted forcefully from the bottle, and plastic gloves are blowing away down the street.

6:12– I am screaming like a lunatic.  No one is listening, except my nosy neighbors who are probably tired of hearing my children’s names.

6:15– All materials have been taken away.  I lay down the law once more.  I remind the children just how lucky they are to have a mom who lets them tie-dye t-shirts.

6:16– Second chance:  Luke asks for some assistance designing his shirt.  He has a very elaborate idea, and I know that neither of us have the experience or ability to create it.  I tell him we will try our best, but it might not turn out exactly the way he has envisioned it.

6:17– Luke is melting down as his shirt looks nothing like his creative idea. He tells me this was not a good New Experience for him.  I’m heartbroken.

6:20–  The dying process is done.  Kids have just a few dots of dye on their hands, and I tell them I am proud they kept the gloves on.  Once they both stand up, I realize I never told them not to kneel on top of the plastic garbage bag holding their t-shirt.  All the excess dye has rolled onto their legs.  Their knees are tie-dyed.  For some reason, Luke’s neck has dye all over it, too.

6:25– Kids are very helpful while cleaning up. I finally read through the tie-dye directions to the end and see that I am supposed to rinse the shirts out and wash them in 6 to 8 hours.  Since it will be the middle of the night and I have to work the next day, I decide we’ll have to see what happens if we don’t rinse and wash them for 24 hours.

Two days later–  Shirts are rinsed and washed and ready to wear.  All the drama from the experience is gone.  Both children are beyond excited to wear their creations.  Luke loves the way his shirt turned out.

So, while I may never win a Mom of the Year contest and we experienced one tantrum, it was easy to forget about all that when I looked at my children wearing big smiles in their colorful shirts.

He wanted us to be street smart, to be more concerned about our immediate surroundings than the tops of buildings, hundreds of feet over our heads.  But, do you know how hard it is for a child to walk through the canyons of skyscrapers and keep their eyes on the ground?

In case you couldn’t guess, it is nearly impossible.  I would try to keep my eyes down, but a little beam of light would play on the sidewalk and I’d have to look up to track its source.

So, while I find myself saying a lot of the things my parents said to me when I was a child, I never ask my children to refrain from looking up when walking down the streets of the city.

The last few times I took my kids to New York City, Luke and Leah would marvel at the double-decker buses and ask to ride one.  In my mind, it seemed like a silly thing to do.  Why would I tour a city I live so close to?

Upon further consideration, I realized that the open air bus would be the best way to really admire the tops of the skyscrapers.  In fact, I couldn’t think of a better way to really see them the way a child wants to see them.  It would be far superior than pressing our noses to the dirty glass windows of a city bus.

With this in mind, we boarded an open-air double-decker bus on Mother’s Day.  We started near Rockefeller Center.

The weather was perfect for a tour like this and we all enjoyed being outside, even if the air was filled with the smells of car exhausts, street food, and sewers.  We leaned back in our seats and oohed and aahed over the visions of skyscrapers passing us as the bus drove by.

After a couple of stops, we hopped off the bus in Times Square.  The kids immediately spotted the M&M store, so we made a beeline for it.  We paid far too much for a couple of bags of M&Ms, but it was fun to make our own mix.

We hopped back on the next bus and leaned back for a fabulous view of Times Square as the bus made its way through the traffic.

As the bus drove downtown, we listened to the tour guide tell us about each neighborhood we drove through.  I learned a lot of fun facts I am sure I will bore my family with every time we go downtown.

Due to a detour, we drove right past the new Freedom Tower, which will replace the Twin Towers.  It is 1,776 feet tall, its height is symbolically equal to the year the United States declared its freedom from Great Britain.  (See, I told you I learned lots of little fun facts!)  The kids were very impressed, and we snapped quite a few pictures of it.

I had planned to hop off at Battery Park, so the kids could get a view of the Statue of Liberty, but most of the park is under construction to repair the damage from Hurricane Sandy.  Instead, we got off at South Street Seaport.  That wasn’t much better.  It also sustained quite a bit of damage from the hurricane and wasn’t as much fun as I had hoped.  We did find a little playground across the street to burn off some energy.  The kids loved the bus, but it did require more sitting still than they like to do.

Once we got back on the bus, we completed the loop of downtown Manhattan.  We really enjoyed our double-decker tour.  Leah said her favorite part was visiting the M&M store.  Luke said he liked every part of the day.  I was happy that we were able to spend Mother’s Day together, doing one of the things I enjoy best:  completing a New Experience with my children.

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The Pennies of Time concept is simple:  You don’t need tons of time to complete an act of service.  A “penny” of time– just 15 or 20 minutes– is all you need.  This way of thinking is so liberating.  I have been feeling guilty that we haven’t volunteered at the Food Bank since Christmastime because our time is so limited.  With the penny of time concept, I know that just a small amount of service on a regular basis can be just as meaningful as a large amount of time done sporadically.

With this idea in mind, I asked the kids how they would like to help our community.  Earth Day was still on their minds, so they said they wanted to help the Earth.  We brainstormed a few ideas, and the kids chose to pick up litter at our favorite park.

After some time on the playground, we donned disposable gloves and walked around the park looking for litter.

Luke pointed out Canadian goose poop on the sidewalk.  Leah was relieved when I told the kids they were absolutely NOT allowed to touch it.  We were only cleaning up litter from humans!

While the park appeared pretty clean at first glance, once we really looked around on the ground, we found lots of cigarette butts and water bottle caps.

We worked for about 15 or 20 minutes.  I was so surprised the kids did not complain once.  They were actually quite cheerful and enthusiastic.  I asked why they enjoyed picking up litter so much, but complain the minute I ask them to pick up their toys.

“Mom,” Luke said matter-of-factly, “We are not just picking up trash.  We are helping the Earth!”

I am so proud that my children performed a simple of act of service so enthusiastically.  Now I just wish they would pick up their toys!

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New Experience #12:  Volunteered at the Food Pantry

I am from Pennies of Time and am thrilled to be a guest here at 52 Brand New!  I am impressed by the varied and meaningful experiences that Danielle takes on with her kids

At Pennies of Time, I am a mom of two young boys (4 and 6 years old), and we complete an act of service each day. We are excited to share with you our NEW experience in completing a 5k Walk for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Recently, as a family, we walked 5 kilometers to help raise money for two friends: brothers Tanner and Caleb.  Both boys have cystic fibrosis. This was a new service act for my boys. They had never taken on such a distance to help a young friend!

Here are a couple of numbers about cystic fibrosis that may help you understand why we think it is important to help:

2 – The number of times each day that the boys get vest therapy.

3 – Caleb’s age. He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth.

5 – The number of breathing treatments each boy goes through each day.

6 – Tanner’s age. He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth.

24 – Tanner and Caleb take 24 pills per day.

37 – The life expectancy of a person with cystic fibrosis is 37 years.

70 – Approximately 70,000 people worldwide are affected with cystic fibrosis.

Clearly, the day-to-day routine in managing cystic fibrosis is more than any child should have to experience just to stay healthy. This is a cause that we felt strongly in supporting!

We were so excited on the morning of the walk. The weather was EXTREMELY cold and windy for a spring morning in Texas! We bundled up, packed our picnic lunch, and were off to the park where The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was set to have a Great Strides Walk.

Our team, the “J” Walkers had quite a turn out with 29 walkers! “J” Walkers comprised almost a third of the entire group that showed up to support The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that morning. A great turn-out to support these two kids!

Fun music played in the staging area, breakfast was available for munching, and the walkers were excited! Excited to turn in the money they had raised, excited to gather together for a meaningful and “close to home” cause, and excited to get moving and WARM!

As balloons were given out to all who wanted one, we gathered at the starting line. The kids were huddled at the front, so excited to begin . . . and, once released to start, the kids very quickly out-distanced the rest of the walkers.

For my 4-year-old, he lasted, um, about 1 kilometer before he asked his dad for a piggy-back ride. And, his dad did oblige with that ride. He wasn’t the only dad providing support for the younger walkers so that they could finish the entire 5K with the rest of the group.

My 6-year-old ran the enter 5 kilometers. He was determined to do it and do it well! (Just one small break to wash his hands after he stopped to pick up a DEAD turtle he found and carried a distance before I realized, gag!)

As is my habit now, I looked for those doing the good, reaching out to others during the experience. My heart was touched by the following:

• The family that always had a balloon ready to give up when a young walker inevitably lost his or her balloon. Someone in that family would RUSH to the young, forlorn walker to give a replacement balloon. I overheard someone in that family say to the other: I just can’t bear it when kids are sad!
• The 4 employees from Old Navy that volunteered their time to help cheer on the walkers at the event. They stood out in the cold to clap, cheer, and hand out bottled water. Such a delight to see how the children LOVED having someone on the sidelines cheer for them as they struggled to run the distance! (yes, it was a WALK but many kids RAN the distance)
• The different teams that had gathered friends and loved ones to raise money and show support. Each one had a name to unite them in the cause to raise money and fight this life threatening illness.

The most touching, and sobering, moment was when a family, walking in memory of a loved little girl who had passed away due to CF, finished the walk and then all stopped and gave each other a quiet, simple, giant group hug. In that moment for me, the entire park was just one huge . . . well, quiet hush . . .

. . . In one of the largest states in the US, in a suburb of a large city, in the middle of a national park, standing in a huddle, a family took a few moments to unite in memory of a little girl that they remember and love. A moment to support one another, to love another, to honor their little girl, and to share in the grief that they still experience.

For me, it was the perfect illustration of why we serve. We serve to let go of that natural tendency to focus on ourselves. We serve to teach ourselves about things we don’t experience every day. In all, though, we serve to support and love one another.

Our family enjoyed this new act of service. On the drive home, my six-year-old said that it was one of the best service acts that we have done so far! (And, no, I don’t think that it was because he found that really cool turtle!)

For more information on cystic fibrosis, check out The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

To see more of our service adventures, visit Pennies of Time.  Need ideas on service acts or random acts of kindness?  Check out the Pennies of Time Pinterest Boards.

Field Station Dinosaurs describes itself as a “world-class family attraction” and markets itself to New York City tourists since it is just one train stop from Manhattan.  I just don’t see how this attraction could possibly compare to tourist attractions like the American Museum of Natural History or Times Square.

But enough crankiness…. Here is how our day went:

After paying $10 to park and $65 for admission for 1 adult and 2 children, we entered the park.  The kids were slightly apprehensive as they have a love and a fear of dinosaurs.   When we reached the first dinosaur, they realized they didn’t need to be scared.  The dinosaur models were realistic but they were not so real that they looked scary.  Luke pointed out that its roars were actually coming out from a small speaker near its feet.  Each dinosaur had a placard with some information about it, so we learned about each one we saw.

After we strolled around for about 15 minutes, we found the Fossil Dig Site.  The kids were given their choice of paleontologists’ tools such as paint brushes and shovels to uncover dinosaur fossils buried in a large, sandy area.  Both children loved this part, but they approached it differently.  Luke wandered around, helping different groups of children find a fossil.  Once they found the fossil, he was off to look for another one.  Leah stayed with one fossil, digging and brushing it off with another girl until the entire thing was uncovered.  She said it was her favorite part of the day.

After we spent about forty minutes digging for dinosaurs, we decided to walk around the park again.  It just happened to be Boy Scout Day while we were there, so there were additional activity stations set up for everyone to enjoy.  We found an Orienteering Station run by Orienteering Unlimited, Inc. and picked up a topographical map of the park.  We could use the map to find markers hidden around Field Station Dinosaurs.

This was Luke’s favorite part of the day.  He was so excited to follow the map and find the markers that I actually had to remind him to look at the dinosaurs!

The orienteering course took us about an hour and led us through the entire park.  As we exited, the kids chatted about their favorite parts of the day.  We really did have a good time, but we were only there for 2 hours and my wallet was $75 lighter.  I shouldn’t complain.  A sunny afternoon with my children is priceless to me.

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