Recreation Desperation

"Mommy don't you think we should stop making sweets every day? So we don't get sick?"

Some people bake for recreation; I bake out of desperation.

If you are in the middle of the summer at home with young kids, maybe you need some fresh ideas in your bag of tricks? Or is that just me? I'm happy to share a couple of my recent go-to activities, both of which have been culinary. And while neither of these requires any actual baking, they fall in the same category of last-resort-kitchen-activities-with-toddlers.

We bought this ice cream maker and have been making one flavor a week. Last week, strawberry with farmer's market berries. This week, vanilla. Delicious!

I saw on Jenny's blog that Magnolia Bakery's world-famous banana pudding now ships nationwide. I don't think I've ever had banana pudding, and I'm not even remotely a dessert person, but this intrigued me, especially since I've owned the Magnolia Bakery cookbook for almost a decade. So today, banana pudding we made! If you don't own the cookbook, the recipe is readily Google-able. It was a bit hit with all.

I wish I could say we are in the homestretch, but we still have five and a half weeks left until school starts, people! Any ideas for me? I'm toast!