Hot Dog Pie & Melting Snowmen

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 7^th 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!