My parents worked full time. In the afternoons during the school year and in the summers, I would stay with my mom's highschool friend, Jenny Bryant, and her family - Owen, Stacey, and husband John (their youngest son, Spencer came later.) Many, many wonderful memories came from the time I spent at her house. To me, theirs was a wholesome, happy and traditional family - the way family is supposed to be. The wife stayed home and raised her children, doing crafts and making grilled cheese sandwiches and lemonade. The husband came home after work and built things and helped play with the children. I was so lucky to have been a part of that.
When Jim and I started our own family and I was pregnant, I decided that if I had a boy, I would name him Owen. The name Owen reminded me of the happiness I felt when I was with the Bryant family and I wanted that so much for my own little family. I can remember many afternoons walking to their house from school on Touissant Drive with the "original Owen." We spent many summers playing and laughing and a little bickering here and there. We walked to the park to make crafts at the "Art in the Park" program. We jumped on the trampoline, played in the sandbox, and watched The Wizard of Oz (after Mr. Rogers was over) so many times we probably knew the words by heart. We all would squeeze onto the swing and she would sing a song to us that I sing now to my children "Swing, swing to and fro. Up and down and high and low. Babies east and babies west. Mama's baby is the best." We had lots of snacks like peanut butter/Ritz cracker sandwiches, Kool-aid popsicles, peanut butter balls and Pudding Pops that hold happy memories. One of my favorite crafts was a homemade play dough that Jenny made that we formed into creations (I remember making a peach once!) It was made from flour, salt and water - and then we painted them. This Salt Dough recipe is similar to the one we used to make:
Here is what you need:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups hot water
Cookie Cutters
Decorations:Paint/Glitter/Beads, etc.
Knead dough (this is how Miles kneads dough) - use your own favorite method!
Roll it out to cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
You can also mold it into figurines or shapes instead of cutting with cookie cutters.
Place on microwaveable plate and microwave for 2 minutes on high.
Sometimes you have to microwave for longer until the middle isn't wet and gooey.
Paint and decorate.
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