Let’s Go Shopping!

You don’t have to venture far to have a fun adventure with your rascals. Even the most mundane errand for an adult, such as grocery shopping, can be a world of excitement for a little one. My rascals and I love going to Trader Joe’s stores because they have little shopping carts made specifically for the younger shopper. Each child can push around their own cart and “help” fill it up with everything we need to purchase.

What can potentially be a daunting task as a parent can now be a fun learning experience for your children. This trip provides a great opportunity to teach kids the difference between healthy foods and junk foods. They can help choose the types of snacks they want to bring home. Freeze-dried strawberries, veggie chips, and trail mix are a few of our kid-friendly favorites. 

Once the shopping is complete, the child can push the cart to the register and help unload items for the cashier. At Trader Joe’s, they give kids stickers once they ring up the items, which is an extra incentive for the kids to help out. Older children can even help parents pay and practice their math skills. At the end of the shopping trip, the kids can return their cart to the proper location. This excursion teaches kids responsibility while making an every day task a little more enjoyable for everyone.

Written by Michelle Urriquia, mother of two rascals ages 2 and 6.

---

Shop The Post

Pack a Lunch, Love a Bunch

It’s hard being a mom. Sometimes success is simply putting on pants. Or taking a shower. Sometimes, we have superhero mom moments and are able to cut the crusts off sandwiches, pack for school the night before, or remember that it’s your week to bring dessert to the classroom and actually manage to squeeze out a few dozen cupcakes before you take the kids to school.

One thing I love to do is write little notes to my boys and leave them in their lunchboxes. This is definitely not an everyday occurrence, by any means; it’s just something I do when I have a little extra foresight.

Here’s my secret: I pre-write some sweet notes of encouragement when I have spare time, and then put one in their lunch on a day when I think they might appreciate it. That’s it!

My favorite part is when the boys excitedly come home and tell me all about their day, including how proud they were to show the note to all their friends. The joy they felt at lunch to find the little surprise lasts on their face all day and that makes me so happy.

If you want to do this too, here are a few suggestions:

• Start small- this habit began with post it notes - and for your rascals, they have the exact same effect as fancy cards.

• Keep it simple- depending on the age of your child, they may not be able to read much. So draw. If you have a much older child, don’t assume they want to read a long paragraph. It’s all about knowing that you thought of them in advance, and even a simple “thinking of you” will make them feel special.

• Don’t stress- this should be a moment of joy for both you and your rascal. If you stress out about it, it’s not fun. Make it easy, make it sporadic, and make it stress-free.

Recently I found these cards. They’re so cute! I love seeing the boys enjoying them and it’s an even easier way for me to give them a little love note. There are even games and activities on it that they can play with their friends. We love these cards and stocked up on enough to use them all year.

Written by Head Rascal (Ngoc Nguyen Lay), mother of two rascals, ages 4 and 7. Photo by Simply Adri Photography.

---

Shop The Post

Cookies for Santa - Our Best Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our rascals have a special love for chocolate chip cookies, so this holiday season we are planning to leave Santa a few from of our favorite recipe.

Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar

• 1 large egg (cold or room temperature, either is fine)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (more if desired)

• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, heat the butter for 15-20 seconds in your microwave, until just melted.  Whisk in the two sugars until thoroughly combined.  Let the mixture cool for a minute, then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over top of the mixture and stir in, then add the flour and stir until fully combined and a smooth dough is formed.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Drop the dough in rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.  The dough should make approximately 20 cookies.

5. If desired, sprinkle additional coarse sea salt over top of the cookies (you can also do this after they’re baked).  Bake for 9-10 minutes.  NOTE: the cookies will look underdone, but they’ll firm up as they sit.

6. Let cookies cool on sheet for at least 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.  Store, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Cookies for Santa to take to the North Pole

Written by Ngoc Nguyen Lay, Head Rascal. Mother of two rascals, ages 4 and 6. Photo by Simply Adri Photography.

Holiday Sweet Smorgasbord

We get plenty of sweet treats as gifts during the holiday season. This year, we used these goodies to create a sweet smorgasbord grazing platter that has a little something for everyone!

Steps in creating your own Holiday Sweet Smorgasbord

Collect Platters: Festive holiday platters and trays are a must! If you don’t have one around, use a simple white plate. But something holiday-ish is ideal as a starting point.

Gather Supplies: I pool together all the pre-made desserts and candies I can find. You can use anything in the pantry you have from past parties. To make sure you have a well-rounded selection, your additional shopping list could include holiday cookies, chocolate-covered pretzels/nuts/candies, and fresh fruits.

Build Your Masterpiece: Layer the items together on the tray. The fuller the tray is, the better it looks. Color is important too - make sure to mix in some vibrant fresh fruits if you have them available. Don’t stack all the chocolate together; it will look like a big brown mess.

Garnish: It’s all in the details! I use any holiday decor I can find to add the finishing touches to my smorgasbord.

It’s meant to be easy - so don’t overthink it and enjoy!

Written by Ngoc Nguyen Lay, Head Rascal. Mother of two rascals, ages 4 and 6. Photo by Simply Adri Photography.

Toddler Trail Mix

Toddler trail mix is fantastic! Not only because kids love to make and eat it, but also because you can change the ingredients based on the season. You can modify the recipe to your kids’ changing tastes and also exclude allergens. You can make a huge serving or a small portion. You can use just about anything to make it (hint… hint… use whatever is in your pantry and cupboards)!

And… my kids will try NEW foods if they are in the trail mix. What?! That’s a huge added bonus!

This week, my rascals put together their very own trail mix. I even let them select ingredients at the grocery store.

This week, they chose Cheerios, Chex, yogurt covered raisins, marshmallows, chocolate chips, plantain chips, and peanuts. It may be tempting to have two dozen ingredients, but I caution against overwhelming the mix. I try to stay around half a dozen ingredients with a balance between fruity, salty, and sweet.

The ratio of each ingredient is completely up to you. To decide on portions, consider the total amount of trail mix you are making, whether it is a healthy choice (and that is completely subjective), and how it best complements the other ingredients.

If you have a learning tower at home, now would be a good time to bring it out.

Combine all ingredients into one bowl.

Then mix! (Check out my youngest rascal navigating the learning tower and kitchen utensils!)

And you’re done! You can pre-package the trail mix into individual sealed bags, serve it on a playdate with small cups, or munch on it while watching Mister Roger’s Neighborhood on Amazon Prime.

If you aren’t sure which ingredients to use, check out the list of suggestions below:

• dry breakfast cereal

• dried fruit

• raisins

• chocolate or yogurt covered raisins

• peanuts and other nuts

• chocolate chips

• marshmallows

• pretzels

• beans

• Goldfish crackers

• veggie sticks

Make sure to consider these points when selecting your ingredients:

• avoid choking hazards if you are serving to young kids

• find a balance between sweet and salty items and consider limiting them

• include a dry cereal that is high in fiber

• include fruits and veggies (typically dried is better than fresh)

• mix it each time you serve, as heavier items sink to the bottom of the bowl

Written by Brandi Stanton, mother of two rascals ages 2 and 3.

---

Shop The Post

Popover Recipe

My kids love helping in the kitchen. I’m all about easy cooking when little hands are helping out. That’s why these popovers are our favorite to make together - they only have 3 ingredients: milk, eggs, and flour. If you want to kick it up a notch, you can add a pinch of sea salt or a bit of cheese on top.

Popovers are a similar to Yorkshire pudding (popularized in England), and are a hollow roll made from an egg batter. Finished popovers look something like this:

Working with my rascals is always an adventure. When you’re cooking with little ones, it’s about the experience and not the presentation; it’ll taste just as good, we promise! When we first made the popovers, we didn’t get the perfect photo above, but they were delicious. We improved on our presentation as we continued to practice; the trick is adding enough batter to make sure they actually popped over the top of the tin.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Popovers

Ingredients Needed:

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup of all purpose flour

• 1 cup of whole milk

• Optional (Sea Salt and Shredded Cheese)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease and flour a six cup popover pan. (I’ve also used a normal muffin pan, but they will grow and bake a little differently. Make sure to test it a few times to get the proportions right.)

• Step for rascals: In a large bowl beat eggs slightly, then let your rascals pour in flour and milk, and slowly mix until just smooth. The adult might need to beat it a little to give it some air right before you finish. Be careful not to over mix.

• Fill popover pan 1/2 full.

• Optional: if you want to add salt or cheese, now’s your moment. Sprinkle lightly on top, making sure not to overfill the pans or outshine the original popover flavor.

• Bake for 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and immediately remove popovers from cups. While popovers are best served piping hot, be careful to warn little mouths that they are hot!

Let us know how your popovers turn out and if you have any tips or tricks too!

By Ngoc Nguyen Lay, Head Rascal. Mother of two rascals, ages 4 and 6.

---

Shop the Post

Eat on Hello Rascals

Raise your hand if you’re only here for the food photos! Food has always been a gathering point for families through the generations, cultures, and countries we represent. Hello Rascal Kids Eat will have easy to follow recipes, places to dine with little ones, snack recommendations, and food products we love.

You will find on EAT:

1. Recipes

2. Places to Eat

3. Snack Options

4. Food product review

5. Food festivals and events

We hope these ideas will help you eat and enjoy each other more.

Welcome to Hello Rascal Kids

At Hello Rascal Kids, we know every member of the family is unique and that no two families are alike. With this in mind, we have created our core beliefs that drive everything you will see on this site.

1. We believe in encouraging kids to be kids. Our focus is on ways to play, create, travel, eat, read, and celebrate.

2. We are an online community built to inspire kids and parents of all ages. We strive to provide activities, projects, conversations, and more that are as diverse and unique as the families who visit us.

3. We embrace the rascal in each child, knowing that what makes families unique is the diversity within each member. Not every item on our site will be for every person, but every person will be able to find some items that they can love together.

4. We will share our family’s journey but also share others’ as well. Our mission is to curate stories and ideas from many viewpoints, and the best way to do that is to encourage other voices to contribute to our community here.

5. We are an uplifting space, led first by our own attitudes. We will conduct this site and those who speak here with the same expectation. We know life and parenthood is not always happy, simple, or fun, but we want you to rely on us to help you remember, create, and celebrate uplifting moments with your own family.

6. We know you’re raising little humans - we are too! You’re working hard on life, your career, your family - and we want you to succeed. To help, we will surround you with a community of creative, interesting, thoughtful, and fun loving people who appreciate daily reminders that you (and everyone around you) are doing their best. There are all sorts of ways to parent your children, and that’s why you visit Hello Rascal Kids.

You’re doing better than you think. No, really, you are. Hello Rascals is here to help you remember that. So read on friends!

See below for a glimpse of what you can discover in each carefully curated section of Hello Rascal Kids

You will find in CELEBRATE:

1. Parties featuring real kids and families

2. Creative ideas for your next celebration

3. New trends in parties

4. Party entertainment for kids

5. Holiday and seasonal party ideas (Halloween, Valentines, etc)

You will find in PLAY:

1. Places to explore as a family

2. Products that promotes learn and play

3. Playrooms

4. Toy reviews

5. Kid-based events that you can participate in together

You will find in CREATE:

1. DIY projects

2. School project ideas

3. Creative play

4. Kids’ crafts

5. Resources for parents to foster creativity within their kids

You will find on EAT:

1. Recipes

2. Places to Eat

3. Snack Options

4. Food product review

5. Food festivals and events

You will find on TRAVEL:

1. Travel tips with kids

2. Travel guide for different cities

3. Places to stay

4. Things to do

5. Best vacation spots with kids

You will find in READ:

1. Latest children’s book news

2. Book reviews from kids and parents

3. Bookstore tours and lists

4. Reading list roundups

5. Public library tours and tips