These Raspberry Lime Cookie cups are not only pretty to look at, they taste delicious.
All posts by pamelashank2015
GRANDMA HONEY’S COOKING CLASSES
I decided that this summer I will get the grandchildren together, as their busy schedules permit and do actual cooking classes.
COOKING WITH THE GRANDCHILDREN
I have always loved to be in the kitchen creating recipes and cooking with the grandchildren.
They know how I love to cook, bake, and enter cooking contests and I think that excitement has been passed on to them. They have been the inspiration for many of my contest recipes.
When they are small, we move a stool over to the kitchen counter or bring their small table into the kitchen. As they grow older, they have taken over the kitchen at times. They will even call me to tell me an idea they had for a recipe. See how much fun we have baking and cooking together!
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
This past week I have been seeing all of the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel as well as the Hallmark Christmas Ornament Event on Saturday.
BABY-SHOWERS…MODERN DAY TRENDS
I believe that everyone will agree the baby showers of today are nothing like what we had with our children. They were hosted by a close friend or family member and consisted of serving cake, punch, and finger foods; playing games, and opening gifts. Men did not attend the showers.
It is common now for the expectant parents to both attend a cook-out or dinner to celebrate the shower.
TURNING THE BIG “60” IN STYLE-WEEKEND PARTY
Turning the Big 60 in Style. Most people dread turning “60” but this was a celebration I was happy to see.
Last week my husband Bob (alias Grandpa Bob or Papaw Bob) turned 60 and we celebrated with a 3 day party at a lake resort we love with 80 of our closest friends and family members.
My son and his family flew in from Co, my daughter and her family came from NC, and my brother and sister-in-law came from KY.
Two and a half years ago, Bob was going thru a serious illness and we are so thankful that our prayers were answered and he beat this. I wanted to give us something positive to hold onto, so at that time I started planning this party. There were a lot of behind the scene details I had to work out and I felt like I had planned a wedding, but I am so happy with the results.
Continue reading TURNING THE BIG “60” IN STYLE-WEEKEND PARTY
RETIREMENT..TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY OF WORK
Retirement is a word I am happy to say. I have been a Registered Nurse for over 42 years. I now have a new status. Retired.
When I became a nurse, we wore white dresses with white hose, white shoes and our caps. Hair was pinned up, make-up was light and jewelry was only a gold wedding band. To people looking back at this, it may seem like the dark ages, but I remember how proud I felt. It was a real honor to be recognized as a nurse. We stood up at the desk when a doctor came on the floor and we carried the charts making rounds. I think it was a real show of respect. Continue reading RETIREMENT..TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY OF WORK
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
Happy Valentine’s Day.
I LOVE to make decorated sugar cookies and special treats for my grandchildren.
My kitchen has been a busy place baking cookies and making these cute little candy treat bags. The candies and cupcakes are lined up for the task.
Click here to see directions Easy Halloween Treat Bags
I mail a Happy Valentine’s Day box to my grandsons in Colorado and North Carolina. I add some Valentine window clings and it is a fun, inexpensive treat from grandma and grandpa. The other children live nearby, so I am able to give them their boxes in person.
Decorated sugar cookies are always a sweet treat that make everyone happy. Here is my recipe Decorated Sugar Cookies
Fix a little treat bag of cookies and deliver to a co-worker, a neighbor, the mailman, or any special person in your life.
CHRISTMAS 2014
MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family. Sharing some fun, food and traditions from our Christmas 2014.
We had our family celebration on December 13th.
As usual, it was crazy, busy and so much fun. We had lots of good food, talked and laughed, played some games, and opened gifts.
See some of our Christmas traditions in previous post.
Christmas Traditions..Creating New Ones as Grandparents.
I always make cookie trays, candy bags and Chex Mix for everyone to take home. I made double recipes of 10 different kinds of cookies and 30 dozen decorated sugar.
My husband, Bob, helped me cook and we worked on it for 2 days. Our Christmas 2014 menu was simple and had variety to satisfy the adults and children.
Here are some random pictures.
The first picture was the next morning when I was taking out trash. I looked behind me and my 2 yr old grandson, Hudson,was saying “me help” and dragging bags of trash. We are such a lucky family to have so many wonderful blessings. 
CREATING CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AS GRANDPARENTS
We all had family traditions for the holidays as we grew up and were able to continue these when we started our own families.
I think as grandparents we are now in a unique situation.
Many of the traditions can’t be carried on for different reasons. Some of our grown children have moved away and not able to get home for the holidays, and with so many blended families there are more schedules to try to accommodate. A few grandparents are lucky enough to have all of your children living in the same city. Another issue is that once our children are married, they need to share the holidays with their in-laws also.
I think the only solution is to try to incorporate some of your most favorite traditions while being flexible to make new ones. I want to share with you some of the things our big family does that seems to work.
My husband and I have a blended family of 8 children along with their spouses/significant others, 13 grandchildren and a few more from their blended families. Talk about difficulty in being able to coordinate schedules!!
Bob and I have our big family Christmas party the 2nd Saturday in December. This allows the children to attend events with their in-laws and still have their own family time on Christmas. I start all of my holiday tasks the weekend after Thanksgiving.
I decorate my house with family in mind. I have a tree upstairs that is decorated with Thomas Kinkade and handmade ornaments from my friend, Linda Bibbo @ L.B. Bear Christmas Ornaments, so this one is just for looking at. The downstairs tree is kid friendly and full of things they like. I add Christmas to every room in the house and outside. I do lots of shopping and baking non stop for 2 weeks.
We are very lucky because we have 2 big rooms downstairs that we can party in. One has the tree, and is where we open presents. The other is a big empty room that I am able to set tables up in to eat. I also make 20 cookie trays for family/friends. I line the trays up on these tables to fill them.
I still do a stocking for each grandchild. They are not stuffed full like the ones Santa does at their house but everyone enjoys this. Here are mine for this year. I did 18 this time.
Little Boys.. hand held stroble light, LED flashlight,stickers
Little Girls
Big Boys
Big Girls
One of the most fun traditions we started with the grandchildren is a game we play. Even the teenagers still laugh and enjoy this. I originally started it to stretch the evening when they open their presents so quickly.
We call it “THE RACING SANTA GAME”
I have a tub that I fill up with small gifts, cash, and gift cards. The prizes have evolved over the years and change to meet what I know they like.
Here are the prizes in this year’s tub.
To play this game, everyone picks out a Santa or Snowman, we set up a short track ,and the little wind up Santas race each other 2 at a time. The winner goes to the tub and gets a prize.. the loser plays the next person. Everyone wins! The poor little wind up Santa does not go too far and the kids are laughing hysterically at them.
These are a few of the traditions we do at our house. I will share some more in another post.
Bob and I just want special memories to come from the holidays at our house.