diversionary tactics

Yesterday morning was the first in quite some time where I didn't take the kiddos to some sort of park. After a few minutes of general stampeding about the house, I decided an intervention was needed, and they spent the remainder of the morning working on spelling words and word puzzles at the table.

In the afternoon, we read SWEET DREAM PIE (Audrey Wood), and determined to make our own version of this delectable treat.







First, the boys took turns transcribing a list of all the sweet ingredients we stormed up in our brains:






Then we edited our list to increase the odds of our pie actually turning out edible. On paper, the kids helped me write everything we already had in our house, and then list the ingredients we needed to purchase.

We zipped off to the grocery store and happily zipped back out through the self check-out lane with our four items.

Home again, we assembled the pie. We began with a chocolate crumb crust, slathered on peanut butter, lined the edges with halved mini-Twix bars, and mixed up vanilla ice cream and crushed Oreos. After easing the ice cream into the crust, we liberally sprinkled on miniature marshmallows.





Next came a drizzling of chocolate and caramel syrups, followed by milk chocolate chips.







And finally, we crowned the über-sweet pie with whipped cream and colored sprinkles.





The finished product (albeit a little sprinkle-heavy toward the middle):





So, here's a tip in case you decide to try this out at your place: slice your pie really, really skinny to avoid stomach aches and potential enmity with the National Dental Association.

Also, consider these variations:
crust (regular pie crust, graham crust, cookie dough crust, crushed pretzel crust)
filling (pudding, ice cream, cream pie, peanut butter pie, or even no filling--just use a layer of PB and sprinkle the candies directly on top)
embellishments (instead of candies, try brightly colored fruits--strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc.)

Enjoy!