Normally, I’m a total busy bee — I love being on the go.
Recently, I’ve come to realize that I need to focus on making “home” time more fun for my boys.
The other day, my oldest son told me he wanted to “go out to have some fun” .. and I realized my kids thought the only fun to be had was if we were going on an adventure somewhere. Whoops.
Even though mama likes to go, go, go, I want them to realize that being home is special as well. Because of this epiphany, I’ve been intentional about finding ways to enjoy our time at home together.
One thing we’ve always enjoyed together that I’m putting more of a focus on is our time in the kitchen.
My boys love helping to shop, as well as cook with me. And of course, they really love being my official taste testers.
Because it’s something familiar that they already love, I’m intentionally including them in my kitchen time even more.
I’m going to be sharing one of our latest treats with you in just a moment — a pumpkin ice cream recipe. Yum!
Another way we’re making time at home more fun is dance parties.
I’ve long been a fan of dance parties — turn up the music, groove around the house, giggle endlessly… a good dance party can fix almost anything.
I’m proud to partner with Mom It Forward to bring you these ideas.
Dance parties have gotten even cooler at our house recently because we installed a Onelink Safe & Sound from First Alert.
First and foremost a life safety device — it helps to protect your home and alert you in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide incident.
The Onelink Safe & Sound is the first device of it’s kind: it has a speaker and is paired with Amazon Alexa. I can stream music using voice activation easily, which I love.
While we’re busy dancing, it’s continuing to protect our family. The First Alert legacy has been built on over 60 years years of smoke, fire and carbon monoxide protection.
In the event of an emergency, my cell phone will alerted, even if I’m not at home. It will tell me what type of danger and it’s location. I love that it works anywhere.
It also works with other hardwired alarms, so even if you have some protection already set up in your home, you can easily integrate the Onelink Safe & Sound.
Installing the device was so simple. It uses our existing wiring and since it has an integrated adapter plug, no rewiring is necessary. The simple app guided me through the set-up process.
My little guys were also happy that the Onelink Safe & Sound has a customizable night light that allowed me to select a color and brightness level that was right for our family at night.
After a recent afternoon spent shopping, we headed home.
I suggested a dance party and a yummy treat. Naturally, everyone was on board!
This simple recipe creates a tasty frozen treat that requires no churning or special ice cream maker.
And I’m all about pumpkin flavors — this recipe won’t disappoint! Let’s get started with this pumpkin pie ice cream.
We only need five ingredients for this treat.
- Let’s gather heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract and then get started.
- As I said, you won’t need a fancy machine to make this treat. Start by whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. If using electric mixer, use paddle attachment.
- Gradually add condensed milk while continuing to beat.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Pour into 9” x 5” loaf pan or freezer container, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
I poured my homemade pumpkin spice ice cream into a darling pint container to freeze.
While we worked, we danced.
Because we can easily give voice commands with Alexa, the boys were able to personally select our playlists as the mood struck them.
After a few hours, the ice cream was ready to eat… always the best part of any recipe creation. 😉
I scooped out our servings into pretty dishes and sprinkled a little more pumpkin pie spice on top for good measure. Delicious.
As a mama, these are the wins I love.
We’re enjoying time together and creating beautiful memories — and I can relax knowing we are safe.
I hope your family enjoys a Onelink Safe & Sound dance party soon, plus this tasty pumpkin ice cream as well!
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 8 oz heavy whipping cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. If using electric mixer, use paddle attachment.
- Gradually add condensed milk while continuing to beat.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Pour into 9” x 5” loaf pan or freezer container, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Khristine Alba says
December 9, 2018 at 11:53 pmSooo creamy and delicious! I love it.