Each year for, my sons’ little league does a special Mother’s Day celebration for all the moms and grandmothers. They have free popcorn, decorate the field with balloons, pass out flowers and invite the moms to join the players on the field for the pledge of allegiance.

As the team mom this year, I was responsible getting a gift for the moms on our team and I was so happy with how cute and easy this year’s gift turned out.

I purchased these baseball bath bombs from Etsy in size large (4 oz) and added them to a clear bag with these tags. The moms loved them!

I also put together individual flowers for each mom and our coach made us wear pink eye black!

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What’s the solution? Cooperative games. We have been introduced to several cooperative board games and they have changed our game night experiences.

What are cooperative games? They are games that involve all the players working together to accomplish a task or beat the game.

Cooperative games promote:

1. Teamwork
2. Sibling Bonding
3. Encouragement of others
   

From my experience, introducing cooperative games has led to calmer and more enjoyable board game experiences.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Outfoxed! by Gamewright

2-4 players ages 4+

In this game, a sneaky fox has stolen a chicken pot pie and it is the job of the players to determine which of the 12 suspect fox is the guilty one. Think of it as Clue but for kids. There are clue cards that the players earn to help identify characteristics of the thief to determine which fox stole the pie. All the players work as a team to unveil the guilty fox before it makes it to the fox hole.

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We personally own and love this game).

Want to see this game in action? Watch my kids and I play Outfoxed!

Lion in the Way by eeBoo

2-6 players and ages 5+ (but my 4 year old plays and loves this)

This was our first introduction to cooperative games and it was a huge hit. My 4 year old especially loved this one. We are working on his speech and this game really got him talking and I could see his confidence rising while playing.

Object: come up with creative solutions to get past obstacles in the path. For example, in the scenario below, my son said that he would use the fireworks to blast through the mountain to get through them. After each player shares their idea with their tool card, a new obstacle card is placed in the path. Play continues for a predetermined amount of obstacles or until players are ready to stop.

You’d be amazed at the clever ideas your kids will come up with.

Which tool card would you pick to get past the fire in the path?

Race to the Treasure by Peaceable Kingdom

2-4 players (ages 5+ but my 4 year old plays this and loves it).

I personally have so much fun playing this game too!

Object: All players work together to build a path, collect three keys and beat an Ogre to the treasure chest. I especially like that the players need to use strategy to decide which direction to build their path. I have found my boys talking over different possible moves and deciding together which to pick.

It’s you against that ogre and the kids just love working together to beat him!

Get Race to the Treasure. Just click below!

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Then, my best friend walked in, waving around a ziplock bag of the most delicious looking cookies, and explained to me that these cookies would solve all my breastfeeding woes! Well, maybe not solve them all, but at least the ingredients in the cookies were believed to help with my milk supply. All I could think was that I had just birthed an 8 lb baby and I deserved one, or maybe five, of those cookies. What a treat!

These cookies use a basic oatmeal cookie recipe but have four ingredients that help increase milk supply:

• Brewer’s Yeast
• Flax Seed Meal
• Wheat Germ
• Oatmeal

They are absolutely the best treat for any new mom. I have made them more times than I can count now and have had many chances to perfect the recipe.

Tips: Use mini chocolate chips to help get the most chocolate taste in every bite. When baking, make sure to keep an eye on the cookies and take them out just when they are slightly golden. They taste best when they are extra gooey and overcooking them will cause you to lose some of that.

When I make these for a new mom, I ways include this printable recipe card for future batches.

How to Make My Udderly Delicious Lactation Cookies

Recipe makes approximately 48 small cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Soak the flax meal in 1/4 cup of water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

3. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Then, add egg yolk and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in flax meal.

5. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.

6. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture then fold in mini chocolate chips and oatmeal.

7. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

8. Bake for about 10 minutes but only until slightly golden.

9. Move to a wire rack after about a minute to cool.

10. Enjoy the cookies! And no, this won’t make dad lactate, so you can share a few of them with him too.

I always have trouble keeping these little fingers out of my cookie dough!

The post My Udderly Irresistible Lactation Cookies appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

The next day my friend called and told me she had a really hectic day. She was driving home from school pick-up with six kids in her car, when she got a flat tire. Not the kind of flat that just needed a patch, but an “Am I going to make it to the mechanic before I am driving on the rim?” type of flat.

I instantly felt her pain. As moms, we are required to be in charge and keep our cool even when our brain is screaming S.O.S.

The repair on her tire was going to take at least a full day. She was borrowing a car from her parents and after offering to run to the grocery store for her, she said she was, “Managing ok.”

Well, I know that phrase. “I’m ok.” It means that things might be crazy but I am holding it together. It means that I’m exhausted and somewhat overwhelmed but I’m going to be able to feed my kids and get them to bed somehow. It means I am surviving, maybe on empty, but I’m going to make it home.

I wanted to do something to show my friend I was proud of her for holding things together and that she deserved a little pat on the back.

My kids and I whipped up a batch of cookies and swung by the drive-thru Starbucks to pick up her go-to beverage; a grande soy Chai Latte with no water (and a straw).” I printed out this card and left it on her doorstep.

This little gesture didn’t repair her tire, but sometimes in motherhood, there’s nothing like knowing that a friend feels your pain and has got your back or at least can swing by the drive-thru Starbucks, Target or the grocery store in a time of need.

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