seasidefics | childhood core dump

obscure/weird childhood food:

applesauce on toast. i honestly love the contrast of fridge-cold applesauce on warm bread… very comforting.
graham crackers dipped in milk until they’re falling apart. most people think this is gross (my family did), but i like soggy food — sue me.
spaghetti tacos (inspired by icarly). basically leftover spaghetti in a toasted flour tortilla with parmesan. i hated crunchy tacos as a kid, so it had to be soft.
last-minute rice pudding. leftover white rice microwaved with milk, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and butter.
reese’s peanut butter copy? my best friend came up with it during one of our concoctions, and we had a name for it… i wish i could remember. it was basically peanut butter mixed with lots of vanilla and hershey’s syrup.
pickles with whipped cream. very weird, i know, but i actually liked it once. it started as a dare at my best friend’s house — we'd eat in her garage secretly since we weren't supposed to go in the fridge down there. haven’t had it in a decade, so who knows anymore.
“goop.” my aunt-in-law in oregon made it: mayo, ketchup, tiny bit of mustard. basically fry sauce, but she called it goop. she made it every single time we ate burgers. there’s this place in her tiny town that specializes in elk burgers, so i just have really fond memories of it.

normal-ish childhood food:

kool aid bursts. my cousins always had them at their house, so i drank them all when i was there since my grandpa and dad refused to buy them, lol (sorry lexie!). red flavor is the best.
otter pops. pink is still superior.
frozen orange juice concentrate. i used to make it every weekend with my dad. it was my job to mash it with water for like 15 mins since we never had the patience to let it thaw.
candy cigarettes. one of my friends would bring them over when her mom got them from catalina island. i think you could get them pretty much anywhere, but my dad and friend swore to me they only had them on catalina island.
danimals crush cups. the commercials with the sprouse twins… bring them back!!
frozen gogurt tubes. i only ever ate them frozen idk. i know the purpose was to freeze them so by the time school lunch comes around they'd be thawed yet cold, but i just ate them at home.
cuchaleta (hate food). i was dared to eat the entire spoon, which — for those who don’t know — is like a spoon of tamarind paste coated in chili, so it’s spicy and sour. i didn’t grow up with those types of candies/flavors so i hated it! my niece’s cousin was the one who dared me and wouldn’t let me spit it out or stop until it was all gone, or else i had to rinse my mouth with soap. worst of all, she was younger than me! i was really letting a 7-year-old bully me… like, wow. anyways, savi… i still think about that and i hate anything with chamoy or tajin bc of u 👎

other childhood items:

cereal bowl with a built-in straw. my cousins had it, so i was always super jealous, lol. my dad, again, refused to buy one since we already had bowls 🙄.
90s juice bar cotton candy perfume. my older sister used this… still reminds me of her even though i haven’t smelled it in a decade.
bobby jack. had the camo green shirt with the “don’t burst my bubble” phrase, i wore it religiously, so surprised i haven’t seen me in it in any photos from that time.

schoolyard games:

group games:

heads up 7 up and four corners. we played these whenever we had to eat lunch in the classroom on rainy days. we’d get so loud that the teacher from next door would have to come in and tell us to quiet down, lol. i miss that… it was so easy being included in things. i was surprisingly picked a lot.
jump rope games! i played these every recess. notable rhymes:
- “cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss her fella… made a mistake and kissed a snake. how many doctors does it take?”
- “ice cream, soda, cherry on the top, who’s your boyfriend/girlfriend? i forgot… a, b, c, d…” (stopping on your crush’s initial)
- h.e.l.p. — h: high, e: eyes closed, l: leapfrog (?), p: peppers (extremely fast), and you have to do the letter you land on.

hand games:

“lemonade, ice tea, coca-cola, pepsi…”
“lemonade, crunchy ice, beat it once, beat it twice, turn around, touch the ground, kick your boyfriend outta town, and freeze!”
slide
elevator
red hands — flipping your hands up and trying to slap your friend before they move.
“my mom gave me a nickel, she said to buy a pickle, but i bought no pickle, instead i got bubblegum… bazooka, bazooka, bubblegum!”

mind games / colors:

maybe just at my school, but: someone covers your eyes, snaps their fingers behind you while you count (or just feel the rhythm), and when you open your eyes, you “see” a color — not an object, just in your mind. each color had a meaning: crush, personality, luck, etc. there was even a “scary version” where they’d spin you and you’d see a haunted number… details are kinda fuzzy.

feelings i wish i could experience just one more time:

back-to-school shopping. last minute, of course, with grandpa and dad holding the list the teacher sent out. choosing my backpack and lunch pail for the year… new clothes (though i hated trying them on back then), new shoes.
the day you check which class you’ve been assigned to. it’s still summer vacation, so it’s the first time you’re seeing all your classmates since last year… everyone looking tanner and happier. the nervous, giddy feeling of trying to part from the sea of kids and parents gathered around the papers, scanning for your name. hoping you’re with your bff—or at least someone you know. (i never was… in all seven years at that school, we were never once placed in the same class. i think they did it on purpose, since i was shy and they knew we wouldn’t separate.)
swimming at my bff's sister’s boyfriend’s house. that was a mouthful. they had a half-wolf dog named smokey, who was honestly very well-behaved…… but in the summer, i would go over there and we’d all swim in his giant pool. i remember him letting me and my friend each grab onto one of his feet as he went around the pool, dragging us along. i felt weightless…small.. i wish someone would do that again.

riyah