time on the porch

Time outside on the porch is most important for these two.  Sharing an afternoon snack, playing an imaginary game, riding bikes or just painting the house (with water) are favorite activities out there most afternoons.  The unstructured time together without my ideas, suggestions or opinions does wonders for them.  Stepping back to let them discover and explore together has become an essential part of their day...

 

until the bickering becomes so loud I am afraid the neighbors might complain!

could you make those cookies with the pink frosting

When I was young, my grandmother always baked sugar cookies and frosted them pink this time of year.  She carefully packaged them up and sent them across the country to us for Valentine's Day.  Each year my siblings and I could hardly wait for that package to arrive in early February.

It has been quite some time since my grandmother's cookies have been made.
These eager little ones were ready to recreate the cookies we loved so much as children.

They rolled out dough and enjoyed stamping old cookie cutters.

When it was time to frost the delectable treats, we found no food coloring in the pantry.  We hunted for something to make the frosting pink {and purple--a request from this generation of cookie bakers and eaters}.  We ended up using jam mixed with the homemade frosting to make an ever-so-slight hue of pink.  My eldest thought blueberries would make a great purple color so we smashed and strained blueberries until we were left with a darker pink hued paste.  We mixed that with the frosting and came up with two very Valentine-inspired frosting colors. 

What will you be baking this Valentine's Day?