Recipe for LOVE! Fun cooking project to do with your littlest love bugs!

Valentine's Day Fortune Cookies

Ingredients you will need:

8 eggs whites
1 cup melted butter (use 1 cup oil instead to keep the calories down)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons water
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt


Separate the egg whites and beat them until they form stiff peaks. Blend in the sugar and butter. (Discard egg yolks) Add the flour, vanilla, salt and water to the mixture and mix until smooth.

We put in red food coloring to make 'pink' fortune cookies for Valentine's Day!

Grease a cookie sheet or use parchment paper. Spoon the batter into 3 inch circles. Bake at 375* for about 4-5 minutes.

While those are cooking, write a few love notes or 'fortunes' for your loved ones!

When the cookies are done, remove them with a pancake turner onto wax paper or parchment paper. Place your love note or 'fortune' in the center of each circle and fold the cookie in half. Bend the cookies gently in the center. (If the cookies get to hard to bend, put them back in the oven for a minute or so)

We dipped ours in Chocolate to make them even more special for valentines day!

ENJOY!

Valentine's Crafts for your little ones

Valentines Day Mural of Love

What you will need

*contact paper

*Valentine's Day paper

Fold the paper and cut half hearts:

Lay out a piece of contact paper with sticky side up and let your little ones place the hearts on the contact paper.

We stuck ours to the fridge!

Paper Hearts on a Stick

What you will:

*White construction paper
*Big Popsicle Sticks
*Paint
*sponges or paintbrush or both!





Before the project cut out a large heart from the white paper and glue the heart to the Popsicle stick

Let the kiddos sponge paint or paint with brushes on the heart.

Can you tell we do a lot of hand-print art....that's my boy!

Up-cycled Flowers 

What you will need:

*a water bottle
*acrylic paint (any other kind will chip)
*tissue paper
*straw or pipe cleaner




Cut the top off of the water bottle

Cut slits in up the sides

Bend down each slit

and you have a flower!

Turn the flower cap side up and allow your child to paint it! (remember acrylic paint is the only paint that won't chip off)

This is what it looks like when you turn it around.

Let it dry then roll up a small ball of yellow tissue paper and stick it in the middle of the flower. Tape a straw to the back for a stem or wrap a pipe cleaner around making a stem. We took the bottom of the water bottle and stuffed it with some tissue paper as a vase...you could let your little ones paint or decorate the 'vase' as well!

Happy Valentine's Day...Enjoy!!!

Pet Store Thrills!

Today I was reminded of just how wonderfully simple life with a Toddler can be! (No I didn't miss-type lol), I of course know not all day with the toddler age group is simple but if you step back and view things the way they do...life becomes very simple!

Today I had to run into our local Trader Joe's to grab 2 things, so I let my son walk with me, I always set up the situation and my expectations ahead of time! I asked him, "Do you want to walk?" of course he said 'WALK!' SO I gave him a reminder..."Okay, you can walk but you have to hold Mommies hand or i'm going to pick you up...he said 'HAND!' So anyways we walked in grabbed the two things I needed and walked out. Right next door is a Pet-Co (pet-shop)

We were in no hurry so I said, "Let's go look at the animals!" 'ANIMALS!' As we walked in we headed towards the mouse/rat/hamster section...My son pressed his little hands and face against the window in such amazement and to my amazement he turned and said 'Mouse!' ....I didn't even know he knew how to say mouse, let alone identify a real one! After that section we ventured over to the 'fishies' and my son looked like he was in fishy heaven! rows and rows of aquariums, he didn't know what else to do but point to each and every tank and say 'fishey, fishey, fishey' as to say MOM this is AMAZING, are you seeing all of this! lol

After a few minutes of stepping back and letting him take it all in I took his hand and we headed over to the slimy area :) frogs, snakes, lizards...the gross boy stuff :) I showed him the snake and he said 'Sssss' As he did this with such delight I realized that this indeed might be the best free field trip ever!

We looked around some more and found some birds, I was hoping that they would have some cats or dogs (my son LOVES 'Meow Meows and doggies') but they didn't that I could see so I gave my son a warning..."Okay, we are going to go soon, lets say good bye to the animals!" So we said goodbye to the snake and the fishies...yes all of them lol and as I bent down to say goodbye to the last fish my son gave me a big hug!, as to say...('thanks Mom! Your the coolest!'...well i'm gonna take it as that lol)

As we walked out I saw bunny cages so we headed over to that area and talked to the bunnies for awhile, then we left and I realized how amazing it is to have a toddler! So much delight, such thirst for knowledge and so much love to give!

So I wanted to share this because I think sometimes we 'adults' think we have to plan these big trips, adventures or projects when sometimes the excitement can be as simple as walking through a pet store...so next time your not in a hurry, walk through a pet store with your toddler and see the delight that fills their hearts!