A dry erase DIY Valentine's gift and cookies!

Oh my gosh. 156 DIY entries on SNS #17. Oh my gosh.

I totally admit, I did not keep up this weekend. I allow Sat and Sun mornings to go through the entries, but then my other life begins. So next SNS I'll be highlighting more as I wade through them all. Thanks so much for your participation! I just LOVE my weekend mornings with SNS and my freshly brewed coffee, thanks to you. :)

Up for a little weekend story?

My son and I have a special tradition for Valentine's Day. We bake these peppermint flavoured sugar cookies every year.

That is our valentine to each other. We both take part in creating them ( and licking the beaters is totally part of the deal!) and then get to enjoy them for many days ahead. They freeze so well! (and taste awesome frozen too I might add)

Valentine's Day ought to be a day for all things love and appreciating those around you, yes? Well, our day didn't transpire that way at first. Not even close.

This 10 yr old boy loves to test his mom. And we're just traveling through abit of a rebellious stage right now which is really keeping me on my toes. It's not that the pitch stays at a high all day, not at all. It's more like a test of wills, popping up sporadically, that challenges me to keep my cool  throughout the day. Some games just aren't that fun to play, ya know?

I admit, I hit a level where I broke. It's like the world had given me enough to deal with and it was time for a time out. Most of you may say to the hubby, "I need a walk. I'll be right back." But as a sole parent, I can't do that. And as the rain pounded down, I sort of felt even more trapped. I just wanted OUT.

So I instigated time alone for each of us for a short while. I  needed to hit a reset button and the only way I could achieve that was some quiet space around me for a short while.

So my son drifted to his room to his massive dry erase board. (the rest of his room is HERE)

This is one awesome board. The day it went up was a means for my son to simply sit and scribble around on it. But the board's become so much more. This board has become a friend, waiting to inspire, helping make a boy's dreams come true, AND to work out aggression through art.

When he transpired to his board and I to a chair in another room, there was silence. Wonderful peaceful sunlight kind of silence. You know those days during a fresh snowfall where all is white and nearly soundproof? That's what this moment felt like. Obviously I was in bad need of abit of downtime. Thank-you dry erase board for helping out once again!

When I knew my cup was full once again, I got up and approached my son's door and knocked.

Incidentally, we have no locks on any interior doors. That wasn't planned. I just never got around to purchasing new ones with fancy dancy privacy locks on them, so here we go without. And it's really taught both of us to respect each other's privacy. Isn't it cool to know we don't NEED locks? :)

Back on topic:  my son told me not to come in yet as he was making something. So smiling, I returned back to my chair, having a mild idea of what he was up to.

At times he liked to draw special pictures to surprise me with something he was particularly proud of. So when he called me back, I was all prepared to view some cool new army tank driven by aliens or undiscovered underground city that ran on volcanic lava energy.

3D is something they JUST learned in school.

And while it was colourful and wild and so very cool...

... this one came with an apology. With hearts. :)

* melt *

I love it when we chill and make up.

So off we ran to enjoy a really nice valentine's dinner in our little town (he his fav burger and fries and I had the prime rib and yorkshire pudding... yum!!), and for dessert, we came home and baked our special cookies for dessert.

And then we watched a taped 2nd half of the Survivor premiere. It was the perfect day. :)

Some days can be a real struggle to get through. And at the heat of the moment, it's so easy to lose it. But ultimately, I know what it takes to regain calm again. Our reactions to what's going on is the key to everything. I'm just so very glad I have Him to talk me down when need be. :)

As for the cookies? I know someone will no doubt ask me for the recipe, so here they are. We make these same cookies every Christmas too, with just different coloured icing and shapes. They totally puff/disintegrate when you bite into them. Best EVER. Go make a kiddo happy today and bake and decorate some cookies!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

(I always double the recipe, but here's the single)

2 cups flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter or margarine

1/3 c shortening

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

a drop or 2 of pure peppermint extract

- beat butter and shortening for 30 seconds, add sugar and beat till *fluffy.

(*this is the key, beat till you see froth, that's what makes these cookies so light)

- add egg, milk, peppermint, beat well.

- add flour and baking powder and pinch of salt

- beat or mix till well blended

- chill

- roll out, cut, bake 375 for *8 min

(* I bake them slightly underdone (350 for 9 min) so they are white on the bottoms)

icing

powdered/icing sugar whipped with butter and milk

1 or 2 drops (taste it) of pure peppermint extract

food colour of choice

decorate each cookie right after frosting it

recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

year - ancient

So, how about you?

How was your Valentine's weekend? And feel free to share your secrets on how you keep your cool when things go haywire at home. I could certainly use the tips!