I {heart} Valentines

Valentines Day didn't go exactly as expected. Not that I ever really expect much. I mean, to be honest, the day of "love" has always been that day I secretly anticipate, yet equally loath all at the same time.
In my younger years, I never really cared too much for the day as my coupledom status hardly ever seemed to fall on this commercially enhanced holiday. And when it did, the guy never remembered.

Looking back, my most fond memories of Valentines Day are not about some guy I had a crush on and skipped 5th period math just to watch as my singing valentine was delivered to his lunch table. No, I fondly recall my father sneaking into my bedroom before heading out to work at the ungodly hour of 5am. I'd lay there in bed, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep as we would leave me a gift on my night table. Usually I'd wait until I heard his car engine start and then fade, as he drove down the street, before turning on my light and searching for what he left.

It was usually a bag of candy hearts or a box of chocolates, something Valentine related, and an envelope with my name on it. You know guys are not usually the mushy, talk about your feelings type. My Dad is different. I could always go to him with anything that was on my mind. It is a unique trait that I have always cherished in my relationship with him. Still, sometimes you just can't get out what you want to say, so a perfectly picked card would do the trick. And my dad always was the best at picking out cards that touched the heart. I suppose this is where I got my habit for giving cards and little gifts to those I love.

But I digress.

Valentines 2013 was a morning when I hit the snooze button longer than I should, foiling my plans to get up before the kids and have some spectacular Valentine breakfast waiting for them to devour before school. Instead, it was the same old routine of struggling to get Sophie dressed and down the stairs. Breakfast wasn't anything more than cream cheese on a bagel, orange juice, and gummy vitamins.  Then I hurriedly threw together the day's snack while my much needed cup of joe was brewing.

The day before, I spent all afternoon in the kitchen baking (and all evening decorating) heart shaped cookies for a bunch of Kindergartners. You see, I felt I was neglecting Mason's school year by not having signed up to be a room parent in his classroom as well. So I wanted to do my part and felt cookies were innocent enough. I made a cream cheese sugar cookie recipe I found online. Next time I think I will stick to the timeless sugar cookie recipe, as I had to improvise on this one just to get it to be dough like, and the cream cheese added a little too much tartness for my taste. But in a taste test with the kids, they got a thumbs up.

Don't they look yummy? After all my hard work, I was anxious to get them to the party but at the moment, my only thought was to devour my hot, delicious cup of coffee, so I could stay awake long enough to make it till the afternoon. 

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It was just before the first alarm, letting me know that Sophie had 5 minutes to scarf down whatever food was left and get ready for carpool, that Mason mentioned he didn't feel so well. He said he was dizzy and I could tell he was a bit pale as I approached him. His skin was on fire and I told him to sit on the couch as I went to the medicine cabinet for the thermometer. 101. I checked two more times for good measure, but as much as I wished it to, the number on the LCD didn't change.

Woo. Hoo. Taking care of a sick child wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my Valentines Day, yet oddly, it was enough. Fred had a meeting in Winchester, so the kids and I spent the afternoon watching Disney Junior, decorating our Valentine mailboxes, and attempting to rest. The process of getting my children to sit still and rest when they have a fever is a bit like telling a dog not to bark. Still, I managed to get them both down for a nap and had a few quiet moments to handcraft some Valentine cards.

Soon Fred arrived home with a gift from the kids.

Truly the most unique roses I have ever received. Mason has always been the best at picking flowers, in fact he gets super upset if Fred buys me flowers without him. Clearly the phone call they shared earlier was regarding which roses to get me, and Mason made the perfect choice again.

Fred also bought me another beautiful Orchid.

Purple of course. Isn't it beautiful? Having flowers in my house, and longer than the average two days or so that roses tend to last (a green thumb I am not), really brightens up the place. I smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

For dinner, I had planned to make a lovely roasted chicken with homemade rolls but with Mason under the weather we enjoyed tacos and red wine instead. After an early bedtime, Fred and I settled down for another viewing of the West Wing series. Every few months or so, we watch the entire series of West Wing because really it is that good.

It might not have been the traditional, overly romantic evening that hollywood has us dreaming about, but as each year passes, I find it doesn't matter what we do: spending a quiet evening at home curled up on the couch with popcorn, Twizzlers, and maybe a beer or a glass of wine, watching Big Bang Theory, or having a nice dinner out at Ruth's Chris--together is always enough.

Bumblebee says...

Hope your Valentine's Day is Awesome!

Once again we have arrived at the class valentine exchange. Today is the party for Mason's class and I am so excited to be able to be there as he hands out his valentines this year. We got creative again, I mean would I really not get creative with valentines? Though, I almost went store bought this year, except Mason couldn't find any Transformer ones with candy. Instead, we decided it would be cool if he dressed up in his Bumblebee Halloween costume and made some fierce poses. I think we are both happy with the result.

I created the words in photoshop, leaving room for Mason to sign his own name later. Had them printed at Costco (I'm a little peeved that they cropped off the edge of the wording, even though I checked the cropping line. But got over it fast, as I realized these are 5 year olds and they really don't give a crap, much less probably even notice.) and then glued them to red card stock. Mason signed each one and then I punched holes in the top and bottom of his fist and slipped the heart lollipops into them. It totally looks like he is handing the lollipops to his friends. These photos do not do them justice.

The kids are also doing a cute craft I helped put together. They will be using red and white colored plates to make holders for all their valentines. I can't wait to see them put these together. And the snack, of course is healthy. Ritz crackers with a cream cheese and jelly mixture spread on top. It sounds so delicious, I hope there are some extras for me to grab a taste.

I went ahead and made my own Valentines for the kids this year. Mason has been asking me if he will get something from me and I kept telling him he had to see. Of course I would give them Valentines, duh. So, last night, I had Fred take a picture of me and then I got to work. I really wanted to give them a special message from me, because I feel they both have grown so much this year. And not just in height (My lord these kids are like weeds. Especially Sophie who is not much shorter than Mason these days.). Mason has really been working hard at school, and Sophie has really come into her own these last few months -- developing her skills, interests and vocabulary. Those two really do shine in their own special way. I'm so lucky to be their Mom.

(I do have something cooked up for Fred too, I just didn't get any photos of it yet.)

So here's to hoping your day is just as special!

Happy Valentines Day!

From your Valentine

For part of their Valentine Day celebration Mason's class was asked to bring in a valentine for each child in the class. We got creative and this is what we came up with. Now wouldn't you just love to get that valentine this year?

Create: Valentines Day

Valentine's Day is vastly approaching and I thought I'd give a peak at some of the projects I've been working on.

Home Decor

After having a home filled with festive decorations the whole month of December it seems rather dull in the house until we hit fall once more and the decorations come out again. So this year I decided our home would be filled with seasonal joy throughout the year.

First up, I made the wreath you see above. It was super easy to put together and cost under $10 total.

Then I decided the mantel needed a little sprucing. I created the heart banner using napkins left over from various birthday parties over the years and cute out heart shapes. Punched holes and tied them together with twine. Super simple.

I kept the electric red candle from Christmas, added a white one then used these valentine printables from Rebecca Cooper to decorate them for the season. The Love blocks and picture frames are from the $1 bin at Target. I took random scrapbook paper I have hoarded over the years and cut them to fit the frames. Heart key is from Tim Holtz.

The flowers are from Michaels (I think) from many years ago. Frame from A.C. Moore. I used this Martha Stewart punch for the heart collage from various red, pink and white papers.

Our dinning room table. This picture frame (I think from A.C. Moore) houses pieces of art for each season. Currently it is filled with this Subway Art from Eighteen 25. I love their blog. So many great ideas. I printed it at Costco, but yet somehow the colors came out all monotone and muted. Not at all like the download. And this isn't the first time this has happened when I have tried printing something I downloaded with them. Their color calibration must be off. However, they are super cheap when it comes to printing 8x10 photos. So, I lived with it.

The jar of beads with the white candle, I left out from Christmas. The bunch of flowers were decorations from Sophie's first birthday and river rocks that I had intended for the good behavior jars but ended up using different ones instead. And my favorite. The apothecary jar, from Michaels, filled with conversation hearts. That jar only has half that amount in it now. I have to tell you though, you can only eat so many of those candy hearts before you feel like you want to vomit. Yet, somehow I keep coming back to them.

Preschool

Despite my extremely busy schedule of late with this Art to Remember project I'm co-heading at Mason's school I still managed to find time to get my room parent duties done. Above is a little shot I took of the centerpieces I made for Mason's classes Valentine Party on monday. Once again that $1 bin at Target was my success. Aren't those buckets just totally adorable? The hearts I punched from pink and red construction paper using this punch and the straws I had on hand (but found a few extra at the dollar store). Super easy to make. I just punched out the hearts and glued them to the straws using glue dots. I filled the buckets with black and white beans and then stuck in the hearts. Super simple and super cute. Can't wait till the kids see them.

Mason and I are currently making the special snack for the party; layered jello hearts. I'll let you know how they come out.

In addition to the party, my son's class is having a mail theme this month. Complete with post office in their dramatic play area as well as making their own mailboxes and requests that we send them one letter a week for the month. Mason is so excited about this. So when we spotted these cute little gems, once again in the $1 bin at Target he begged me and I caved. I thought we could get one for each of us and keep the mail theme going at home.

Not only that, I've been putting together the teacher gifts for Valentine's Day as well. Unable to decide on what container to put it all in till these little cuties lit a spark in my brain.

How cute right? It totally fits their mail theme for the month and they are valentine colors! Each equipped with their names of course, so the mailman knows where to send their mail. These are some really old stickers I found in my stash. Finally putting all those scrapbooking supplies I've collected over the years to good use.

Inside, each teacher has 4 tickets to the movies, a bag of candy hearts and a homemade valentine. Once again, super simple, and I'm so proud I stayed within budget this time! I hope the teachers like them. I keep trying to come up with unique gifts unlike the coffee mugs, apples and school supplies I'm sure they get bombarded with year after year from parents and students alike. It helps that the school provides the room parents with a sheet of each teachers likes and faves. It's been so helpful.

Well that it's for now. Been busy with crafts and valentines and getting inspired. Love it, love it, love it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!