Valentines 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am not a Valentine cynic, but I also don't care about any Valentine fuss or fanciness. It's fun just having a reason to celebrate something! I have a doozy of a cold I've been trying to get rid of, so out of necessity, we kept things pretty simple.

Again, I would like to thank our awesome area dollar store for allowing me to spend about $5 on decorations. Woo hoo! It's amazing what a pink tablecloth, some heart-patterned cups and plates will do for your spirits.

First, we designed Valentines. I like cute and original but EASY. So I used the pirate boy and girl patterns from here. Thank you internet. I may not be able to come up with something original off the top of my head, but I know where to find it. We were able to whip these up fast for all three kids.

 I let my kids attach a heart candy to the back. I see all over the internet where people are freaking out about doing sugar-free Valentines. To me, it's just another way where we adults have to take the fun out of yet another holiday. Let's face it, the only ones who care about the cutesy homemade Valentines are the moms. The kids just look for the candy. Why do we have to make things so difficult? Here's what I do:
Day 1: kids come home with lots of candy. Let them count it, roll in it, dump it over their heads, eat a bunch.
Day 2, 3, 4, 5: they get one treat a day.
Day 6: candy MYSTERIOUSLY disappears and kids have forgotten about it by now anyway. Squirrel!
See? Easy.
That's why God created trash cans. Or something like that. 

Jack had Valentine's parties at school. He had a great time!!

Freezie headache!!!

Laura had fun at her school and came home with a bag of goodies.

Emma, being in sixth, didn't have an official list of Valentines, and the rules are a bit different now. Oh, those middle school rules. But she made about 14 Valentines to pass out, and she even gave some to boys. Much more courageous than I was!

Jack told me I was his Valentine. Actually, he told me I was his "Ballentine."


Tonight I was feeling too miserable to cook, so we ordered heart-shaped pizzas from Papa Johns and made ice cream sundaes for dessert with pink sprinkles. Good enough for me.

The kids had a great time and we made it through another round of Valentine's.

Hope you had a great Valentine's day. If you don't have a Valentine, don't worry, Jack will cover for you.

 
Also, to give you any ideas for next year, here are some of the cute Valentines my kids brought home.

Things I loved (on Monday)

We are all still getting over being sick here, so V-Day is a bit delayed.

Some years you put  a lot of effort into a holidays, some years you don't. This was a don't. Decorations were minimal. Thankfully, we were all happy with that. I had the cutest idea for homemade Valentines for my girls to make for their classes. Unfortunately, we all got sick, and those plans went out the window along with my energy. But I have learned to give myself permission to not have everything so flipping perfect all the time, which enabled me to notice that the girls were perfectly happy with their box of CVS valentines.

I am not much of a crafty mom, but I do like to pack their lunches, so I made them a Valentines-theme lunch. That sandwich blob is supposed to be a heart.

Charlene sent my girls the CUTEST Valentine's postcards. The girls squealed that there was something in the mailbox for them. And these are the kind of postcards that are so cool we can keep them and use them as decorations next year. I think that they would be cute framed. Charlene, you have now surpassed Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy in the coolness factor.

Jack played me a love song for Valentine's.

I had a silhouette made of Jack--at all places--Disney World. I know I could do it myself, but having a nice lady in a colonial dress bust it out for me was way worth the money. Which was not much, thankfully. Every time I see his sweet little picture (much more in detail when you get closer) I just want to devour his toddler deliciousness. I need to have the girls done next time we are there.

A blurry but happy shot of the girls with their postcards right before they go to bed.

For Valentine's day, Gary gave me a cute vintage-looking bracelet. I made him a chocolate chip cookie pie, his favorite dessert.  My parents came over and we grilled steaks and had the best time sitting around and laughing. I love sitting around and making fun of my relatives who aren't there.

Happy Valentines!!! Hope you had a great day!!

The month of Looooove

Valentine's Day went off without a hitch.

We made Valentine's.
This is SERIOUS work.
(mostly for me)


Laura used the Inchmark valentine idea.


Emma loved the mad lib idea from Design Mom.
(what? You thought I thought of these myself? hahahahaha)

Laura made yummy valentine's for her two teachers.


A few days later we went to Disney.
This is the Speedway at Magic Kingdom. See that little white thing in the roadway?
Look closely.
THAT is the binky that Jack CHUCKED over the rail down below. A nice custodian retrieved it for me since I am too cheap to just let it go.

Finally,
this was my sister's birthday present idea for me. Isn't it clever? I loved it. I want a bike. Not an expensive one, just a cheap retro looking thing from Target. So she made me this bike fund jar, and put the first donation inside. I love it.


Next to it is the name plaque that my friend Kymmie got me for my birthday. How cute is that? I love it. Kymmie also gave me another priceless gift: a night out with Gary. She watched the kids while we went out for dinner and a movie. I don't know who had more fun, Gary and I, or the girls. Probably not Kymmie. Just kidding!

I feel loved.

(I just want to add at the end of this post that blogger is doing some weird things with my fonts. So I'm not really THAT crazy about large fonts. But apparently blogger is today. Sorry!)

Mr. Darcy, you handsome devil, you!

So, I think of myself as a pretty practical kind of girl. After many years of marraige I have learned that if I think something or need something, I just.....well, say it. Might sound kind of, well, basic, but you wouldn't believe how DUMB I was in the beginning. I am not a game-player, I don't want a surprise party (although I do like surprises). I relish sincerity rather than fuss.



But this month our book club pick is the old lovely standard, "Pride and Prejudice" by the inimitable Jane Austen. I found this and I must say reading these words made my heart beat a little faster. I mean really, who wouldn't want someone to express their need for you in words like these?



Check this out on Etsy:


Thanks, Jane. You set the bar awfully high.

Post-Valentine's Post

It's not the most gorgeous picture, but yikes it was good. Chocolate two-layer cake with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. Very moist and good.

His shirt says, "My heart belongs to Mommy." You better remember that, kid.

sorry, I'm too lazy to figure out how to turn this picture around after it's posted. Gotta learn how to do that.

Welcome to our ticky tacky Valentine's decoration showcase!!! G. (my darling husband) is lately of the real estate/mortgage profession, so it doesn't take a total genius to figure out how well we are doing financially right now. So this Valentine's the mission was to find that balance between decorating the house with the girls and not spending a dime. Soooo fun.

I love holidays. They help to cheer when things are drab and monotonous and not so easy. They are happy bumps in the long road of reality. So here's what the girls and a I came up with in Drafty House:

Yes, you guessed it. Christmas ornaments thrown in a bowl complete with ribbon and Mr. Glitter Bird. Mr. Glitter Bird fell of a Christmas wreath, and I kept him because he's shiny and glittery and makes me happy.

Yep, it's a Very Special Wal-Mart Valentine's Day.