valentine's day 2015

this valentine's day this unique.

unlike past valentine's days, we weren't home.
we were in utah with the lovely utah gerbers.

though us adults celebrated the following week,
my very thoughtful s-i-l purchased valentine goodies for the kids before we arrived.
she put together cute little baggies and placed them strategically on the stairs so the
kids would see them as came running upstairs valentine morning.

oh how the kids loved this.

we spent the day together playing board games, me, trying to make a little progress
in my reading for bookclub and playing pickleball. we learned and played alot in
mexico during a few years ago and loved it.  apparently, it's all the rage in utah.
i understand why...it's a perfect physical game for a family of all ages - from young children
to grandparents...much easier to play than tennis. we played some pretty competitive games....
with a  few being super competitive.

the highlight of the day was having dinner made by the children. 
it was my sweet niece's maya's idea {of course} and she tasked the boys with things
to do and oversaw it all. we all enjoyed a delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner, which included
garlic bread, veggies and wine for us adults.  the kids were so proud of themselves,
and us of them.

it's a valentine's day that won't be forgotten.

our chefs: finn {12}, scout {8}, maya {12}, Isaac {10}

 

~ the following week, scout reminded me we were supposed to make
rice krispy treats for our first time ever.  i can't believe i've been a mom for 12 years
and i had never made these for my children.

scout loved helping...he stood on a stool at the stove stirring he butter
and marshmallows as they melted. i added the rice krispys and VOILA - we had a sugary
and sticky treat to enjoy all week. scout announced they were way better than the packaged
one he had at a friend's home.  i agreed. i'd rather not have one at all than eat a packaged one. =/

valentine's treats

valentine's day celebrations came a day early for my coworkers.
it's now a tradition for our marketing group here in san diego
to bring in donuts on v-day or the nearest work day to it.

this morning, i was up at the crack of dawn to pick up a few boxes
of krispy kreme donuts and a coffee for me {it was early...i needed it}. 
i was thrilled to find a new donut design: a heart ladybug. so cute!!
the employees loved them and tina and i were happy to put a few smiles
on some faces today and to indulge along with 'em.

 

 

 

 

boy approved valentines

i received emails from both the boys' teacher's a few weeks ago
informing parents their classes would be having a small v-day party.

when i mentioned to the boys, scout was excited and said he wanted
his valentine cards to be "cool".  finn's reponse was "my teacher said
valentine's were optional", his way of saying he didn't really care.

one evening i jumped on the internet and googled boy valentines
and a few minutes later, i found these!




via



via

 

 

 

i've never been a fan of storebought kid's valentines,

but i don't have the talent or alot of time to try my

hand at creating something as cool as these.

 

i am SO grateful talented designers share free downloadable
printables for moms like me who are looking for something

a little more unique and special.  these represented my two
so well.

 

i showed the images to the boys and they really liked them,
even my big 10 year old. {i had a feeling he would}

 

since the boys don't have school tomorrow or monday

{teacher work day and president's day},
their party was today so i sent them off to school with
2 dozen cards. they were both excited to hand them out

to their friends. scout mentioned the GIRLS in his class

probably wouldn't like them. 

{as the saying goes, you can't please everyone}.

~ c and i celebrated valentine's day early like last year.

we find it easier than fighting crowds and we prefer not having to order 

from pre-fixed menus.  last night {with help from auntie jen}, we snuck

off to dinner and then to see this play. it's by the pulitzer prize winning playwright,
ayad akhtar.  i cried, laughed, and left the theater emotionally exhausted.

tomorrow night, we're doing something really special...loving on our

friend's sweet baby boy jackson while they go to an opera. we're excited!
we watched him a few months back, and have been missing him.

valentine's day

the only true gift is portion of yourself. 
- ralph waldo emerson

i love this quote and try to remember it when i'm giving gifts for loved ones.
it can be a complete hallmark/jewelers holiday if we fall into the advertiser's traps,  
but for me, it's always been a day devoted to showing love to the people in our lives. 

as a working mom, i don't have the luxury of sitting at home all day crafting elaborate 
gifts or preparing 3-course meals for my family, but what I do try to do little meaningful
things that don't take lots of time or money. 

to make this valentine's special,  i woke early and arranged 3 place settings for each
of the boys at the kitchen counter. along with their cards and small gift,
they got heart shaped pancakes {thanks to krustez and heart shaped cookie cutters}
and fresh strawberries, and heart shaped brownies and sandwiches in their lunchboxes.  

scoutie insisted on a homemade card for him this year and since he has a
thing for FOXES right now, i knew i had to try and make this when i found it online.   
it wasn't hard at all {whew} and scoutie loved it!  

the boys created personalized mug for c {and auntie j}

 alittle something for my biggest valentine

finn's class valentine

finn thought his valentines were "so cool".
i liked that they were super simple.
i pulled the silhouette of the fighter jet off the internet, 
and dropped in the text {auntie heather came up with PLANE cool} 

after work i did something very untraditional.
i offered to babysit for our dear friend's almost one year old daughter
so they could run out and grab a bite at a neighborhood cafe.

i remember how many friends would offer to babysit for c and i
when we were new parents, but many didn't follow up.
maybe they were waiting for us to ask them?
like most first time parents, we never asked them.
{2nd and 3rd time parents don't hesitate}*grin*

i was thrilled my friends took me up on the offer and finn and i watched
marty and bonnie's baby girl lillian for a few hours.
finn was so helpful - he has thing for babies - LOVES them!

we made it home just a few minutes after finn's 8pm bedtime,
which gave me the whole night with c. *wink*

~ and the LOVE LETTERS.
i wrote them and gave to all of my boys,
and i received one from c too.
{it looks like we have a new family tradition}
my letter is the best valentine gift i've ever received from c
because it was truly a piece of him. 

i hope you shared a little bit of yourself with those you love too.
xo

valentines on my mind

it's almost that time.

every time i walk into a store,
all is see is valentine's stuff - cards, candy and chocolate.
{it's a bit over the top}

we keep valentine's pretty simple in our home -
sometimes we give a small gift,
but on the years we don't,
we always give cards.

since most of our money is going to this new {old} house,
i was looking for affordable gift ideas for christopher,
and i came across this on-line:

i just love it!  it's doable for even the smallest of budgets,
doesn't require martha-like skills, and the best part, it's personal.
i'm seriously considering making this for my valentine
or having the boys make a joint one for c.
{i think it would make him smile}

i also need to start working with the boys on their class valentines.
i should have started on them this weekend,
but we spent the majority of it working on our home library.
it's slowly coming together...

after discussing valentines with the gerblets,
i learned finn would like to make aircraft carrier or fighter jet valentines.
{no surprise} it's a bit late for anything complicated or time consuming,
so we'll have to come up with something easy.

scoutie hasn't really expressed interest in anything in particular.
he just made it very clear he wants a valentine from me and it must be a surprise.
he loves surprises. {i think i can accommodate him}

so it looks like i'll be sitting at the kitchen table for the next two nights
making valentines with the boys {and on my own after they are in bed}

i hope you had a wonderful weekend!

xo

~ i spent a few hours with my 'breakfast group' this morning at wired cafe
this group isn't to be confused with my book group {that's a whole different group of ladies}.
i go back much further with this group - 10 years exactly.  anyway, it was such a treat.
shannon brought her sweet son sidney {almost 10 months now} and we all got to
love on him AND catch up.

happy heart day

oh i just LOVE this holiday
{even if it is a hallmark holiday}

it's not because i'm an extreme romantic,
or because i get fancy presents.
i just appreciate a day designed
for telling our loved ones how we feel.
{it's also a reminder for me to do it more every day}

in our home, we don't typically exchange gifts,
but we always exchange cards,
and we all seem to love homemade cards.
{those given to us by the boys seem to be our favorites these days}

i didn't upload a photo of the boys' v-day cards they took to school today,
i was up late cutting out submarine shaped valentine's for finn's class,
and making special valentine lunches for them {heart shaped sandwiches} like this:

image: lessthanperfectlifeofbliss 

they were SO cute. i should have made myself one.
i also put heart stickers on everything from their granola bars to their yogurts.
{c questioned if the boys would appreciate this but i told myself they would}. *grin* 


i hope you had a very special valentine's day.

xo

easy edible valentine treats

i have valentine's day on my mind tonight!

and now that the 5 lbs bag of gummi sharks arrived,
finn and i are officially ready to start working on his
valentine cards. {did you guess submarines?}

scoutie's valentine cards won't be homemade this year.
i was planning on doing some easy craft with him,
but then i came across adorable space-themed valentines
by meri meri and couldn't pass 'em up. 

so this weekend we will not only be working on valentines,
but we will be making simple valentine treats too.
i came across a few easy ideas in the blogosphere and had to post.
all you need is a heart cookie cutter to make simple rice krispy treats
and brownies extra cute for valentine's day.

easy peasy as scoutie likes to say!

image: theirlittleworld

image: ingredientsinc

image: alldaylongidreamaboutfood

i only have time to squeeze in one of these projects this weekend
and since i received this pretty cake pop maker for christmas,
i have been anxious to test it out.  cake pops will be my weekend project.
pink and white candy melts are standing by in the pantry,
along with several jars of sprinkles. this is where the boys will step in to help.

i make no promises they will be as pretty as the photo above,
but my hope is they will at least be tasty {and stay on the stick}.
i will report back after this weekend and maybe even share a photo.

wishing you a fabulous friday!


~ i almost forgot to record finn's accomplishment.
he participated in explorer's annual jog-a-thon yesterday.

students take up donations based on how many laps they run
to earn money for the school. this year finn ran 34 laps!
{i think he is ready for this year's st. patty's day run}.