Valentine's Day...

I thought I'd post some pics from Valentine's Day, ya know, for journaling purposes and all. It's funny how when you are dating it's all about romance and fancy dates. Then you grow up. We still have fun with Valentine's but it's more low key now. I did some cheap decorating this year which really didn't turn out how I wanted it but really it's for the kids anyway! On the Friday before V-Day the kids had their school parties and The Princess requested a heart in her hair for the occasion.

 Then on Saturday morning The Hubster made Crepes with powdered sugar (his own recipe-YUM!) and surprised me with breakfast in bed. I actually forgot to give my kids their V-Day gifts until Monday and  I forgot to take pics. They are obsessed with WebKinz right now so Cupid brought them each a little one and some cookies. The Pea got a Dora book. I also forgot to take pictures of the sugar cookies I decorated with the two older kids. I really got into it this year and tried my hand at outlining and then float filling them. Think Bakerella style, but not as perfect! The Hubster and I had decided not to worry about gifts this year so I just got him a card. Do you think he honored our agreement? Of course not! Beautiful tulips arrived on Saturday!

 
 He sends me flowers all the time (which I LOVE) and he even pays attention to the fact that I HATE carnations and I like flowers other than roses. One time he even sent me flowers twice in one day! Anyway, we also had my mom over for Valentine's Day dinner since my dad was stuck out of town. It was a lot of fun! We had marinated chicken cooked on the grill, baked potatoes, edemame, and corn bread. Delish! All in all, it was a fun weekend!

The Love Tree

I loved Shawni's Valentine's Tradition so I copied it! The other night for Family Night we made our hearts and thought of what we loved about each other. Then we decided we would hang them all on our Ficus tree in the Family Room. The kids loved it! The Pirate said it was the best Family Night ever (thanks Shawni)! It was really fun to see what they wrote. The Pirate is still learning to spell and write well so his were pretty short and sweet. I love you because...."You're nice", or "You play with me", that kind of stuff. It was so fun to watch how hard he worked on those hearts. His favorite was stamping them all over. The Princess's were cute to. For The Pirate she wrote, "Yes I fight with him, but he is kind and loving and fun and most of the time, honest." Too cute! I loved what they wrote about The Pea though. Without conspiring about it they both wrote something along the lines of, "Even though you're whiney, I love you and am glad you are my sister." Can you tell it was a whiney night with the baby? I loved writing things that I loved about them and seeing how happy they were to hear them, although when I read mine for The Pirate he had me add something that "I" love about him. Too funny! Unfortunately The Hubster didn't get home until we were done, but the kids were sure excited to show him when he did! Honestly, it had been a long day with a "whiney" baby and a cold so I really wasn't fully prepared for a full FHE but we made the hearts, threw in some songs and scriptures about love and it turned out pretty good!  I love to see my kids have fun and be creative and I especially love it when they are forced to think of what they love about each other. They really do get along pretty well and are good friends. I just hope they really know how much I love them and how proud of them I am every day. They are so good about telling me that they love me and giving my hugs and things and sometimes I think I forget to do those things back amidst all the chaos that takes place everyday. I love it when they bring home notes or cards from school telling me how much they love me! The Princess's valentine to me said something like, "You are the best mom ever! Even though you don't think you are fun you are and I love you!" How sweet is that? I told them the other day that I didn't think I was a very fun mom because I'm not real good at playing imaginary things and I forget a lot to do crafts and things with them on a regular basis. They love me anyway! What would I do without my incredibly cool kids?