Our Valentine this Year

Our Valentine's Day

I finally got our traditional strawberry pancakes with strawberries and Smuckers Strawberry syrup and whipped cream and colored sugar done. I didn't, however, get the pancakes cut into heart shapes - and I heard about that!

Then they got surprises from us - the girls got their first Barbie Peek-a-boo Petites from the Ballet Bunch - they were thrilled. And Ethan was equally happy with a new Star Wars action figure. Brian got Ghiradelli dark chocolates, cabernet sauvignon, Irish Cream, and a card that plays our song ("You're Still The One").

For lunch, we were invited to Gran and Pa's house (Brian's parents) for a venison roast they'd been saving. I'd picked up some flowers to take to Gran, then I found out that Gran Gran (Brian's grandma) was going to be there, so we stopped on the way for more flowers. Of course, we pulled up to the house to find Aunt Eloise (Brian's great aunt) was joining us as well - so back to the store I went! But the ladies were all equally pleased with their flowers - Gran got a purple African violet in a purple pot because that's her favorite color and the children know it, Gran Gran got a beautiful red miniature rose, and Aunt Eloise three red tulips - all dressed in Valentine finery.




My surprise was waiting there too. I knew that he'd been working on something creative during his lunch breaks. Isn't he the sweetest guy ever???

Click to enlarge

The poem is from Amici Forever's song "Whisper of Angels"

I was yours before the first morn broke

Before the sun that woke the earth

And I was yours before rain kissed the ground

Before the first dawn's sound was heard

I'm the rush-the fire in your veins

Across the desert plains I ride

I'm the ache the sound that midnight makes

A streak of star across the sky

I'll be the whisper of angels

And I'll be the frost on your glass

And I'll be the shadows at twilight

I'll be your first your last

We all got a fantastic dinner, then the children got suprises and treats, including some late Christmas gifts from Aunt Barbara and Uncle Roy that were a real hit. Then the kids settled in to watch Wall-E . And I got to take a nap. :^)

Valentine pics - finally

Craziness

Hey, everybody! Didn't mean to drop off the face of the earth with no warning. We've apparently suffered our third motherboard crash of the year. What are the odds?

I have lots of things to share, but don't know when I'll have the chance. I've been buried here with stuff and needing to rebalance, so the time offline has actually been a blessing. But I do miss you all and miss sharing life with you. So, I guess I'm saying that I'm not sure when or how often I'll be around right now, but I just wanted to pop in and let you know what's up.

I kind of fell apart on Valentine's Day. I think I had some kind of bug maybe. I don't really get sick, but I was sooo fatigued that I just couldn't get anything done. I asked Brian if we could just skip the whole Valentine's day thing (he found it rather amusing that I was so apologetic and bent out of shape about this, and explained to me that he was the guy and Valentine's Day is not about guys and he certainly didn't mind if all I wanted to do was get a monsterburger at Hardees and just skip it). But I felt like such a loser - I never even made valentines with my kids! I cried and was sure that it was one of the worst days of my life, but it managed to end well. Brian and I just chilled and watched an old season of 24 that we're catching up on (it was the kids' sleepover night at Gran's) while eating buffalo chicken and fresh pineapple. He'd already given me a beautiful double heart ring the day before(he can't stand to wait when he has a surprise), and he was sooo sweet(which is actually quite normal for him, but it's still nice). The next day I got all of my shopping done, despite having warmed up Brian's car with my keys and leaving them in there (my friend that I was supposed to be meeting for breakfast picked me up and my mother-in-law let me borrow her very cool KIA SVU.) I got a ton of fantastic Valentine stuff at half price and was able to make a great day-late party for my kids as I had promised them on my pathetic Valentine's Day.

Now I think that that might be the way to go every year (minus the small mental breakdown :^) We ended up having a highly decorated house with a steak and seafood dinner with miniature heart shaped cakes and Charlie Brown movie. Just a day late. And I'm really okay with that now. (You have no idea how big this is for me, friends. I like my holidays done right. And on the right day!)

So now I'm just trying to get everything in my home back together. And I still seem to be needing a lot more sleep than usual. Don't say it. I already took a pregnancy test.

But really, I don't know. I think maybe all of those five-hours-of -sleep-nights might be catching up with me all at once :^) Our last day of school should be Good Friday, which is only a little more than a month away. I wanted to be able to enjoy the best of Spring instead of fighting spring fever.

Either way, the weather is already turning to spring, and today I saw daffodils and redbuds in bloom and we went to a local college campus to play penny games in the fountains. My own daffodils are up six inches, my roses have new growth, and the azaleas are greening out. I really hope that we don't have another killer frost this spring.

I'll try to get pictures up sometime, but I'm making no promises. :^) Life is short and the children are only small once and I don't want to miss it. I have a little princess sleeping with her princess Barbie. And I want to savor every little thing, not be so distracted by other things. Even good things.

So there you have it. A glimpse into the craziness of my mind. Until next time...

Some new pics

Makin' valentines

Rosie and Papa on Valentine's Day.

At a friend's Squire and the Scroll birthday party.

Anna Kate and her birthday cake

Our Valentine traditions

We love holidays and Valentine's Day is no exception. This is the first year since before Ethan was born that Brian is not working second shift. We have always had a heart-shaped pancake breakfast with strawberry syrup, but now he leaves before we are awake, so I need to have a dinner instead. We also dress up in red or pink clothes, preferably with lots of hearts. We sometimes have a little children's party with friends, and this year we were invited to one! We'll head there after we take a trip over to Brian's grandparents to see them. We always make handmade personalized valentines for grand and great-grandparents and often aunts and uncles too. We save the themed storebought ones for other friends and relatives. We also like to make heart-shaped rice krispy treats for all of our friends. And then, of course we throw in as many surprises as possible for Daddy, which usually included a trip to the TV station with balloons, but the new job is too far away, so we'll think of something else. Have a Happy Valentine's Day! (Thanks to Brian's car breaking down and a few other wrinkles, I still need to go get that strawberry syrup!)

Valentine stuff for kids

1. The Toymaker - beautiful printable crafts
2. Billy Bear 4 Kids - Valentine handwriting paper
3. Disney.go - Cinderella III printable valentines
4. Crayola - Valentine bingo
5. Very Best Kids - Valentine Heart Mosaic
6. Buy Roses 101 - rose coloring pages