Love Day!

I love Valentine's Day!  We celebrated from FHE on Monday night til Friday!  We had more of a "love" week, I guess you could say!  I spent much of the week thinking Valentine's Day was Thursday, it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon that Mike pointed out that it was actually on Friday, I guess he was paying attention!

Monday night we had a pretty simple family home evening.  I wanted to make some Valentine's cards for a few family members, personalized by the kids, and then I wanted to "heart attack" our kitchen with reasons why the 4 of us love each other so much.  I'm pretty sure this will be a tradition for us each year.  I think that especially as the kids get older, being encouraged to think of reasons they love one another will be important in their relationships as siblings.  I want them to be best friends and to be able to recognize the good in each other.  The dreams of a young mother, right?!  Anyway, I made pizza and then we just made our valentine cards and hearts.  That was basically it!

I really like how "love"ly our kitchen is right now (just don't look at my floor up close)!

 I saw the idea for sewing hearts on our cards so as I sewed, the kids drew "pictures" and "wrote" on the inside.  Drew did a great job of writing, I should have snapped a picture of the insides of these.  They also told us why they loved the people we sent them to...it was sweet to hear what they had to say!

After a while it was hard to keep their interest.  I would have liked them to color on each of these but at least they stuck around long enough to tell me what they wanted me to write!  Drew's consisted mostly of loving us because we play with him.  I guess that goes to show what matters most when you are 4!

Tuesday was more of a grocery shopping day and I got some of my visiting teaching done, which was nice.  Wednesday I prepped most of the day, thinking Thursday was actually Valentine's day.  I finished Drew's treats for his class and teachers and made a few extra for the kids' teachers at church. I got Mike's little treats together and rushed to the store for things I had forgotten.  

I made my chocolate turtles for the kids'  teachers and saved a few for Mike ;)  I think these tags turned out cute.  What would I do without clipart, colored ink, and card stock?

I saw these printables on this blog I love reading, they were freebies from the blogger who does graphic design work so I took full advantage! Drew LOVES airheads!

Thursday I decided to make cookies to go along with our Valentine's dinner, which I still held on that evening as planned orignially because my life is on a schedule these days and if I deviate, I feel like I can't keep up.  I think it is this brain of mine, it has been going 90 to nothing and if I don't have things planned out, I'm too forgetful.

I tried 2 new cookie recipes and I love them both.  Here is the chocolate fudge one...and the M&M one.  However, since I didn't need two batches of cookies lying around, Mike took some to work with him Friday to share with the guys.  

Drew's preschool party was Thursday as well and he came to the car wearing this cute king hat he had colored and cut out.  He took this picture for me because I bribed him with a cookie.  He is such a cutie!

This morning we woke up bright and early to a sweet girlie in our bed.  We went to the living room to see what our love bugs brought us and then I found my treats from Mike.  His card was so funny and he always writes the sweetest notes to me.  He headed to work and I made heart pancakes for the kids.  Have I mentioned I'm obsessed with pineapples ;)?  

Susanna wanted to dress up like Ariel which really means she wants to wear the Cinderella dress she wore home from Honey's a few weeks ago.  She looked pretty dang cute in that thing!  

I spent most of the morning doing some serious house cleaning, particularly our master bathroom.  It was pretty brutal on my body.  I'm aching all over as I type this.  While Susanna was napping I made these bad boys for Mike and I later.  

We don't have anything special planned for tonight, just leftovers and probably watching the Olympics!  I still have to give him his present, I got him a shirt, and we will definitely eat those strawberries.  It has been a fun week.  I am so grateful for my little family who I love more than anything else in the world!  Happy Valentine's Day!