Happy Valentine's Day!

My girls get very excited about holidays, and admittedly I do as well. It's so nice to have something fun to look forward to and it gives us a good excuse to do some fun activities! I also think that holidays can give us opportunities to teach our kids some important lessons. We wanted to take the opportunity to engage in activities that would demonstrate the importance of showing love to others and also to show them how much they are loved.

Our love bucket exercise really got them going and Claire enjoyed writing things she loved about her sister. Even though Ava couldn't really actively participate, she would climb right up to the table and try! After the girls went to bed last night, we placed all of the hearts from their love buckets on their doors so they would wake up to see what we love about them. We also dropped rose petals on the floor to make a path from their rooms to their goodies downstairs. Claire LOVED this (you know, it's the little things!).


I decided that it might be fun to get the girls little Valentine bags to hold their goodies from us. I found some really inexpensive ones on ebay, and I think we'll use these each year for a while. I suppose I think of it similar to an Easter basket or a stocking; I just think it's fun to wake up to a few goodies in a cute package. We don't go all out for Valentine's Day or anything - just a few little things. This year, we did a card for each of them and a couple of things like movies, CDs, candy, word searches, little games, etc.

Claire of course had school today and I had MOPS, so it was a very busy morning trying to get out the door. We did enjoy some chocolate chip pancakes (thanks to daddy) and exchanged some gifts/cards before we left. We had made some oreo truffles/Valentines for teachers and friends so everyone was excited to get to their destinations to hand them out!

Claire couldn't wait to tear into her Valentines when she got home from school!

I found out this morning that I had won a drawing for a really cute plate from a local store. I was so excited because it was something I wanted, and I rarely win contests like that. Ironically, as I opened a few gifts from my husband, he had gotten me the exact same plate! Haha! I had "hinted" to him a while back that I wanted one. He also got me a Silhouette (a type of die-cutting machine) that I cannot wait to learn to use! Chris got some clothes and I also gave him a book filled with all the things I love about him! We also enjoyed a delicious meal as a family this evening at Chef's Market. Love my valentines - I am so honored to call them mine! Hope the two of you who read this have had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Snow day crafts

We've had A LOT of snow days lately, so this momma has had to really get creative about what we can do to pass the time. It was fun to work on a few Valentine crafts this week with my big girl. She had to make a box for school to hold her valentines and we also made some heart snowflakes.

Handmade Valentines

I thought it would be fun to make handmade valentines for the grandparents this year, so I pulled together some supplies I had around the house and grabbed the girls to work on them. We had done a similar thumbprint card before at Ava's birthday party, but I loved the cute Valentine version that I found online recently. Below is the finished product. We placed a magnet on the back so it could hang on the refrigerator.


So easy, and fun! All I needed was: two different colors of cardstock (one for printing, one for mounting), colored stamp pad (for thumbprint), fine tip permanent marker (for bodies), paper trimmer, glue stick, single hole punch, ~1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon, a roll of magnet tape and some wipes (for getting the ink off little thumbs).

Love Bucket Valentine Tradition

I love traditions and creating ways to just make the everyday more fun with your family. We started a new Valentine tradition tonight that I know the girls will really enjoy. I read about it some time ago and loved the idea of a daily countdown as well and sharing with my girls what makes them so special. Each day until Valentine's Day, we will put a "heart" into their buckets (see picture below) with something written on it that we love about them. We also ask that Claire do this for Ava each day (Ava isn't quite ready to verbalize her sentiments for her sister). I think it is a great lesson in encouraging others and it makes them feel so special to hear what is loved about them! On Valentine's Day, we will post these in their room and/or on their doors so they will see them when they wake up. We will also incorporate a scripture about how God loves them.


And here is just a little of the Valentine's Day cheer around our home...

Happy month of love!