Saturday, February 25, 2012

Valentine's Day Extravaganza 2012

 Our Valentine's Day this year started off with the traditional breakfast: pink pancakes! I even got all fancy and made them in heart shapes. It is really simple: just add a generous amount to a little less water than the recipe calls for, until you reach the required amount. I would say I probably used be 20-30 drops to get this color.
 My little morning person enjoyed his breakfast and kept me company while his sleepy head, late-riser sister snoozed. He suggested we take her breakfast in bed.
 I thought that was a really sweet idea! I even arranged her bacon in a heart shape. I picked up the "foldable" vase at the Dollar Store- really only $0.50 since there were two to a package. I love my Ikea kids' dishes- pink worked really well to make it festive.
 The surprised Valentine. She is really sweet, even when we wake her up early. I thought it was a nice coincidence that she wore her little cupcake jams (thanks for the hand-me-downs, Aunt Robyn and Gilly!).
 I always tell myself that I need to be a little more reserved when it comes to minor holidays, but it is hard! I start buying Valentine stuff in December, because I love it! Target's Dollar Spot delivered this year. It is so hard to find cute Valentine's stuff for boys, but the little robots were adorable! I *have* cut down on the amount of candy I give them- they only got about three pieces and a box of chocolates each.

 Carson showing off his new pen "necklaces". He really wanted Joel to have one, he is such a good little share"er".
 Josie showing off some of her loot. I like to pick up little things at the after Christmas sales for Valentine's Day (and other occasions). Her Squinkie ring was over 50% off at Walmart and she loved it.

I always want to make Valentines for the kids to give their friends, but they really like handing out the store bought ones (although I am a stickler: they are ONLY allowed to give out ones that come with stuff-candy, stickers, etc. because just a silly piece of paper is a waste. Kids love junk and it is  too fun to give it out!) However, Josie wanted to give Valentines to her skating instructors, also. I didn't want embarass myself by having her give the animal sticker and Tinkerbell ones she gave her friends. I usually do something for them on the last day of class anyway, and this was easy! They are "Smarty" Pants Valentines!


 I got the idea from a back-to-school issue of Family Fun magazine, I think. I can't remember. I tweaked it for a Valentine. I traced half of a pair of pants from some cardstock. I just free handed it.
 I folded the cardstock in half and cut the template out so the pants would be even. I added some details, just to visualize the effect.
 I traced the pants onto red and pink construction paper. I then drew on details: waistband, pockets, fly and "seams" on each pair. I wrote "Happy Valentine's "Smarty" Pants!" on the back. I put two glue dots on each "leg" on the front and attached an entire roll of Smarty candies to each side. I thought they turned out pretty cute! I put them in bags with hand sanitizer, some more candy and pencils for each teacher (she had four, and they were all pretty young, so I think they appreciated the little gesture).
 She also did Valentines for all the students in her class. Here she is, all ready for her last lesson of Basic 1. I figured out that between the two kids and myself, we handed out almost 100 Valentines! I really do love that holiday.
Showing off her "snowplow stop". She tested that night to get her patch and move on to the next class. She passed, and we were so proud of her! Her Valentines were a big hit, too.
 My real Valentine and me. We love celebrating as a family, I think for right now that is more special than trying to make it all romantic. We had a great day anyway- how could I not? Joel brought me chocolates!
 Joel's special surprise to the kids was an ice cream cake. I thought it was so cute.
 The kids thought it was so tasty! They loved using their new dishes (again, thanks, Dollar Spot). It was a little late at night, but who doesn't love ice cream in their jammies?
 We celebrated Valentine's Day late at my moms' Bible study (the Thursday after) so I had time to make these tasty Cake Batter Truffles. The blogger says that out of the three that the Cake Batter is her favorite. I have tried all three (Oreo and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough are the other ones) and Oreo is still my favorite. But these ARE really good, and super simple! I heart candy making.
 Sooo, funny story. I bought these adorable take-out boxes at Walmart to give all the truffles to my Bible study friends. I packed two and then decided to do the rest in the morning. I meant to finish at church. Except I forgot the cute boxes. Fail. Maybe next year...
I had a blast buying some things at half price to decorate at Bible study. All the women exchanged Valentines. It was wonderful to get grown-up encouraging notes from everyone! I highly recommend it. All of them were handwritten and some were even handmade. It was better than being in first grade and going home with a stuffed mailbox. It definitely made our little party a success.

It was a great Valentine's Day. In my mind, there can be nothing wrong with a holiday that lets you go all out to tell the people that mean the most to you that you love them: your hubby, your kids and even your friends! I am already planning next year...

1 comment:

  1. I posted a comment (or so I thought) but the computer ate it :(

    I love your Valentine's celebration. The pink pancakes are adorable, as well as Josie's pink outfit! Carson is adorable with his manly necklace and robot bag!

    The smarty pants Valentine's were too cute. What a clever idea!

    Your v-day sounds a lot like ours. Plenty of celebrating with family and lots of heart-shaped pink and red things :)

    Here's looking forward to all our Easter bloginess!!!!

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