We had lots of fun celebrating Valentines day this year. Its not a holiday that Matthew and I really buy into as far as the commercial aspect of it all, but we do have fun celebrating it with the kids!
A few weeks before the big day when we had Sophia and Riley over, the kids all sat down to make some Valentines. I had found a bunch of doilies, stickers and little foil hearts to glue on and the kids had a lot of fun crafting special Valentines for their parents. Matthew and I even got in on the fun and made one for each other :)
This was my favorite one that Rowan made - its a picture she drew of SkippyJon Jones:
A few days before Valentines day, Rowan and I got busy making some cookies to share with our friends. We made white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and heart shaped sugar cookies with really delicious icing on them. I have been searching for a while for a good icing recipe, one that will harden up and stay shiny and colorful. I found it here, and it turned out so good! To get the right consistency, I had to add one teaspoon more of milk and one more of corn syrup, and I substituted real vanilla for the almond flavoring. It tasted delicious, and it was all we could do to not gobble them up before they were packaged for our friends.
I made the mistake of leaving some of the leftover cookies on the island. I guess I forgot that we have a munch mouth kitty that loves to get up there, and will eat anything that can fit in her mouth. She certainly left her calling card - there was no doubt that she was the cookie eating culprit!
On actual Valentines day we didn't do much. In the morning the kids climbed into bed with us, and we exchanged presents. Matthew and I had picked out some candy for the kids, and packaged them up in small little gift bags. They were really excited - candy is a much desired and celebrated item around our house! Rowan colored everyone a picture, and Killian made me this beautiful necklace. He worked so hard on it, and I thought it was such a sweet thing for him to do. He is such a loving little boy! The necklace and the picture that Rowan made me:
(those pretty purple flowers in the background are from Matthew, the yellow ones from my dear friend Stephanie in honor of my one year surgery anniversary the day before)
Matthew and I also exchanged our doily Valentines that we had made for each other. It was a really special moment, all of us crowded in our bed, sharing the things that we had made with love for each other. I love my family so much, and am so grateful that we are able to have moments together like this.
Matthew made a really delicious steak dinner for us that night, which was a nice treat since we don't eat steak that often. After dinner we all worked together to make some molten chocolate lava cakes. They didn't turn out as tasty as they looked in the picture, but they weren't so bad that we didn't eat them ;)
So we didn't have a fancy, expensive meal, or spend lots of money on presents for each other, but we did spend the day together, and we did have all the things that money cant buy. And those are the things that are most important anyways!
A few weeks before the big day when we had Sophia and Riley over, the kids all sat down to make some Valentines. I had found a bunch of doilies, stickers and little foil hearts to glue on and the kids had a lot of fun crafting special Valentines for their parents. Matthew and I even got in on the fun and made one for each other :)
This was my favorite one that Rowan made - its a picture she drew of SkippyJon Jones:
A few days before Valentines day, Rowan and I got busy making some cookies to share with our friends. We made white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and heart shaped sugar cookies with really delicious icing on them. I have been searching for a while for a good icing recipe, one that will harden up and stay shiny and colorful. I found it here, and it turned out so good! To get the right consistency, I had to add one teaspoon more of milk and one more of corn syrup, and I substituted real vanilla for the almond flavoring. It tasted delicious, and it was all we could do to not gobble them up before they were packaged for our friends.
I made the mistake of leaving some of the leftover cookies on the island. I guess I forgot that we have a munch mouth kitty that loves to get up there, and will eat anything that can fit in her mouth. She certainly left her calling card - there was no doubt that she was the cookie eating culprit!
On actual Valentines day we didn't do much. In the morning the kids climbed into bed with us, and we exchanged presents. Matthew and I had picked out some candy for the kids, and packaged them up in small little gift bags. They were really excited - candy is a much desired and celebrated item around our house! Rowan colored everyone a picture, and Killian made me this beautiful necklace. He worked so hard on it, and I thought it was such a sweet thing for him to do. He is such a loving little boy! The necklace and the picture that Rowan made me:
(those pretty purple flowers in the background are from Matthew, the yellow ones from my dear friend Stephanie in honor of my one year surgery anniversary the day before)
Matthew and I also exchanged our doily Valentines that we had made for each other. It was a really special moment, all of us crowded in our bed, sharing the things that we had made with love for each other. I love my family so much, and am so grateful that we are able to have moments together like this.
Matthew made a really delicious steak dinner for us that night, which was a nice treat since we don't eat steak that often. After dinner we all worked together to make some molten chocolate lava cakes. They didn't turn out as tasty as they looked in the picture, but they weren't so bad that we didn't eat them ;)
So we didn't have a fancy, expensive meal, or spend lots of money on presents for each other, but we did spend the day together, and we did have all the things that money cant buy. And those are the things that are most important anyways!