Part Two

The whole family came over for dinner for the girl's birthdays. We had a taco salad bar and cupcakes and ice cream. It was again, low-key and relaxing. It was also Randy's last night before being deployed overseas so it was nice to get to spend some time with him.

The Girl's Birthday Party Part One

This year we did really low-key birthday parties for the girls. They had a friend party with friends from church and the neighborhood and then we did our family party that evening. We played Wii and Kinect and board games and then ate cupcakes and had a treasure hunt. It was nice to relax and have a good time.

One Last Pretty

I made this little lovely the day before Valentine's Day. It is just a piece of jute that I tied a bajillion little pieces of ribbon to. I sat and tied ribbons while watching, "Downton Abbey" on Netflix. If you haven't seen it you should! It was such a simple little project I couldn't resist finishing it for this year.

Making "Old-Fashioned" Valentines

I asked the girls if they wanted to make Valentines, I received blank stares from both of them. Cat said, "Mom, I already wrote my name on all of my valentine's". This is when I sighed, sat down, and got really nostalgic. I had been collecting crafties since January to make some real Valentines. The kind with paper heart doilies, glue, glitter and stickers. It was time for some drastic action! I explained to the girls that giving valentines was a victorian-era practice and that girls their age would spend hours gluing and cutting and making special valentines to give to people; that it was fun and that we would do it together. They caught on quickly and sat down at the table to craft beautiful works of art. A little glitter, some glue and a lot of Frank Sinatra on Pandora and we made some of the most beautiful valentines ever! We sat at the kitchen table for a good three hours. It was fantastic!