Love

Last week was Valentine's Day and I really enjoyed planning something special for the kids and B.  I never fancied myself a huge Valentine's Day person, but I had a lot of fun thinking of fun/heart/red things to get and do for the family.

My friend at church told me that her grand-daughters put an old mailbox outside of their room at Christmas time and she leaves them little notes and gifts.  I thought that was such a cute idea, and then I found these cute V-day mailboxes at Walmart.  They are perfect!  I like the idea of each kid having a mailbox in their room and leaving them little notes and gifts throughout the year.  F kept putting his mailbox flag up on his mailbox, thinking that would make a letter magically appear.

So, when the kids got home from school, they each found their mailbox (with the flag up) and looked inside to find a clue.  The clue led them to their Valentine's Day bag.  I found the ideas for their clues here.

For B, I used ideas from the Dating Divas.  I left him a Valentine's Day note in our "Sweetheart Journal".

To greet him, I used this idea from the Dating Divas.  Originally, I tied the chocolate on the front door, but then I heard him coming in through the garage, so I quickly ran and switched the chocolate to the correct door.

When he went to our room, he found a shower of love waiting for him.  I swapped the raindrops from his "shower of blessings" birthday with hearts.  The rose petals are fake and from the dollar store, so I can use them again!  I left a few gifts for him on his pillow.

For dinner, we had mini-meatloafs with heart shaped cheese on top.  I took a pre-cooked picture so that you could see the cheese hearts before they melted.  For dessert, I made Sweet Heart Brownies.  Cb's helped crush the graham crackers.  I used half honey graham crackers and half chocolate graham crackers (I always think more chocolate is better).  They were yummy!

The evening took a brief pause when I went to symphony rehearsal, but picked up when I returned with a "Love Hunt".  Here are all the clues and tasks laid out.  You can see the clues and tasks at the Dating Divas website.  Pugsley was thrilled, as you can see (he's trying to go outside), to participate in the hunt and hold one of the clues on his back.  What a pug!

I love my family!

Catching up with the Kids

A lot has happened between the time that Atticus was born and now.  So let me catch you up on some of our happenings.

Valentine's came with some lovely gifts.  Brad got me this beautiful heart necklace with 3 diamonds.  I love how it sparkles!  He also got me some delicious chocolate and these beautiful flowers.  What a thoughtful husband.

We had a romantic pizza for dinner.  I even lit candles, but not for long because I was worried the kids would knock them over.

The kids brought Valentine's to their preschool classes.  I found this idea for a card in the Family Fun magazine.  Isn't it fun how they look like they are holding the lollipop?

Crazy hair day came and went.

Cadence is a beauty.

Aria is a ham.

And Finn grew a monkey foot.  Actually, when asked, "Why do you have an oven mitt on your foot?"  Finn replied, "Because I hurt my foot and the doctor said he had to cut it off and gave me a monkey foot."  We have a creative, and video game addicted (too much Donkey Kong), kid.

Belated V-Day

So I'm a little late, but Happy Valentine's Day! For the kids Sunday School lesson I had a very heart/love themed lesson. To go along with that, I made some heart-shaped English muffins. It was my first time making them, and they were quite easy and delicious. They took more time than just grabbing the store bought ones out of the fridge (which aren't heart shaped), but if I had the time it is actually cheaper to make my own. Anyway, the kids really liked them. I gave them (3 kids) a tupaware full of them and there were only 2 left! Yeah! Success!

My new Secret Sister is a sewer, so I made her this heart tape measure to go in her Valentine's package. Brad did the crocheted edge for me. I really should learn how to crochet. Perhaps, one day.

Aria is all about standing up, these days! She got her first tooth and she is pulling herself up on anything and everything. It's great! Hopefully, she'll learn to walk soon. She does many cute things. Brad and I agree, she is our silliest kid so far. But, one cute thing she does is, when she's crawling and really motivated to get to something, she tucks her head down (for better arrowdynamics) and bolts forward. She is pretty zippy! She is our little mop-head.

Is it wrong to love a skillet? Well, I do! I love my new cast-iron skillet. I really love my non-stick skillet, too, but that's not what I was cooking this meal in. I have to admit, I wasn't always so wild about a pan. In fact, Kevin always raved about cast-iron pans (he and Mimi even brought, or should I say lugged, one to cook breakfast in on our fabulous Glenwood Springs trip) and I didn't get it. Well, Kevin and Mimi, now I do! Even though cast-irons are super heavy, it is amazing how evenly they cook meat. And I love how you clean them, basically just wipe it clean. These "Tart Apple Porkchops" were sooo yummy. Oddly, my favorite part was the onions. They tasted so sweet and yummy. This was a weight watchers recipe, which don't always turn out as flavorful as they sound, but this was better than I expected. You should try it! The apples and pork were really good too. Even the kids ate them.:) I don't have the porkchops in these photos, I was just so happy about my cast-iron at that moment.

Recipe Highlight:

Tart Apple Pork by Winner's Circle, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group Course: light meals PointsPlus™ Value: 7 Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 10 min Cooking Time: 30 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Apples and fresh herbs complement the pork, giving it the moisture and flavor her husband wants. Ingredients 16 oz lean boneless pork chop, center-cut, trimmed of all visible fat 1 Tbsp rosemary, fresh, chopped 1 Tbsp thyme, fresh, fresh, chopped 1/2 tsp table salt 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground 2 tsp canola oil 2 medium apple(s), Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and sliced 1 large onion(s), thinly sliced 2/3 cup(s) apple juice, unsweetened variety 2 Tbsp honey mustard Instructions Sprinkle the chops with the rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chops and cook until browned and cooked through, 4–5 minutes on each side; transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in the apple juice and honey mustard; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Return chops to pan and cook, turning once, to heat through, about 2 minutes. Yields 1 chop with 1⁄2 cup apple mixture per serving.