Happy Valentines Day!!

As Anjeanette said, thank you to everyone who followed along with us on our countdown to today! It was a lot of fun for us. But the fun has just started, so you will want to keep checking back with us to see what we have going on!
I thought I'd share with you how I am celebrating Valentine's Day with my little family! Yes, we go over board. I get it from my Mom! However, for me I like to go overboard. My feeling is that life is meant to be celebrated. My Mom threw a party for anything she could think of. I think this is a fun way to go through life, don't you? I hope my children will see that you should look for reasons to be happy. I hope they see that all of the little (and big) things in life are worth celebrating! I hope they feel how important and special they are to me, because of the time I put into making things for them and surprising them. It is not about the "stuff"- as most of our "parties" do not even include stuff. Most of the time there are just signs saying what we are celebrating (a raise, a new job, and A on a hard test, etc)! I feel that it's about taking time out of our busy lives to reflect on what's good in our life, and spending quality time with those we love-with them as our focus!
I love doing table settings for the kids to wake up to! Can't take all the credit for this one, as their Dad got a ton of this stuff on his own. Their Dad always gets them really neat stuff-he was even the one who got the rose petals and set it all up! I am so thankful that my children have him for their Dad. My own Dad used to always get something for us for Valentine's, too! It was the only time of the year that I would get flowers or boxed chocolates, as a child. I remember feeling so grown up when I got them. I also distinctly remember how special I felt that not just my Mom did something for me, but that my Dad also must love me very much! I am very thankful to men that also take the time to be a part of all the "little" things like this!
One of the things I love about making lots of cute and fun desserts is that it's time that I spend with my children. My kids helped me make these chocolate covered strawberries. I love cooking and baking with them.
Whenever I go into the kitchen my kids follow me and ask what I'm doing. They always want to help out if I'm cooking or baking! I think it's great to spend the time with them, but I also think it's a good teaching tool as well. I have taught them what a recipe is and how to follow it. They know how to use measuring cups and spoons (which will help them out in math and with reasoning such as how much liquid really is 1 Cup). My 2 oldest are still quite young and yet they can already make a few meals by themself. I have them help with all parts of it from gathering ingredients, to making it, to setting the table, and cleaning up afterwards. So many great teaching moments happen when you are with your kids in the kitchen. Plus, don't you find that your kids open up more, while you are baking with them? Thankfully I do!
If you did follow us on our countdown you will see my heart wands, the heart marshmallows, the heart suckers, and a few of the other things we made for you during the countdown. Don't forget that you can share your version of what you made with us on our flickr site!
Once again, thanks for coming on this ride with us! I hope you are all spending the day with those you love, as I will be spending my day with my very favorite reasons for waking up each morning!!
On this day of Love,
Rebecca