Our Valentine's Day

We love holidays at our house and I really enjoy Valentine's Day. To be honest, I don't even know why we have it, but I love the colors, the homemade treats, the candy, the hearts, the expressions of love, and the CHOCOLATES! When I was a little girl, my dad always brought us home a heart-shaped box of Russell Stover chocolates. I loved them! I loved biting into each one and finding out the surprise filling. When Jason and I got married, I always told him not to get me any because I was usually feeling the need to eat better after the poor eating that often lasts from October 31st - January 1st. This year, I decided that I didn't need to deprive myself from this one indulgence and apparently, Jason did too. I got my first box of chocolates this year (without us talking about it) and it was glorious! Godiva. And I ate every single one of them - {it was a small box} - on Valentine's night!

Jason, on the other hand, was not a box of chocolates fan when he was growing up. He liked those conversation hearts, which I think are cute but taste yuck. Knowing how much he loves these, the kids and I decided to make him a picture frame using his favorite Valentine candy. Believe it or not, I could not find the original ones on the day I went shopping for them, so we settled for this other kind. They are tart and tangy, and while I like the taste much better, he still prefers the original ones. I wish I could have found the original ones...for his sake and for the frame's sake. I think they would have made a cuter gift with the message written in a contrasting color.

{Please forgive my photography these days. I'm just lucky to get pictures at all.}
The kids each made their own. I made Elizabeth's frame, of course. They loved sampling as they created. Many of Allison's hearts have dark patches on them from where she licked them. It's perfect! Jackson wanted his to be perfect. He kept trying to get me to do it for him but I assured him that his daddy did not want perfection. I think they did a fabulous job.

They decorated their bags to hide their creations...or as Allison calls them, "mations." I got some of these ideas from Better Homes & Gardens. Here was the front side of the bag:

And then on the back, we did conversation hearts. We cut out hearts from card stock. I wrote a message using a white crayon. The kids put water colors over the message so that it would show through. It didn't work quite as well as I thought. I just had to write the message several times to make sure the crayon was on thick. It was fun nevertheless and Jason loved it!

Jason and I got sushi for dinner and experienced a family first. All of our kids went to bed by themselves!! We gave Elizabeth the Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light for Valentine's Day. We thought it would be a great thing for her to have since she will always be deaf at night when she sleeps. Well, all three kids loved it. Allison was so fascinated with it. She has never gone to bed without me lying beside her. I gave her my phone so that she could play toddler games while Jason and I enjoyed some quality time together. She did play a few games, but she was fascinated with the ladybug. They all sleep in our room, so they all enjoyed it as they went to sleep. It was truly a miracle!