**cutest stinkin' stinkin' giveaway ever still open in the post below!!**
so i've said before and i'll say it again, i'm not afraid to admit i LOVE valentine's day. it's my favorite holiday and when i have my bearings back, i'll be going all out.
this year, i didn't get the decorations up. well except the heart garland that my mom made me.
and i did have a scattering of paper doilies, doily hearts, and jewels around the house. the girls loved making "valetimes" almost every day. that counts as decorations, i think!
we did a lot of crafts in the days leading up to valentine's. two of our favorites were lovebirds:
and making m&m hearts with gel icing. not sure this is a craft...more of a snack, but we had fun doing it!
the girls are both in preschool now (sadie only one day a week, harper five half-days a week) so i had to make them something to take to school.
it was super simple this year. that's all i could manage and i think these were just fine!
for sadie i found some free printables online and she gave each student a heart ring pop:
and for harper i downloaded some lollipop bands from elle's studio
v-day is one of the few times a year where i just let it go and let the girls have too much sugar. :)
this is the special dinner j made for them sunday night. he had to go out of town this week and felt bad about missing valentine's, bless his heart.
is there anything better than daddy-made breakfast for supper?
wish i had gotten his face in this photo, he was SO proud of himself!
and i made the girls a special breakfast yesterday. when they woke up this was waiting for them, along with a little felt conversation heart purse filled with a valentine's rubber ducky, conversation hearts, a plush pez dispenser, and a heart that grows when you put it in water.:
and here was our dinner:
and of course i have to mention 'ashion. i'd be remiss if i didn't.
i couldn't find harper a cute, affordable option, so i took a tee she already had and ironed on a sequin heart. why don't i do this more often? SO cheap!!
sadie wore harper's dress from last year...check out the valentine's box we made together. think any other kids in her class had thickers and washi tape on theirs?
i should have checked so i could hunt down their mothers and demand that we be friends. ha!
and the babies wore the cutest baby outfits ever, thanks to my friend mandy.
a day to celebrate love? what's not to love about that.
hope yours was sweet.
xoxo
s
looks like it was an extra sweet "balen-time's day" (as my kids say it! ha!) the babies are getting so big!!
Posted by: Jenni Hufford | 02/15/2011 at 06:35 AM
oh.my.heavens. steph.
can i be you when i grow up? you are just the cutest family ever. you win 'awesome mom' award! j's breakfast made me teary. my husband always says "presentation is everything"....makes me smile every time.
happy [belated] valentimes day. heee.
Posted by: taniawillis | 02/15/2011 at 07:10 AM
What?! I must have blinked b/c the babies now have chub and are so big :) Everyone is darling.
Posted by: tracy | 02/15/2011 at 07:16 AM
I love it all! Valentine's is my favorite holiday too! All the reds and pinks and hearts are awesome.
Posted by: Lora Oliver | 02/15/2011 at 07:31 AM
Too cute! I love Valentine's Day too. You always have such cool "doable" crafts and ideas than I can do too. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Next year I will go all out too :) Have a blessed day!
Posted by: Jenny A | 02/15/2011 at 07:38 AM
What cute pictures!! I know you do lots of cute crafts with the kids. Do you have any storeage recommendations for saving kids artwork? Also, do you save all of it or just the extra special ones? I'm always searching for great organizing ideas!
Posted by: Stacey | 02/15/2011 at 07:40 AM
I can't believe how grown up Harper looks! Enjoy your girls....I tried to get my 8 yo son to use thickers on his valentine box for his name, but no suck luck. A Sharpie does the job just as well. Typical male, but he did use my Martha heart punch! Thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Carrie D. | 02/15/2011 at 07:43 AM
Stinkin stinkin is right!!! OMG!! So adorable and I love that you love Valentine's day just as much as I do! I got so irritated yesterday on facebook seeing everyone post about hating this day and how roses are such a waste and blah blah blah!!! I made my kids heart shaped homemade pizzas with heart shaped pepperoni's (I cut each one of them myself!) and the kids loved it!!
Posted by: Kami | 02/15/2011 at 07:43 AM
Oooo, that's "such", not suck!!
Posted by: Carrie D. | 02/15/2011 at 07:44 AM
Just too cute! You have the most adorable chickies. Happy V-day plus one.
Posted by: Ginny | 02/15/2011 at 07:55 AM
I totally agree...look at how big the twins are! WEIGHTS! PLEASE!!! So happy to hear H & S are in school. Getting out the door must be a trip but worth the effort. mag
Posted by: Account Deleted | 02/15/2011 at 07:57 AM
Seriously, the Lord knew what He was doing when He blessed you with girls! You just know how to make the world GIRLY!! In comparison, we had BLTs for dinner, because in a house full of boys, nothing says love like BACON.
LOVE all the cute ideas... esp the gel icing/m&m treat!
Posted by: Carrielyn | 02/15/2011 at 08:02 AM
Too cute!!!
Posted by: Astrid | 02/15/2011 at 08:03 AM
Looks like the perfect valentine's to me! Thanks for the love bird idea, we made them in class yesterday along with tissue paper hearts and candy box math. The kids (and the adults) loved it.
Posted by: Erin b | 02/15/2011 at 08:26 AM
Darling post! So glad you had a fun holiday with your beautiful girls!
Posted by: Erin | 02/15/2011 at 08:31 AM
I saw those photos of your girls on the couch and it took me back. There is a picture of me and my three younger siblings, Me at 3, my brother 2 and the twins almost 1 lined up on a couch for a photo. So sweet.
Posted by: carriegel | 02/15/2011 at 08:49 AM
Ok...the waffles were the cutest thing I think I have ever seen!! LOL...loved all the pics...pink and red and hearts just make me happy :)
Posted by: Julianne | 02/15/2011 at 08:56 AM
hehe, my guy is 7, i hope he never stops saying "valentimes" =)
Posted by: Debbie | 02/15/2011 at 08:57 AM
Sweet! That about covers it!
Posted by: Pat | 02/15/2011 at 09:14 AM
Oh, so sweet Steph!!
Posted by: marcy | 02/15/2011 at 09:17 AM
OMG the tutus!! Love the breakfast plates Jimmy made - such a great dad! Thanks for sharing another fun peek into your world :)
Posted by: MilliD | 02/15/2011 at 09:25 AM
Cute, cute, cute!! I love Valentines also, what's not to love?! As the only female in my house, it's my excuse to scatter pink & glitter everywhere! :)
Love the second to last pic of Sadie - like the baby has cooties or something! HA, she's so funny - those facial expressions that she has are hilarious!
Have a fab week and don't sweat the small stuff! Oh and WINE is good! :)
Posted by: Jonnelle | 02/15/2011 at 09:26 AM
The wee twins look almost edible :) Soooo cute.
I think my boys might have something to say if I tried to dress them in pink tutus, but I can always try. Sigh.
Posted by: Tara | 02/15/2011 at 09:28 AM
Stinkin' stinkin' CUTE!!!! If those babies were edible, I just might take a nibble! You're a wonderful mother!
Posted by: Shivaun | 02/15/2011 at 09:29 AM
I would say my mom did less than half of the fun stuff you do and I have SUCH fond memories of holidays like this. Your girls are so fortunate and I think they will look back at all these wonderful pictures and memories and cherish these days. hooray to you and your husband for being so great to your kiddos. Can't wait to do this stuff with my LO. Loved all your ideas and hope to steal them! :)
Posted by: bree | 02/15/2011 at 09:36 AM
Ack, your girls are just so sweet!
I also wanted to say congrats on the double pub in April's SBE! Love them both!
Have a beautiful day!
Posted by: Vivian | 02/15/2011 at 10:02 AM
I love Valentine's day too. Thanks for sharing all of the fun. Your girls are so blessed to have such great parents! :)
Posted by: Amy Scalze | 02/15/2011 at 10:15 AM
Your girls are absolutely gorgeous. :)
I found your blog by way of Gussy Sews on Twitter.
Posted by: Nakia | nakiaandkaleb.com | 02/15/2011 at 10:23 AM
LOVE all this - so sweet!!! :) That breakfast is so cute and the girls seem so happy in the pics!!!
Posted by: Vanessa M Santamaria | 02/15/2011 at 10:52 AM
THOSE WAFFLES!! Oh my they are adorable! :) My dad was out of town too .. he sent me an email! lol. I'll have to make some bear waffles one of these days for the girls I watch ... they love bears. (Oh, I do hope those were intended to be bears! lol.)
But those M&M snacks are unfortunately out of the question ... I'd be peeling the girls off the ceiling! lol.
Posted by: Pidgen | 02/15/2011 at 11:18 AM
i dont really have a system unfortunately. just art all over the house. :) and i throw lots away
Posted by: Stephanie Howell | 02/15/2011 at 12:25 PM
oh stephanie...how the babies are changing! getting all filled out...cuteness.. glad your day was filled with lovies...
Posted by: kate | 02/15/2011 at 12:35 PM
Love the tee with the sequin heart! I'll have to remember that! I love making tees, hair bows, headbands, etc for my two girls. It's fun, usually cheap, and fashionable! Looks like you fun day and the photos of your girls on the sofa are adorable. Take care!
Posted by: Ann | 02/15/2011 at 12:53 PM
I understand this post so well! Happy Heart Day! Just LOVE that pic of the hubs with twins below! Wow! Seriously!
Posted by: Daniele Valois | 02/15/2011 at 01:55 PM
Absolutely adorable! ... you are such a super mom :)
Posted by: ShellyJ | 02/15/2011 at 03:55 PM
Now, this is why I read your blog. I love seeing your adorable family, your adorable crafts, your adorable... everything! And, I love that you're so real in your posts!
I love these ideas and things. Looks like y'all had a nice Valentine's Day!
xoxo
P.S. - The girls are getting so big! I can't believe it! Time sure does fly, doesn't it? :)
Posted by: Kasey | 02/15/2011 at 03:56 PM
I agree! I hate the cynicism of so many people on Valentine's Day - what's not to love about celebrating LOVE? I'm sure everyone celebrates their birthdays & their Christmas's so really...it's LOVEly to make a bit of an effort <3
Posted by: Helen Tilbury | 02/15/2011 at 05:43 PM
looks like the perfect valentine's day!
i love all the outfits...too cute!
Posted by: jackie | 02/15/2011 at 06:06 PM
I can't believe how much the babies have grown. Not wee new-borns any more. This set of pictures are too, too gorgeous. I'm glad you had such a lovely Valentine's Day and am amazed you could do all the Valentiny stuff.
Very best wishes to you all.
Posted by: Bessie Segal | 02/15/2011 at 06:46 PM
Happy Valentine's Day!! I think you did pretty darn good for not having all your bearings!! Love that heart shaped pasta!!! The girls are all so sweet!!!
Posted by: Lara | 02/15/2011 at 07:21 PM
Your girls look so stinkin cute in their Valentine outfits. And yes my 2 oldest daughters had Thickers and Bazzill chipboard hearts on their school Valentine boxes, they made me so proud!
Posted by: ginny | 02/15/2011 at 07:36 PM
Hey Steph, did you draw the winner for the JBS blog hop? I think I've missed it?
Posted by: Laney | 02/15/2011 at 10:11 PM
Stephanie, This is my all-time favorite post! It is absolutely ADORABLE & so heart-warming! You may not have done all the things you were planning on doing but you did a TON of stuff, and the most important by doing it all with your family. You're the best, girlfriend. Happy Heart Day! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of the 4 chickies all together, dressed in their Heart-Day clothes. SO SWEEEEEEEET! The twins are so cute & make the cutest little expressions:) They always look so surprised! LOL
Posted by: Brenda Faylee Turner | 02/15/2011 at 10:38 PM
love seeing all of these little details in your family's valentines! what fun! and how cute are they?!
Posted by: Jamie | 02/15/2011 at 10:57 PM
I have never been one that has been into Valentine's day. But, I did go out and buy the kids a little heart shaped box of candy. I bought my middle (she is almost 13) some scrappy supplies that she wanted to make her own valentines for friends at school. Ben and I made a fun heart with some old cardstock I have. I found a card and a box of chocolates left in the van for me when I took Brit to school. http://momma-paparazzi.blogspot.com/2011/02/happy-valentines-day.html
You on the other hand, I love that you go all out and do such fun things for the holiday!!! It is so fun to see it all in your photos!!! Your girlies are getting so big!! Love all the photos!!
Posted by: Michelle Unruh | 02/16/2011 at 02:05 AM
Just beautiful Stephanie and all of the girls are gorgeous.
Posted by: Linda in Aus | 02/16/2011 at 02:39 AM
Stephanie - I have to ask - where did you get the glitter heart iron-on? I have to do that for my little girl! What a great idea!
Posted by: debbie | 02/16/2011 at 07:31 AM
Michaels!!
Sent from my iPhone
Posted by: Stephanie Howell | 02/16/2011 at 07:51 AM
Last photo - cutest.picture.ever!
Posted by: celeste | 02/16/2011 at 08:02 AM
you are so creative! love the girlies outfits and the things you all made! gotta find some of those heart noodles!
Posted by: abby | 02/16/2011 at 01:21 PM
Beautiful girls! Great job on the supper Daddy!
It looks like a love-filled Valentine's Day.
Posted by: Amy K | 02/16/2011 at 05:23 PM
Love this! What a fabulous attitude you have about celebrating the holiday, Steph! I am sure the girls will always have fond memories of it, too, because of your effort.
Posted by: Jenn | 02/16/2011 at 07:24 PM
It looks like you had a fantastic Valentines Day!!! The girls are of course adorable... as they always are!!
Thanks so much for sharing with us!!!
~Ola
okj83 at live dot com
zloe.blogspot.com
Posted by: Ola Jaggers | 02/20/2011 at 04:21 PM