ribbit ribbit...

our super sugary and sweet valentine's day plans have been pushed back until saturday. i woke up with the meanest little frog in my throat that had me coughing up my guts all night and wanting to stay wrapped up, warm, and catching up on my zzz's all day.  i was the worst most croakiest valentine ever.  i`m afraid that any arrows cupid sent in my direction were broken in two.

i did manage to sneak out for a little bit of vitamin D and wagon pulling and tricycle riding around the block with nick and the girls. we returned to a little package greeting us at our front door. inside: a green floral vintage dress for my girls. i told Haley it was from the royal palace and that Cinderella had sent it to her and wanted her to take good care of it. she was so excited and stripped down immediately to put it on and spin around in it.

today i have found a bit of comfort in puffy sleeves, princess twirls, and the most cheery shade of green.
i hope everyone had the loveliest of days with their sweethearts!
xoxo

bite size love

My friend Shannon and I got our two little ones together for a mini love day shoot.  They are quite the pair-- complete silence when they are together, but random professions of their love for each other to their mamas while they are apart.  Haley must have told me 4x before they got to the house that her prince, Jed, was coming to marry her.  And a week or so ago, Jed confessed to his mama that he wasn't just going to kiss Haley on the cheek! Oh my!

We had a bunch of cute things on the agenda:  tin can phone calls, sharing a drink: one bottle, two straws, and plastic flower exchanging.  After all, when a boy gives you flowers that will never die as a token of his love, you know he means forever.

Although Haley and Jed weren't much for it... we did get a few cute shots of the two.
Let me know if any clever captions or sweet quotes come to mind for these, please!

Love and Marriage:

"If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long." -- Glenn, age 7

"Love is like an avalanche where you have to run for your life." -- John, age 9

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too." -- Greg, age 8

"One of the people has freckles, and so he finds somebody else who has freckles too." -- Andrew, age 6

"One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills." -- Ava, age 8

"A man and a woman promise to go through sickness and illness and diseases together." -- Marlon, age 10

"Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me." -- Dave, age 8

Good Advice About Love:

"Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work." -- Dick, age 7

"Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck!" -- Ricky, age 7

"Don't forget your wife's name. That will mess up the love." -- Erin, age 8

"Sensitivity don't hurt." -- Robbie, age 8

"Be a good kisser. It might make your wife forget that you never take out the trash." -- Erin, age 8

"Don't say you love somebody and then change your mind. Love isn't like picking what movie you want to watch." -- Natalie, age 9


Titles of Love Ballads You Can Sing To Your Loved One:

"'I Love Hamburgers, I Like You!'" -- Eddie, age 6

"'You Are My Darling Even Though You Also Know My Sister.'" -- Larry, age 8

"'I Am In Love With You Most of the Time, But Don't Bother Me When I'm With My Friends.'" -- Bob, age 9

"'How Do I Love Thee When You're Always Picking Your Nose?'" -- Arnold, age 10

"'Honey, I Got Your Curly Hair and Your Nintendo On My Mind.'" -- Sharon, age 9

"'Hey, Baby, I Don't Like Girls, But I'm Willing To Forget You Are One!'" -- Will, age 7

be mine...

i love a good ole dose of cheesey every now and again...

thank goodness valentine's day allows for such behavior!

happy weekend, love bugs!

hearts on a string...

my littlest hokie is sick and hurting and feverish. she has an ugly stomach bug that is making her all pukey and sour faced. haley and i, believing in the healing powers of googly-eyes and paper heart doilies, decided to make her some early valentine's in hopes of bringing a smile to her face. they too, have upset tummies... if you can't tell by the faces haley drew on them. haha. 

feel better soon, my stinky little girl! 

<3

DIY lace-up cards: an unnecessary tutorial

After seeing these sweet lace-up valentine's by moda fabrics, I was inspired to make my own version.  I know you guys are brilliant and could probably figure this little craft out on your own... but since I like any excuse to number things and take pictures that involve hearts, the color red, and accomplished little toddler fingers... please just pardon me.

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materials:
- vintage valentines
(i reccomend these stickers over at gigglesparkle. but there are plenty of free images available for print over the internet)
- thick computer paper
- scissors
- hole punch
- string, yarn, or ribbon  (gingham if you want to get fancy)



1. pull out your camera, you are going to want to take pictures of these cute vintage valentine's scattered about the floor. these are the good things in life, my friend... embrace them!

2. take a few moments to laugh at the cheesey puns on them and wish you were half as clever.

3. take a few moments to laugh at yourself.  you are not 3 years old, but boy are you are super excited about this little project!

3. pick out 3 or 4 valentine's and adhere them to a thick sheet of computer paper. make sure they are spaced apart well for easy cutting.



4. leaving a decent sized border, cut neatly around them



5.  turn your freshly plump valentine's over so the graphic doesn't show.  i found this easier, you don't worry so much about hole-punching their lights out.

6. punch holes around the perimeter of each valentine



7.  ignore the fact that your holes are unevenly spaced and rejoice in the fact that no one was injured during your hole punching extravagazna

8. using yarn, ribbon, or shoe strings, lace those babies up!



9. get your cheese on!! you did it!!!



10. last but not least, stash all your fancy laced up valentine's aside.  it is still january, afterall.

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additional objectives:

+ following directions. tell your child to skip a hole or two while lacing
+ counting. have your child count how many holes are left every few stitches

Happy Lacing!

xoxo