Our Valentine's Day

   We have never been huge on Valentine's Day. Even when dating it just wasn't a huge holiday for us. When K came along we changed it up a bit. Usually her and her Daddy fix me something homemade and I surprise them with a little something.
  This year I thought I'd get to surprise Steve with a new wedding band (he's lost weight and while working lost his ring....it really bothered him) and K with some new books she was wanting as well as a bag of her fave candy of all time....truffles.
   Lets just say K let the cat out of the bag BEFORE Valentine's Day and everyone ended up getting their gifts early lol
  Honestly though...I'm thankful to have a love that makes every day feel like Valentine's Day. We don't always see eye to eye, we have varied opinions and yep we have our days where it's best we NOT talk about it lol but...every single day we are in love. So many couples are afraid to let their guards down and just...love. They measure it in some big trip, some expensive gift, a fancy dinner or a piece of jewelry ...all of which is fine if that is what makes you happy..but..we tend to measure our life in different ways.
   We dream in "we". I've never once heard either of us mention a goal in life or a dream that doesn't have the word "we" in it. Let me tell you...there is no other way to dream.
   We spend time watching the stars on a warm summer night. Laughing around the fire pit on a cool fall evening. Splashing in a creek on a hot day. Tossing snowballs in the snow. We LIVE life and to me that is the best gift I could ask for.
   Our love isn't some flashy shout it from the mountain top situation. We don't feel the need to have others verify our status or approach life from some Hollywood movie script. We are realistic. I get crabby late at night, Steve gets loud during political campaign shows, he hates new recipes, I love to try out new recipes. We are messy, at times disorganized but..we are always a team.
  To me...Valentine's Day is simply a date on the calendar. When  you get to live love every day it changes your attitude and your life. You learn that sitting on the boat dock next to your husband while your girl splashes in the water is living. That recipe you have been wanting to try that comes out perfectly..that is gourmet. An impromptu trip to get ice cream and hearing your girl say "we always do awesome stuff"....that is happiness.
  

Valentine's Day Party

   K's school PTO called and asked if we'd be the parents that could do the Valentine's Day Party...of course we said yes! I'm thankful that my work schedule can be flexible enough that I have not missed any of K's school parties :) We decided to do an ice cream sundae party..and it was a HUGE hit. Mrs. C donated the ice cream and other parents donated the toppings. We added in the bowls,cups and whip cream along with juice and a craft. The kids had a ball making a cute idea K came up with. We cut hearts out of construction paper then glued small pompoms onto them. We let the kid's add one or two googly eyes. All the kids made a unique "heart monster" and had a ball.
     A great time was had looking at all the Valentine cards they got in their bags, eating ice cream and relaxing. Although I'm thinking Mrs. C wished the party was closer to go home time than noon lol
   We also always make sure K makes her teacher and her teacher's assistant a little something for the party. Teachers put in long hours to educate our children and often are overlooked at party time (except for Christmas). Everyone likes to feel appreciated!! This year we got some nice heavy mugs from the local Dollar Tree. We used tape to create a ripple effect on the border top and painted the mugs with chalkboard paint. We baked them for about 30 mins in the oven to set the paint. We filled the teacher's with King Size reese's and mini bars. The teacher's assistant mug had mini candy bars and some nice Russel Stover candies. They both loved them. We also dropped off heart cookies to the principle and the secretary. 

New Year has begun....

The New Year. 2016 has begun. Some start the day off with a hangover from the night before, some start the day off fearing another year and some start the day off making their list of resolutions. We had a nice time last night but it was family friendly with goodies and punch lol so no hangovers. I tend to not fear most things as it's a waste of time, energy and causes wrinkles ;) so no starting the day out fearing. I am not a resolution maker because I feel it's added stress on things you feel you need to check off if you make them huge things like lose x number of pounds, run x number of miles etc. I strongly feel each person should see the new year in how they see fit and do what makes them happy. I hope everyone reaches their potential but continues to grow, finds love and gives love unconditionally, discovers riches that will never fit in a bank and takes time to not only enjoy the small things in life but fully experience the blessings and miracles that many of us tend to overlook. May 2016 be a year of love, happiness, joy and grace! 
  

One of K's special gifts

I absolutely love that my Mom had K a baby cradle made. My Mom's cousin is a woodworker and makes wooden toys for sale. He made K a beautiful handmade cradle that Steve can stain if he wants. The care he put into it is amazing and K LOVES it!! 

Peanut Butter Lasagna Recipe

Don't let the name scare you ;) it's actually called lasagna because it's layered. I will tell you it's rich and sure doesn't take big portions!!
1 pkg Nutter Butter cookies
peanut butter
tub of Cool Whip
Box of instant vanilla pudding
Reese cups, chopped up
 Layer Nutter Butter cookies on the bottom. Drizzle melted peanut butter over the top of them. Put a layer of instant vanilla pudding, then a layer of Cool Whip then a layer of chopped up Reese cups. Start layering again starting at the vanilla pudding and top with crunched Nutter Butters and drizzled melted peanut butter. 

Christmas Eve

   We have had a wonderful holiday time. We host Christmas eve and this year we decided to do something a little different. I work on Christmas eve until at least 3 (usually 4) and family starts rolling in at 5! I do alot of prepping the night before and the day of..is always interesting lol This year we did a Cajun pork loin. Steve prepped it the night before and it takes just a couple hours during the day of cooking. It always turns out great! We added potato salad, macaroni salad, homemade ham salad, veggies and other tasty sides to round out the meal. I did a peanut butter lasagna for dessert and it got huge thumbs up! A great meal was had, gifts were exchanged and there was tons of laughter....and even more love! Exactly how a holiday should be! I love my home everyday but I love it even more when it's filled with the kiddos laughter and tons of good conversation!

Teacher gifts

   Getting ready for K's upcoming Christmas party at school. We like to do unique things and just have fun with the gifts. This year K said she wished she could give Mrs. C a red apple that would never rot. We couldn't think of how that would be possible. Then, Steve had a brilliant idea. We'd use an apple gourd and create an "apple that won't rot". He did an excellent job drying it, sanding it and then painting it. It came out really well!!!

Mrs. C was impressed with the gift and loved that we had dried and saved her the seeds from inside it to plant. To round out the gift we made homemade turtle brownies, peanut butter fudge and no bakes. We put them in layers in a really neat plastic bowl with lid that had measurements on the side. We added in a jar of homemade cocoa. This year we made different flavors (we gave the teachers Red Velvet cocoa), did dipped spoons for stirring and created a couple of really nice gift bags :)