My secret Valentine

For the past two weeks I made it my goal to do something nice for my husband everyday until Valentine's Day. Now he would not approve of this since he thinks Valentine's is a silly commercialized holiday. So I had to be a bit sneaky, I did things that were nice, but not too nice, things that didn't seem too out of the ordinary (some he didn't even notice). Since I'm not perfect I think I missed a day here and there but I doubled up to make up for it. Here's what I did:

Feb. 1: Made him a nice big breakfast of eggs, bacon and grits.

Feb.2: Made chocolate chip cookies which are one of his favorites

Feb. 3: Wrote a sweet note and sent it in his lunch

Feb. 4: Let him choose the movie we rented

Feb. 5: Sent a sweet text message

Feb. 6: Nothing (it was a Monday and I was off my game)

Feb. 7: Brought him a treat to work from my Grandma's birthday party

Feb. 8: Missed this one too 

Feb. 9: I doubled up, we had lunch together AND I picked up all the trash in his car 

Feb. 10: I missed ANOTHER day (not my week I guess)

Feb. 11: Spent extra time on him during my prayer time

Feb.12: Let him play his video game (that I strongly dislike) with no mocking or eye rolling

Feb. 13: I had to make up all the days I missed so I, made a valentine for him with the Little One, did the dishes even though I cooked and we spent some quality time together playing UNO.

Feb. 14 Made a special breakfast of heart shaped pancakes.

Our marriage is not all roses and candy hearts but it is special and deserves to be treated that way and not just for one day or for a month but always. It is hard to remember that when we are exhausted from late nights with the baby, when we are stressed about bills or when we are just plain annoyed with each other. I plan on enjoying my new little Valentine today and I hope you all enjoy the day as well!

Valentines with the Little One

 My husband and I have never celebrated Valentine's day but now that there's a little one in the house Valentine's day seems much more fun. So I decided this year to do a little Valentine crafting on the Little One's behalf. I got my idea from here. It looked easy enough, but the part that she doesn't mention is that getting your almost 6 month old to press her hand to the paper is likely to cause a paint mess disaster. My Little One wanted to grab and eat the paper, eat her hand with the paint on it, paint her high chair tray, anything but press her little hand to the paper. 

Right before the paint fun!

I feel like I should have known this was going to happen, I have worked with kids. I was even prepared (or so I thought) with baby wipes, a paper towel and extra paper. Well let's just say she got a nice bath after and so did  the high chair.

After the paint disaster

It really could have been a lot worse, but it made my Type A self a little crazy. The valentines did turn out pretty cute though if I do say so myself. 

Hopefully grandparents won't see this until they receive their valentine, if so I'm sorry for ruining the surprise!

Christmas carols and Crafting

Today has consisted of trying to wean the Little One off swaddling for nap time (total disaster), Christmas music, crafting and play time. I still have clothes to fold and dishes to do but I think being crafty sounds more fun!

These are for my kids at the after school I volunteer at. This set is still a work in progress.

I love me some Rooiboss tea!

Oh, by the way- Little One is rolling over front to back AND back to front now! Exciting stuff for this first time mommy!

Christmas Traditions I want for my Family

As Christmas approaches I have begun to think about the traditions that I would like to establish for our little family. This year our Little One won't get to participate in all of these things but I can't wait until she can!

Have an Advent calendar and devotion- I love this one.
Pack an Operation Christmas Child box.

Take a walk through the local park that puts up beautiful Christmas light displays.

Bake and decorate Christmas cookies and hand them out to those who serve us all year long.

Take the hayride through the Living Christmas Story that takes place in a nearby city.

Picking out our Christmas tree and decorating it as a family.

She was fascinated with the Christmas lights

I do not want to overfill our calendar but be able to take time to relax and enjoy the season. I hate that so often I get stressed out and exhausted during this season when what I really want is to enjoy family and cherish what this season is all about- the coming of our Lord and Savior. I want that for the Little One as well- I want her to know that Christmas is not about receiving gifts but celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Thankful.

This year I am thankful for so many things. I do not think I could list them all but here are a few:

Our Little One and that she made her debut into the world safely.

My husband who loves me at my worst and knows when I need some extra TLC

Our extended family who has helped us out in so many ways whether it by providing meals, watching the Little One, or kind words

Our church family who is so loving- their prayers and their meals have meant so much

Time at home to rest, recover and get to know our Little One

And so much more- we are such a blessed family

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!