leap day.

so another month has gone by like that.

(snapping of fingers.)

seriously?

again, so much I wanted to accomplish.  not so much of it actually got done.  but whatever.

my family is still kicking and breathing.  so I must be doing something good, right?

here’s a sampling of some of the creativeness from the month:

(click on images for full list of credits.)

peyton turned four..

and then there was valentine’s day.  lynn made these as her valentine’s.

(thank you pinterest.)

I actually snapped some pix of mah-self.

(thank you  merrill for the remote for christmas. xox)

and ashley lost her other top tooth.

(she is terribly frightened that she has no permanent teeth.)

she lost the top right first, bottom right second, bottom left third, and the top left most recently.

(darnit, she’s cute!)

A Valentine-y Re-cap.

If you know Merrill, he isn’t a real romantic kind of a guy.

(Love you just the way you are!)

That being said, we don’t really do (and I don’t expect) much for this holiday.

We make it all about the kids.

This year, he made their day, and as a result, melted my heart.

I do special things for the whole family, making a fun dessert (chocolate covered strawberries and the like), and a fancy-ish dinner.  We always have a small gift for the girls too.

When he came home, the girls were outside playing.  As soon as he came in, he ran to the bedroom and came back with a single red rose for each of us.  I only wish I could have captured their faces when he gave each of them theirs.

He made them feel so special!

  

I made the girls these:

(You can see more about them here.)

They also got kids “Just Dance” (I am already tired of those songs!) and “Bedtime Stories”.  We all enjoy that movie.

 

He, yup, he melted my heart!

Hope you all had a fantastic Valentine’s day as well.

Valentine’s Revisited.

As I began taking down my Valentine’s decorations, I realized that I never posted the fun stuff that we did here this year for the (card company/candy maker)holiday.
I planned on changing up the decorations last year, but never quite got around to making all the things I wanted to.
I bought paper at Heartland, that had me singing Beatles songs.  The name of the line “Love me do”, something that Merrill says all the time, especially when he is tired/worn down.
I love the colors.  So non-traditional.
And then there’s that turqois-ey/teal-ey color I so love…

Call me crazy, but I would really love to paint a piece of furniture in this color.
A friend and I had a cookie making day..  we made lots of them.
 
We even got more artsy than usual with the decorating.


Another addition this year was this banner.  Inspired by the same paper line and color scheme.  I dreamed about it at night.

All about the details… 

But I knew it needed something more.. 
Tissue paper balls.
(And some other things that I never got to, but I probably would have if I just knew when to stop!!)
These are so fun to make!
(Now I know that I am not the first, and I am also aware that they have been around for a while now, but c’mon..  in these colors?  I had to share..)
I also learned a few tricks that make the whole process a lot easier.
(Those will come in another post, perhaps?)
But a tip for now: Target has the funnest colors right now..  the turquoise is in, and the “wish” color of blue (light blueish-greenish) is in the baby gift wrapping area along with the yellow.

Last but not least, and one of my favorite parts of our day were these bottles:

I got all excited watching History channel’s program on soda, they showed Jones soda company.  Did you know that you can go to their website and order their soda in bottles with YOUR picture on the label?!
Isn’t that so cool?
I thought so…  until I saw the attached price tag.
Pair that with the idea of my kiddos getting a 6 pack a piece, thinking that they need to drink it all that night, then the sugar high that would follow…  I so don’t need that.
So I did it my way.  I changed it up a bit, not being able to find the clear bottles with the fun red soda..  (sniff) so I kept the colors simple.
I went and bought my own little 4-pack of rootbeer, and printed off my own labels, using double-stick tape to hold it all together.
The girls loved them.
You can too!  Here’s the PSD template so you can make your own.  Just clip down the picture(s) you want to use (Control G my friends..  Control G..), print off on regular copy paper and stick away!
I am thinking of doing another version of these, making my custom nutrition label or something fun like that. 
With a little adjusting of the text, I think they would be a blast for a shower (be it baby or bridal) or a birthday party.
P.S. The font I used is “You Are Loved” form DaFont.com.

That one made-up holiday..

We all know how someone in this house feels about Valentine’s Day, but that doesn’t stop us from making it special for the girls..

Merrill had to work Sunday, so it was just me and the girls.

(Picture-taking was quite interesting…)

We started the morning off with breakfast:

And got ready for church.

I stayed up until after 2 am finishing the skirts.  Valentine’s Day on a weekend makes for one busy week.  Getting all the Valentine’s for classes, neighbors, friends and family ready, three birthdays (one of those Peyton’s which includes a cake, etc.), and two class parties..  yeah, that’s why I stayed up.

I knew Lynn would prefer to wear her “poofy dress” over my skirt, but I finished it anyway..  I wanted them all to have something special.

Big surprise, she saw it, said it was cute, but that she would rather wear her “yellow fancy dress”.

We went on to have a discussion on what it means to sacrifice..  you know, to give up something good for something better.  Like how I sacrificed my sleep so she would have a nice Valentine’s gift, and perhaps she could sacrifice wearing her preferred dress so my sleep-deprived feelings wouldn’t be hurt… ;)

Our special dinner didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted so there aren’t any special pictures of that…  but there are of the shirts and pajama bottoms I made.

I can only take credit for the idea of the shirt.  I wanted the girls to have a cute one with their nickname to go with the new bottoms..  all other credit goes to one of my BEST friends who happens to have a different craft cutter than I do that can cut heat transfer vinyl..  and the ability to design what she cuts on her computer. 

(Makes me wish I could hook mine up to my computer..  not that I can’t, would 20 or so feet of cable strung across my loft cause problems?)

I LOVE how they turned out!

The American Girl dolls got their own too…

Me and my sweeties…

And what’s Valentine’s day without one of my and my man?

Love One Another..

Despite Merrill’s evil plan, we had another great FHE.

(He hinted at his evil plan in the last FHE post found here.)

We started the evening off with singing “As I Have Loved You” and learned the sign language to it.

We read in the scriptures, and broke it all down together, talked about how we can show others that we love them, and why it is so important to Heavenly Father that we love everyone.

That is always good and interesting time with the girls..  their insights are sweet.

We talked about showing love and respect to those in our home and how we can do that everyday.

I bought these cute little mailboxes at Target back in January, they were so tempting in that dollar bin..  I thought we could all write love notes or draw pictures to show our love to each other especially this month, but hope to make it a habit for the rest of the year.  The lesson kind of followed, but worked in perfectly.

The girls have really taken to it, and I enjoy it too.  I have yet to get one on my pillow :( but I love that when I want to tell them how much I love them, or how much I appreciate something they have done, I can write it down, and they love it.  The little notes mean so much to them!  It’s also fun to draw little pictures for them.  We put the flags up if we have placed something in someone’s box (I know, a little backwards) and they sit and wait on the counter for them to come and see the flag is up.

I think it’s safe to say that Valentines’ has gotten an early start here.

48..

..that was just the cupcakes!!
I have been super busy, room mom stuff.. a 1st birthday party.. many Valentine projects for friends and family.. and yes.. that Diet Coke in the background, really helped me through it all :)
..but sadly, no scrapping.. :(
Hopefully I'll get some done this next week!!
I do have 10 left for the month..

Happy Valentine's Day...

We don't typically make a huge deal out of Valentine's day... Merrill's philosophy, "We should love each other every day, and show it... the most important day to celebrate our relationship is our wedding anniversary.. the day that binds us together for eternity." So I can't really argue with that.. Every year, I know what to expect, and I am usually stoked to get a card.. well, all except that ONE year, when I was preggers with Ashley. I went hormonal on him for not observing the holiday!! And that was how I knew I was, for sure, pregnant..
So, imagine my surprise today, as I arrive home from delivering some Valentine's, to find a suspicious package on my porch.. suspicious because it says Flowers.com on it..
Wrong address?
Nope..
It's actually addressed to me!?!
Hmmmm...
I brought it inside, and Merrill says as innocently as he possibly can, "So, you have something there..."
So sweet!! I love the note especially...
I teased Merrill saying the dog looks like him.. all puppy-eyed and sorry for the all the years.. ;)
I so love this guy!!
If that didn't put a smile on your face, maybe this will...
The girls and their plot lines while they play dolls...
Today, Prince Charming was in love with two princesses, and they, in return, were both in love with him, well kind of. He apparently asked the wrong princess to marry him. She didn't love him that much.. she said no, and consequently, he died.. of a broken heart, I assume.
Here's the dialogue that followed:
Ash: "Let's pretend that when he died we could see his brains!!"
Lynn: "Okay!"
Both: (crying in their best princess in mourning intimations..)
Ash: In her narrative, monotone flat voice says, "Come RESURRECTED...." Then, in the manliest, most royal voice a 4 year old little girl can muster, says, "I died because you didn't love me and you didn't marry me!!"
They all apologized for their follies, and they lived happily ever-after, with the princess who turned-down the marriage proposal, marrying Batman, the other marrying the Prince (who was really better-off if you ask me..). They have all stayed close friends ever since and do much together..
Have a happy Valentine's Day!!!!

What a day...

A first birthday..
A kindergarten Valentine's room party...
Valentine's to deliver..
And the party, for aforementioned first birthday.. otherwise known as a big deal...
We had a busy, full to the brim day today...
Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes and visits!!!
Little Peyton is loved...
Pillowcase dresses and matching bows, because mom is crazy...
Where has the time gone?!?!?
We had dinner at El Matador, where they sang to Peyton with a sombrero on her head, and she kept it on!!
Then home, to cake and gifts...
Lovin' everything about the day.. cards too!
A little help from her sisters.. these are their new toys too, so they say...
She loves Tigger!!
Here's the cakes.. which I decorated last night, with Peyton on my hip, I might add...
Her own cake...
And.. the cake on her face!!
And to further prove my craziness.. I baked 48 cupcakes, at some point during the day... to be delivered tomorrow!!

More Valentines...

Made these cuties after Brooke gave me the idea, over a year ago.. I had the bottles hanging out, waiting.. I wanted to do them last year.. but someone (Peyton) had to come the day I made plans to complete them!! I can do many things but laboring and crafting at the same time are not one of them..
The hardest part of the whole project was drinking all the pop.. not that hard!
Thanks Brooke for the cute idea!!
It was nice making a "green" craft, if you are into that save the whole earth thing... :)
I loved using my newest punches, the scalloped circle, which I put off buying, cause, do I really need it if I own scalloped scissors? Yes.. especially when it's 40% off, plus an additional 20% with a coupon, and will make life a little easier..
The border punch is also new.. it's a Fiskars punch "Threading Water". I hunted this one down, because I knew I would use it endlessly.. thanks goes to Paper Cakes for sharing that info!

Super Easy!

These little cuties were so simple to make. My sister-in-law, Jaclyn, found the link for the pattern to these on Ali Edward's blog..
- felt
- poly stuffing
- needle
- embroidery thread
- pinking shears
- pins
Cut out two layers to make a little pocket, sew around the edge (by hand), leave an opening to stuff the heart gently.. finish sewing it shut.. then glue on a pin!
Super easy, super cute!
I am pretty sure they will be seen one up close and personal, pretty soon! :)