Valentine Creations

It's Valentine's Day in our home! Thanks to shopping throughout the year for all annual events (saves a lot of money to buy on sale and store in my cupboard!), I was able to whip up a few special things for the kids even at 1am after I'd forgotten to plan ahead of time. Thank God he gave me a creative spirit. ;-) Please don't mind the quality of the photos--they were taken on my phone.

My favorite creation of the night (morning?) was my heart garland. I saw a felt heart garland on Pinterest and just modified it to use paper and a stapler instead of fabric and a sewing machine. Quick and easy, and it's SUPER cute hanging from the dining room entry way!

 At each child's place setting, a special surprise was waiting including a wrapped Valentine themed book, an educational magazine, and a decorated page that we filled out throughout the day with "things we love" about each child. A keepsake!

 One thing I found recently while cleaning out the "everything" room was a box of business cards that was ordered online but never used. I was going to throw them in the recycling bin but decided I should hang onto them because they *may* have a brilliant future...and boy, am I glad I kept them! I created two games using the cards.



First, a numeral recognition/counting game by using glittery textured stickers one one card, and then using a marker to write the numeral on a subsequent card. I couldn't fit more than 8 stickers on a card so that's where I ended, but you could certainly get 10 or 12 if you were using small stickers.

The second game, and also the more popular one, is a matching game. Since all of the "business" sides of the cards are the same, they offer great memory game potential! I used felt stickers that have different layers and edge shapes which provide an added tactile element to the traditional visual memory games. Isn't the Valentine theme darling? Best yet, both of these games store in a small Ziploc bag which means easy clean up and great storage because you can see the contents of the bag!

And of course, a Valentine making station. :) Glitter glue, stickers, paper, heart hold punches, crayons, markers, pom poms...you name it, it was there! Not as big of a hit as I thought it was going to be, though. True to form, toddlers prefer playing outside in the mud as to sitting at a table doing something constructive. Who'da thought, right? ;-)

Happy Valentine's Day! 

...and remember, regardless of your situation or circumstance, you are loved.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will never perish, but will have eternal life. John 3:16

40 Questions To Ask Your Child On Date Night

I think it was daughter number five (I'm the second oldest of eight girls) who coined the term "Donut Date" to refer to when our Daddy would take one of us individually out on a "date" with him when I was young. It generally meant we were getting a donut or going to the grocery store for some root beer or another treat, which was a pretty big deal at the time. In fact, I still bug my Dad to take me on a date, except I hope it's to places like Disney World or a major music concert these days. ;-) Now, the tradition has moved on and I date my own three-year-old daughter. She gets terribly excited when I ask her if she wants to have a "mommy-daughter date". There are no arguments and she is on her best behavior while we go to the local coffee shop for a slice of carrot cake and juice! My favorite part, though? The conversation. My phone gets put away, no books are brought along, and we don't sit at a table with anyone else (though she has a way about her that attracts the elderly men to come over for a chat about her baby doll!). Instead, we chat. I ask questions, and we dream together over hot cocoa and cookies.

Dating your children is an easy and precious way to create beautiful moments for the two of you. Here are 40 Date Night questions to get you started:

1. What is the best dream you ever had, and why?


2. What is the worst dream you ever had, and why?


3. How do you like to be woken up in the morning?


4. What are the top five things you are good at doing?


5. What are the three occupations you would love to have when you grow up?


6. If you were to plan your own funeral, what would you want it to be like?


7. What are five activities you want to do within the next year?


8. Who is your best friend, and why?


9. What person can you not stand, and why?


10. What embarrasses you that I do?


11. What are you proud of that I do?


12. What makes you laugh?


13. What makes you cry?


14. What are the top three things I do that make you feel (not "know") loved?


15. What is the most important thing you have learned in life?


16. If you were to plan a sleepover, what would it include?


17. If you were to be one animal, what would you be and why?


18. What are your three favorite songs and why?


19. What one song can't you stand, and why?


20. What is your favorite movie, and why?


21. What are the top three reasons why you know you will be a good spouse/parent when you are grown?


22. What is your favorite physical feature about yourself and why?


23. What three things do you not like about yourself, and why?


24. When people compliment you, what is the top thing they say about you?


25. What are the top three compliments from others that you would like them to say about you?


26. What is your favorite Bible story and why?


27. What is your favorite Bible verse and why?


28. Who are your top two favorite historical characters and why?


29. In your life, what has been your proudest moment?


30. In your life, what has been your most embarrassing moment?


31. If you were to create your own job to earn money, what would you do and how would you do it?


32. If you were to create your own cake and own ice-cream sundae, what ingredients would you include?


33. What makes you feel safe?


34. What makes you feel scared?


35. What are two things that your friends or other people you know do that you don't like?


36. What are two things that your friends or other people you know do that you would also like to do?


37. Would you rather be a boy or a girl, and why?


38. If you could go anywhere in the world and do anything you wanted, where would you go and what would you do?


39. What school subject are you smartest in, and how do you know?


40. What school subject do you struggle the most in, and how do you know?

Love Happens Here

I am the full time mama of a 3-year-old and 18-month-old. My children are 20 months apart. While I do work full time, I consider myself a stay-at-home mama just as much as I consider myself a working-outside-the-home mama. In fact, I find that the 40 hours a week that I spend at my "job" is easier and less stressful than the other 128 hours a week I spend with my kiddos. Sometimes, I think I'm going crazy, and I crave to go to work...the funny thing is, as soon as I'm at work, I miss my babies something fierce! It's a funny world, the blend between working motherhood and home motherhood.

Before anything else, I am a mother. Lately, I have been working 40-hours-straight every weekend so that I can be the one with my children during the week. I go in at 7pm Friday night, and stay until Sunday at 11am. Marvelous, it is, but it's also a schedule cut out for someone who belongs in a loony bin. Imagine the possibility of being awake for many hours straight and responsible for people's lives no matter how tired you are? Yes, I am a paramedic. And yes, your life will always come before my need for sleep and no matter how tired I am, you are going to get my absolute best care. Imagine packing three people up for three days, and getting your house in order before that so when you come back, you have something clean to wear.

Because I choose my children to come first (ok, after God!), I do things a little differently. I work ridiculous shifts so that I can be the one with them 5 days a week. The house is sometimes a mess because I don't park them in front of the TV so I can clean all of the time. I have no idea what current TV shows are playing. I haven't read anyone's blog in forever (I miss that!). Lately, I haven't even been able to work out (UGH). My sewing projects are still waiting, my bedroom still isn't arranged the way I want it to be, and sometimes, I get lonely being with no other adults sometimes for days on end. However...

There are a lot of things that we do. We do family. Lego creations get built. Magnificent make believe stories get told. Dancing in the living room happens. We do loud. Songs are sung. Pictures are painted. Baby dolls are rocked. Giggle erupt constantly. Tickle fights are a routine. Jumping on the bed (shhhhh!) sneaks in.We do discipline. Spankings, time out's, and "the look" may be given throughout the day---but they are overshadowed by hugs, attention, and the exchange of a thousand magical kisses. We do learning. Snowflakes are tasted. Letters are traced. Colors are mixed. Chores are done (even if they aren't real effective yet!). We do love.

Love happens here, and that is why those other things we don't do aren't really missed.