preschool valentine party {2012}

I really love celebrating big and small occasions, especially when little ones are involved. There's just something so sweet about little wiggly bodies so excited to sing, play games, open presents, and gush all about whatever holiday is at hand.First up, heart crowns!Then it was time to make a puppy out of heart shapes.Pandemonium!Lacing hearts! This time they could lace it anyway they wanted - no rules. The little pumpkin loves to hear
"no rules!" - HA! These couple of pictures crack me up...she's so into it.She may or may not have picked up a bad habit from watching me hand embroider...just sayin'.Mimi surprised Grace by coming to the party!
The little pumpkin was so happy to see Mimi!Oh my, definitely NOT our best picture, and not just because it's out of focus!! I look like I'm drugged out and my eyes are still puffy from the dreaded pink eye - hahaha - but proof that we were there, even if neither of us was feeling too well
(Sp-r-ing...ya hear me? That's me calling. We're so over this winter cold and all the other sickness! Hurry up and get here!!).For weeks now, the little pumpkin has been telling us about this "surprise" she has for us, "but I can't tell you much about it...okay, it's a song...actually three songs...valentine songs...a funny one, too...you're going to laugh...but I can't tell you about the surprise...you'll just have to wait and see."
Oh, how I love her!Giddy with excitement...
{and look how tiny Isabella is! she is too cute and sooo sweet!!}I....................................................................................LOVE............................................................................YOU!..............................................................................More cuteness...Blowing valentine kisses...And the grand finale...a cute little number about eating all the valentine candy!Time to check their mailboxes for valentines from their friends...And last but not least: SNACKS! Love those heart-shaped pretzels!! YUM! Thank you Lovi and family - they were delish! And thank you to all the other parents that helped too!While others ate......Grace decided to play with her food make art ;)It's cupid's arrow, mama...straight through the heart!
Indeed!

xoxo, hudson {and a little Target plug!}

Hudson took these cute valentines to his teachers. We thought they deserved a little pampering. Have you smelled the new (at least I think it's new) Pink Chiffon lotion from Bath & Body Works??? Mmmmm...smells wonderful!Here he is with Mrs. Maria and Mrs. Patti...definitely not too thrilled to stop putting together puzzles to pose for a pic. Giving Mrs. Cheryl, the Director, her little valentine...yes, he was too excited to go play with his buddies to pose for a good pic...and the lighting inide the little schoolhouse: t e r r i b l e!His teachers said he had fun passing out his {valentine bots} to his friends. They didn't really have a party but more of a fun snack and then took turns giving out their valentines.

Later when he got home, Mimi had some fun valentine treats for the littles. Here's Hudson checking out all his goodies...Wondering about that single serving of Tostitos dip? Yes, queso is one of Hudson's love languages. His two favorite foods are probably mac-n-cheese and chips-n-dip, totally healthy, eh?Yay for puzzles!!Nay on smiling. Silly boy! And completely unrelated, but check out the {cute dress} I stumbled upon at Target yesterday!! Yes, totally groovy in a 70s kind of way. So cute with the Matilda Jane Sprites and my favorite pair of Livie & Luca shoes EVER.Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!!
XOXO,

blowing valentine kisses {easy peasy last minute valentine}

Are you looking for a last minute school valentine? Bypass the boxed variety and head over {here} to The Mother Huddle for a super sweet printable to make your very own

bLowiNG vALenTiNes kISses yOuR waY...After we made {these} sweet valentine treats for her classmates, I realized Grace needed to bring something that could fit in their valentine mailboxes! No biggie - we used the mason jar valentines as party favors for their class party and then got to working on some smaller valentines to go in the cute mailboxes.Part of their week's unit last week was on the postal service and addressing envelopes, so they had to practice writing their return address (their name) and the delivery address (their friend's name) on the envelope or on the back of the valentine, in the right spot.As you can see we made pink ones for the girls, blue ones for the boys, and even red ones for the teachers! The teachers also got bubble bath with theirs for a fun treat. I hot glued the bubbles to the cardstock, poked tiny holes with a toothpick, and tied with twine. As far as the different color printables, I just tweaked the template in Picasa before printing. So for just $2 (12 bubbles, bought at Target in a little red mesh bag from the valentine party favors aisle) to $4 (24 bubbles), you can have really cute valentines for a full class of littles!Mimi was a lifesaver yesterday. Not only did I come down with laryngitis, but also pInK eYE!!!!! This was my first time to have pink eye as an adult. No.fun.at.all. especially when you wear contacts and don't have a good spare pair of eyeglasses. Yikes! Guess my eyes wanted to be in the valentine mood too...THANK YOU MIMI for taking Grace to Reese's birthday party and for picking up dinner for the littles!!!Off to tackle the disaster that is our play area after two days of wild littles and no one picking up...

one step forward...

...two steps back.

Just when I think we've got everyone on the road to recovery, BAM! I've come down with laryngitis - I think - actually I don't really know what I have but I have no voice at all and it hurts to talk. The littles are finally on the mend. We've had one or both littles sick for the past month. On and off, on and off, on and off. Spring, where are you??!?

Okay, okay, okay, that sounds like an awful lot of complaining. Sorry for the rambling. In honor of Valentine's Day this week, let's talk about some of what I'm lovin' these days...

♥Serendipity♥
Ooooh, I sure am crushin' on this year's Matilda Jane spring line!! Seriously cute.This was Grace dressed to go to a birthday party this afternoon. The party that is TOMORROW but for which we showed up TODAY. HA!

Funny thing is, we weren't the only ones!! Two other moms did too! So we turned it into a mini playdate at a local indoor play place, one with a coffee shop {genius!}.First thing Grace said when I told her we had the wrong day..."but I STILL want to wear this (tomorrow)." What can I say, she loves what she loves!!♥bloop, bloop fish♥
Hudson made this cute fish at MDO on Thursday {I think he had a little help, but I love it all the same!}. As soon as I walked in the door he handed it to me and said, "fow you, Mama! I made dis fow you." Soooo cute! I LOVE it, Hudson!!You know what else I love? How he's really into puzzles these days and he's getting pretty good at them too!♥Abraham Lincoln♥
The little pumpkin's teachers sure do make learning fun. I don't know how they do it, but what I know is that even when I ask Grace about a subject they studied weeks ago, she remembers so much. I have to think it's all the fun interactive projects they do while they're learning about each topic.♥Hair Pretties♥
I got home from work one day this week and Noonie surprised me with this cute head wrap!This one is a little different from the other style we've made before...the flower on this one is fluffy and sort of poofy, meant to fray a bit, instead of sewn flat on the band. I like them both ways. And I love that this one matches Grace's owl dress we made last year!♥woof woof pants♥
That's what Hudson calls these cute pj pants Noonie made for him.We love when you're in a sewing mood, Noonie! ThAnK yOu!!! :)♥from the heart♥
Grace was so excited to give Noonie the valentine she made for her & Papa J!
{Mimi: close your eyes, don't peek! She wanted to give you yours on Valentine's Day since you'll be here that day!!}♥do unto others♥
It really warmed my heart to see how sweet Grace was to Isabella, who joined her class this week. She kept including her and asking her to slide down with her on their field trip to a jumpy jump place on Friday. Grace has such a sensitive soul {and a STRONG will...a dangerous combination some days!}, I've seen her time and time again reaching out to others to make them feel part of a group...at ballet, at swimming, at school. She has a way to sense when someone needs a buddy and she never hesitates to reach out. I can't help but think that God is going to use these traits in a mighty way someday. I can't wait to see!♥polka dots♥
You can never go wrong with polka dots. Especially in pink, red, and aqua. *wink*

For T's little girl...For M's little guy...♥zzzzzz's♥
I can't remember the last time I slept 12 hrs. straight, but last night, I sure did!! Most of my creative work comes in at night after the littles are in bed and it sure does cut down on those zzzz's, but last night at 8p I was out like a rock. So thankful for the hubby who's a morning person and gets up with the littles every Saturday! That's love right there.
Happy Valentine's Day!