Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day. A good fun day. Tuesday is also our playgroup day so we hosted at little Valentine's party at the house. We made valentines and decorated all sorts of cookies and cupcakes and treats to take home to our families, and of coarse eat right away. I love lots of beloved people crammed into our little home. Crazy and cozy just how I like it. And like always, kicking myself for forgetting the camera.

We enjoyed the rest of the day playing and relaxing as a family. Perfect. Holidays always do make us a little homesick for our families though.

As we were getting the girls ready for bed, it struck me how fast this wonderful day rushed by and how fast our kids are growing and time in general has been flying. Suddenly I felt panicky and a little sad not being able to slow it down. So we stopped right there and took some pictures, girls in their jammies and all looking not so glamorous but very real at the end of a good tiring day.

After the girls went down, I took a few more pictures. I love holidays. And they've gotten even more fun with kids around. Its easy for me to get caught up in their enthusiasm.

We haven't decorated for Valentine's day much in the past. So this year we had a few homemade ones to make it feel more festive. Of coarse our little family room already feels like an ode to Valentine's day, what with all the bright red and heart curtains. I cut out some hearts out of cardstock and the girls thread them together with some yarn I had to created a simple banner. I wrapped some large cardboard letters in yarn and we printed off a free LOVE you printable I found here through pinterest.

Some yarn balls we made for our Christmas tree this year. Love transitional decor.

Growing up my mom didn't decorate too much for holidays, except for Christmas where she went all out. She really didn't have to since she had 7 little kids to do it for her. And I love that she let us fill her windows and walls with our little festive creations.

I'm sure they lacked some real Martha Steward beauty and sophistication. But she never seemed to mind. And now as an adult I really appreciate that she allowed us to express ourselves, no matter the tackiness. I'm sure we thought it was just beautiful and she never made us feel otherwise.
And while I do love to decorate, I think its also important that my kids feel valued and encouraged to create without me stepping in to manipulate the outcome. And that's how we end up with a few very random "decorations".

These melted crayon hearts were another idea found on pinterest.

Some valentines with Christmas stickers.

I guess that's enough peopless pictures, eh? And by the way, quite unintentionally, we've kept some news from some of you far away. Since blogging has been sporadic I haven't been featured in any pictures recently.

Yep, I've put on a few pounds and we're expecting a baby boy the end of this next month. We're so excited and eagerly awaiting his arrival. I'm also excited to have my sister come help and a week later my parents and Tyson will be here too! We have a lot to look forward to in March.