Be My Valentine...on a budget!

 

Happy Valentine's Week!! 

(I mean...look at those two darling boys! My heart is full!)

I LOVE Valentine's Day! It's one of my favorite holidays. My husband will argue with me that "no one can love any holiday more than Christmas," but it's true. Christmas, to moms and wives, (at least to this mom and wife) has become a holiday filled with lists, pressure, travelling, cooking, errands, decorating....STRESS STRESS STRESS. As much as I try to focus our Christmas on Christ, it's still an overwhelming holiday - am I right??

That's why I love Valentine's Day. There's no stress, no expectations, just red, glitter, hearts, candy, and sweet treats. My mom always made Valentine's Day special. I remember coming home from school to an adorable gift basket full of treats, wrapped in red, glittery, heart cellophane. I loved it and I still do! So, my guys receive Valentine's baskets in the same, perfect way my mom did them. Although, I don't think they appreciate the red and glitter like I do. ;)

This year, I made a few Valentines for Samuel to give to his best friends/cousins. I saw one cute idea on Pinterest and combined it with another cute idea from Pinterest...

perfect Valentine's for a little boy!

Who doesn't love these strawberry wafer cookies??

I found the printable for the "Wheelie Like You" tag here. Thankfully, because I didn't want to make it!

Instead of suckers, I combined the cars I found from the Dollar Store with a couple Almond Bark-dipped-and-sprinkled-strawberry-wafers. They turned out adorable and they couldn't have been simpler! I think the entire project cost about $10 - perfect for this mom on a budget ;)

ta-da! The kids loved them!

Seashells and Photographs

Now, I'm not super-crafty. I don't claim to be. I do, however, have my moments. When I have these moments, I need to blog about them. Tada.

My husband LOVES to look for shells at the beach. If he's wandered off while at the beach, I know he'll return with a handful of only the best shells and perhaps a shark tooth or two (he's still a little boy at heart).

He's converted Samuel into a shell-searcher too... (this photo is completely candid...except maybe I did tell Josh to "freeze" so I could get this shot....ha)

So, I have multiple bags of shells from different beaches just setting in my house. I needed a way to display them, so I came up with this:

I found the idea on Pinterest to use sand from the beach in a shadow box. I didn't want that mess, so I used our shells. I used a picture I took from that beach, and voila! I'm in love. Now I have my little man's face, my big man's seashells, and a completed project (rare!).

Mommy Brain & Pinterest

I thought when I had Samuel that my preggo-brain would fade and I would return to my usual obsessively-organized brain. Sadly, this has not happened. I'm forgetting EVERYTHING! I make a list for the store, even if for a few things, and then forget my list.

Last night, it took 6 hours for me to make a necessary online purchase because I would get on my computer only to be distracted by Facebook and Pinterest (I blame the crazy creative mommies on Pinterest for distracting me from my mommy-tasks). :)

On that note - I'm in love with Pinterest. I love the recipes and crafy ideas - I have a board entitled "FunMommy" in hopes of remembering the great ideas for Samuel when he's old enough to enjoy them.

I also have a board of preggo-pic ideas that I wish I'd had when I was preggo with Samuel - but who feels like getting their pictures taken when they're bloated, on bed-rest, cranky, and sleep-deprived?? (insert dramatic sigh here). I def hope to use these great ideas for my next pregnancy but hope Samuel doesn't think, "why didn't you do this for me? You love him/her more"...but he's a boy - boys don't think of that stuff, do they??