Well, Hello.

The sun has been shining lately and friends, I couldn't be happier.

During Ryan's lunch hour the weather was so lovely.  We ate our new favorite meal + hauled the two babies outside for some Vitamin D.  Audrey was so excited she couldn't keep her dress on.  Seriously.  The entire time we were out there she was twirling and spinning and sunning that great big belly of hers.  Trust me, we will get a handle on this before she gets much older. . .

Is spring peeking out from the dark gray clouds in your neck of the woods too?

Love Biscuits.

Oh, Valentine's Day.  So much chocolate.  Pretty red flowers.  Handmade cards + happy children.  To show a little love to my valentines, I baked up some heart shaped biscuits to go along with our morning breakfast.  It was the first time testing out this particular recipe and everyone agreed it was a big winner.  And because I love all of you dears too, I wanted to pass along its goodness your way. 

Ina's Chive Biscuits (without the chives)

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. With the mixer on low, add the half-and-half and beat until just mixed. 

Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and knead lightly into a rectangle 3/4-inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter (or heart!) and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush with the egg wash.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are firm. Serve warm.

I doubled the recipe which ended up being just the right amount to feed my family of seven.  You can't really have Valentine's Day without heart shaped comfort food, now can you?

Question.

How do you keep a 2 year old busy?

Cell Phone Valentines.

Alright friends, figuring out a valentine design for a 10 year old boy is tough.  Lucky for me I came across this image a couple of weeks ago.  I ran it passed Easton + he was thrilled with the idea.  What is it with boys and technology?  Gets it from his father, I guess.

The candy dots were found at Wal-Mart in the party aisle.  The silver paper was found at a scrapbook store.

I printed + pre-cut everything.  Easton assembled the pieces yesterday after school.  

What do you think?  Are these cool enough for 10 year olds? 

Friendship Bracelet Valentines.

Last Friday Ryan + the boys went up to the church to play a little basketball in the gym.  While they were away, Abby and I figured it would be a good time to search online for some valentine inspiration.  I'd remembered this post from last year and decided to show it to Abby to see what she thought about it.  She loved the idea of making little gifts for her classmates.

In all, Abby and I made 25 friendship bracelets.  I helped make the boy bracelets (10) while Abby focused on the 15 girl bracelets.  She finished them all in about an hour and a half.  A little Friday night and a little Saturday morning + afternoon.

We kept the pattern simple by using a basic braid.  Then, we fancied them up a bit with a sweet card + punched holes to lace the bracelets through.

What I wouldn't give to see her face as she hands them to each of her friends. 

I just might sneak in to their little party...

POST EDIT: After receiving a lot of emails from you dears, I'm now offering a printable PDF of the tag I used on Abby's friendship bracelet valentines. Hooray! You can download the file here. Enjoy!

Oh, in case you were wondering, I used this 2.5 inch scalloped edge paper punch to cut the circles out. 

Have A Ball Valentines.

I love these valentines for four reasons.

1. they were simple

2. they were inexpensive

3. they do not involve candy

4. Owen loves them

Yesterday Owen + I spent the afternoon creating these beauties for his little classmates.  And when I say "Owen + I", I mean we did every step of this project together.  He helped pick out the balls at the dollar store (they came in a pack of three), he helped design the card (thus the slightly off centered "this"), he chose the fonts (from the options I gave him), he stapled the cards to the bags.  Oh, and of course he wrote his cute name.

I had all of the supplies on hand (except for the balls.) You can find cellophane bags at most craft stores, I'm pretty sure I bought these from my sister in law when she used to sell Stampin' Up.  They were the perfect size.  All in all, I think these are about as spot on for a five year old valentine as they get. 

Up tomorrow: check out what Abby's been creating for her class.

Little Things.

The weather is gray, it's chilly, and to be honest friends, I'm pining for summer.  But this morning as I was rushing to grab my coat to take the children to school, my heart skipped a beat as I opened my coat closet.  After three years, I finally have the organization system this little space has needed.  Silly to be so excited over such a simple thing? Perhaps.  But isn't that what life's all about?  Finding joy in the everyday things?

This shoe rack just happened to fit perfectly inside, and these boxes now house the the mountains of gloves, scarves + hats that would inevitabley end up covering the floor.

What is making you happy today, dears?  The children reported Punxutawney Phil saw his shadow...what are you doing to endure these last six weeks of winter?

10 Months.

my babe.  at 10 months...

says "Hi!" to anyone + everyone in sight.

favorite spot? under my desk.

finally eating solids.  mostly orange ones.

loves abby.

wears white onesies.

plays with this all. the. time.

working on tooth number three.

makes me smile. a lot.