Valentine party

A goal of mine was to plan and host a gathering at our house. 

Today we hosted a Valentine party for nine of E&O's little friends.  This has been my project since the new year began!  Although party planning can be quite time consuming, it is SO much fun...maybe even a dream job of mine!  I follow numerous creative mama blogs and only wish that the finished party layout was as easy as they make it look.  Over the past several weeks I have made more stops at Hobby Lobby than I wish to share!  I love to celebrate the most special days in life.  I love to have friends and family over for a great time.  Today I was able to do both and it was a joy!

There were two food tables.  The menu included marshmallows on a stick, cupcakes, rice krispy bars, strawberry trifle, chocolate covered strawberries, passion pops, a cheese ball (heart) with crackers, heart shped sandwiches, mini pizzas with pepperonis cut into hearts, chips and "pink" dip, veggies, fruit kabobs (with heart shaped watermelon) and love potion (Caprisuns & bottled water).

 These hanging pom poms are relatively easy to create and add lots of color to any party theme.  I made ten total.  I also made this fun banner with my amazing Cricut machine:

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I finally assembled my own cupcake tower!  This will definitely come in handy for future celebrations of all knds.  Many thanks to my amazing husband for his help with this.  I am a huge cupcake fan.  Not only are they super yummy, but they are easy to serve and fun to decorate.

What a sweet bunch of friends! 

For storytime we read "Happy Valentine's Day, Little Critter" by Mercer Mayer:

Next, we decorated Valentine mailboxes for our exchange:

The kiddos enjoyed playing hot potato before lunch:

XOXO

OWEN - my funny Valentine

EMMA - sweet as sugar

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." ~1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

It's tutu cute!!

Tonight I tackled another goal on my list.  It's amazing what one can get done when it's too cold to go outside :)  This fun tutu is perfect for little ballerinas of all sizes! 

Materials:

Colorful tulle

No roll elastic

Scissors

Directions:

Measure ballerina's waist

Cut elastic accordingly & tie ends together

Cut tulle in 22" strips

Fold strip in half then loop around elastic
(Youtube video may make more sense!)

Push loop knots together very closely until full

Homemade applesauce

Our kiddos LOVE applesauce.  It ranks right up there with goldfish and fruit snacks!  I decided to flex my domestic muscle and try to make it myself.  It was super easy in the crock pot.  Not only was it yummy, but it made the house smell great too.  Owen especially loved it.  If you make it, I would recommend doubling the recipe.  Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

• 6 medium apples
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp. – 1 tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

• Peel and core apples.
• Chop up into chunky pieces.
• Place apples in crockpot.
• In separate bowl, combine water, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.
• Pour mixture over apples in crockpot, and stir around, so apples are evenly coated.
• Cover crockpot, and cook on low for 4 hours, or until soft.