Our Valentine Story

Wednesday, February 13th, we celebrated our 2nd annual V-Day Par-tae as a family. The day was great for the kids because they got a snow-day, too!
Last year, I terrified the kids with pink mac & cheese and pink mashed potatoes. For months, when Molly asked for macaroni, she made a point to say "I don't want the pink kind, Mrs Amber". So, in the best interest of the children, I decided to do things a little differently this year. I bought a heart-shaped sandwich cutter and made their favorite sandwiches. Caitlin and Michiah had grilled cheese and Riley and Molly had PB&J. I threw some grapes, pizza flavored goldfish, pepperoni slices and some wheat thin's chips on the side. They enjoyed it...but did ask what the forks were for ;)
They all got a bag of goodies with chocolates, pencils, and other small toys. After they ate and opened their gift bag, they got dessert. Now, before I show you the pictures, allow me to tell you a short story.

I had to FLY out of the house to pick up Caitlin and Michiah from the YMCA. The Y closed at 5 on a Snow Day (little known fact... they're open from 7-5, not 6-6 on a snow day...). As I was getting ready to leave, the giant cupcakes were in the oven. Not wanting to take the risk of burning down the house, I shut the oven off so I could go get the girls. Well - as any baker knows, when I returned, the cupcakes were ruined. I was devastated. I wanted so badly for the party to be a success and now - not only did I have kids sooner than expected, I now had ruined cupcakes. I was in tears...lol.
So - in the spirit of Valentines Day (and also wanting to make sure the kids had dessert!!!!) I decided to make "Volcanoes" instead of cupcakes. Here are a few pics...before and after...












I simply turned them upside down and iced them. Honestly, the kids had no idea they were enjoying the sad remains of a beautiful cupcake. All they cared about was it was covered in chocolate and sprinkles. It's amazing what those two things can do for your evening! After they finished up the festivities, Riley and Molly sat down with Dada to do their Valentines for their class. We didn't have a class list to work from but Riley remembered every child in his class. Molly remembered 11 names from her class!! That is quite impressive! Once all the Valentine cards were addressed, all the kiddo's went to bed...fat 'n' happy =)

Danny and I had a great valentines, too! He sent me the most beautiful pink and white tulips (my favorite!!). What was more special about this was what thought went into the gift. He searched for three days for a company that had THE BEST tulips. Once selected, he made sure that a portion of the purchase went to the Susan G Komen Foundation for a Cure (10%!!). He also spent three days finding "the" thing to write in the card. He settled on a quote by Helen Keller. I took a picture of the card but - you may not be able to read it. I decided to post it here for you to easily read:

"Once I knew only darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. "

Yeah, it's enough to make a girl melt. My co-workers asked if he was a keeper... I'm not so sure they wanted me to say yes! I told them I knew if I ever let him go, there would be a line of women waiting. One of my co-workers said "Not only that, but there would be another line of women waiting to beat your butt for being so stupid!"

His gift from me was a 45 minute "foot therapy" session at the Nature's Nook Day Spa in Murfreesboro. After our 34 mile ride yesterday, we grabbed showers and went to Murfreesboro, both unsure of what we would find. To our surprise, it was incredible. We laid on heated massage tables while our legs and feet were soaked in oils, lotions, scrubs, hot towels and brushes. It was by-far the best leg/foot rub we'd ever had. When we were leaving the lady asked us if we'd like to make our next appointment. We both stood and looked at each other for a few minutes like... "Can we come tomorrow?" =)

We did take their "Massage Menu" and will certainly be calling back in the future!

On a side note - Mr. Howell has lost a total of 21 lbs in a little over a month. Three weeks ago he began going to the gym with me and has since become an un-stoppable force. He's also growing one heck of a beard (sexy)! His personal goal is 50. I have no doubt he'll succeed.

I've lost 9 lbs (working just as hard, if not harder... dang those men and their high metabolism!). My personal goal is 40! We have our "Biggest Loser" weigh-in this Friday. I'll post our results as soon as we get them. I'm determined to beat him this time!