We Heart Valentine's Day.

I love Valentine's Day.
I really do.
I didn't used to.
I hated the stress of it, the thinking of a perfect gift,
the overpriced cards, the going to the pricey romantic dinner out,
etc etc etc.
We decided oh, about 15 years ago, to
forgo the pricey meals and gifts... and I couldn't be happier!

Now we always do what we call a "Sweetheart's Dinner" to let 
our little knuckleheads know we love them lots too.
( and I don't want them to think Valentine's Day is only for two people
in love, but rather a time to tell/show others we care about them!)
The boys really look forward to this every year.
I stink in a lot of parenting areas, so I am glad I (try to) make up
for it a bit with this groovy dinner and the countdown before hand :)

We had our felt chair envelopes like last year, which we put little gifts and coupons in each day,
 but this year we added in these sweet mailboxes.
I found them in the Target dollar spot, and put our names on each.
The boys LOVED getting our notes to them, and they even got in
on writing notes to each other too. (I adored them writing these to each other more than anything!)

I decorated with an aqua and red bunting banner.
I wanted it to be fabric.
I had paper already though, and paper,
I know how to handle paper.

Here it is:
Alden was my confidence booster as always, ooohing and ahhhing over it.

On the 14th we added this lights and twig display. It looked much cooler in person. (I think.)
Maybe I just enjoyed using a hacksaw in my Valentine's preparations...

Then there was the cake... oh my heart. I saw this idea on this BLOG The author is SUPER and she even wrote me back right away to help me with some questions I had about her recipe. It is a chocolate chip cookie dough cake. If you go look at the original, she made her cake from scratch. Um... no thanks. I am too scared lazy. I used a box. (she said that was ok. see? I told you she was super.) You make the cake, you make some chocolate chip cookies. You save some dough, and roll them into little balls. (we threw raw egg caution to the wind and used the same dough. Everyone is still alive.) Then you pack the dough balls and some frosting into the middle, frost the outside, smoosh (professional chef term) the cookies around the edge and BAM... Your kids and husband will think you are amazing. (and PS I did make my own frosting, and if I can do it, you can do it too.)  So, go... go make this cake for them soon. 

Everyone also got a little place setting with some cute little gifts, and the boys all had steak (YUCK.) I feasted on asparagus and brussel sprouts.

All in all, the evening was a huge success, and the highlight for me was this...
My three little men had each written Micah and I the SWEETEST Valentine Cards.
I love that.
and them...

I missed the birds...

I failed this morning.
Lest you think the title is related to
my using the "bird", it is not.
(though as a youngster I was constantly flipping off other
drivers in defense of my mom... this was unbeknownst to her. She could never figure out
all those blowing horns or nasty glares. Hey, if you drive so bad an 8 year old
has to shoot you the bird, you are the problem.)

Back to this morning.
The boys went out to wait for the bus.
Em calls in "Mom, come look, there's BIRDS!"

I sighed.
I was reading an article on xanthun gum.
What is xanthun gum, and why is it in our food?

I looked at Micah, who is only home at bus time on Fridays,
and said, "Can you go look at the birds?" It was definitely said with
an air of  "I get to 'go look' at everything, every morning, when you are not
here. Your turn." I didn't say that, but that was the spirit of my keeping my arse firmly
planted in front of the computer.

I am reading about food additives, I justified.
To make THEM healthier.

Micah, who knew not my inner mommy debate, came back in and said, "You should've
seen him. Emerson was out there watching those birds with a sketch pad in his hand,
 drawing them as fast as he could. It was awesome."

I grabbed my camera, eager to capture the moment.
"Oh, sorry bud, he is already done."

Done?
Already?
So whilst I read an article, that will be available online forever, or until the internet blows
up from too many photos of Kim Kardashian's backside, I missed it.

I MISSED IT.

I missed watching Emerson in a moment where he was
showing us a glimpse of himself, one of his passions.
For an article on xanthun gum.

Mamas, don't miss the birds.

Indoor snow!

Oh my word Mamas... Go to Amazon now and buy this :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FA6APE/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1358884720&sr=8-1&pi=SL75 ( I hope that link works, I'm texting this blog post in. )
I got some for the boys for using over Christmas break but we never got to it, so I busted it out today... a COLD teacher workday, hence, no school, and not a lot of desire to go play outside in the cold,wet,mud.

This snow is AMAZING! It starts like this:

Then you add water...

And POUF! SNOW!!!

We set up some towels on the table, broke out these little German houses and the boys got busy building villages. As I'm typing this, Alden is entering hour two of playing with it!

The best part is... It dries out and you can use it again. Yes, in our day and age of cheapo-made-in-china-junk-that-breaks-on-the-way-home-from-the-store this concept is unheard of, but it is true.

So, if you want some fun whilst stuck inside this winter, and don't mind vacuuming up a few snow bits off the floor...
GO! Go buy some now! Let me know if you love it as much as we did :)

(Ps you know how some bloggers have to make disclaimers about product opinions? Well, rest assured NO ONE ever sends me free stuff, and usually people probably wish I kept my opinions to myself, so this is 100% bonafide truth. (And if you happen to work for playtex, I will sell out in a skinny minute for free tampons. ) what? I think tampons is the financially smart endorsement... Those suckers are expensive.

Martha Fern

There is a set of stories I have told more times than I can count about my arrival and culture shock upon  moving below the Mason-Dixon Line. The tales involve my (now) husband, and his grandmother. I met Martha Fern in June of 1992. I arrived at her house with boxes and boxes of my things to store in her basement... not exactly how one wants to impress her boyfriend's grandmother. She gave me a hug, and offered me sweet tea.
Over the years, as we spent more and more time with Maw Maw, who never would've let me call her Mrs.Anything, I came to appreciate her so very much.

She was lively, full of spunk, style, and humor. At age 70 something, she was line dancing at a town festival.
She was ALWAYS impeccably dressed. Matching shoes, handbags, and of course, hair done, and make up on.
She loved UNC basketball like none other. If you invited her out on game day, expect a no in reply.
She made the BEST chess pie. Ever.
She always had chocolate on her cupboard.
She kept her house spotless.
She taught me how to paint pecan shell Santa Clauses.
She was even there when I picked out my wedding dress...

and on December 11, 2012, she died.

I can't really put into words what it was like to have a "Maw Maw" in my life. My own grandmother was so far away, and having one here, that made me feel loved, was something I didn't even realize I cherished so much until she was gone.
She always gave me a Christmas envelope and birthday card like all the grandkids got... even before I was married to Micah. She knew my favorite color, and that I liked pottery, books, and vintage goodies. She was an amazing women for SO MANY reasons, but for now, I want to note one that meant so much to me...
In all the years we have been married, she never once introduced or referred to me as her "granddaughter in law". Not once. She would say, "This is my granddaughter, Judi. Micah's wife." I know it may seem like a small thing, I don't know if she even did it with intention. But I noticed it, and it touched my heart...

I have shed more tears than she would ever have wanted me to over her passing.
She was a great lady, and I know I will see her again someday, but for today, I want to be sad that I will never again be introduced as Martha Fern's granddaughter...

I love you Maw Maw. Thank you for being you and loving this Yankee so well.

Hello 2013

I know, its been a while.
I just couldn't publish many of the posts I have written in the last few months.
Some were just so... negative.
I like to poke fun at things, but if I am not careful, it sounds very harsh. I sent my Micah a post I had written up about people and their moral high ground bragging about not seeing Magic Mike or reading 50 Shades of Grey. He had to be honest (which is what I want) and tell me it sounded quite mean.
Then there were the posts about the election... oy vey. Let me just say, you will not find a registered Democratic OR Republican voter card in Jesus' pants pockets. Because he wore a robe, and was an Independent dummy. Just Kidding. Sort of.

So, I took a break from it all so I didn't become a snarky-what-or-who-can-I-make-myself-superior-to-today-type-of-blogger.

But now it is 2013. So I am back.

With a sunnier disposition.
 Sort of...