Love At Home Valentine Countdown.

Love at Home Countdown "home"

There is beauty all around when there's love at home.  This song is one of my absolute favorite church hymns.  When sung, it creates such a feeling of love, it's hard to ignore it's message (link here).  Inspired by Cristin @ Serendipity's "count your many blessings' house (link here), I put together this little house by converting a birdhouse into a representation of our home.  I have a few more things to do to it, but I'm not sure I'll get there before next Valentine's Day!  Eventually, I will have a hook at the top of the roof's peak where we can hang our Love At Home countdown.

Countdown felt envelopes.

Each day, a red felt envelope will be pulled out of our little Valentine mailbox.  In each envelope are words to the song There is beauty all around, when there's love at home.  I separated the three verse texts into phrases and put them on printable tags.  The idea is that we'll read the tag and talk about it's message and why it's important to our family.  I hope to make this a joyful experience for our family!  

fireplace mantle "Love at Home"

I purposefully made only 10 tags and didn't number any of them.  Sometimes life gets busy and I always hate getting to a countdown, two or three days late!  This way there is room for error and no room for trying to catch-up!  The printables will place easily into your Word document and fit easily on two pieces of paper.  Click the image below, right click, and push save as.   The file should be a high resolution jpg image.  Let me know if you have trouble and I can send you the individual image.  My email is shecalledme@gmail.com.

printable #2

Printable #1

Do you have a valentine countdown?

Have you heard There is beauty all around?

Happy *late* Valentine's Day from Us!

Naptime Craft: Bell Valentine Garland






{.love.} Bell Garland 

   Christmas decorations, with their bright red detailing, can be a fine cross-over into Valentine's Day.  I purchased this wire garland at an antique/primitive store here in New England.  It's price was somewhere around $13.00.  It's a great idea!  The wire is covered in strips of red and white checkered material and adorned with rusty bells.  The {.love.} addition are the $1 store valentine mini-clothes pin.  It's simple and budget friendly!  

Felt Button-on Ties.

Mr. C walked into the room a couple of days ago when I was preparing to create Valentine's Day shirts for the boys.  I was going to sew a little heart on the left chest area of these long-sleeve white polo shirts I found for $4.00!  I could see him out of the corner of my eye, starring at me.  I figured that he was looking and admiring my creation...  When I told him of my plan for the boys, he said, and I quote, "my boys are not wearing hearts on their shirt!"  After a few, why nots, he happened to mention that it would be OK if the hearts were on a tie - and that's how these button-on felt ties were created...

Step 1:  I used the felt squares you can get at Micahael's for around .69 cents...Cut out a tie the length and width you want it.  Make sure the top section of the tie is wide enough to fit under a collar.

Step 2:  Sew your decoration on the tie, in my case a small white heart did the trick.

Step 3:  Lay your felt tie over your desired shirt.  I chose polo shirts, as they are more durable for my littles.

Step 4:  Using a white pencil or other fabric marker, mark the button holes and prepare to cut.

 Step 5:  Using the button markers, take scissors and cut a small slit (long or wide enough to go over button - but small enough to stay secure)

...The finished product...

Step 6:  Button your felt ties onto the shirt and

you are ready for some

handsome little Valentine's!

Naptime Craft: Valentine Vase with glass beads

{.love.}

There is a chance that our house will be completely covered in snow by the 14th.  With this thought and small children running through our home, come lots of indoor time and lots of time to see that my home needs a little bit of {.love.}  I have lots easy crafts and decorations that I have been doing to keep me busy and doing something that isn't related to diaper changes!  My first {.love.} craft is cheap and very easy!  I've seen it done with red hots, but I already had these red heart and clear glass beads in my stock.  I purchased the vase, the white tulips, and a half round foam to arrange the flowers.  That's it!   You can put this on your table or like me, make your fireplace mantle it's home!

Stay tuned for more {.love.} on Tuesday...

Loving our new home!

Happy Valentine's Day from a Happy Heart Blog! In amongst babies and feedings, I had a few minutes last night to arrange our family dining table with some fun Valentine's Day decor. The lights we've enjoyed since Christmas. When January turned to February, I added the clothesline hearts and berries to the lights for a fun Valentine mantle decoration. Plus, it was easier to keep it up until we were going to move!

Some good news has come our way and we have found a home. We didn't have to go far, in fact, we didn't go anywhere at all. When the yellow colonial home came appraised for way under it's value, we switched banks and hired a local appraiser. He took in the value of the area, the antique qualities, the barn that is on the property - and it appraised this week for a value worth the owners selling. We close on the home next week and will be moving by the end of this month, if all goes well.

Craig has been driving back and forth the long five hour drive to be with us every weekend. It's been rough, but fortunately the end is near and we will soon be reunited. My MIL has been staying with us and helping. Saturday night, she offered to watched all four kids and we took her up on the offer. We headed to a see Valentine's Day and then went to eat at our favorite steak place J'entre Cote St. Jean.

Before our date, Craig provided our family with is own GQ model shoot! This is one of many photos! We had a great time and appreciate the quality time together.

Have a great Valentine's Day!

SPT: All you need is a weekend away!

Crag had not celebrated a Valentine's Day with us for the past two years! In hopes of making up for missed Valentine's, we set a date and booked our tickets to our old stomping ground, the Washington DC area. We've done most of the sites, so we a low key weekend with some sight seeing, dining at our favorite restaurants, and going to see movies. To make this an all fitting, romantic weekend away - our room was the same as our wedding date - totally unplanned! Our favorite place to eat was Alexandria's Five Guys - heaven on earth!

Did you do SPT?

What do you love?

One of my daughters came to me a couple of weeks ago completely thrilled that her top front tooth was loose. I couldn't help but say out loud, oh no! I have always seen the loss of a child's two front teeth as a transitioning point from "little" to ofiicially getting to be a "big" girl. Has time really past that quickly?

We worked madly last night getting the girl's Valentine's finished They have the next two days off from school, and yes, Nini picked Star Wars and Cici picked Hello Kitty. It was the first time they could actually write the names of their friends on their cards. We packed little heart buckets full of heart shaped paper, red hots, erasers, and chocolate.

To celebrate love and in the spirit of Valentine's:

I love to sleep.
I love rainy days.
I love hugging my children.
I love hugs.
I love to eat,
to bake cookies, and eat the dough.
I love to read.
I love to always be doing.
to sit and play piano, or talk to a friend.
I love Craig's dimples,
his amazing eye lashes,
and I love that he makes me laugh.
I love Nini's voice,
and the way Cici dances even when she sits.
I love chocolate cake, hamburgers,
and that first sip of cold diet coke.
I love to talk with my mom, and hear stories from my dad.
I love my sister, her silliness,
and her phone calls.
I love my brother, his laugh,
and that he's happy.
I love life,
to be happy,
and to make others happy.
What do you love?

Please mark that I will be changing my blog name to http://www.ahappyheartblog.blogspot.com

on February 16, 2008.

Are you ready for Amore?

$13 and now I have a great Valentine's Day Mantle accessories. Saving or buying your berry garland from Christmas, adds a nice natural touch to a Valentine display. I purchased my 50% off at Target. For those located in Canada, I found the Amore sign at Winner's (with the candle sticks). Check out Cristin's ideas a fun way to count down the days for Valentine's Day - great ideas!

I may have paid too much for these, but these are cutest dang shirts - perfect for Valentine's Day. $19 @ The Gap - check your Gap though, perhaps they have them for less.

Are you thinkin of what you are going to do for Valentine's day?

SPT: Inspired to Party...

Back to School

Blogging has changed my ideas on parties, who knew there were so many different ways to throw a birthday, valentine, or back to school party?! My only inspiration before blogging was my sister Jennifer. I never have been able to attend one of my niece or nephews birthday bashes, but our phone conversations left me thinking - wheels turning - how did you come up with these ideas?

The person who has inspired me the most in the blogging world would have to be Marie - who's inspiration for parties is beyond thoughtful mommy - to mommy party thrower extraordinaire; and yes there is such a thing! She and my sister have given me some fun ideas for my children, but mostly they just allowed me to see how enjoyable it is to create a fun and exciting party for our family. Thanks!

Back to School and Party:

I love to throw a back to school party for my kids! I remember my parents always taking us to Rockie's pizza in Washington to celebrate and it was fun to carry this celebration of a new year with our family. The girls are now in 1st grade and I am happy to say I just love, love there teacher. With all the problems we experienced last year (read here), it has been a dream to see the girls so excited. It's the first year they have been able to return to a school! Crazy, I know! Here are some photo of there first day of school:

Leanne - this is for you - see that beautiful smile! I've seen many photos of Leanne and she rarely was smiling - I had to point this out to her and prove that she does look beautiful when she smiles!

Last years party was just with our family (read here), but this year with new found friends, we invited them over to enjoy the festivities together.

It was simple, but we continued the tradition of school bus pizza's and pin the wheels on the bus. The photo below is of Nini on her new skateboard and the guests arriving!

Did you do SPT?
Are you more inspired to throw parties now that you are a blogger?
Has blogging changed your idea of entertaining?

Keeping it together on your own.

Back from a 2 week trip: capturing their happiness.

Craig isn't traveling as much as he used too, but there are still weeks that pass when he is absent for the entire day stuck in meetings with no ability to reach him. He can be gone from 7:30 to 6:30, leaving only an hour for the girls to spend with him. Here are a few things I've learned to do when coping with a husband who travels:

There is always a honeymoon night for the girls. The first night they are energetic, go to bed when asked, talk happily, and keep the drama at a very normal level. The second night they hold it together well, the drama escalates, a few more tantrums then normal, whines, and an added "I miss daddy" talk. After the 2nd full night, my girls escalate becoming more frantic, easy to tears and drama, drama, drama; however, I realized something this and even the last time Craig went out of town - their mood relates strongly with my mood. Some of the drama is elevated, because my stress level is elevated. I've made a huge effort to keep my cool, stay calm, and take each day cheerfully - most days! Here are my tips:

#1. Plan something, anything- every night. The routine of school has been so helpful for the girls. Even when they weren't going all day, they still thrived on the stimulation and routine of school/or preschool. The evenings, however, always get hairy when something isn't planned, and often when there is a plan - but always better with one. For instance, I wrote this back in February when we had our valentine fairy night where we delivered cupcakes, Tuesday was their ballet and gymnastics and our second fairy drop-off, Wednesday was their weekly meeting with the specialist, Wendy's, and American Idol night, Thursday was valentine picnic up in the office with pizza, macaroni and cheese and all their special fun stuff while we watched Wednesday's American Idol, and than we carried ourselves downstairs for the High School Musical Concert on DVD. Every night almost every minute is planned, which helps me stay focused and helps the girls know what to expect.

#2. Show them that daddy is still thinking about them. Despite my efforts to encourage them that "daddy is coming back", "daddy is thinking about" them, "daddy loves" them; there is always added tantrums, fighting between each other - basically extra drama! To encourage their understanding of "daddy", being available to them when they need him, Craig sets a certain time each day to talk to them privately, we take a photo of each of the girls with daddy right before he leaves and print it off. They are free to carry it, set it down in their room, or wherever they want. I come to know when they are "sulking" over the empty daddy space and start talking them through it, this allows them to cope with it better.

#3. Make a calendar. Seeing when daddy is coming home, makes all the difference. I always print a calendar with clip art ie, planes, holidays etc.; anything that let's the girls know how much time they have left until they can see daddy again. I place it in a very high traffic area and give them stickers (if the want) to record the days he was away and how many days until he comes home.

#4. Take time for yourself. If it's doing some extra shopping, having someone babysit one evening, a girls night out, a movie after the kids go to bed, calling friends, or something special to eat - taking time for yourself keeps your head clear, and your body physically prepared for being both mommy and daddy. Even with the girls at school, I was still dealing with extreme nausea and had to do my daily routine. The little things I did for myself really helped.

#5. Expect to be tired. When Craig is gone, I just can't sleep as well as I do when he's here. I have succeeded many times in setting a nightly routine, so that I can settle in and sleep peacefully. However, this doesn't always work. Whether you're sick, your kids are sick or whatever keeps you up at night, be prepared to be a bit more tired than you are normally. Realizing this always helps me control my temper with the children, and on a rare day, try harder to get to sleep earlier or in a more rare moment -take a nap during the day. If you have family and close friends around, to be afraid to ask for their help. I am not lucky to have these close relationships here in Montreal - but I know a couple friends I have called when I needed help.

I applaud anyone who has to do it alone for any amount of time. These are my must do's, what are yours?

Mending, Paper Dolls, and Vacation!

Paper Dolls

I am grateful and happy to announce that I am finally on the mend! I am so appreciative of "good health" now, that I am almost bounding through the house doing my chores. I'm not bounding too much though, because I don't want overdue it. This weekend I refused to do anything at all, cancelling all previous engagements and skipped church.

The new healthy me!

I laid around all day and slept for a lot of it, by Sunday evening my migraine had subsided with the help of a regime of Ibuprofen every four hours. Monday my sore throat came back and Tuesday I went to the doctor and she announced that it was one of the reddest she had ever seen. She sent a culture out and prescribed antibiotics for the next 10 days. Anyway, this is the first day in weeks that I've felt like myself. Yeah for me!

My house order is getting back on track, it's amazing what one day of good health can do to a messy home! The worst part about it was the dust that had accumulated on our hard wood floors, mainly under the beds. I have been busy packing for our trip and are really excited to be leaving very soon. This is my last post before setting off, there's no way I can blog and get ready - it would be crazy and frantic! Before we leave for a trip I spent at least a week picking out my wardrobe. There is nothing worse than realizing when you get to your destination that nothing in your suitcase is going to work! Am I the only one?

I also spent time picking up little toys and coloring items for the girls, things they can do while on the plane and while we are waiting.

And I always have on hand some baby wipes and a couple good books to read for me too. The book I've been dying to read is the The Monsters of Templeton. I don't like to preview books online, I like a good mystery, something I can determine whether I like or not - so we'll see if this is any good. At least the cover is pretty cool! I also am starting to read books that might help me transition into the older girl stage - any suggestions?

Paper dolls ready for our trip.

I found these paper dolls at our dollar store. There were six sheets of dolls and outfits which I had to cut out. I got four pages done before realizing I just didn't have time for the rest. each doll comes also comes with a paper stuffed animal which you can also dress up, a name, and a little story that goes with it. I thought it would be fun to put in the girl's bag.

Thank you so much for your kind words about my health and about the song. I am very lucky girl to have so many friends out there! Take care and I will be on your blogs by tonight to see how you are.

btw - I realized a mistake in my Valentine post about the wonderful blogging friends on my sidebar - I missed Carlo! I am so sorry so without further ado, this is why I have Carlo on my sidebar: Witty, caring, creative, heartfelt posts, and truthful.

Thanks for everything! And thank goodness Spell check is back and working!

SPT: Pick me up...

What do you get when you've had:

2 week of nausea (unrelated to pregancy!)
a week long headache, which turned into my very first migraine

a woman who just started her period

and a very sore throat now on it's 24th hour......?

My SPT photo...

That's right, this is what you get! Don't I look lovely! What am I doing to help myself get past this? A good migraine prescription is helpful! A husband who cancelled his four day trip this week and has been such a big help to me. In fact, right now he is off taking the girls to gymnastics and ballet, I am loving this. Now if only I could feel better...

Can anyone tell me why he is making this very interesting face? He made dinner for me last Sunday and had to touch flour. This was a five minute ordeal for him, and as I've mentioned on my blog before - he absolutely hates to touch flour. This was quite the sacrifice!

This is my fountain of youth, my I can't wake up in the morning without it! This is truly the best pick-me-up in the world. It's not fancy, but it's warm!

This special goodmail from Holly really cheered me up. I just love those little stickers. The girls will be playing with those at church! Thanks Holly - you really are a wonderful friend.

Who says you can't get Valentine's from friends when you past elementary school? Thanks Lelly, Carlo, and Barb for thinking of me during this very fun holiday!

Have you done your SPT?

edit: Craig saw his photo up on the blog (a surprise since he doesn't read it everyday!) And wanted to read what I wrote about him. We had a good laugh since I spelled flour as "flower". yeah, the migraine really needs to go - today!

2 Million Pounds, worth it or not?

Wow! The Tales of Beetle the Bard were sold to Amazon for just under 2 million pounds, emphasizing pounds! The fairy tales were written by JK Rowling in her own hand and is only one of six copies. If I had a spare $4 million dollars laying around - I would have purchased it - would you? I am on the edge of my seat waiting for this to be published, so that everyone can read it.

My weekend was really nice. Quiet and normal - no traveling, the girls had a birthday party, we ate pizza, chinese food and the best of all of it, was that Craig was home! I held myself together all week, through nausea and a headache that persisted even after I stopepd taking the Prevacid that was perscribed to me. I know many of you suffer from chronic pain and perhaps you know what I mean, when you've "handled" pain for weeks on end and then one day.

My headache started Monday and persisted and persisted, nothing has worked, not execdrin, tylenol, motrin, baths, massage - nothing, notta! Sounds dramatic eh? It's the first time in a long time that my pain has had me laid up, and not wanting to be active. At church, I am the sacrement meeting pianist and then go into primary to be the chorister. It seemed all right, I had to stay busy and couldn't let myself think about it. Craig had offered to take me home after church - but I didn't want to be a poor sport for the girls - they really enjoy going.

So I stayed, did my callings, and as soon as the third hour hit, I walked into the bathroom and just couldn't keep it together anymore. Yikes! It was just all too much. I asked for a blessing (a special prayer given for healing) and I sat in the mothers lounge until the girls were done with primary. A friend of mine called after church, as she had seen me sneaking out as fast as I could after church, she said she was really worried about me, as she has never seen me be that upset before or cry, as she said I was always so strong. This didn't help my head, but it certainly was a very comforting call as was the one I received after it from another friend.

I can't say I'm any better, but have never wanted to be the "sour puss", so I will call the doctor again tomorrow and hope that this small trial will pass soon. Here are some things that keep me smiling:

1. A great talk at church about geneology, very inspiring and uplifting.
2. The new lands end bathing suit top I purchased this week, along with a pair of pants from Anthropologie!

3. We are officially "going on vacation" at the end of this month. First to Portland, OR and than onto Thousand Oaks and to Disneyland, CA!
4. Craig came home Friday night!

5. I finally saw Becoming Jane. It reminded me of the movie Immortal Beloved, a great speculative story based on a few facts -loved it and loved Becoming Jane.

6. Had a fun Valentine's week.

My friends, I know there is more, but that's the best I could do - at least it's something! How is your weekend? Does anyone have daisies in their yard yet?