Preschool Valentine's Party

Last Thursday was Olivia's Valentine's Day Party at Preschool. All the kids wore red and they ate all red foods!

This is what a plate of all red food looks like!

Spaghetti, ketchup, a hotdog, Catalina dressing, tomatoes, apples, strawberries and of course, a red velvet cupcake

The teacher took a poll to see how many kids liked each food on their plate...class favorite: cupcake with all 16 children (shocker), the least favorite: tomatoes (only one vote)

Valentine time. Have you ever seen 16 4 year olds trying to read their own writing and then deposit said valentine into a bag labeled in another 4 year old's handwriting? Let's just call it interesting, and leave it at that!

Special Delivery

My children are spoiled.

That's really all there is to it. Although...at times like this, when I see how fortunate my little princesses are, I am reminded of the words a very wise woman told me once when I said that people had always thought that I was spoiled...

They are not spoiled. They are pampered.

There. Doesn't that sound much better?

Special delivery for Valentine's Day #1 from my sister (Aunt Titi) and Poppy. Olivia is at that age where receiving mail is the "awesomest," and she was not let down this Valentine's Day...

This package came complete with more candy than should be legal, Valentine's pajamas, a stationery set (Olivia's favorite hobby)...and what's that?? New Moon candy for Mommy?? Too bad Olivia and Daddy ate it all...

Mollie searched, but couldn't find anything for her in there...

Somebody LOVED the candy.

Can you tell?

Special Delivery #2

Yummy Cookies from Aunt Kiki

...And finally, special delivery #3...from Cookie and PopPop

It didn't take Ana Blair long to figure out that when brown boxes arrive at the front door that there is something good to follow...

a girl after my own heart!

This package came complete with stuffed animals, books and puzzles (seriously...we have all the bases covered: candy, cookies and toys).

They are spoiled--um, I mean pampered!

My Funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

XOXO

Happy Valentine's Day!

Another post about my sweet Valentine...we celebrated yesterday because the girls went to Spring City for the night!! As if sleeping in wouldn't have been enough of a Valentine's Day gift! We started out the morning with a massage at Spa Visage, followed by lunch at-wait for it-Hooters. I know that may not sound romantic to anyone else out there, but for Michael and me, it actually kind of was! We used to go there all the time before the babies. Then he took me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic (on opening day!)--I read the books in college and for some odd reason can totally identify with the main character--is it a coincidence that her name is Rebecca? Then Michael actually let me walk around the mall for a little while, which he hates. We came home hung out for a few minutes and then went to a late dinner at Copper Cellar (thanks to the awesome girls at Baby Bundles who gave us a gift card when Ana Blair was born!). It was so good and cozy and just nice to spend a day with just us. Then we came home and watched Hope Floats and I cried like a lunatic. AND...there were presents! Chocolate covered strawberries, the Hope Floats CD and previously mentioned DVD (I used to listen to that CD all the time before a certain Rodney Lee Jones decided to take poor Mustang Sally for a joyride--I know Jennifer and Melia remember Rodney! Anyway, yes my car was stolen (and recovered), but I never got back some of my awesome high school anthem CDs! The Serendipity DVD because that was one of the first movies we ever went to the theater to watch when we were dating. And I also got these cute tees...

Yes, I'm a little embarrassed about my obsession with Twilight, but at least Michael is supportive of my feelings toward a fictional character!

And Michael wasn't left out. I actually ordered him some pizzas for him from our favorite pizza place in Chicago. They will overnight them to you on dry ice for a cost!

Anyway, it was such a fun day. But I am so glad to have my girls back under my roof with me and back to every day life!

25 Things I Love About You!

Okay, so maybe not all of you, but instead of the usual pics of Olivia and Ana Blair, I thought that in honor of Valentine's Day, I would dedicate a post about my Valentine and all the reasons why I love him. I'm sure these aren't all the reasons, but they were the first 25 that came to my head!
1. He makes me laugh. Every. Single. Day.
2. He's a wonderful father. I could sit and watch him with the girls all day long. God knew what he was doing when he gave him two daughters. It takes a special man to be a great daddy to a little girl and he does it.
3. He's a wonderful husband. He hugs and kisses me everytime I need it!
4. He's a wonderful provider. He works so hard (almost!) every day so I can stay home and take care of our girls.
5. He knows how important my family is to me and never questions me (anymore!) about the million phone conversations I have with them each day or the weekly visits!
6. He knows me and can tell when I need a little breather from the girls and lets me have one.
7. He prefers my hair curly! That's the easy way, that's why it makes me so happy!
8. He helps me cook, and he fixes my plate for me!
9. He knows what smocking is, what monograms are, why Olivia's hairbows are so big, what a Louis Vuitton is and that Sephora is a store. A really great store.
10. He wouldn't admit it, but sometimes I catch him cuddling with Mollie.
11. He thinks I'm a good person and he makes me a better person.
12. He's a really good person.
13. He's a positive person. He always helps me to see the positive side in everything.
14. He loves reality TV as much as I do, and sometimes I catch him reading my Us Weekly!
15. He has accepted and listened to (not always with a smile though) my obsession with Edward Cullen and my constantly asking him if he's sure he's not a vampire.
16. He loves our little girls more than life, but he knows that we need time for just the two of us too.
17. He surprises me with little things that mean more than anything else!
18. If I go to bed before him, he comes and tucks me in. He plugs up my phone for me and turns the TV on the channel I like it to be on and the volume at the exact right level.
19. I hate to vacuum, so he has taken over that chore since we've been married.
20. He gets me breakfast from McDonald's almost every Saturday morning.
21. His smile!
22. I always feel safe when I'm with him.
23. He knows that I "work" every day and never makes me feel like staying home is a vacation!
24. He calls to check in with us several times a day.
25. I love Michael because of him. He has taken care of me almost from the very minute we met. He makes me happier than I had ever been and had ever dreamed of being. I am the baby of a big family and no one ever thought I would find someone to spoil me like I had been growing up, but he does even more! He humors me when I'm watching Real Housewives of Orange County and I cheer for the Chicago Bears like I've been a fan my whole life! We love time to ourselves, but we usually end up talking about the girls. We love to talk about our past and plan our future. He makes me feel good about myself every single day. And I never have to doubt that he loves me just as much as I love him.