Happy Valentine's Day

We love making our own homemade Valentines.

 

This year the kids made mustache suckers that said,

"I mustache you to be my Valentine."

When you put the sucker in your mouth it looks like you have a mustache. 

They turned out rather cute. 

 

 

Mom and Josie were able to take treats to Mason's class. Valentine's day was celebrated at school on the 13th because they did not have school on Valentine's Day.  We really tried to have healthier snacks for the holidays this year.  It is frightening when you see kindergarteners taking home gallon size Ziploc bags full of cupcakes and cookies.  When I was in school we had minimal treats with maybe one cupcake and some punch.  These days, every parent sends in a treat of some sort, plus all the treats they receive with their Valentine's cards.  It is way too much for these little kids. 



Here are some of Mason's valentines cards and treats.

 

The kids were excited to sleep in on Valentine's Day.  We had a festive breakfast with pink pancakes and pink syrup.  The only colorful drinks we had were Emergen-C packets, so at least we received our vitamins first thing in the morning with breakfast.

We tried to send balloons and a treat to Carter at Middle School, but they do not accept gifts at the school.  I guess things were getting a little out of control with what was being sent to the school.  Too many gifts to keep track of and too distracting for the students. 

 

Matt brought home these beautiful orchids for me.  I guess the kids had been secretly calling him at work all day telling him he had to bring home flowers for mom.  I regret to say that in our early days of marriage money was tight, so I told Matt not to buy me flowers because we couldn't afford them.  Gifts are not my love language anyway.  Somehow the kids didn't think the day could go by without Dad giving Mom flowers.  :)  I am grateful and think they are simply beautiful.  What a sweet family I have.  Their kinds words mean so much to me.

 

I love Matt's painting in the background of the flowers.

Matt and I went to Prasai's Restaurant for dinner.  It was delicious!

No More Sugar

Well, I have been seriously feeling a need to curb my appetite for eating sugar.  (I think I am secretly addicted to treats.)  I ran into a dear friend at Costco yesterday and she and her husband are both giving up sugar for 30 days as part of an assignment for his master's program.  The assignment has something to do with addiction and what happens with the dopamine levels in your brain.  I seriously considered the idea last night and this morning I decided to take one day at a time for 30 days. 

 

Yes, I know it is the day before Valentine's Day!

 

Yes, I am still eating Christmas candy and it is February.  If I don't quit now, I will be eating Valentine's candy until Easter.  This madness must end today!  :)

 

Yes, I can give up the Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears (fresh dipped from Frederickson's Candy) that were staring me in the face when I got to work this morning! 

 

AND, if I can give up the above mentioned treat...I think I can give up anything.

 

 

 

Papa Bob's - Would Be - 61st Birthday Party

This year we had a really special Family Home Evening celebrating Papa Bob's Birthday.  We made some of his favorite things for dinner and talked

about many of his favorite things while eating. 

 

Here is what we came up with...

 

Beef Stroganoff.  Tomatoes.  Broccoli.

 

Ok, to state the truth, Papa Bob would not have called his beef stroganoff.  He would have called it "Goulash" and it would not have been beef.  His would have been prepared by Memaw in an electric skillet with deer or elk meat, shot by himself in a recent hunting trip.  Memaw would have used elbow macaroni instead of whole wheat egg noodles.  

 

Papa Bob loved tomatoes and he really liked green vegetables.  I am not so sure that he would have chosen broccoli, my guess is that he would have eaten petite peas, drowning in mayonnaise, if given a first choice.  He could never decide which he liked better, Miracle Whip or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise, as long as we had lots of it. 

 

 

For dessert we had his favorite cake.

 

German Chocolate. 

 

We made ours from scratch and it was delicious!  (Especially the frosting!)

It doesn't really look the prettiest, but Papa Bob didn't always care about the "looks" of food...he just cared about the taste and would eat until his belly was full...and then some more.

 

Papa Bob, you would have LOVED this cake, and would have drowned it in a bowl of milk.

 

 

A Few of Papa Bob's Favorite Things...

 

Hunting.

Camping.

Riding Mules and Horses....in that order.

Sports:  Basketball, Baseball, Football. Swimming.

Scouting.  He worked hard to help many young men achieve their Eagle Scout Award.

The Color Green.

Driving crazy to make people laugh..."Take a bow."

Trying to tell jokes...but he could never remember the punch line.

His grandkids.

 

Love you Papa Bob!