Valentine’s Weekend

I intended to write this blog on Sunday, but chose to take the day off from anything to do with housework or being inside, so we took the kids to feed our cows at the ranch. I appreciated our family time together, but that left all my Sunday to-do’s for Monday which is why you’re just now getting a Valentine’s Day blog. Better late than never, right?

Valentine’s Day is a week after my son’s birthday, so I have a feeling every year will feel like this one – rushed. I was exhausted after the party and took my time taking it all down and catching up on the post-party house chores. I’ve always found that ironic, we clean our house to look top notch when guests come over just to have people coming in and out and feeling like you need to clean right after they leave. I couldn’t muster up the energy to tackle it all the next day, but slowly it got done. The days seemed to fly by and then suddenly it was Valentine’s morning. I had done nothing to prepare, not a single thing, and that’s okay! I’m pretty creative under pressure, so I woke up before the kids and got to work.

I started with breakfast, making Brylee’s favorite – Dutch baby pancakes. I’ll link the recipe I used here. While that was baking in the oven, I started cutting her strawberries into heart shapes and peeling an orange. Once, the dutch baby pancake was done and cooled enough, I used a heart shaped sandwich cutter we got in this Montessori Kitchen Set for kids. If your kids like to help in the kitchen, I highly recommend this set! I finished her breakfast off by adding her yogurt in the best heart shape I could and framed it in with blueberries. Rylan got the same dutch baby pancake hearts with strawberries cut up to prevent choking. I got the scrap pieces, but it was still cute with the heart shapes cut out.

My family and friends know how much my two year old loves to learn. So, on Brylee’s second birthday she was gifted a resource from Teachers Pay Teachers – Tot School by Mrs. Plemons Kindergarten. It’s such an awesome resource with 43 themes. Each theme has ideas for food/snacks, sensory bins, gross motor activities, fine motor activities, and books. While it’s intended for preschool aged kiddos, I’ve been using it as inspiration for sensory bins, snacks, and picking certain activities Brylee might be ready for. This is why first thing Valentine’s morning I pulled up the Valentine’s Day theme and found a few activities I knew Brylee would love.

I printed off heart numbers for a number scavenger hunt on some pink cardstock we had. I traced them on a piece of butcher paper. Brylee is only working on numbers 1-10 right now, but the numbers do go up to 20. I wrote the matching numbers inside the hearts and did my best to make a cute title, but lettering is not my forte. Once I put Rylan down for his morning nap, Brylee and I took turns hiding the numbered hearts for each other and matching them on the butcher paper. She loved this game and still asks to play it daily.

Another activity in the Tot School bundle was a DIY “stained glass” heart. I printed off the heart on the same pink cardstock and cut it out. After Brylee woke up from her nap, I let her water color paint some white tissue paper we had. Once she was done, we let it dry and attached it to the pink heart frame using Glad Press’n Seal plastic wrap on either side. Just like lamination, I cut it out and left enough to keep it sealed around the edges. Brylee was happy to hang it on our window for all the deer to see.

My husband came home from work and surprised us all with some goodies and tenderloin steaks for dinner! I got gorgeous flowers, Brylee and Rylan got stuffed animals, but Brylee’s was a dinosaur of course. After dinner, Brylee and I shared some chocolate covered strawberries.

The fun wasn’t over just yet, Saturday morning my sister-in-law invited the kids and I to a Galentine’s brunch. She outdid herself with the decor, food, and even activities for the kids. I’m so thankful she took the time to throw such a cute little brunch! I can’t wait to continue the tradition of getting all of our girls together each year.

Life gets busy, especially with back-to-back celebrations, but it’s important to remember to find joy in the little things. I’m learning that it’s less about the perfectly planned party or activities; it’s about the moments we create with our family. Out of everything we did on Valentine’s Day, taking the time to slow down and enjoy a good steak dinner as a family was my favorite. I’m looking forward to making the small moments special – one heart-shaped breakfast at a time!