Valentine's Day Tradition

A few years ago, I started a fun Valentine's Day tradition with my family. Every Valentine's Day, we have dessert for dinner!!! Yeah, really!!! It has become one of our favorite traditions.

This is a picture of the beginning of the tablescape. The kids were too excited and it was all over before I got a picture of the end display!





This year the menu will be:

• Half Heart Carmelita's (Apples/Pears and caramel dip)




• Cupid's Arrow with Clouds (Strawberries and angel food cake skewers)




• French Silk Mini Pies (graham cracker crust, chocolate pudding, topped with Cool Whip)




• Speckled Chocolate Shakes (Frozen Yogurt, milk and Oreo shakes)




• Chocolate Lovin' (Melted Chocolate for dippin' apples, pound cake, brownie balls, pretzels, marshmallows, etc.)




• Bubbly (Sparkling Juice)




• I spread Hershey Hugs and Kisses around the table

This is just our way of making Valentine's Day a little extra special!!!

Priceless Birthday Gift That Keeps on Giving

I started a tradition each year on Landen and Gabrielle's birthdays. I sit down and write a letter to each child. I write things that happened that year, things they are doing at that age (crawling, playing soccer, first sleep over, etc.), friends they play with, favorite toys, funny things they say, etc. Anything that would tell them a little bit about what they were like at that age. I started this because when I would ask my mom questions about what I was like (especially after I had my own kids) or what I did at a certain age, she would have a hard time remembering (who wouldn't after all these years). So, I thought this was a great solution and thank goodness because my kids are already asking me things like: When I was a baby, did I cry a lot? What did I play with when I was two? Who were my friends? How big was I?
These letters are an extra special gift (that costs nothing, but is worth so much) that I think they will cherish when they get older and especially when they start having their own kids.