5 Things Friday: Valentine's Day Fun, Recipe Failure & a Question About Chores

#1: We had such a fun Valentine's Day!

It started out with the kids finding their doorways decorated with streamers and notes telling them things we love about them. We've been doing this since the kids were very small. It's a really fun tradition!

The boys had already gone off to school though, so I only have pictures of my girls.

(You can find the tutorial for making the girls' shirts here.)

For breakfast we had waffles with strawberries and whip cream. Yummo! 

I had to make sugar cookies for Zoe's class at school. Luckily, my little helper was on hand to give me a hand with the stirring...

And check out that mess up there on our table from the mad scramble to get the valentines done the night before!

Here's Zoe working on her Valentines for her family members.

I got to go in and help out with Zoe's party at school. The kids were so cute. And it was really fun seeing all the different kinds of valentines they brought.

We had a special candlelit dinner as a family with grilled marinated steaks, mashed potatoes, salad and rolls. Oh, and red punch, of course. There's something about candlelight that makes dinner so exciting. The kids love it!

But the best part was exchanging valentines after dinner. On Monday evening we talked about showing more love in our home. I gave each of them a sweet letter I'd written to them telling them things I love about them. Then we talked about how that made them feel.

So, then I told them of my plan for everyone to take the time to make loving valentines for each other and we'd exchange them at our special dinner. And boy did those kids deliver! I'm so proud of the notes and cards they came up with!

This one is to Zoe. Her and Sam share a room.

This one made me smile. Emmett is always trying to
get Molly to hug him more. Sometimes she's just too moody
and won't do it. 

Zoe made this one for Sam. She did such a great job and did her
Valentines pretty much all by herself. 

Since I already wrote the kids sweet notes on Monday, I
just put together little goodie bags with this stuff in them.
They were super excited to get those mechanical pencils!

Ryan wrote everyone's notes in a heart shape. So cute, right?

Ryan also gave his girls each a rose. They were so happy! And I got a big pretty bouquet as well. He's a very very sweet husband and daddy.

Another fun thing we did was the Monday before last. I found the idea over at 71 Toes. We gave our house a heart attack. Each family member wrote something they liked about their family members on different hearts. I love seeing all the sweet notes everyone wrote everyday. It's great.

#2: People ask me how I'm feeling a lot, which is so kind. My answer is usually, "Round." But I really love being pregnant. It's such a great and exciting time! Even if I'm starting to waddle.

#3: I'm a pretty strict mom. But I mean that as a good thing-! I think you can still be strict and firm and have fun, too.

But I'm curious about the responsibilities other families give their kids. Our kids have to do their homework, reading time, a chore, tidy their rooms, practice piano and write or type in their journals everyday. But they only have to finish homework and reading time before they can play with friends or spend some time on the computer, wii or watch the tube. And then they just haveto make time for the other stuff later.

So, what about you? What do your kids have to do everyday?

#4: I made a new recipe for dinner the other night. And, let me just tell you, rice vinegar is not a good substitution for balsamic vinegar. Also, I might have added too much. I was doubling the recipe and...maybe, just maybe I got a bit mixed up.

Needless to say, it was absolutely disgusting. I haven't made something that horrible tasting for a long time. Of course, as soon as I mentioned that, family members began trotting out stories of some very failed recipes. Like the crockpot oatmeal from a few years ago. OY! That's disgusting.

#5: I'm trying to post more on my writing blog...at least, here and there. Today I shared 9 reasons why being pregnant is like being an aspiring writer.

5 Things Friday: New Scarf, Something Red and Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

#1: I made an infinity scarf last weekend. I was originally going to use a really pretty spring green fabric, but decided it was too thick to really work. Luckily, I'd also picked up a fun turquoise gauzy fabric from Walmart. Here's an instagram shot of me wearing it...

Granted. This is not the most flattering shot of me (nor the best shot of the scarf!). It was one of those instagram tags, share five things about yourself and...well, I was being silly. Pretty normal for me. 

Anyway, I'm really happy with how it turned out! Although it seems a bit bulky when I wear it. Maybe I just need to get used to it? Or maybe...everyone else is thinking, "Hey, that scarf sure is bulky." :)

#2: My son finished the little owl stuffie he was making for his sister. He whipped it up so fast! He was so excited to give it to her.

I tried to snap a good picture of her hugging him in thanks, but...well....it was hard to get...

You can tell she's pretty darn happy though!

And Sam was quite proud of his handiwork (although Molly had decided to stop smiling!)

Emmett decided he wanted to get in on the sewing action. And since the boy loves dinos, we found a really great free printable template and instructions for this fun dinosaur stuffie at The Green Dragonfly...

I'm so proud of my boys for doing these almost entirely by themselves! They each have their own sewing kits and they know where fabric, needles, thread, etc. is so, basically, all I did was print the pattern out for Emmett, help Sam a bit with his (told him how to add the seam allowance and to make the ears bigger) and they did the rest! Emmett needed a little bit of instruction with the construction of his, but overall they just went to town and I'm so pleased with that! 

And it was fun to see how pleased they were with themselves, too. It's so great for kids to acquire new skills! 

#3: I started this blog January 1st of this month. And I can't believe what a great response from others I've already gotten. I just wanted to say thanks to all those who were actually interested enough to follow the blog and also to those who have left such kind comments. Thank you so much! It's fun to blog, but it's even better if it seems as if people are (lo and behold!) reading it.

#4: We started a new chore system this week. So far, so good. I've read about this idea before in one of the Eyre books. I think it's Teaching Children Responsibility. And we've even tried it when the boys were younger. But we didn't stick with it. I think they were too young at the time for it to really work.

But I read about it again on the blog 71 Toes recently and decided to give it another shot. I like that she uses charts instead of the peg boards. The peg boards are fun and all but these seem more doable...

Sam is up before me getting his stuff done! And he even starts on his stuff the night before. Yeah, he's quite excited about it. 

See, the kids have the ability to earn their age in cold hard cash every week! Yep. That sure caught their attention. But, of course there is a catch (there's always a catch, right?) If they miss filling out one square, their payment goes down to half. Miss two squares and they get zip, zilch, nada. 

UNLESS, they memorize a poem or scripture, then they can make back one square. I'm really hoping this will help our kids learn some major motivation. Oh, and if you're surprised we might be paying our 13 year old $13 a week....he's going to need it! He's going to be in charge of buying half his clothes and paying for all extra items (ski trip for PE class? He's responsible for it. Trip to the movies with friends? Better hope he has money!) 

Also, they won't be able to keep all that money. A portion of it will go to tithing, some to savings and then the rest of it is theirs to spend however they want. 

Of course, we've just started this, so some tinkering will need to occur. Maybe I'll do a blog post in the future about how it's working for us. 

#5: Now we've come to that moment you've all been waiting for. I know you've been holding your breath in anticipation, counting down the days until the news was revealed. Or not. :)

{Drum roll please} 

It's time to announce the winner of Hazel & Company's very first, but certainly not last, giveaway.  

And the winner, chosen by random (a.k.a. the names in a bowl and my daughter picking one) is...

MARA! 

Send me your address and I'll get this popped into the mail for you soon!

P.S. Be sure to come back Monday to see a fun project I finally finished last night. Here's a sneak peek...