Valentine’s Ideas

I LOVE my husband and especially LOVE this time of year to shower him with appreciation.

I grabbed these cute cards in the dollar section at Target.  I thought that they would be perfect to put notes on for a scavenger hunt date night around town OR I could write about eight different characteristics that I like about Stephen in eight heartfelt notes OR I could write eight different activities on each card.  The possibilities are endless for only a dollar!

Stephen is a foodie and loves his snacks.  I couldn’t resist printing up this cute list from The Dating Divas.  Then one afternoon Jerrica and I picked up the list of snacks and  got them all ready for February.  I think daily gift giving is so much easier when you have everything ready to go on day one, and all you need to do is set it out each day.  Life is busy!

 

I do need to pick up a Village Inn banana pie for the first day.  I’m excited to have a little treat to set out each day for him.  Holidays are AWESOME!!!

New Year’s Posters

Another fresh start to a new year.  There was an awesome talk in the last Ensign that said, “our goals bring out the best in us”.  They really do because we are striving and working hard in certain areas to achieve more than we have before. 

  

As I was working on my goals and resolutions, I ran across this article from a friend - The Donut Resolutions.

It put my own resolutions into perspective.  Relationships are of the utmost of importance because they are eternal.  One of my goals was to go on a weekly date with Stephen.  That will be 52 dates when the year is over, but more importantly it will be 52 times that Stephen and I have spent together focusing and strengthening our marriage.

Marriage Clip

Tears filled my eyes as I watched this clip.  I know that Stephen would be just like this man.  Heck, he already IS like this.  Stephen has always been so quick to think of me and my needs before I even realize that I have needs.  :)

I don’t give enough shout outs and praise for what an incredible husband I have.  I love you so much Stever!

Isn’t the quote at the end of this clip is SO true!?!

Stephen’s Valentine Gifts

I framed a wedding picture for Stephen…. it was nice.

I gave him a few treats during the month…. he enjoyed them.

 

BUT, I know he is REALLY going to enjoy his gift for tomorrow.

I decided that Stephen really doesn’t need all of the chocolates in a box.  He actually would like a few “other” things in place of the chocolates.  I popped a few chocolates in my mouth and jotted down a few “coupons” to replace the chocolates, for Stephen to redeem. 

The slips of paper are just like a box of chocolates, you just don’t know what you are going to get….

I know Stephen and I know he is going to like this.  :)

Random

We planted 12 tomato plants in the Spring.  We are now reaping the rewards.  The little girls like to pick the red ones with me.  Today as we were filling the bucket Ashley said, “this is like playing hide and seek with the tomatoes”.

I LOVE pinterest and have been trying quite a few recipes that I have been pinning.  We LOVEd this one.  There is just something about it, maybe its in the sauce.  :)  Anyway, the recipe is from the Girl who Ate Everything.  HERE is the link to the recipe and below is her picture.  They really are yummy!!!

Then I wanted to share this post about husbands.  Have I said how much I adore my Stephen?  I do.  He is amazing.  He is sooo good to help the kids and I.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much he does around here, but sometimes I take it all for granted.  Sometimes I don’t put him first like I should.   Anyway, I just loved Shawni’s thoughts that she shared a few weeks ago on her blog.  I loved this part, “I guess the thing I do more than anything else to put my husband first is that I put him first in my thoughts. Every time I say a personal prayer he is always the first person/thing I pray about”  She shares so many other great ideas and thoughts.  Go over and read her post HERE.

Then to answer questions about “Mommy School”.  It is pretty much just a very conscience effort to spend time with Jerrica.  If I don’t, the day just flies by cleaning, cooking and doing projects without that one on one time with her.  I don’t have lesson plans or a book I go by.  I just spend time with her.  It might be riding our bikes to the mailbox, coloring pictures together, playing Polly Pockets….  This week we used painter’s tape to make a “J” for Jerrica.  Then we finger painted all over the poster board, and peeled the tape off to reveal the “J”.  Jerra was thrilled to show her siblings the masterpiece when they got home.

 

We do have fun…

Post-Its

Stephen is a huge post-it notes guy.  He is always good to have sweet notes on my mirror using post its. In fact there are some in there right now as I type.   The reasons I think he uses these are

1. They are cheap.  It’s like a hundred little cards for the price of one.
2. They can easily be stuck to anything with no effort.
3. They sit on his desk as a reminder to write a sweet note.
4. AND he knows how much I enjoy them.

Well yesterday I picked up Kaylee from practice and we headed over to get Nathan.  We usually have to wait a bit.  Kaylee got busy going through Stephen’s car and found a pad of his Post Its.  She proceeded to write a ton of notes and stuck them EVERYWHERE for her dad to find.  I sat there thinking of how Stephen always does these post it notes and I have never done it back to him.  Kaylee was all giggly as she would write. 

Anyway, Post-its ARE a quick way to make someone SMILE!  Thanks for all my post-it notes over the years Stephen!

Seven Dates

I'm always trying to think of gifts that I don't have to spend that much money on for Stephen because I know it's his hard earned money that I'm spending, AND he appreciates it when I try to be frugal.

SO I came up with the seven "dates" idea.  It is actually seven dates from the calendar.  The first date is January 25th of 1995 and the last date is February 14th of 2011.  I took my journal and copied six entries that highlighted the first time that I met Stephen, one of our first dates, the day we got married....

They were so fun to go back and read and see all my feelings that I had for Stephen and what I thought about him.  I'm hoping he enjoys going down memory lane and seeing MY side of the story.  I then made a February 14, 2011 entry.  I know the date isn't here yet, and technically I can't journal what hasn't happened, BUT I can write all that I want to happen on that day.  I mentioned the place I will take him for lunch, all that I want to do on Valentines Day, and also how I feel about him now.

I rolled all seven entries up, and tied them with red raffia.  Then I numbered them in chronological order and will have him open one a day until Valentines Day when he will open the last one that will highlight our day. 

Stuck them in this cute pencil holder that Nathan made in art, and voila there is a very cheap and easy present for Valentines Day, YET I really do think Stephen will enjoy it!

Date Basket

My mom made the cutest thing for us.  She gathered all of the kids around and told them that it wasn't fair for them to not have treats when Stephen and I go out on dates.  So she decided to make a basket of goodies for them that is ONLY to be used when we are gone.  Jacob usually babysits for us and the kids get to watch a movie while we are out.  NOW they have a special basket filled with treats to make their night fun.

  

She had popcorn, mini candy bars, and these jars filled with different drink mixes.  She also stuck in a couple of movies that she knows they have never seen.  Now the kids will be just as excited as I am when I have a date night with Stephen.

Thank You MOM!!!  That was a fun idea!!!

Speaking of dates, this year Stephen was in NEED of a new wallet.  So I grabbed one for him as a Christmas gift and then decided to fill it with gift cards.  I guess you could say that it was kinda a gift for me too since I will probably be the one helping him use the gift cards....

The girls and I also made Grandpa a money tree topped off with a gift card to take Grandma out.  We folded and pinned the bills to a Styrofoam tree.

Buckets

I have LOVED Target's metal buckets.  I try and get nice baskets or buckets because it seems like there is always someone who needs a little happiness.  I got the big ones and filled them up with cookie mix, sprinkles, and frosting for Stephen's home teaching families.

Then I got six of the small pumpkin ones for each of my kids.  I enjoy doing special invites for the kids to give to them for different activities.  It gets them excited for whatever it is.  The library did a special Halloween story night.  They had one room for little kids with stories and crafts and then another for older kids 8 and up.  They tell the stories by candlelight and have a table filled with scary potions and objects that they use.  I absolutely love this one librarian that is so animated and rats her white hair up just like a witch for this special night. 

ANYWAY, I'm getting carried away ... I stuck an invite to each of the kids with instructions to meet in our van at 6:30pm in PJ's if desired and WITH their new flashlight (that I had also stuck in their buckets).  Then I had Ashley go and deliver them to each of the kids when they got home from school.

I have one other bucket for Stephen, that I need to finish up for Halloween.

Buckets are just fun!

Clever Gift

My sisters are all very creative.  I enjoy seeing what they come up with for various occasions.  I LOVED Alesha's clever gift that she sent in the mail for Jacob's birthday.  It was fun for a teenager.  He was all smiles and making fun of Aunt Alesha as he unwrapped it.

He turned 13, thus the 13 of all the money amounts.  It was all rolled in a wallet looking wrap and took him quite a while to get all the money out.

Alesha just did something kinda similar for her husband's birthday.  He turned 37, so she had all these various gifts that contained 37.  Some of them were a certificate for a 37min massage, 37 of his favorite mini candybars, 37 love notes....just all day long he was finding these gifts that had something to do with the number 37.  I can't remember all the ones she did, but I know there were a ton of them.

ANYWAY, we LOVED the very clever gift Aunt Alesha!!!!

Husband Gift Idea

**Quite a few people have asked what I put inside my envelopes to represent the dates.  I have pictures, programs, gift cards, copies (temple recommend), directions to the place of the date (hike), then the home spa night has a little gift in it.  You could pretty much put ANYTHING into the packets!

Some of you may think that this a selfish gift because it is for me too, BUT if you knew my husband you would know why he is going to LOVE this.
My husband and I love date nights, yet at times it is hard figuring out what to do and finding the money to do it.  Stephen always feels bad when time passes and we haven’t went out. 
SOOOO I took some of my own money from piano lessons and came up with 12 different dates all paid, planned and ready to go!

Each envelope is to remained sealed until the first of the month, then we can plan on which day we are going to do the date.  I did quite a wide array of dates.  One packet is a deck of cards from the dollar store and then the note talks of a picnic at Fox Run Park with card games.  One is tickets to the University Theater thanks to my friend Becki for hooking up a great deal.  One is a raquetball with a Chipotle gift card.  We love to play together and always start the game so happy and then end quite competitively.  There’s a movie and dinner gift card … you get the picture.

With a few creative free dates, it really wasn’t too much money to do the packets.  AND I LOVE that our dates are all ready to go.  So yes this may be a gift for me, but I know it will take stress away from my husband!

One of my favorite parts of dating is watching and listening to our kids. They comment on how we dress up and look, they ask where we are going and can see that their parents really do love each other. I think this important because our habit will carry into their marriages of how important dating is.

Stephen’s Birthday

Today is my Stephen’s birthday.  I had a fun weekend up in Denver all planned, but all plans went out the window when I found out that my parents were going to be in Utah this weekend.  Soooo we will have to replan that, but I did manage to do something a little lower key here.  I hope he had a happy day.  The kids and I were gone during the day at a playdate with friends over at Blackforest park, so I think that he did have some peace and quiet here at the house for part of the day.
There are so many reasons why I love my Stephen.  One of the top ones is how he is always thinking of others and helping others (especially ME)!  He is so easy going as well, which creates such a peaceful atmosphere here at home.  He is a wonderful provider for our family.  He is so willing to help around the house and help me in the kitchen.  He is always so supportive in all that I do.  He is the perfect husband and father and that is why we love you so much Stephen!!!
I let the kids help in his present this year.  It is always a giant task to buy Stephen a present because he is so practical and doesn’t want to spend money.  This year I bought him some new dress clothes.  All the kids helped me stuff them with newspaper.  The boys tied one of the new ties around the neck of the shirt.  Jacob drew a cute face on a white helium balloon.  We filled the pants pockets with all his favorite candy bars.  The two little girls stuffed one of the pairs of new socks with paper.  The one request he did have was new guitar software.  It hadn’t come yet so I had Jacob draw a guitar and the two older girls colored and cut it out, so that he would know that it was on its way.  We set our balloon “Stephen” up in the chair ready to greet Stephen in the morning on his birthday.  The kids were so excited to do this!  Jerrica kept cocking her head to the side and talking to our balloon man.  Anyway, here he is without further adieu-

Happy Birthday Stever!  I sure do love you!!!

Spouse Scavenger Hunt

Fun idea that I should've shared sooner. When Stephen and I were dating, I sent him on an Easter egg scavenger hunt that ended with a basket of his favorite candies. Well, I was thinking about it this past week and decided to do another one for him last night. I had him hunting for eggs and clues all over the house. There are so many fun things that you can put in the basket at the end of the hunt. I guess it was things like this that made us end up with SIX kids!!!