Valentines Day
Children:
For some Valentines' Days is just another day. To me, it's an extra special day to show those I love how much they mean to me. We shower the kids with love everyday, but make it extra special on this day. I teach the kids how they can show their love to others, also. I don't get into the commercialism of the holiday, the dozen roses, box of chocolates, and cards galore. I teach the boys creative ways to show their love for one another. I also do not go overboard on the money issue... I do things as frugal as possible. Love is not associated with money.
My favorite website and magazine for kids crafts is Family Fun. Click on the link below for some great ideas to do with your kids the week before Valentine's Day.
This is what I do for the kids on Valentine's Day:
1. Heart Shaped Pancakes~ divide pancake batter in half. Add red food coloring to one half. Make pancakes and cut heart shapes out of the middle. Be careful not to mess up the circle. Switch the hearts in the different colored pancakes, like a puzzle.(See picture below). Decorate with strawberries on side.
2. Red heart Shaped Boxes~ I bought each of them red, heart shaped boxes. I fill them with candies, homemade valentines cards, and sometimes coupons. Coupons like "No chores today!", "Ice cream date with mom and dad", " Go to movies with a friend", etc...
3. Lunches~ everything is heart shaped and red! Cut sandwiches, cheese slices, brownies cut into heart shapes. Red food coloring in pudding or yogurt. I also add a Valentine card I made for them! (I do not do this for my older children! They would be more than embarrassed!!)
4. School lunch treats~ I pass out lunch treats at school. Valentine snack cakes, cupcakes, cookie cakes, etc...
5. Valentines Day Dinner~ (My hubby and I usually go out the weekend on the closest Saturday) I make one of my hubby's favorites of mine. Lasagna, salad, garlic bread
6. Valentine Dessert~ Ice Cream Brownie Sundae- brownies cut into heart shapes, ice cream shaped into hearts(using a cookie cutter). Layer brownie, ice cream, then another brownie. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and decorate with chocolate covered strawberries. *Can you tell I am a major choco-holic? Thank goodness my kids love chocolate, too!*
7. Valentines day on the weekend~ If the kids do not have school we make it an extra special day with them. Picnic at the park, go to the movies, have movie night,etc....
8. Decorating~ After Valentines day one year I bought a lot of stuff on clearance. Plates, heart boxes, kids valentine table cloth, and candy heart string lights. I also hang hearts that they have made the week prior. I like to decorate while they are sleeping. So, when they wake the next morning they are in awe. I do this every year, but they still love it and talk about it! Kids thrive and love routine!
9. Valentine's Craft~ I do valentines crafts with the boys the week before. We make hearts, valentines for close and distant relatives, valentines for each other(mom, dad, and brothers).Family Fun magazine is my favorite idea spot for crafts!
10. What we are doing this year~ This year it's on Sunday. Jeff and I are going out the night before. Valentines day we are(SHHH, don't tell them!)- going to church, pizza for lunch, going to the movies, home for dinner and dessert, then family night watching Supercross racing (My kids are obsessed with dirtbiking!!).
Valentine's Day to some people may be so commercialized that they really don't want to celebrate it anymore. Don't be discouraged! I love Valentine's day. I think it is a great way to break the mundane, day-to-day monotony of life. We can become very complacent with life. We can also take our spouse for granted. Have I really shown Jeff how much I love him lately? I mean, the way he feels loved, not how I show love. Everyone Has their own "Love Language". I am writing "Parenting " pages on that right now. But read the original book By Gary Chapman for your husband. Figure out and understand what makes your spouse feel loved. You will see that it will make a huge difference in your marriage! Your husband may be trying to show you how much he loves your in his way and you always thought he didn't care. Then, you'll see he really does!
On my "Frugal" page I have ideas for dates. I chose the frugal section for this because finances should never come in the way of being able to spend quality time together. One way my hubby and I make sure we have a date night is by getting Orpheum season tickets. This is not frugal, but it one of our favorite ways to spend time together. Believe me, my hubby is not a musical type of person. But I am, he got this for me as a gift one Christmas because he knows I love broadway shows. And he has never regretted it! He has grown to love it as well. Actually his ideal date is to kayak somewhere. Preferably the Colorado in the Grand Canyon, but thats not an option for now. That one is really not frugal!
Make sure you purposely arrange your time and things to be able to spend more time with your spouse. I arrange my whole day to wake up and put God first, then help hubby with his needs before work. Then I arrange my day so that the kids are in bed a certain time so Jeff and I can spend quality time together. I even greet him when he comes home from work everyday with a hug and kiss, no matter what I am doing. I make sure the kids are clean, the house is picked up and decently clean, the house smells good, and dinner is ready for him. My husband usually comes home after we have eaten dinner, so I make sure everything is ready for him. But we always have time alone in the evening after the kids are in bed and before we retire for the night. Thats why it is so important to me to have a daily schedule. I honestly have so much to do during the day/week, I have to have it organized to get it all accomplished. The order: God, Jeff, the kids, and then I. ~Like J.O.Y- Jesus, Others, Yourself. There is less than two weeks away from Valentine's Day. Have your thought about what you are going to do for your hubby?
1. Make a homemade card?
2. Make his favorite meal?
3. Give him a love not in his lunch?
4. Make a surprise visit to his work for a lunch date?
5. Get a daily devotional book for couple, for alone time at night?
6. Give him massage, because he works so hard for you and your family?
7. Take him to his favorite restaurant?
8. Give him season tickets to his favorite place, or ball team?
9. Go to a coffee shop to just sit and talk?
10. Tell him you love him in a special way?
What ever your do , do not take this holiday for granted! Show your spouse how much they mean to you! This day may never come around again! 
