Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

My oldest son is in first grade and this year like last, the school has requested that Valentine cards are to only list who it is From and not who it is TO. It's been a while since I have been in first grade but that was one of the most exciting parts of Valentine's Day, seeing your name on the card. It made it more personal. Are they doing this everywhere?

Last year I printed cards out from a template I found online. Not very exciting. I wish I could say I was one of those Mom's that get out the scrapbooking supplies to help my son make little creations for each of his schoolmates. However, I'm not and thats ok. This year I did decided to make candies instead.

Since we can't put TO on the cards I printed out labels using a 20 label per sheet Avery template that says "Happy Valentine's Day, From Samuel.


To make the candies: I bought a few candy molds at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I had only one heart candy mold and didn't feel like taking all day so I bought a couple of different shapes like stars and circles. (Because of course all of the Easter stuff is already displayed and the heart molds were sold out) I melted vanilla flavored Almond Bark and drizzled it into the little molds.

Plus add one helper to make things all the more exciting. Then you shove the bark filled molds into the refrigerator and in a couple of minutes out comes cute little candies.

I wrapped the candies in red cellophane wrap (left over from Christmas) and tied the labels on with ribbon that says Happy Valnetine's Day.

Now 20 or so more to go. This is a quick and easy project to do. The most time consuming part is wrapping the candies up. I'm always looking for new ideas for treats like this to send to school for the holidays. By the time the youngest is in school I hope to be a pro at quick and easy holiday treats.

Oh, and melting stuff is as good as it gets when it comes to talking about cooking on this blog. Is it even considered cooking? Anyone up for fondue?

Happy New Year!

"Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others stay

awake and do them." - Constance Newman (Entrepreneur Magazine)

Santa left me a couple of bags of Dove Chocolates in my stocking this Christmas. Yummy. I hid them in my office. I'm not a big candy eater, I can eat just one. Sometimes I will grab one on the way to the computer for a little treat. The mini Dove Chocolates have a little message on the inside of each wrapper. On New Year's Day I opened one that said "Make a list of your dreams."

What are your dreams for this year? For the future? Have you made your list? Try writing down your dreams this year. What will it take to make them happen?

Take one of your dreams and break it down into smaller goals. What tasks can you accomplish now that will help you reach your goal in the future? Take one step closer to make that dream a reality by scheduling some time to work on making it happen.

I hope you all had a wonderful 2007 and may you be blessed abundantly in 2008! Dare to dream!

Family Traditions

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had about 20 guests this year and had a wonderful time. The food was awesome and I am still enjoying the left-over desserts.

Friday I went shopping with my Grandmother at 6 am to catch some of the good sales. I must admit this is the first year I have ventured out the day after Thanksgiving. The crowds and lines never appealed to me before so I just skipped it. It wasn't all that bad though. We had tons of fun shopping and trying on clothes. I think this will have to become a yearly event for us.

Friday afternoon we set up the Christmas tree and decorated the house. The kids had fun decorating the tree and I even teared up a few times when taking out some of the ornaments. We have a family tradition in which we buy our children their very own ornament each year. We also pick out a yearly family ornament. When our children are grown they will each have their own set of ornaments to take with them that will represent each year they were at home with us. This may be one of the smallest and simplest collections they ever own but it will be packed with tons of love. This year we bought these.....

I love the selection of ornaments at Hallmark. They are beautiful and detailed. They have a large selection and usually it is very easy to find an ornament that would fit the interests of each child for the year. The hardest part for me is getting out the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments because I will truly miss this stage. The first year goes by sooo fast.