Surprise From Auntie

This week, Arabella received a surprise in the mail from Auntie Lori. Canada Post tried to deliver the box but we were not home when they came and for some random reason they won't leave the box on our porch. So we had to wait until the next day and then go pick it up. Arabella was so excited to get the box and was so excited to see what was inside! It was full of Valentine's Day fun - stickers, some chocolate, animal crackers, an adorable purse and a Hello Kitty change purse. And to top it all off, it was in a gift bag with an owl on it...Arabella's favorite!!



She loved everything and has been carrying her purse around with her! Thank you so much Auntie Lori...we are so lucky to have you!

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day! As soon as Arabella came into our bedroom this morning, she said "Happy Valentine's Day", it was so sweet and she couldn't wait to open the treats that she saw on the counter in the kitchen. She was too excited to open the treats from Grammie and since it was a special day, we let her have some chocolate with her breakfast! Arabella was so excited to go to school today and exchange Valentine's with her friends. They had decorated bags at school last week to hold the cards and when they left school today with the bags full, you could see how excited they were. When we got home, she emptied it out on the table and looked at each card, it was so cute!


After a call with a client and while Arabella was napping, I decided to make her and Jay a special surprise for dinner and desert. I made quinoa and goat cheese meatballs with a fresh tomato sauce for dinner. And for dessert, I made chocolate cakes with the cutest mold that I purchased at Williams Sonoma when I worked there 5 years ago! It took a lot of butter and chocolate to go from this...

to these yummy little cakes...

Jay had asked me what I wanted to do tonight, and I have never really been one to want to go out on Valentine's Day...so instead, I asked him to go to a Bikram yoga class with me. It is something that he said he would try with my just once, and when they had a special at my studio today - Bring Someone You Love to Bikram on Valentine's Day for FREE - I thought it was the prefect thing for us to do. I am impressed with how well he stuck through the class...I remember my first time, it wasn't easy! He did a great job - thanks for joining me Jay! I hope that he now sees just what I do each time I go to class and that maybe he will understand my practice a little more...and give me credit for how hard it really is!

Arabella also made the most special Valentine at school...I just love these projects. They make my heart melt. Thank you so much for such a special Valentine, Little Bean, I love it and I love you!

And one final word on Valentine's Day...I went to Starbucks last weekend when I was in Plattsburgh on my shopping trip and I feel in love with cup for Valentine's Day.

I love how it makes you think about all the different types of "love" there is.

Valentines

Arabella has her class party tomorrow for Valentine's Day. She has been so excited about it ever since they started talking about the holiday. Last week they made cute bags for their Valentine's they will exchange. Instead of the typical cards and junky chocolate, I decided to do something that I saw on Pintrest. Arabella loves goldfish so I thought it was pretty fitting - it went from this:

To these totally adorable Valentine's!

I also made the most perfect PINK cupcakes for the party...I just love how pretty they are!

Martha Moment

I love to change out the decor in my apothecary jars that sit on the ledge in my kitchen with each season or holiday. They had been sitting empty since I took down the Christmas decorations and I wasn't too sure what to do for Valentine's Day. So yesterday, Arabella and I went to Bulk Barn to pick up a few things and when I was there, inspiration struck. The jars before...

And after....

All it took was about $5 in bulk candy. I would have done all the same color scheme, but Arabella wanted to help pick out the candy so this is what we ended up with. She even helped put the candy in the jars when we got home!

And what is even better about the decorations, as delicious as they look, we picked candy that I don't eat at all! And because it isn't chocolate, Arabella isn't too interested in trying it out either!

Best Valentine's Day

Today was the best Valentine's Day...not because we did anything spectacular, but because it was low key and I really didn't have any expections for how the day would go. When I got up, Arabella and Jay gave me my cards and Arabella's was extra special with a very pretty drawing inside. She is such a budding artist. Jay asked a few weeks ago what I would like for a gift and I suggested more Bikram yoga classes or money towards a pair of Hunter Wellies. (http://www.hunter-boot.com/1/Welcome-To-The-Home-Of-Hunter-Wellies.aspx) I have been wanting a pair for a long time now and with all the snow that we have, when it starts to melt, I am going to need them. I also saw a necklace that I liked, but didn't think he would get it for me - however, he wurprised me and I will be picking it up later this week. But the greatest surprise of all was that in my card, there was the cutest sitcky note telling me that I could register for the classes that I have been wanting to take to go back to school! I was so excited and registered with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a health coach! My classes start in March and I can't wait to get started!

Arabella had a fun day and even received a few more Valentine's in the mail today. Again she loved opeing them and we thank all of our family who have sent them to her. She also received a new book and an outfit for her Love Bug that she made last week.





In addition to receiving Valentine's, Mother Nature also sent some snow, rain and sleet our way today. We now have a lot more snow that we had last year, but that is OK with us!





And just for fun, we all remember the conversation heart candy that we used to eat at kids right? Well, here are some in French - can you figure out what they say??


We hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and that it was spent with those you hold most dear.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I think this little video clip of Arabella says it all....

They Are Hatching!!

Arabella was so excited when she got to do some of her grow capsules that Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff sent her. She loved putting them in the warm water and then watch them hatch!

Friday Fun

Friday was a day full of fun. It started out with playgroup where all the kids had a great time playing and the mom's enjoyed June's famous lattes and great conversation. Our Friday morning playgroup is the perfect way to start the weekend.

Arabella and Cristina getting pulled around by Giacomo.
Arabella, Cristina and Christopher having a fun ride.
Enjoying a Valentine's Day treat, YUM!
Arabella giving Sofia some love!
When we got home, there were more Valentine's waiting for Arabella. One from Auntie Lori and a little Valentine package from Uncle Mike and Uncle Jeff. Arabella loves getting mail and had a lot of fun opening her Valentine's. She was very excited!!


Checking out her growth capsules! She couldn't wait to try them out.

Waiting for the growth capsule to open to see what shape it reveals...



After a quick nap, it was off to swim lessons and Arabella had a really fun time playing in the pool before her lessons. She had a pretty good lesson and she is making great progress. I can barely get her out of the pool at the end, she is such a water baby!

Love Bug For My Love Bug

This afternoon, I came across a picture that one of my friends took of her son with his new "love bug". I couldn't help but wonder where she got it since I still had not figured out what to get Arabella for Valentine's Day...and I really don't want to get her candy. So I asked and she told me that she was "suckered" into Build-A-Bear today at the mall to make this cute love bug...she did have a coupon so it wasn't too pricey, but still the smile on her son's face is priceless. I knew that I would have to go and make her one. But when Jay called to tell me that he was going out to dinner tonight with some co-workers, the opportunity for a Girl's Night Out happened. I asked Arabella if she wanted to go out to dinner with Mommy and then make a Love Bug and she agreed. So we put on our boots, hats and coats and headed to the mall for dinner and a Love Bug! Once dinner was done, she was so excited and we rushed off to Build-A-Bear. She was very excited to make a Love Bug, but was a little unsure of how everything worked. It was so cute as she watched them fill up her Love Bug with filling and then close it up. She really liked the "fluff station" where you blow air on it to fluff it up. And then she loved checking out all the outfits that you can get. We decided on the cute little red polka dot dress and red sparkly shoes, but she doesn't really know about it yet since that will be her Valentine's Day gift, so right now her Love Bug is naked except for her wings! I, like Cynthia, can't believe I was suckered into buying the Love Bug, but the smile on her face was worth it! And I am sure this won't be our last visit to Build-A-Bear...but I hope it won't be too soon since you can easily spend a fortune in the store!

Happy early Valentine's Day my Little Bean Love Bug!
Fluffing up her Love Bug!

The box is as big as her!

Valentine's

Yesterday, in art class, Arabella made the cutest Valentine and Love Bug. I would post a picture of the Valentine that she made, but I am not sure if we are going to make them for our family and if we do and I post a picture, it will ruin the surprise. Needless to say, the Valentine made me cry when we were making it as it is a reminder of how quickly she is growing up. We already made Valentine's for everyone and they are in the mail, so if we don't make them tomorrow for everyone, I will post a picture of her art class Valentine. As for the Love Bug, it is the cutest little craft and we did it together which was fun. I think this craft is fitting since I call her my Little Bean Love Bug and she calls me Mommy Love Bug. This craft is going to be a keeper.

Arabella also received her first Valentine of the year in the mail yesterday from Grammie. She had fun opening her card and loved her stickers and both carried the Love Bug theme again, it was too cute! Thanks Grammie, we love you!

She's Crafty

Since it has been so cold outside, we have been spending a lot of time indoors, much to our dismay. It has just been too bitter cold and windy to go out and play in the snow or go for a walk. So I have been catching up on my magazines and looking for fun things to do with Arabella. She loves to draw, paint and do other craft projects so we spend a decent amount of time doing that...much better than sitting in front of the TV! However, there are times when I come across a project or craft that a 2 1/2 year old just can't help with. So when my little helper is napping or in bed for the night, I break out my supplies. As much as I love when Arabella helps me, I sometimes like to do the projects on my own, it gives me some time much needed alone time and lets me clear my head.

When I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping in Florida, I came across my most recent project. I saw the cutest framed heart for Valentine's Day...yes, at Christmas, Home Goods already has out Valentine's Day decorations. I couldn't believe it, but really, it was less than 2 months away at the time! I figured I could do the same thing, only it wouldn't cost as much and would be nicer. So while out with mom at one of our favorite craft and decorating stores, Hobby Lobby, I picked up the materials to make it.

The materials:

A simple white picture frame, a piece of scrapbook paper, and buttons.

From there, I drew a heart on the scrapbook paper, and then began filling it in with the buttons. I attached the buttons with a glue gun. (I made a second one as a gift and used plain old Elmer's Glue which worked just as good.) Once it was done drying and cooling, I put the paper into the frame and Ta Da:


So the heart is not exactly perfect, but I still think it came out cute and it looks nice brightening up our wine table. I think it is a fun way to put a little Valentine's Day cheer into our house.
Since I have been feeling so crafty lately and I have a lot of little projects I would like to do, I think this posting may become a recurring theme. So follow along if you would like to see what fun decorating ideas I come up with!

Valentine's for Arabella

Yesterday, Arabella received the majority of the mail we received from Poste Canada. She couldn't wait to open the envelopes and box that she received. She was so excited I didn't have a chance to fix her messy hair from her nap, she went right to the envelopes! She had fun reading the cards from Grammie, Aunt Margo and Uncle Bill and Aunt Vivi. She even got two really adorable outfits from Aunt Vivi, what a nice surprise and Valentine's present! Arabella is blessed with wonderful family and friends who are more like family. She is one lucky little girl! Thank you all for thinking of her! We miss you and love you. Arabella sends Valentine hugs and kisses your way!