Team O'Hare: You Rock, Valentine!

I LOVE being a stay at home mom. Maybe it is because I can not stomach the thought of sending them to daycare and being lucky enough not to have to. Or perhaps it is because I don't HAVE to work for "the man", or I have made friends along the way who are also stay at home moms. I feel so grateful to my husband who has made this happen for me and my boys. And I'm very grateful for my friends who are always setting up great parties and play dates that we get to take part in. It makes staying at home a lot more fun.

Michelle is possibly one of the very sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know, and she is always thinking outside of the box to get our kids to have fun. A few weeks ago we had a Valentine's Day party at the cutest little gourmet cupcake shoppe (which my friend Barb LOVES when she comes to visit). It was fun. First the kids colored their Valentine's Day boxes, then they passed out their Valentine's to one another and lastly they got to decorate cupcakes! They each got two cupcakes and a giant tube of their insanely tasty frosting. Luckily they served lemonade too so they could wash it all down.

This year I decided to make our own Valentine's Day cards. Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration. I of course waited until the very last minute, as in the night before the party at 11pm. I was so tired and wondered why I do this to myself time and time again. I had a flash of what school projects are going to be like in the future. I can not wait for all that stress (eye roll).

I traced Jack's hand, cut out hearts, and used a lollipop for a handle. I love them. I am sure I went above and beyond what was necessary because I did them for THREE parties, which meant I made over 40 of these. And out of those 3 parties only two other people decided to make homemade valentines. I decided that I would only make handmade Valentine's for Jack's closest friends the next time around, and maybe by then he can help me.

Coloring the Valentine's Day box.

Don't touch the candy! So hard to put children in a candy store and tell them they can't have any. Cruel punishment that is for sure.

Teagan and her giant tube of frosting.

This picture cracks me up! They were also not supposed to eat the cupcakes until they got the tutorial on how to frost them. Not an easy task for toddlers.