...loving a visit from aunt brooke...

the kids love when their aunts and uncles come to visit. we were lucky enough to have brooke come stay the night the weekend before last...and the kids loved every second of it...and so did i...she's such a great helper!

we had to get some sort of treat making in...so we gave suckers a try...which turned out cute & yummy, BUT, it was not the most kid friendly treat to make...seeing as how you have candy cooking in a pot at 300 degrees...yeah, not so much 'kids helping mom' going on.

sooo, to solve that dilemma, we made some chocolates. i bought these molds at orson gygi's for $2 each. and let's just say that it's a good thing that i didn't spend a lot of money because being the smart person i am...i decided to put them in the dishwasher. so...lesson learned. plastic molds are NOT dishwasher safe.

miss emerson had a little too much fun taste testing...

and here's what we ended up with...yummmmmm!

...a banner & a bargain...

so i'm a little obsessed with banners...i know. but they're just so fun to make...i can't not make one for the holidays & birthdays that come around. but this one was especially fun to make. :)

and then, i was sooo excited to get this cute white tree at tai pan for $17 at their 75% off sale after christmas...such a good deal! and after seeing mary's cute valentine tree...i couldn't resist. it still needs a few more touches added here and there...but i can't wait to see all the other fun things i can do with this new tree of mine...as long as this little girl doesn't keep knocking it over! (knock on wood...) ;)

...loving the hearts...

so the kids and i are staying busy getting ready for valentine's day and having so much fun in the process! i decided that valentines is so easy for me to enjoy because there is literally nothing else going on right now. i love christmas, but it almost seems like i'm so busy running around shopping and wrapping and planning that it just flies right by...so i'm loving the fact that we have nearly a month until valentine's day...and can just enjoy baking and doing some fun little crafts here and there.

emerson loves these little window stick-ons and drives her brother crazy because she messes up his designs by pulling them off over and over again. he's finally given up trying to convince her to leave them alone...

we made some cute little waxy window hearts...thanks to martha, of course! they're so easy...you just want to peel off the wrappers of some pink, red, and purple crayons. we used about 10 crayons total...and had PLENTY. so you really don't need to use many. then get a little pencil sharpener & sharpen away.

then we sprinkled the shavings on to some wax paper and covered it with another sheet of wax paper, just like so...

and then iron over it until the crayon shavings are melted. (and just make sure the iron is on the lowest setting.) after that, we made some different sized heart templates and traced them onto the wax paper & cut them out...punched a little hole in them, attached some clear fishing line...

and they were ready to hang! they were fun...and they especially look cute during the day when the sun is shining through...

*and i have to admit that i have a case of ocd...i know these pictures aren't the best quality and it drives me crazy. i know my aperture was set too low...and that's why not everything is in focus...but i seriously get frustrated that i am still taking BLURRY pictures. so to my dear photography friends...please feel free to lend some words of encouragement or insight...because it really drives me crazy. i feel like i sit and make adjustments to my settings and i'm just not getting the quality of pictures that i want. practice makes perfect...but i'm practicing and am still having problems...aaaahhhhh!!!*

...random...

i always procrastinate taking down my christmas decorations...it seems like it takes forever to put them up...and then before you know it...christmas is over & it's almost valentine's day. sooo....this week we're enjoying our last few days of christmas decor as well as those few remaining candy canes....

and...this is a great book to read for any of you who are like me and seem to have a hard time finding enough time to do all the things that go along with keeping up a home...and taking care of your family...and also finding time to do those things you love...sometimes it can be overwhelming. anyway, this book is great...i can't stop talking about it...i'm sure that chad & my sisters are sick of me rambling on and on and on about how much it's changed my life...but it has! so anyway...click here to read more about it...or click here to check out the website. :)