L.O.V.E....continued

Why try to cram it all in one post eh?

I've mentioned before how I first came to really love Valentine's Day, but I've found over the years that the reasons behind my affection for it have only grown. It's kind of like one of those balls of rubber bands. I keep adding things to my ball o' love each year, and when the day arrives, I love taking the time throughout the day to really examine it and appreciate how much it's grown over the years.

Here are a few of my favorites past/current that stood out to me this year:

Back when I first lived in NJ and worked as a nanny, the family I lived with had a unique way of expressing their love for each other anytime it came to saying goodbye. They would say fingers, sign I love you, and touch fingers. It has stayed with me throughout the years and is impossible not to think of whenever I think about them.

In grade school, whenever I was preparing Valentines for my classmates, I recall saving the most affectionately titled Conversation Hearts for the boys in class I had a crush on. I'm sure the boys were oblivious.

My friend Patti in NJ called a left me a lovely message, knowing it was my favorite holiday.

Sitting with Ben and stringing paper hearts to hang up in our apartment.

The little things Darius does. Washes dishes leftover from the night before....I love unexpectedly waking up to a clean kitchen! Cleans the apartment while I'm out. Takes the boys for haircuts. Calls me every morning when he has a break. The list goes on...

My boys. Their excitement. Their hugs and kisses. The way they tell me they love me.

All my family and friends. There are so many of them, and they're each unique and have such amazing qualities that I love.


Love is unique to each of us. How we feel it, express it, respond to it. It grows, morphs over the years, and takes on new meaning as life progresses. We find love in places we may not have expected. It's surprising. I love that about love.

I love love.

L.O.V.E.

In case I missed sending a Valentine to any of you....

I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins. ~Shel Silverstein


My favorite holiday arrived much sooner this year than I was ready for it, but I still enjoyed it as much as I always do. I wish I could bottle the excited feeling I get in the days leading up to Valentine's Day. Crazy... but I even enjoy licking the envelopes of the Valentine cards I send out.

In the days leading up to the big day, the boys got in on the fun with me and made their own Valentines and helped me string hearts to decorate our apartment. Ben was especially helpful in helping me get all our Valentine's ready to mail out. I loved it!

For Valentine's Day Darius had to work both jobs, so the boys and I enjoyed the day with Carrie and Archer. I arrived thinking that I would take care of Archer and let Carrie catch up on sleep. It turns out they both had a good night, so I had lots of time to visit with her, and of course enjoyed my cuddle time with Archer. Love that boy!

Carrie had used our mom's sugar cookie recipe to make a big batch of dough, and later in the day she baked up some big, soft, heart-shaped cookies that tasted just like I remember them as a kid. My mom would make them for us on Valentine's and she would pipe our names on them. What a fun treat to take me back to childhood. Thanks Carrie, and thank you for sharing your day with us!

I'm that fanatic who will forever love Valentine's Day. I'm sure when I'm older, retired, and have too much time on my hands that Valentine's Day will reach an entirely new level! I'm already excited for that stage in my life!

I hope each of you enjoyed your Valentine's Day and felt a little extra love coming your way!

It's fun to be Emma!

February is quickly on the way out, and I'm still mentally half way stuck in January. The boys and I were super lucky to get a break from winter for a couple of weeks, and I think the recess scrambled my brain a bit.

The reason for our trip to sunnier skies was to celebrate Emma's first birthday with the Bacons. There's something about first birthdays that seem to me to be as much as a celebration for the family and friends as it is for the person turning one. Emma is one very loved little girl, and it was lots of fun to be around so many people who love her as much as we do.



Emma is at such a fun age. There's so much for her to absorb at her age. How interesting it would be to get inside her head and see her take on all the things she's experiencing right now.

A couple days following Emma's party we had planned on returning home, but we ended up extending our stay to lend some help. Honey had not been well when we first arrived and needed some extra care to recover from a nasty case of pneumonia. Although the circumstances were far from ideal, it was nice to be able to spend the extra time with the Bacons.

A little of the extra time included another fun party the following weekend. The Bacons are skilled at throwing a good party. Emma's party followed by their Super Bowl party the following weekend were no exceptions! I had lots of fun with Patti getting food ready for the party. I get so many great and delicious ideas from her.

During our stay we also enjoyed a nice visit with Grandma Gaile and her husband Jim, who were kind enough to make the drive over to Orlando from Sarasota. They treated us to lunch, froyo, and gifts for the boys. It was so nice to be able to visit with them and so much sooner than we had anticipated.

I didn't care to leave our friends and the warm weather behind, but it was good to come home to Darius. He doesn't like it when we leave him for long periods, and I can't say that I blame him. We miss being away from him too. I appreciate him and his job which allows us these opportunities to visit our far-away friends and family!

First Batch

Since the start of the year I've been working on, what I hope will be, an at home business. Most of you are already familiar with the animal blankets I make for little ones. It was in Cordova that I made the first 2 for Ben and Zach as Christmas gifts. They still have their blankets, and I've made many more since. I've reworked the initial patterns I first used, and I now have my own patterns for over a dozen different animals. I still have several more to make before I begin to post them online to sell, but I'm hoping to get some feedback before doing so.

I welcome and appreciate whatever thoughts and suggestions you may have about each of the blankets. I could use as many fresh eyes as possible! I anticipate changing up colors and fabrics on some of them, so there will be blankets that change each time I make them.

I'm also working on selecting a final name for my business. I narrowed my decision based on what names would best fit the blankets and what names were actually available. Plushy Pals was my initial pick, but I'm also leaning towards Snugly Friends, which is what Ben and Zach call all their stuffed animals. What name jumps out at you?

Okay, so here they are....

The next batch will include a moose, koala bear, panda bear, cow, monkey, and maybe a couple others.

I've had a lot of encouragement and support from many of you as I've begun to get this little business up and running, and I sincerely thank each of you! Please feel free to leave comments, email, or call me with your feedback and any suggestions you may have, and many thanks in advance!

Birthdays & Banana Peel

It's January and that means lots of birthdays! I love it! Carrie kicked off the month and enjoyed a quiet day at home with her new little guy. I would have gladly spent the entire day with her, but my gross little boys were still off limits from Archer...and I totally get it now why little kids shouldn't have much contact with babies. For example, as I sit here and write this, Ben is next to me on the couch with his big toes (yes, both of them) in his mouth. The list of other gross things they do is long....they lick things which have no business being licked, they chew their toenails, stick their hands down their pants and then sniff/and or lick them, dig around in their noses and lick their boogers or wipe them on things. Little boys are gross!

The following week was full of birthdays...five of them! Celebrating were my siblings Eric and Michel; niece and nephew, Karissa and Ian; and my very dear friend, Brandi. I had plans to make Brandi a cake and thought she would be busy most of the day, so I was only planning on a quick visit to drop it off to her. I was happy that I got a little more than a quick visit.

The boys and I met up with Brandi and her three men at Jump Around a/k/a the Banana Peel which is where her oldest, Ian, works. When I told the boys where we were going, Ben kept asking me when we were headed to the Banana Peel. It took us a while to get it out of him, but apparently Ben calls it that because there's a huge jumping pillow there that he thinks is slippery like a banana peel.

Brandi and I enjoyed a little birthday breakfast and a nice visit while the boys had fun being boys! I loved the opportunity to spend part of her day with her. There was a time several years back when we had lost touch with each other, and it feels wonderful to have her back in my life! She's a wonderful friend, and is such a positive influence in my life.

There are more birthdays coming up...my brother James celebrates this month as well as a delightful little girl who will be turning one. The boys and I are excited to be heading out to Florida next week to celebrate Emma's first birthday with her family and friends.

To each of you with a birthday this month, Happy Birthday! What better way to kick off a new year each year than with so many beautiful individuals starting a new year themselves! Love and best wishes to each of you for a wonderful year, and many more happy and healthy returns!