32 reasons I am glad Josh was born.

Why I am thankful you were born JP...

1.  I'm going to start this all superficial but basically because you're nice to look at! =) I think you are so handsome and love that you continue to get cuter and cuter every year. NOT FAIR!
2. You're so witty. Sometimes I know that I ignore your humor because it can be crude or in bad taste but overall your wit amazes me. You really did miss your calling as a comedian
3. Your ability to teach me new things every day. Basically you're smart. Like way smarter than me when it comes to book stuff and I love learning new things from you
4. The fact that I can literally only be mad at you for like a minute. You have the ability to make me laugh/smile even when I may not want to! 
5. That you always always push me to do things I may not think I want to or can do. I really need that in my life and I appreciate your trust that I can do more.
6. Your sense of adventure. I love all the fun trips and outings and events you bring to our lives. 
7. Your eyelashes. I love that you passed on those beauts on to our kiddos too. Not fair to me but they sure compliment your amazing green eyes! 
8. Your style. You always look so cute and put together without my help
9. Your breakfast making. You're quite good at french toast my love, maybe we can put those skills to use this weekend =).
10. Your thoughtfulness and consideration. You always know when I need a little extra TLC even without me saying so 
11. Your love of popcorn. No explanation needed
12. That you love my family as much as I do. 
13. For being an amazing father to our two crazy kids. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to parent with
14. For still, to this day, making me a clumsier person that I ever thought I was because I still get nervous around you! Kicking over telephones, spilling salad dressing at restaurants, whatever it is I get all school girl clumsy around you! 
15. For the fact that I still get giddy when I see that you are calling or texting me and even more so when you've sent me an email!! 
16. Because I would have never known my love for deviled eggs if I had not met you
17. For the fact that you make me feel special and loved every day
18. Because you justify buying baby Pumas for Paxton (that I never could have done) knowing that I would be head over heels in love with how freaking adorable they are on his chubby feet!
19. Because you find it equally funny when we hide behind corners to scare the kids
20. That you accept me for all the strange quirks I have and embrace it
21. That you have the yummiest lips ever
22. Because I fell in love with you over a package of sharpies
23. Your amazing ability to recall every sporting event and date at any moment. Your photographic memory is simply crazy
24. You have helped me break out of my bubble and move to places I never thought I would move to! 
25. The way you get jealous when I am obsessed with a book and don't pay enough attention to you
26. Because you're a lover of good food and make going out to eat an adventure
27. Because I love your family
28. The fact that you grocery shop with me
29. The fact that you can find a way to justify spending money on crazy things that you can always find a way to talk me in to as well.
30. For your dancing skills. Always gets me laughing
31. For the amazing friendships you create and the wonderful people you have brought into my life
32. And last and certainly most important: because whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and I love you so very much Joshua Pluid. I am so lucky to have you in my life forever and I hope you have felt a little extra special today. We think you're the BEST!!! 

yesterday i felt weird.

In case you do not feel the need to read this entire post I want to get the point across that It's okay to have an off day. It's okay to not want to be your normal self. It's okay to maybe not have the patience you typically do. It's okay to allow your spouse or partner to help you out and to still love you when you're weird. It's okay to accept assistance with your daily life. It's okay to be a different part of you that you normally are not, even if it is not the way you planned it to be.  It's okay to be vulnerable and let down walls. It's ok!!!!!

Today is a good day. It is our first day back in to our normalcy after being out of town since last Thursday. I went to the gym for the first time in a week (that in itself is therapy for me) We went up to Harper's school/church for a much needed mom's group chat about nothing in particular while the children were watched down the hall by the lovely grandmas. After that we went to Chick-Fil-A and let the kids run around in the play place and then came straight home for naps. I watched awesome trashy reality TV while texing one of my BFF's about how rude or bitchy or awesome some of the Real Housewives are.

We went to Oklahoma twice in March and had so so so much fun but I (and the kids) have had a really difficult time adjusting when we got home. I had a very "off" day yesterday. Not one thing in particular was wrong and I wanted it to be the perfect day since it was J's last day before he went back to work. Harper had school so it was just going to be the three of us. I honestly do not think we have ever had a day to spend with Paxton only. I decided to sleep in (by "in" I mean until 7:00 instead of 5:30) and skip the gym. Josh as not feeling well so he was up since 5:00am and therefore I was off and on awake since then too. I have this weird thing where I cannot really sleep once he is awake, I have no clue why, I wish I were not that way because it is annoying!!

Any who, from the beginning of the day I felt like I was in a funk. I was having my anxious breathing issues where I cannot get enough breath in my lungs and simply did not feel my usual chipper self. Even worse I was SO irritated with the kids for the tiniest things. I feel absolutely awful when I get that way because they do not understand yet that sometimes you just have a bad day and really want to be left alone. Actually I think they pick up on the vibe and think they need to be around me more to help the issue....it does not help. I dropped off Harper at school while Pax and J stayed back at the house. On my way to dropping her off Josh had text me that he thought Paxton wasn't feeling very good and that he was going to give him some ibuprofen. The teething monster has made his presence lately with the giant one year molars which has caused my smiley happy guy to turn into a whiny, drooley, needy, sad baby.

We ran some errands, just the three of us, and then decided we should grab some lunch at On the Boarder. Now let me tell you that On the Border is really not all that great but it is the one and only Mexican restaurant I have found here that give you a proper mexican beer. What I mean is they give you a Dos Equis Amber in the humongous fishbowl glass with a salted rim and a lime. They don't manage to line the rim with the lime pulp as Ted's does in Oklahoma but its the closest things I can find to being remotely perfect. We sit down, order our food, and then for the first time in my 2.5 years of being a mom we had to flag down the server and have her pack up our food to go because Pax had a meltdown. Normally I handle these situations pretty well with my patience (however I will admit I typically always get nervous, sweaty and can feel the judgy eyes on me of those without children) Teething, tiredness, simply being a jerk...not sure what it was but man oh man he was crying, wiggling, throwing anything that was given to him and did not want to be there. I tried giving him food which ALWAYS quiets him up but he wouldn't have any of it! I even sat in the back of the car trying to console him all the way home because he was crying so hard! It was heartbreaking!!!!

We finally made it home and got a little lunch in Pax, calmed him down and put him to bed around 12:20. I sat down and ate a quesadilla or two and then passed out. Josh was so sweet and let me stay home and nap while he finished up our grocery shopping and picked up Harper from school. When they came home he surprised me with some beautiful red tulips (ahhhh tulips are just the most wonderful flower around) and a banana split from Sonic!!! You wanna talk about a turn on, oh yeah  flowers just because, ice cream, maybe fold a few clothes and it's on! Haha....but no, really! =)

We ended our day with a walk with the kids plus dogs to the park and just ran free. It was so wonderful. We then headed to DSW and did a little retail therapy and ended our night with cuddles and falling asleep early on the couch and had the best night of rest that I have gotten.

On a day where I really was not feeling myself, Josh helped me feel really special. It's those little things in marriage that help you realize how lucky you are to have the one you're with. The one that tells you It's ok to have an off day and that they love you more than ever. I am lucky =).

Detoxing - I survived!!!!!

FITNESS COMPETITION:

Saturday morning I went in for my assessment at like 6:20am because I was so excited to see how I had done. When I started the competition I weighted 143.41 pounds, my body fat was at 22.9%,fat mass 32.81 and my BMI was 23.1. On Saturday I was down to 133.0 pounds, body fat 21.0%, fat mass 28.01 and BMI at 21.5!!!!! I had also lost 11 inches between my chest, waist, thighs and butt! What What!!!

Not only were my numbers improved but I killed my assessment test as well. The first assessment I did at the beginning of the competition I was able to do:
42 squats in 1 minute
11 pushups on my toes/18on my knees in 1 minute
33 sit ups in 1 minute
Held a plank for 3:02

This past Saturday I did:
52 squats in 1 minute
42 pushups all on my toes in 1 minute
44 sit ups in 1 minute
Held a plank for 5:12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not one to toot my own horn but, freaking TOOT TOOT! I am terrible about following through with things and I really found the competitive streak in myself. We still don't know who has won or placed in the competition yet and I really really hope I do but if not, I am still oh so proud of myself. 

Left: The beginning of the competition and a true "before pic" Please ignore the disgusting post workout hair and my overall chub! Right: At the end of the detox before the weigh in!

DETOX EXPERIENCE

First off I would like to give myself a HUGE pat on the back. I, Brenda Pluid, actually followed through doing a smoothie detox last Wednesday - Friday. My main goal was to stick with it because on Saturday was my final weigh-in for the fitness challenge at my gym and boy oh boy I wanted to win!!!  A lot of people have asked what I did & how it went so I thought I would tell you all about my experience and I will share the smoothie recipes with you and my tips to make them tolerable! =)

I will be honest. I am not a huge smoothie fan. Josh kind of soured me on them by adding pure grosness to one smoothie with kale, ginger, cucumber (yuuuuck), celery and then like one piece of fruit. It was practically vomit in a drink in my opinion. He drinks that like every morning and the smell alone makes me gag, seriously. So I was super apprehensive to the fact that I would be living off liquid for three whole days. I freaking love food. Like more than a person should so I knew this would be difficult for me.

So day one I woke up at 5:30, cut up a small gala apple and ate it on my way to the gym for  my 6:00 class. I was told to always always eat something small before you work out early morning. It helps kick start your metabolism and wakes your body up. Hell, if anything kicks my metabolism to start moving faster and earlier I'll do it! When I get home from the gym I immediately make myself a protein shake. We order this awesome protein from All Pro Science. It is a company from a guy who is an ex-Chiefs football player (I believe...) and they offer either a complete grass fed whey protein or they also have a vegan protein. We personally love the chocolate and the strawberry. I mix it in our shaker with about 8oz of water and chug it down. You can absolutely add the protein to your morning smoothie but I take a while to drink mine and its best to get your protein in within 45 minutes of your workout.

^^These are the recipes I used for my detox. I repeated the same ones for the three days.

Then around 8:00 I made my breakfast smoothie. Gulped it down as quickly as I could and it really wasn't super gross. There is barely any veg in this one so its kinda tasty. To my surprise it kept me full for quite some time. If I were to get hungry before the lunch smoothie I either snacked on raw carrots or celery. I have really developed a liking for plain carrots, plus their packed with water so they keep you full for a while as well.

I would make my lunch smoothie while I fed the kids their lunch around 12:00. This one is the largest smoothie of the day and packed with the most vegetables...therefore its not so delicious. The first day I did it I literally gagged on the last drink and it took everything in me to keep it down. But by god I was NOT going to throw up everything I managed to get down!!!!! However a friend of mine gave me this amazing stuff called Sweet Leaf Liquid Stevia that was Vanilla Creme flavored. Its super sweet, natural, and 0 calories. I literally think I put like 10 drops of it on my day 2 lunch smoothie and it was SO MUCH BETTER. If you cannot find this particular stuff (you can get it at Whole Foods) I would add regular Stevia and then maybe some drops of pure vanilla extract. Trust me, it needs it!

Typically in the afternoon is when I crave sweets. Therefore, I would snack on grapes, which surprisingly satisfied my sweet tooth and again, they are very water based so they tied me over until dinner. I would make my dinner smoothie around 6:00 and this one I was scared of because it required cayenne pepper and I do not do anything spicy, I am a weenie with spicy foods. I don't think I put in as much as it required but this smoothie was actually kind of tasty!

I made it through day one with no cheating, I had energy all day, I never got crazy hungry or bitchy (like I expected to happen) and the next morning when I woke up I felt fantastic. I was up and awake with energy to go to the gym, I was CRAZY proud of myself for actually following through an entire day of smoothie drinking and I had dropped like 2 pounds (water weight I am sure.) The next two days were pretty much the same. I worked out every morning with full energy, drank my smoothies during the day, snacked on raw veggies or grapes if I was hungry in between meals and I survived the three day detox and had dropped about 4.5 pounds doing it!!!! I highly recommend anyone to test this out, I will warn you though the groceries are kind of expensive for just 3 days. I spent about $52 at HyVee and that was for most of the items. I already had flaxseed, almond butter and some of the produce in my fridge. The cost of the items alone was a motivator for me because I am all about not waisting foods! If anyone has any questions about doing this detox I would be more than happy to answer them. I really had a great experience doing it and felt amazing afterwords! Good luck & Happy Monday everyone! =)

A blurry iPhone picture documented Tuesday!

Let me start this off by saying that I LOOOOOOVE Tuesday's. First of all it is not Monday, which is obviously awesome. Secondly, it is the first day of the week that we have lots of fun things to do, I get to see Josh extra and spend more one on one time with Paxton! Weekends are definitely my favorite since we get to have Josh with us for a full 48 hours of awesomeness but Tuesday's are a close second!

After I get home from the gym, get everyone fed and bathed, I get myself ready for the day since I will actually be leaving the house (which is something that does not happen on Monday's!)

 Then we load up the car with H's school bag, snacks drinks and diapers for Paxton and we head out for the morning to drop Harper of at school. At first she was always apprehensive when I dropped her off. Now, she walks in by herself, we do our usual routine of taking her jacket off, hanging up her bag, wash her hands and she then runs to her teacher for a big hug. It is more heartwarming to me than sad because with someone as stand off-ish as Harper to run up to someone for a hug means they are truly great teachers and so kind and loving to her. It makes me happy to see a little independence from her.

Pax and I then go to run whatever errands I may have. Sometimes we do a stop at the grocery store because shopping with one is a tad easier than shopping with two. But this past Sunday J was suuuper awesome and we all went to check out the new HyVee did our shopping then. Score! Therefore we went to the best place to kill some time and spend some money....Target!!! Check out the cuuuuuutest little Easter baskets I picked up for the kids. $2.50! I mean that is practically free!

I also had time to just browse which again is NOT something I typically get to do when I have both kids. I meandered over to check out the shoes. I saw these little beauts which were on clearance for practically nothing but of course they only had a size 11. Bummer!

 Paxton thoroughly enjoyed our little outing and I have so much fun hanging out with just him. I had 16 1/2 months of just Harp and I getting in quality time but it's rare that I have a block of time just Paxton and I. He is such a cool kid and he is so much fun to be around! This little froggy is probably going to have to make it into his Easter basket, I've never seen him love on something like that before. Too cute!

After we wandered the many aisles of Target we then started our way to pick up Josh for work to meet up for lunch. Day Date Tuesday I call it. I look forward to Tuesday lunch every single week. Such a fun little treat to get to see J for a snippet of time in the afternoon and share lunch with him and Paxton. Again, much easier with just one kid to bring along plus it's fun quality time that Pax and Josh get as well. We hit up Chipotle yesterday and had one of their veggie/black bean/brown rice bowls. OMG it was so stinking good! I was sad this morning that I didn't bring home my leftovers to have again today. Oh well, I'll just have to go back soon!!!

Then Pax and I came home to play a little before he goes down for his nap. This tent is the newest obsession the kids have in the house. It's a fun Lion King pop up tent that Nana and Papa brought the kids a while back. They drag this thing around everywhere and have secret little Harper/Paxton play time inside. Sometimes we like to hide from dada and then try to scare him. Basically it's awesome.

 Harper's newest favorite thing is to assist me with cooking dinner. It is always supervised of course and I never let her get near the knives but she helps stir our dishes, she seasons them and will help drop the chopped things in the pan or baking sheet. It's so much fun to have a cooking buddy and to start teaching her things while we are doing so. It's great for counting and measuring and addition/subtraction! Sometimes it helps her become more adventurous with eating things since she is actually making them. She's quite the picky eater.

Last night we made one of Josh's favorite vegan dishes a Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili. It's so crazy good and easy!!!

 Then some more play time in the tent while we are waiting to get Paxton up from his nap.

 Necklaces are also another new obsession in the house.

Of course Paxton has to climb up on Harper's cooking stool to try and sneak a bite because he's basically a garbage disposal. He will eat anything all day every day. I don't think he has ever been full. He has the belly to show for it!

Last, I'd like to leave you with what Josh and I spent our evening doing last night. Making ourselves into Zombies with the hilarious free Walking Dead iPhone app. We actually did one of Harper too but I'm pretty sure its a little too disturbing to go up on the internet. Hope you all are having a great Wednesday!!!

Loving differently

This picture in so many way sums up the personality differences of these two. H is more docile, she is an observer and a listener and likes to take in her surroundings before submerging herself. Paxton, well... this little monster is a constant blur. He is rarely ever still, always getting himself in to some sort of mischief and not worrying about the consequences (i.e. will he dive in to that pile of pillows and bounce backwards off the couch in to the coffee table? Not that day, but he was lucky!)

With having two kids it has been easy to love them both equally. However, I never really realized how different the love for them would be though. I do not love one more than the other but I do love them for the different things that they bring to my life and to our family.

My dear Harper. I love her for her sensitivity. I love that she cares for how people feel and is genuinely concerned if she thinks someone is hurt or sad or mad. I love that after she wakes up from her nap she wants to lay on my chest just for a little while and takes her time to get back in to the day and doesn't rush in to anything. I love that she really listens and learns even when we are not making an effort to teach her. I love the little mama she is and what a great helper she is as a big sister (well, when she is not being a normal sister and getting annoyed by her crazy brother.) I love how routine oriented she is. I love that she is really starting to become not just my baby but my little girl. I love that she gets so excited to get her step stool out in the evenings to help me cook dinner (my secret way to get her to actually eat). I love that she does take a while to warm up to people but once you have earned her trust she is so faithful with her love. I love that she says she already wants to be a vet so she can take care of animals. With her, the moments I cherish most are the quiet sweet ones. The ones where she will come up to me, lays her hand on my arm and tell me that she loves me and that I am a nice mama. I love how the moments with her can always bring tears to my eyes because I know I am raising a caring and smart and thoughtful little girl.

My handsome Paxton. I love him for his energy. He really turned my world upside down when he joined our family. At first I wasn't sure what to do with such a high energy child. However he has won me over with his smile, laughter and overall rambunctious ways. I love him for his slobbery kisses. I love him for the excitement he has over the little things like balloons and any food you place in front of him. I love that he thinks it is the most hilarious thing in the world when you chase him or hide behind a corner to scare him. I love that the second I walk in the room to wake him up he is so excited for the day. I love his independence yet the fact he always is making sure mama isn't too far away. I love him for his confidence and playfulness and bravery. I love how he adores his sister and wants to do everything just like her. With him, the moments I cherish most are the crazy ones filled with laughter. The ones where I can say the four words "I'm gonna get you" and the biggest grin flashes across his face as he turns around as quickly as possible to try and run away, even though his giant belly and short little steps don't allow him to be too quick and once I catch him he bursts with laughter as I tickle his ribs and his neck. He brightens up my day every day. I love how the moments with him can always bring a smile to my face because I know I am raising a confident and happy and positive little boy.

Having two kids at times can be a challenge, especially since mine are only 16 months apart. However, I would not change the way the world planned for us to be parents for anything. My kids do not make up who I am as a person, but they are a huge part of what my purpose in life is now. I love being a mom. I love being able to stay at home. Even if it means I have days where I want to cry in a corner because they are having bad days. Even when the entire family is sick but you have to find a way to get out of bed and continue on because there are little ones that need you. I love that my husband works so hard so I get the chance to soak up all the good days and even the rough days. =) I love that I have two completely different personalities that I grow to love more and more each day as they continue to learn and mold into who they are going to be as adults. I love these two littles, maybe in different ways and for the different things they bring to our lives but I love them both more than I ever thought was imaginable. Josh and I are two pretty lucky parents if I do say so myself!

I am not......

 Lately I have been down on myself because I am constantly comparing to others. I keep thinking "oh she is so much thinner than I am and she has had two kids," or "she is so much more successful with her photography business than I am" and "man she always looks so great and put together, why can't I look like that all the time."

One of my best friends and I decided for lent to stop obsessing and comparing ourselves to others and appreciate and love ourselves for exactly who we are. I have come to the realization that I am not the girl that only gains 25 pounds when I am pregnant. I gain 40. I am not the girl that in 6 weeks, 3 months or even 9 months post pregnancy am back to my "pre baby body" without having to work at it. I am also not the girl that will be claiming that I lost my baby weight just from breastfeeding and chasing my kids around the house. Nope I am not one of the lucky ones. I am not bitter towards those of you who are that way, more power to ya and you should have a million babies!

I am the one that wakes up at 5:30 every morning to get to the gym and gets in a 500 calorie burn workout to make it home by 7:00 so I can wake my kids up and start the day. I am the one that has to literally choke down smoothies with kale and spinach and other gross stuff to lose those last 10 stubborn pounds. I am also the one that now has to track my calorie intake to make sure I am not over doing it. With that being said all the hard work is starting to pay off for me. I started a fitness challenge at my gym 4 weeks ago. I typically am not a competitive person but for some reason this really got me fueled! We had our 4 week check in this past Saturday (it's an 8 week challenge) and I had dropped 5.4 lbs (putting me in the 130's which I have not seen since high school, what what!!!) and even better I have lost 6 inches so far. I was so incredibly proud of myself because along with me typically not being competitive I am also terrible about following through with things. I figured when I stepped on the scale I was going to weigh and measure the same from the beginning and then get defeated. But no!! I am making a move in the right direction!!!! Also, just because I want to brag on myself a little at this point, I had upped my plank time from 3 minutes 10 seconds to 4:00 minutes, and increased my number of sit ups, push ups and squats in a minute time frame! I mean seriously, to me, that is amazing in just 4 weeks!

So now I just have to stay committed the next four weeks to get to my goal. I am now to the point that I really want to win or place within the competition! The best part about it is that I love love love going to KOSAMA. I love the trainers, crazily enough I love the workouts (even Mary's ridiculous 90 minute class on Saturday's), and of course the friends I have made that I see every morning at 6:00am. They don't know it but they help hold me accountable and push me to work harder every day.

I may not have it as easy as some others do when it comes to looking the way I want to. But I almost think I am luckier because otherwise I wouldn't know what it feels like to eat healthy and work hard to feel really good about myself.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to their Monday!!!

14 Days of Love Notes

For Valentines this year I wanted to do something a little different and extra for Josh. He's been working craaaaaazy hard long days lately and has also been out of town here and there. I want him to know that I notice all his hard work and to be reminded on more than just the one day that he is oh so loved by me. We tend to go big when it comes to gifts on Christmas and birthdays but seem to focus on smaller more personal fun items on Valentines and our anniversary. That's when I thought of doing 14 Days of Valentines Notes. I saw a lot of things on Pinterest around Christmas time doing the 12 Days of Christmas but those were mostly gifts following the number of the day (one thing on the first, two things on the second, etc.) and that seemed a tad overboard since I was already going to surprise him with a ridiculously large new TV for our living room. When I started racking my brain on what to do for Valentines I thought of this! I then looked on Pinterest and there were of course a ton of ideas for this but most of them were some sort of food item every day & I am working really hard on eating healthy and know that it is not a good idea to bring in a bunch of delicious sugary treats in to our home, especially after the food coma weekend I had over the Super Bowl...yikes!

I loaded up the kids and took them to inspiration central for fun things (Target, duh!) and walked the aisles and tried to figure out what I wanted to do to present it to him so he could come home and see that he has 14 Days of awesomeness coming his way! I found the cutest little felt heart garland for like $7 and the little cellophane heart baggies in the $1 Spot (have I mentioned how much I love the One Spot? It's seriously the greatest!) Last I grabbed a 100 pack of index cards and I have a rainbow of Sharpies at home, which were actually the first gift J ever bought me. Ahhhhh thinking back to that makes my heart go pitter patter. I literally fell in love with him because he bought me Sharpies. You think I am joking but I really am not. It was not just the Sharpies themselves but the fact that he was listening to me when I mentioned a tiny thing when we were working together one day and the fact that he took the time to do something thoughtful for me randomly. Ok back on course... Harper was really excited about doing a surprise for J so she wanted to contribute. I let her pick out something at the store to give to daddy for his day 1. She picked out a chocolate calculator in the $1 spot. Hey, the kid loves chocolate and numbers. Makes sense right? On the downside we thought it was a bar of chocolate shaped like a calculator, no it was the opposite. An actual calculator that looks like chocolate. Bummer for Josh but H actually loves to play with it. So we came home, wrote out a note for him after we hung it up in our bedroom & waited for him to get home!

I write out a note every day and leave it somewhere for him to find then I add it to the garland in our room. Sometimes there is a little surprise that goes along with it but mostly just notes as to why I love him that day. I did not write out the notes in advance because I wanted to be sincere as to why during that specific day do I love him. Not only has it been fun for him to receive everyday but it has been really fun for me. It helps me really notice why he is so amazing and why I love him so very much! I think this might be something I do every year for Valentines and keep adding my notes to the packages so we can go back and see what I loved about him from the year before!

I hope all of you are planning to show your friends, family, spouses and kids how much they are loved on Valentines this year! I'm currently trying to plan out my menu for what I want to cook that night. Any fun ideas & suggestions are welcomed!!

P.S. I loooooove the fact that Harper brings home some fun art project from school every week. Check out her awesome color stamped heart below. Perfection!