there and back again

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, and I hardly know where to begin to catch up. We just had a lovely visit in California with my family (mother, sister, brother-in-law, and the two most adorablest nephews in the world), taking advantage of Phoebe’s school vacation, and now are back at home and trying to get back into the swing of things. My own swing of things was rather hampered by a bout of likely food poisoning, leaving me feeling like I’d been run over by a steam-roller most of yesterday. On the bright side, the illness led to my inability to stay up much past 10 yesterday evening (in spite of sleeping late and sitting around like a lump all day), and seems to have bounced me back to the East Coast time zone faster than anticipated. So, um, yay!

I hope to be able to catch up more here (I have loads of photos and lots on my mind I want to share), but another hectic stretch lies in front of me. So I’m going to bed.

tine’s happy day valen


Theo wishes you a tine’s happy day valen.


Phoebe wishes you a Happy Valentine’s Day.

As for me, I haven’t made any valentines yet this year, and certainly nothing to top last year’s paper heart. I do feel I deserve credit, though, for overseeing and assisting Phoebe with the production of over 40 valentines. (Over twice as many as last year.) This year we started with some pre-made blank cards, and had a bit of assistance from from stamps and stickers (thanks to the resourcefulness of a neighbor/friend), which greatly sped up the process. (Especially after Phoebe spent several hours on the first 10 or so cards, and realized that she had to make at least a couple dozen more. She already complains about not having enough hours in the day.) I feel especially pleased with myself that I was able to rein in my control freak tendencies, and let Phoebe do her thing with minimal interference, such that she had (mostly) complete control over the art direction.

And if you don’t mind stale candy hearts, please revisit my Valentine’s Day treats from previous years: (Click the images to see the posts.)
I give a rat's ass for you

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Want to make your own candy hearts? Visit the ACME Heart Maker.