Shopping healthy on a budget

A few months ago, I decided to give couponing a try. Although I haven't gone "extreme" (yet) I am proud to say that I have been able to stock up on some extremely good deals. I think I've gotten into a good rhythm, with a simple organized system that doesn't consume all my time-- I spend about an hour each week clipping coupons and planning out my shopping trips. The result has been well-stocked shelves of paper goods, laundry detergent, shower gels etc. for about 80% off the retail price. I've also walked into the store twice and paid entirely with coupons for a bag of products. Pretty cool!

I will admit that a good majority of the coupons in the circulars go untouched. The reality is that there is a lot of junk that you could buy for pennies (but that you will pay for with your health). So, the big question is "How can one shop healthy (better yet, organic) on a coupon budget?" There is a misconception that you have pay more for quality food. Well, we have some great tips for buying good food for less.

Annabelle: Elisa is an eater (just like her momma) and I can't really fault her for being hungry constantly but it does get expensive!  These days, I've been getting quite friendly with the grocers in my area...visiting them 3-4 times a week at least.  What else can I do when two boxes of strawberries disappear in under three days or when I find an empty cereal box in two days? One might think I'm feeding a small country but it's just my 6 year old girl!

Inspired by Lisa's ability to keep her weekly grocery budget to $100 a week, Ellyn's commitment to serving her daughter only organic foods, and Tara's passion for couponing, I decided to reevaluate my grocery store approach. I'm quite talented at clothes shopping and finding a great bargain but never really paid attention to the cost of food since I figured we all have to eat right?! There had to be a way to find reasonably priced organic produce/foods while not having to take out a loan for the summer months.  Mrs. Green's, while usually astronomically priced for me, sells only organic produce and they tend to have great sales.  I've been keeping my eyes open for their circulars and I've found that for almost the entire month of July and into August, their strawberries have been priced at $3.99 which I think is really great.  Also blueberries, raspberries, grape tomatoes, grapes, plums, salad clamshells are often listed on sale. So, I've been stocking up! Another plus is if you sign up for their free rewards card, you get $5 towards free produce that will be applied to your account in about a week.  And then you get $5 in rewards when you accumulate points from purchases.  Their receipts will also have coupons on the back and on certain days, they will take 10% off for customer appreciation days.  Another budget breaker, Whole Foods, will often run sales as well. They also have special one day sales that they will advertise during the week for the coming Friday so make sure to sign up for email alerts. Additionally, you can print online coupons from their site.

Ellyn: Clara likes portable applesauce, and so for years, I purchased "Crushers" from Trader's Joe. These are great for on-the-road trips and easy to eat with no utensils. A visit from my environmentalist sister this summer taught me that apples are one of the most pesticide-heavy foods. This made me uneasy since Crushers are made with non-organic apples. I started looking for an organic solution and noticed that on the shelf right next to the Crushers that cost $2.99 was a pack of organic applesauce containers that cost $1.99. The amount of applesauce in the containers is significantly more than the Crushers so it feels like a win in savings, quality, and quantity.

Tara: One of the biggest money savers for our family was becoming members a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Technically, my mom is the member and splits the farm share with us. (Thanks, Mom!) For about $15 a week, you can get a generous amount of organic veggies—kale, collard greens, corn, beets, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. Since we make green smoothies every day, nothing goes to waste. We put stems, wilted greens, and bruised fruit in the blender for a healthy drink to start the day.

I am also a member of the online “Driscoll Advisory Panel” (sounds really important, right?). Basically, every time I buy a Driscoll product (strawberries, blueberries etc.), I complete a quick online survey. For my time (about 1 minute) I get a coupon for my next purchase. I then stack the coupon with other store promotions and take home fresh berries at a deeply discounted price. For example, I have stocked up on packages of strawberries for $1.20 each!

Many of my family’s favorite healthy brands, like Kashi, Applegate, Chobani, and Stonyfield, will send me coupons on a regular basis since I am signed up for their e-newsletters and promotions. You can also print coupons from their websites and/or Facebook pages. Following the main rule of “couponing 101,”of course, wait until the product is on sale to maximize the deal!

Happy (and healthy) shopping!

-Tara, Annabelle, & Ellyn

We of the rosy cheeks

I looked at all of the kindergarten self-portraits on display, looking eagerly for my daughter's artwork. Quickly, I scanned past the brunettes and the redhead, my eyes moving back and forth amongst the blondes to see which one was Clara's.

I immediately blushed when I saw the identifying factor which definitively differentiated Clara's portrait from the others: two rosy red cheeks. "My name is Clara and I like cupcakes," she wrote underneath her artwork. 

Clara does not have particularly rosy red cheeks, and yet her artwork throughout the year was consistently punctuated by those same two unmistakable rosy cheeks.

I didn't have to look very far to realize why she identifies so strongly with red cheeks. I have rosacea.

What is rosacea?

Rosacea is a skin condition that causes redness of the face. It is common for people with light skin of European and Irish descent. About 14 million people have it, even well-known people like Bill Clinton and Prince Charles, and actresses such as Cynthia Nixon. 

Rosacea and me

No matter how many famous people I know who have it, having rosacea is embarrassing to me. My regular skin tone is pale and pink, but anytime I have an uncomfortable thought, my face broadcasts my discomfort with a blush ranging from flamingo pink to firehouse red. I feel exposed, like my emotions are constantly on display even though I am a very private person. 

Staring at my daughter's artwork so clearly displaying one of my most uncomfortable physical traits was quite a blush-worthy moment.

Finding beauty through my daughter's art

The final art project of Clara's school year was to make a "moveable me portrait" that featured life-size hands and feet. Clara worked hard to mix paints to match her exact skin tone. This project took weeks. I was excited to see the final artwork.

By this point in the year, I was not surprised to see the predictable rosy circles prominently attached to Clara's cheeks on her "movable me".

Clara could hardly wait to show me the project and how the arms and legs moved.

"Do you know what my favorite part of my movable me is, Mama?" Clara asked.

"No, what...?" I thought she might mention the details she put into the patchwork shirt and skirt or how each part could move individually.

Clara said, "My favorite part is... the rosy cheeks."

***

I lost my breath for a moment. How was it that the physical feature I dislike most became my daughter's favorite?

My daughter may indeed have rosy cheeks like her mama when she is a grown-up. Rosacea has a hereditary component although how it is passed down is not exactly known. It usually manifests after the age of 30 so she has a while to find out.

For now, even though Clara does not have my rosy cheeks, she sees what I view as an imperfection as a sign of beauty, as a mark of our tribe. 

I strive to cultivate the sense of acceptance she so clearly demonstrates in her artwork. And yes, I admit, Clara's rosy view of herself (and me) makes me blush with pride.

-Ellyn

Top 10: Fun (almost free) things to do on staycation (Part 2)

Last summer, I wrote about this same topic—Top 10 (low cost) things to do on staycation. Well, I just recently had another glorious two weeks off with Lila. We, once again, had no fancy vacation plans, but we had the absolute best time together. Here are some highlights and suggestions for easy, fun and (practically) free things to do on staycation!

10) Outdoor public art. On our first day of staycation, we had absolutely nothing planned (exactly the way I like it). It was beautiful day, so we decided to just go for a stroll. On our walk, we made it our mission to take a pic on each and every painted bench, which is this summer's public art display in our city. We had a blast being silly and taking selfies! You can likely find outdoor public art exhibits own your town's or city's website such as "Art in the Parks" in NYC.

9) Art classes at Michaels Crafts. This summer, Michaels Crafts is hosting a series of children's art classes, Passport to Imagination, that correspond with museum exhibits across the US– including The Field Museum, the Georgia Aquarium, the Denver Art Museum and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Kids can participate in arts and craft sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Michaels stores for just $2! Lila took a class each week (one with Clara and one with Elisa) while the moms had some much-needed "mommy time" over coffee/tea.

8) Beach time. No vacation (or staycation) would be complete without a day at the beach. We spent plenty of time relaxing with the summer essentials- sun, sand, and water. We are fortunate that Grandma has a condo at the beach.

7) Backyard fun. We had some HOT days this June. Phew! The type that drain you if you just try to walk for a few minutes. We don't have our own pool and our local Y was packed with summer campers (which means no family swim hours- Boo!), so what is there to do to stay cool??? The sprinkler! Yes!!!! Guaranteed to make any little one squeal with excitement, the sprinkler is easy, instant fun. And I have no shame running around in my bathing suit and acting a fool in my own backyard when it means lots of mommy-daughter giggles.

6) Play dates. The summer is the perfect time to get together with friends we don't see as often as we would like. Although we tried to stay unscheduled for the most part, we definitely wanted to get some long overdue play dates on the calendar. We are blessed to have great friends (old and new) and it was nice to spend some time catching up.

5) Free summer movies. I mentioned this in my previous post, but it is worth a slot on the top 10 list again this year. The summer kids movie series at Bowtie Cinemas is a staple in our staycation plans. You can catch a free movie at 10am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer.

4) Taco Tuesdays. We joke that Lila's favorite food is Mexican because that's what I was eating when I went into early labor. It seems she wanted to get out and join the party with some chips and salsa. Ha! Lila has coined "Taco Tuesdays" in our home to ensure that her favorite meal makes it on the menu each week, especially on staycation. Whether we are walking to our neighborhood taco joint or making tacos at home, Lila's Taco Tuesday is a hit. Check out Lila's delicious guacamole recipe. 

3) A day at the zoo. One of our best days on our staycation was going to the zoo with Annabelle and Elisa. It was so much fun to ride the monorail, carousel and a camel and to see all of the amazing animals and exhibits.  Our favorite was the butterfly garden.

2) Summer festivals. The summer season is full of many free (or low cost) festivals, fairs, carnivals, and outdoor concerts. We enjoyed an arts festival in one of our neighboring cities with friends where we saw live dance and music performances, had a picnic lunch, and toured one of the art museums. Just check your local newspaper or city/town's website and you are sure to find something fun.

1) A weekend sort of away. We ended our two week break with the absolute highlight of our trip-- the lake house! Annabelle invited us, and other friends, to spend the weekend together at a gorgeous lake home. It was only an hour away, but it was just far enough to feel like a special vacation outside of our city norm. We simply relaxed-- ordered in, cooked out, made s'mores, chilled at the beach, enjoyed the water view, and experienced a breathtaking fireworks show on the dock. It was an amazing finale to our lovely time together.

It was difficult to go back to our routine and Lila and I are already looking forward to our next non-vacation/do-nothing/stay-home/chill-out/quality-time-off together.

Top 10 Tuesday: Catching onto the coupon craze (a little late is better than never)

I've always been a sucker for a good deal. Rarely do I pay full price for anything. Just ask my husband. Practically every time we go out to eat as a family, I'm pulling out a Groupon, Living Social, or Restaurant.com deal. When clothes shopping, if the shoes fit and the price is right (meaning on sale plus a coupon) I'll take 'em! The deeper the discount the higher the high. After landing a good deal, I love going home and playing the "guess how much I paid for this" game with the hubby. I think he gets a kick out of it too, even though he shakes his head and goes back to watching Sports Center.

It's amazing that it's taken me this long to try grocery store couponing.

Occasionally, I'd stumble upon episodes of "Extreme Couponing" when channel surfing. I'd watch solely because of the shock value-- to me, these women seemed a bit out of their minds. Seriously, who really needs 30 bottles of mustard (even if they are 20 cents each)!? Couponing and stock piling didn't seem much different than hoarding. Who has the room for all that stuff? And the hours these women would spend obsessing about coupons... Who has time for all that?

Not me! Like most working moms, I am always busy. I have way too much going on, too much on my mind, too much to do, and never enough time for it all. When I leave the house in the morning, I am usually frantic, forgetting something every single time: my cell phone, my lunch, that check I supposed to mail a week ago... Most days, I'm a complete mess. My husband says "just make a list." He's the king of simple solutions. This annoys the hell out of me! I don't even have time to make the list and even if I do, I'll probably forget what I was supposed to put on the list anyways. "Thanks for the suggestion, hun, but that just adds yet another thing that I have to do that I don't have time for!"

When it comes to grocery shopping, I never have a plan. I am constantly running to the store for something. I get coupons sometimes in the mail, from the supermarket, off the back of a cereal box. I usually find myself in the check out line, telling Lila for the 5th time "No, you can't have another pack of gum" shifting through my purse (another mess, reflective of my daily life) looking for that one coupon I think I have. Got it! Oh... it expired last week... Damn it!

Recently, I received an email for a free "Extreme Couponing" workshop in my city. It kind of intrigued me but I was skeptical. I registered anyways. If anything I figured I'd go for chuckles to hear about these insane grocery store hauls for dozens of paper towels and boxed mac and cheese.

It turns out that this workshop was offered with the perfect timing for me and what has been going on in my life. While I was feeling crazed and disorganized, the workshop facilitators (moms like me) had an incredible sense of control. They were the ultimate planners and, if nothing else, had at least one aspect of their lives in order-- their homes were stocked, organized, and they were saving a surprising amount of money.

I know. I know. I totally fell for the bait and hook. For the record, I did not sign up for the four subscriptions of the Sunday paper as they suggested. That, of course, was the catch. But, I did decide that I would give this couponing thing one good try and see what happens. I am totally a newbie and I don't really have this thing figured out yet. I am happy to report that I still have my sanity at the moment, but please remember this post and schedule an intervention if you see me sharing pics of my stock pile of 200 rolls of toilet paper this time next year.

So this is what I know so far...
(Disclaimer: If you are completely new to couponing, like me, these tips are for you. If you already coupon, you will read this and think "Well, duh!")

Top 10 Tips for New Couponers:

1) Be patient. When you have a coupon for something you want or need, resist the urge to use it right away. Save it until that product goes on sale, then cash it in. Seems simple enough. (Just make sure it doesn't expire). Of course, you can stock up if you have a few coupons for the same product, which is why most couponers receive multiple Sunday papers.

2) Play the matching game. Plan your shopping trip by matching available coupons to what's on sale on a given week. This sounds incredibly time consuming, which is what initially deterred me from couponing in the first place. But, lo and behold, there are sites out there that do this for you. The one that was recommended at the workshop was grocerysmarts.com. A co-worker of mine also suggested livingrichwithcoupons.com. Each week, sale products are listed and you are told where to obtain the coupons for those products. Coupon sources are generally the Sunday paper, on-line coupon sites, or manufacturer websites.

3) Organize, but don't obsess. Apparently, there is really no need to clip coupons anymore (until you actually need them). When you receive your Sunday paper (or papers, if you are going for "extreme"), pull out the inserts, skim the pages, stick 'em in a file folder and write the date on the tab. Forget about them until the time is right. Each week, when you check your go-to match up website, you will be informed of the date of which circular you need for a particular sale item.

How to read match-up lists from grocerysmarts.com. 

4) Use on-line coupons. Besides the Sunday papers, the match-up sites will also direct you to on-line coupon sites. The two that I've started with are coupons.com and savingstar.com. On coupons.com, you select the coupons you need and then print them out. You have to install their coupon printer software, which is a little cumbersome. Also, I can't help but think about the amount of paper and ink that is needed for this printing. I've been selective about what I choose to print from this site-- only those few coupons for the products I am sure that I will buy. With savingstar.com, you register your grocery and/or drug store card on their site. The coupons you select are loaded on your card. No printing! When you buy the products, you do not get the savings immediately at the register. The amount of the coupons you use are loaded into your on-line account and you can then choose to transfer the money to you bank, Paypal account, or an Amazon gift card. This is pretty cool, because it's almost like having a little savings account from the coupons you use.

5) Become familiar with your store's policies. Knowing before you go will help you to maximize your coupon savings. For example, Stop and Shop will "double coupons" everyday. Any coupon under $1.00 is doubled, so that $.75 off coupon will actually get you a $1.50 off. This, I discovered, is how couponers take home products for free. Think about if a product that is normally $2.50 is on sale this week for $1.50 and you have a coupon (which will be doubled) for $.75 off-- that means it's free! And just think if you have 4 of these coupons... Get the picture?  Here's the catch, like most stores, Stop and Shop has a limit, they will only double up to 4 of the same coupons. However, up to an additional 12 coupons will still be accepted at the regular value, so you can stock up quite a bit with significant savings.

6) Shop during off hours. My mom gave me a great tip from when she used to coupon back in the day-- she would do her shopping at midnight. You definitely don't want to shop with coupons during busy store hours i.e. weekend afternoons or right after work. Choose a time of day (or night) that's calm and quiet at the store so that you can take your time and not feel guilty about potentially holding up the line with your stack of coupons.

7) Consider shopping at more than one store. While laundry detergent might be on sale at Stop and Shop, ShopRite might have a great deal on your favorite yogurt. Make your shopping lists based on which store has the best sale on your desired products. I know what you're thinking-- you don't have to go crazy driving around to multiple stores. I chose two. One night Stop and Shop, the next night ShopRite, and then I'm done with my shopping for the week.

8) Pay attention to additional perks to maximize your savings. On my last shopping trip, I discovered that I could earn $.50 off per gallon of gas with my rewards card if I buy $15 worth of a certain brand of shampoo, conditioner, or shower gel. These products were also on sale. So, I stocked up on these shower supplies and will be filling up my gas tank very soon!

9) Do not compromise your standards. Couponing might motivate you to experiment and buy an item you've never tried before. That could be a good thing, but it is okay to have a certain degree of brand loyalty. I am sensitive to most toothpastes and am usually restricted to buying the (IMO quite pricey) toothpaste Sensodine. I was teetering on crazy for a moment when, because it was a "great deal," I bought a different brand. By the end of the week I was paying for that "great deal" when the inside of my poor mouth was inflamed and sore! Never again. Along the same lines, healthy eating is extremely important to our family. For example, we do not eat products with high fructose corn syrup. Even though a food product is on sale, if it's full of artificial ingredients, I will pass. This goes back to being patient. Eventually, the product and brand that you prefer will go on sale and, if you're just a little organized, you will have the necessary coupons to go with it. And that's when you stock up and do a happy dance!

10) Even though it's "such a great deal" does NOT mean that you need it. Shopping smart means buying only the things that you need. Again, I know I don't need 20 bottles of mustard. (Maybe I'll take two if it's a really deep deal). Buying products that you wouldn't normally buy just because they are on sale is counterproductive. You will be spending money instead of saving. My personal goal with this little project of mine is to stock up on those things that I know my family needs and that we tend to run out of often-- paper products, laundry detergent, shower gels, deodorant... To pay it forward, I might leave a coupon next to an item in the store that I don't want for someone else who does. Perhaps this will inspire another shopper to discover the potential savings of couponing!

Last night, I did my first real shopping using coupons. With just a little extra time spent on the match-up sites, I wrote out my grocery list and headed to the store with my coupons. The result? The total before coupons was approximately $222.00. After coupons, it was $130.00, about a 40% savings. Some of the deals were pretty good-- Simply Orange Juice for $ .38; Honey Nut Cheerios for $ .88; Turkey Bacon for $ .17.  I know that real "extreme couponers" wouldn't be impressed, but for me it was a great start! I just might get hooked.

Magic show party with a taste of New York

Lila's 6th birthday was truly magical. Since Lila now is a budding magician herself, we arranged a top notch magic show with performer extraordinaire, Mario the Magician! Mario, who is in high demand in the kids' party circuit, was booked over two months in advance. My husband had seen him perform before and seemed even more excited than Lila. "He's no joke! Wait 'til you see him." The excitement was quite contagious as whispered "rumors" spread rapidly around Lila's kindergarten classroom-- "Lila's getting a magician for her party!" The party was set. We all were looking forward to the big day.

One important aspect of the party was left undetermined-- what food does one serve at a magic show party? Lila's previous parties had an easy food tie-in: Dora = Taco Bar; Pirate Party = a Caribbean Feast; Cowgirl & Cowboy Ho Down = Tex Mex Grub; Magic show = ?

So, we asked Lila. Her simple response was, "My friends love two types of food-- cheesy pizza and hot dogs." Pizza was out. Too common. Hot dogs??? Perhaps a hot dog bar? That could be fun!

The idea was simmering for a while, but it wasn't until the morning of the party that the overall theme finally clicked-- New York, New York! 

It made perfect sense. Mario, who had honed his craft as a street performer, enters with a classic vintage vagabond style-- a tattered suit and top hat and an old suitcase full of tricks. Although we had a small theater room available in the apartment building, he prefers the crowd to gather around and get up close to interact and see what he's got up his sleeve.  

The room was filled with those familiar New York food truck aromas-- kabobs, giant pretzels, popcorn, and, of course, hot dogs with loads of toppings! (To be somewhat healthy, we used nitrate-free Applegate hot dogs.)

For dessert, I made "rabbit in a magic hat cupcakes." For an added New York touch, we had black and white cookies.

On orientaltrading.com, I found old fashioned carnival treat bags which we used for popcorn as well as the goody bag/party favors. The goody bags were filled with a magic tattoos, carnival stampers, and a snack. 

To keep the kids entertained before and after the show, we set up activity stations around the room which included arts and crafts, hula hooping, ring toss, and Twister (although I found the kids mostly just wanted to run around and play with the balloons).

Overall, it was the best magic show and 6th birthday party. Mario was amazing! His slap stick comedic antics, self-made creative contraptions, and many "how-did-he-do-that?!" surprises were an absolute hit! And as easily as he breezed in, in a blink he was gone, leaving behind a magical memory that Lila will never forget.

10 Tips for making reading fun

My daughter is good at math. Yes, my daughter. "Could we do the math homework first?" she asks. "Really???" I think to myself. Wow. She actually likes math. I am surprised and thrilled that my daughter has not inherited my math intolerance. It's pretty cool to watch the wheels turn as she plows through problems and seems to get a kick out of the challenge.

But, with every favorite subject there is a least favorite. Despite her mommy's love of literature, Lila is her own little person. She is scientific, logical, and mathematically inclined. She is also outgoing, athletic, and sociable. While as a child I could spend hours alone in my room with a good book or my journal, Lila would rather be out and about with friends, playing outdoors and exploring nature, running science experiments (which sometimes require goggles) and being active. To sit and read is just not her first choice and I have to remind myself that she is not my "mini-me." However, I too am up for a challenge! I have tapped into my own solution-finding abilities coupled with a dose of creativity to bring the fun into reading for Lila. I truly think she can discover her own love for reading, but just needs to build the same level of confidence that she has with math.

Here are 10 tips and resources for making reading more fun!

1) Act out stories together. Lila's favorite author right now is Mo Williems. She is particularly fond of his Elephant & Piggie series. When we read the stories together, we act them out as the characters. I am Elephant and she is Piggie. We tend to get really silly with the dialogue by using exaggerated tone, inflection, and facial expressions.

2) Compete to be the Scrabble champion. One of Lila's new games is Scrabble Junior which has been fun to play when we are winding down for the night. Lila just loves beating her mom at board games!

3) Pop for sight words! This is another new game that we like to play. Words are printed on little popcorn-shaped cards. Each player takes a turn picking a piece of popcorn and then reading the word. If you read the word correctly, you keep your piece. It should be played at a fast pace to encourage fluency. But be careful picking too quickly-- if you pick the word "POP" you have to put all your popcorn pieces back in and start over again. Lila thinks it's hilarious when this happens to me.

4) Beat the clock. This was a suggestion from Lila's teacher-- to have Lila read through a list of words using a minute timer. I was reluctant to try it, assuming it would be kind of stressful, but Lila actually thinks it's fun. She tries to see if she could read more words than the last time within the minute.

5) Read with a snap. Another teacher suggestion-- Lila flips through her flash cards while I snap my fingers. With each snap, she says a word. This is to increase reading speed, fluency, and overall confidence. She really gets into a nice rhythm which helps her to stay focused. Perhaps we can dim the lights, wear berets, and pretend to beat poets. {snap. snap. snap.}

6) Design your own flash cards. Lila came up with the idea to create her own flash cards. She had fun illustrating them and labeling them with some of the words she knows. I noticed all of them were food items: apple, tomato, lemon. This inspired our next reading activity...

7) Search for words while shopping. One of Lila's favorite things to do is grocery shopping, especially at Trader Joe's where she can push her own mini-cart. I make a shopping list and Lila has to read the list and then find the items in the store. The reward is a cart full of all her favorite foods!

8) Write your own book. My husband found this activity on Amazon and we've had so much fun with it-- Create Your Own Bitty Books. The kit comes with three mini-books, markers, and stickers. We have created two stories so far: "Our Family" and "Our Favorite Things."

9) Take advantage of technology. When Lila needs some down time, she will usually pull out the I-pad and zone out for a bit. When she's not watching cat videos on YouTube (which she is totally obsessed with), she logs into educational websites like ABCmouse.com. It's brillant because she feels like she is taking a little break, but she is really still learning and reading.

10) Read anything and everything! Lila's Nana, instead of getting her glasses, will say "Lila, can you read this recipe for me?" Her Grandma does the same with the offer of a little incentive-- "If you can read this, you can pick a treat." If Lila wants to learn how to play a game, her dad and I encourage her to read the directions on her own. And, she's gotten hip to us spelling words when we don't want her to know what we're talking about. So, when she gets frustrated with us for doing that, we simply say "Well, guess you better practice your reading and spelling." She crosses her arms letting us know she is up for the challenge. The perfect motivation!

Making Valentines

I have many memories of holiday-specific parties at my Grandma's house whether it was building gingerbread houses in December or dyeing Easter Eggs in April or carving pumpkins in October. 

Valentine's Day was always one of my favorite celebrations. My grandma was a much better baker than I am so nearly every party involved baking cookies and decorating them with sprinkles, icing, and assorted sweets. I can still clearly see the line of pink and red icing winding around the curves of heart-shaped cookies and the perfectly formed pink flowers with green icing leaves she placed in the center of each cookie.

I have not carried on with the baking traditions that she passed down, but I have managed to hold on to some of the arts & craft elements of the parties I remember so fondly from childhood.

For Valentine's Day I invited Clara and her cousins to a Valentine making party. It is meaningful to me to be passing down these traditions to the next generation. These celebrations also make me miss my grandma, and wish she was there in the kitchen spooning the icing out of the barely functional old-fashioned mixer that she held on to for decades. I feel grateful for these traditions she created for us.

Valentine's Day is one of the easiest holiday parties to prepare for since we already have ample arts and crafts materials in the house. I just make a pile of paper, markers, stickers, and other craft materials on the table and let the girls create!

We tried an owl and ladybug theme because I found some cute stickers in these themes. I made a couple of demo cards, and then the girls made their own versions on the theme.

After making a few ladybug and owl cards, the girls quickly switched to their own themes and designs. Here are some of the creative cards from the day:

Cousin Isabella was especially poetic in her cards this year bringing clouds and stars into her celestial themed cards: 

I love the precision and thoughtfulness that Natasha put into creating a pattern for the flowers on her card:

Clara wrote her cards all by herself using developmental spelling. Translation of below card: 1. happy day 2. great day  3. nice day  4. beautiful day   5. awesome day. 

Inside: 6. Happy Valentine's Day!

I think Clara was inspired to have the Valentine heart in one of her cards in a beach setting after seeing Olaf the snowman in "Frozen" dreaming about summer.

some pop-up action

From Clara to her younger cousin.

It was a fun day for our family to create and celebrate together. This is a tradition I hope we will keep up over the years.

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Ellyn