Happy Valentine's Day

In nearly twelve years together, my husband and I have rarely celebrated Valentine's Day. We usually cook a nice dinner together, but any gifts or flowers are exchanged after the day (50% off is so much better than inflated prices to me). Now that we have a child, I'm considering starting a tradition of giving each other some small token of affection. Abigail did make a lovely card at storytime for her daddy this week, but we gave it to him right away.

At any rate, this year Valentine's Day is being overshadowed at our house by the long-overdue family birthday party that we're throwing for our newly two year old. We've been postponing due to the ice storm and other obligations, and I'm excited to finally be getting ready for the party. We still have a party with friends coming in a few weeks (again being postponed due to other obligations).

As I have no official Valentine's plans, I thought I'd share a few ideas I've come across this week. Maybe you'll find inspiration for this year or can start planning for the next.

• This devil's food cake with raspberries at Joy the Baker sounds wonderful
• Chocolate dipped pretzel hearts (actually I might do this) at Make & Takes
• How to Make bath bombs at Skip to my Lou
• Crayon hearts at UK Lass in US
• and if you're just looking for some fun Valentine themed stories to tell your children, try these at Apple For the Teacher

I hope you have a wonderfully fun day!