When It Rains...

You know how the saying goes... when it rains, it pours! Yesterday it may have been sunny and warm, but we were "showered" with some fun mail! First, look what came in the mailbox:

This personalized tote was from a sweet friend of mine who grew-up with me, but then moved to the south when we were in high school. (See... Facebook can be good for more than wasting time! At least that's what I tell myself.) She has two darling girls, and I only wish she was closer because I know our girls would be great friends! Thank you SO much, Holly!

Also in the mail were these hand-painted Valentine's for each of the kids from Grandma...

Aren't they precious? This may need to be a tradition, (hint, hint, Grandma!) The girls were sooo excited! I kept telling Sierra to turn her card around, and she would spin in a circle. Ha! Love that 2 - year - old!


Next came the ring of the doorbell... (Warning: I will be bragging about my husband. If you don't like bragging, do not read on!)


Oh, my sweet husband... Here's a little story for you:

Once upon a time, we were married and a dear friend of my mothers was a friend of Joseph Schmidts'. Who is Joseph Schmidt? An incredible chocolatier from San Francisco. So, we had Joseph Schmidt truffles on each plate at our wedding. They were to die for! Once we married, I would get the most amazing hand-painted box of Joseph Schmidt truffles each Valentine's Day. Alas, Joseph Schmidt sold-out to one of the big chocolate companies, and then disappeared. I was heart-broken, but not for long. First, my husband found a box of chocolates from a new gourmet chocolatier via my favorite magazine, Sunset. He has since explored and researched and found some absolutely incredible gourmet chocolate companies. Today I had a lavender vanilla flavored chocolate. It is SO hard to eat just one a day. They are absolutely uh-mazing! And, I don't share. Not even a little. My poor girls... they can have m&m's or something!

Next, the doorbell rang, again!


Awww.... I am such a girl. LOVE flowers and chocolate! I had to call my husband at work and let him know I had a secret admirer.

So, it was a day showered with fun surprises.

Fast forward to today, and we awoke with another surprise; REAL RAIN SHOWERS! And, another surprise... my husband got forced to work overtime, so I was on my own! Today was a Lowe's Build and Grow day that was actually girly... Not monster trucks, fire trucks, trains or dinosaurs... today was Valentine Boxes! I couldn't let the girls miss out on that. Somehow I needed to shower and pile the 4 into the car and head out in the rain; I was not too excited!


Half-way to Lowe's I noticed we had a stow-away in the car; Triscuit had jumped in thinking we were going to the park! It was too late to turn-around, so Triscuit came along for the ride. We arrived, and I was SO happy to see some friends of ours who immediately offered to help one of the girls make her Valentine Box. What a blessing! With Malachi in the Bjorn, we hammered away and I am proud to say we left Lowe's with 3 complete Valentine boxes!

Once we got home and had lunch, I put Sierra and Malachi down for their naps and turned on the tea kettle and the worship music. Malachi had a rough patch sleeping last night, which made me extra tired. I find that worship music, (and a little caffeine), really help my parenting when I'm tired! The big girls and I enjoyed some tea while they painted and stuck stickers on their boxes.

About half the time now, Sierra never falls asleep for her nap, so I go get her before it gets too late. This afternoon, I had her help me with an edible project; (her favorite kind). Because I can't resist sweets I wanted to not waste our leftover peanut butter playdough, I decided to make the extra into a little treat. We cut it into hearts and dipped them in chocolate and added a few sprinkles.


And finally, what is a rainy day without a little puddle jumping?



Yes, that is my little sick girl out in the cold with no shirt on. I already showed you that her afternoon snack consisted of peanut butter playdough and chocolate, so I figure it's safe to say I'm not winning any healthy parenting awards today anyway.

Honestly, I was going to call them in but decided to run for my camera instead. This lasted for quite a while; they were having such a great time! And, I was experiencing their joy with them through my camera lens. We already had a crockpot going, so I had time for a warm bath afterward. They kept saying it was the best rainy day ever. I agree. It was a pretty awesome rainy day!