Valentine Breakfast Picnic Surprise

After a long, busy week, I decided to surprise the Butterballs with a surprise Breakfast Picnic.

I hung up Tamlyn's fairy net, threw a pink blanket onto the grass and added a few cushions.

A few picnic baskets and accessories tied everything together and soon we were ready to begin picnicking!!! 

I served a simple menu which I knew the Butterballs would love!

Eggs (sunny-side up) fried in a heart mold,

 Chicken viennas (sliced at an angle so they resemble hearts)

little drops of tomato sauce and

Strawberry yoghurt in a pretty heart-shaped bowl ...

and of course, no Valentine breakfast would be complete without strawberry milk!

The Butterballs loved every mouthful!!

And they had loads of fun playing in their 'tent' ;)

 Valentine Breakfast Picnic... served with LOVE!!!!

Valentine target practice - Melt the heart

It's the weekend...whoop whoop!!!!!

To beat the heat, I prepared a fun shaving foam activity for the Butterballs.

A really simple activity, 

(after a long week at school, I didn't have the energy for anything elaborate)

All I did was mix two batches of shaving foam paint (shaving foam + food colouring) in purple and pink.

This took about 3 minutes.

Another 3 minutes to fill up a bucket with water and find the Butterballs water-blasters.

Using the shaving-foam paint, I painted a few hearts onto our sliding door,
then let the Butterballs loose!!

Ready ... Aim...

Fire!!!!

They loved their target practice session. At first, they had to get real close to their targets but they soon got the hang of it!

Tamlyn eagerly repainted the hearts so that they could continue their heart-blasting,
while I relaxed on the lounger with a book....ahhh, such bliss :)

All too soon, the Butterballs ran out of shaving-foam paint so they began to blast each other ...and me!!!
Book and all!!!

It didn't take me long to get them geared for a quick clean up.
Armed with window wipers, the Butterballs soon had my sliding door sparkling!

What a great way to clean the windows!!!!

Valentine Doodle Cookies

Can't believe that its already the middle of the week!!

I decided that a special treat would be the perfect way to celebrate mid-week 'Humpday' so...

I baked a batch of heart-shaped sugar cookies this morning

...at 3:00am when most normal people are asleep ;)

so they were perfectly cool for me to ice when I got home from school.

I used white royal icing (which didn't set as quickly as I hoped),

the icing also had tiny air-bubbles in it.

Next time I will try fondant.

I pulled out a pack of doodle pens (Foodoodlers)

and laid out all the supplies for the Butterballs.

I decided to draw some heart outlines on a few of the cookies

...just to help the Butterballs out.

Okay...I gotta admit, this was the first time we were drawing on cookies 

and I just really wanted to have a turn too :)))))

Tamlyn coloured in her cookies perfectly, always staying within the outline.

She even wrote an I 'heart' you message on a cookie (which she proudly presented to Dad)

Ethan started off well, until he decided to test out all the coloured markers on one cookie!

It was all down-hill from there. 

Also, he couldn't resist tasting each cookie before he completed decorating them. :D

Lots of delicious fun.

Valentine LOVE treat tray

'I LOVE YOU' are 3 little words that are heard 
and spoken VERY often in our home.

But what I am guilty of, is not being specific!

What do I love about my Butterballs....

there's so many things - the list is endless!!!

Today, I decided to make a concerted effort to tell my Butterballs what I love about them...well, a few things that I love about them.

We sometimes do a Muffin Cup Monday Treat Tray so I decided that this Monday we will do a Valentine LOVE treat tray for dessert.

I filled a heart shaped muffin tray with :
watermelon cubes
strawberries 
grapes
candy-coated peanuts
mini heart-shaped marshmallows
valentine gummy treats

I tried to include an even mix of healthy and not-so-healthy treats!

Besides filling up their muffin tray with delicious treats, I added a little note to each cup, listing a few things that I love about them.

My stash of washi tape came in really handy!!

I used various valentine themed tapes to turn a few blank gift tags into pretty 'love notes'

After sticking a cocktail  skewer onto the back of each note, I was ready to present my Butterballs with their Valentine treat tray.

The looks on their faces were priceless!!!
My Butterballs couldn't read their love-notes so they ran to me and dad, sticky notes in hand, waiting for us to read out each little message.

Afterwards Tamlyn gave me a great big hug and whispered in my ear, 'Love you, my Mama. You're the best mom !' ...I had tears in my eyes.

Ethan of course, not to be outdone, runs over and hugging me, he whispers in my other ear, 'Can I please have more water-melon'  ;)))))

Gotta love em!!!

Valentine cookie cutter painting

Time to begin Valentine Crafting!!

The first activity for the month is a really simple one.

All you need is some paint (we chose pretty Valentine colors) and a few 

heart-shaped cookie cutters in different sizes.

I found the 'Pandamix Panda Paint' perfect for basically all our projects

Undiluted, its thick consistency is ideal for finger painting... and cookie-cutter painting.

When diluted, the colours remain vibrant and it is economical as well.

An added bonus is that the paint is non-toxic - perfect for little Butterballs 

The Butterballs enjoyed dipping their cookie-cutters into the paint, then stamping them all over their pages.

Such concentration!!

But of course, it is short-lived. Ethan loves goofing around!!

And the completed masterpieces 

now hold a prime spot on the Chetty Wall of Fame ;)))

Valentine Photoshoot Family Tradition

The 1st of February!!!! Where did January go too??

2014 is of to an amazing start!

To celebrate the Month of Love, 
we always do a mini Valentine themed photo shoot. 

I love looking back at the previous years photos...
it brings back sweet memories and reminds me just how much and how quickly the Butterballs are growing.

It makes me want to make the most of each and every moment that I spend with them because all too quickly they will be 'grown up'

Here's a little trip down memory lane...

Valentine photo shoot 2013

 Last year, I went the whole nine yards!
backdrop, coordinating outfits, photo-props, 
the works!
The Butterballs loved the heart lollipops
and they thoroughly enjoyed eating the pink, red and white sprinkles that I dished out for them!

This year, I didn't have time to plan an elaborate shoot 
so I had to settle for these pics instead.

Valentine pics 2014

Not fancy but still,
its photos of my Butterballs so I LOVE them
...regardless of the lack of 'bells n whistles'
]
I wanted the pics to reflect a bit of their personalities so I chose appropriate props.
Cars for Ethan cos he's mad about anything on wheels
and confetti for Tamlyn cos she's into all things girly!

They have grown so much.
And I am ever so thankful that they still love the camera.
Heaven forbid that should ever change!!!

Happy 1st of February my Butterballs!!!

DIY Water Park

The last week of the holiday!!!

I can't believe it!!

My Butterballs are back at school on Monday.

Tamlyn will be in Grade 00 and Ethan will attend school for the first time!

My little man will be in Grade 000.

How time has flown!!

To celebrate...;) the end of the holiday, and more importantly,

 to COOL DOWN!!! (this has been a scorching hot Summer)

we decided to setup our very own mini Water Park with various water-based play stations.

At the crack of dawn, Calvin and I set to work.

Our first station was a Bubbles and Balls pool.

We filled a little paddling pool with water, a splash of bubble bath and a bag of balls.

Lots of Sensory fun!!

Next we set up a the splash pools... two little pools filled with various toys, water-wheels and pumps. Perfect for investigating and exploring.

The Butterballs received an awesome slide for Christmas (Thanks Uncle Alvin!)  which we put to good use.

I sprayed on shaving foam for some extra special slippery fun. The Butterballs also loved sliding down on their little surfboards (with a bit of help from Dad)

The next water-based play station was a Rub-a-Dub Scrub Tub.
I filled the Butterballs water-table with warm water, added a bit of dish-washing liquid to one section of the table, then tossed in a few cups and saucers, even a teapot or two.
They loved washing their tea set.

Ethan decided to turn the activity into an imaginary tea-party!!
I was just glad that those toys were finally getting washed ;)

Calvin added a water-pump bin so the Butterballs could spray each other ( and us!!)

And of course, no Back-yard Water Park would be complete without water balloons!!!

,

The Butterballs enjoyed a day of cool, splashy fun with lots of Active, Sensory and Imaginative play thrown in for good measure!
'When can we do it again Mama?' asks a super-sleepy Tamlyn at bedtime. :)