My Mellow Mommy Monday and a gift for Valentine's Day!

Dear Monster,

   I can't freaking WAIT until you're in school and we have to stay up late making cookies and cards for your class! We're going to have so much fun talking about all the kids in your class and about who you want to give that "special valentine card" to. It's gonna be great, but until then we'll cuddle and hang out and talk about what Daddy gets us each year. :)
~~~

Hello readers and Happy Valentine's Day!! Let's start with yesterday... We were visited by our good friends over at In The Land Of Lou, Miss Alyssa and Mr Jonah! Alyssa and I absolutely LOVE our Mommy Days and Liam loves watching and learning from Jonah. As always, us Mommys had a chance to sit and talk about life, love, and family while we munched on Chicken Pot Pie and enjoyed our monsters taking some long naps.

Jonah's messy face after lunch time

Jonah enjoying the excersaucer

Liam checking out how Jonah was rocking the excersaucer

Sitting on the floor with Mom :)

Waiting for...

MOM!?!

Getting nervous about the camera

Silly man...

Jonah getting kisses from Mom

Facepalm!

Trying to get a picture with the boys

We gave up and just ended up getting a picture with the Moms

What an awesome day! Can't wait until our next Mommy Day! :D But, alas, we had to head to our separate corners of good ol' Colorado and move forward to today, which is VALENTINE'S DAY!?!

I am SO not a mushy-gushy-lovey-emotional-puddle-on-the-floor type of person...but I still love Valentine's Day! I try to show the appropriate amount of mush on this day. I give a gift, give a hug, give a kiss...and whatever else. ;) I've tried the full spectrum of gifts throughout my many Valentine's Days and I have found one tried and true rule for gift giving: Simplicity is best. Obviously for the big things it is necessary to be extravagant but for annual holidays and birthdays, I love the simple things in life.

So, for this Valentine's Day I fell in love with this simple idea for your significant other:

The New and Improved Gift Basket!

It's called The New and Improved Gift Basket because everything in it is a new and improved version of something that your significant other already has! I love the creativity that is involved in this gift basket and how it reminds your Valentine of how well you know them and how much you love them and want them to have the very best in life!

Step 1: You'll need a basket-  A great example of a basket for this would be if your Valentine needed new slippers or shoes! Grab a new pair of your Valentine's favorite slippers or shoes at their favorite store and TADA: BASKET!

Step 2: Filler- This is my favorite part! Does your Valentine need a new razor? Is their wallet falling apart? Did their favorite mug get broken a couple of years ago? Is there jewelry that needs to be repaired? Can you hunt down their favorite body soap or deodorant that's running out? How's that favorite toothbrush looking these days? That towel that they always use at home and take with them on every trip? Get creative! You know their routines, wants, and needs better than anyone so take a couple of minutes to run through the routine and find out what's fading, cracking, tearing, or just plain missing. 

Step 3: You'll need some kind of wrapper for the basket- I love the idea of a new version of an old shirt for this. Does your Valentine have a favorite jersey or print shirt that is fading or ripping? Find a new version and wrap your completed basket in it!

Step 4: Finalize it- Finish up the basket with a gift card for you guys' favorite restaurant where you will both try something brand new on the menu. It could become your new favorite food!

What do you think? It's great for a last minute idea because it involves things that are already sitting around the house and that you already know your Valentine loves! If you chose to use the idea, I hope you enjoy putting it together and that your significant other loves it! If you chose a different idea, what was it? How did it go?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!!! If it's not full of mush, I hope it's full of fun...but it better be bursting with love. If not, come talk to me. :::hugs:::