All Things Valentine's Day

I have written a ton about Valentine's Day over the years, so in case you've missed any of them the first time around here they are:

The Easiest Homemade Valentine Ever - honestly, the easiest.

More Ideas for Homemade Valentines - Play Doh, recycled crayons, and good ol rocks.

Snowy Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt - so fun, but remember, you need snow.

Make Strawberry Hearts - holiday fun and healthy, too!

Heart-Shaped Potatoes - because do you love your kids, or not?

Valentine's Day Cookies that WOW - trust me, these will be a hit.

All About Suffragette Postcards - I know it's most likely that you don't care about the suffrage movement, but if you do... it has cool ties to Valentine's Day. You can see more here, too.

I know that many a kid brings in a homemade Valentine, but your time and sanity are worth something, so let me recommend a few great picks for store-bought - and fabulous - class Valentines.

Peaceable Kingdom - has so many fantastic options from scratch-n-sniff sticker Valentines to Owl bookmark cards.

eeBoo - has two awesome choices, animals and fairies, and includes teacher cards, too.

Paper Magic - has very cool paper airplane Valentines and Mad Libs Valentines.


Okay. so who's ready to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Six Recipes for Two Ingredient Fudge

I wish I wasn't writing this post. And you should wish you weren't reading it. Because all of these fudge recipes are delicious and easy to make. And totally unhealthy.

So let's pretend all this fudge is not for you, it's for the next time you have to bring something last minute to a neighborhood party, and need something really easy to make.

Oh and did I mention all of these fudge recipes are made with just two ingredients?

Six Recipes for Two Ingredient Fudge

Chocolate Fudge - chocolate chips and condensed milk {from Snail Pace Transformations}

Maple Fudge - maple syrup and whipping cream -- add walnuts if you want, but then it's three ingredients {from Food.com}

Mint Fudge - Andes Candies and chocolate frosting {from One Sweet Appetite}

Peanut Butter Fudge -  almond bark and peanut butter {from Six Sisters' Stuff}

Strawberry Fudge -  strawberry frosting and white chocolate {from Spend with Pennies}

Traditional Fudge - chocolate chips and chocolate frosting {from Betty Crocker}

I just read that Nutella can be substituted for chocolate chips, so looks like I'm making two ingredient Nutella fudge, I'll let you know how it turns out!

Do you have a favorite two ingredient recipe? Let me know in the comments!

What Do Martin Luther King, Jr. and Penguins Have in Common?

This post is from last year in case the MLK Jr. date in the photo is causing confusion. MLK, Jr. Day is Jan. 19 this year. Penguin Awareness Day is always January 20.

This Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

I'm guessing this is not a surprise to you.

But did you also know that this Monday is Penguin Awareness Day?

I'm guessing this one is more likely to come as a surprise to you, unless your child attends school with my children, in which case you know that Monday is in fact this important dual holiday because you also have this calendar from the school hanging on your refrigerator:

And if you also have this calendar I am guessing you share at least some of the same thoughts as me:

- Why out of the many holidays celebrated in January are New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Penguin Awareness Day the only ones singled out in the school calendar? It should be noted that Penguin Awareness Day is always on January 20, whereas Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is always the third Monday in January, so these two won't meet again until 2020.

- Squirrel Awareness Day is January 21. Not only is it not featured this year, but more importantly, when it overlapped last year with Martin Luther King Day it still didn't get a shout-out on the school calendar. If this isn't a blatant case of  anti-Squirrel-ism, I don't know what is.

- Who in the school office approved inclusion of Penquin Awareness Day? Is there a secret penguin bias at the elementary school I don't know about? Is this why my daughter never gets an A in social studies?

- Is it not just a little disrespectful to make the great Martin Luther King, Jr. share his calendar square with the penguins? Or, would he be the first to gladly include the penguins, and one would presume, the squirrels as well?

What do you think? Are the three main holidays in January: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Penguin Awareness Day? Or should Old Rock Day (January 7), Houseplant Appreciation Day (January 10), Winnie the Pooh Day (January 18) and Backward Day (January 31) also be recognized?


Should I start a petition to send to the school? Who's with me?

From the Archives: The Best Thing My Three Year Says

As part of my New Year's Resolution to clean my house, I'm also going through the 300+ unpublished draft posts on my blog. (Mostly to procrastinate from actual cleaning of my house, but whatever. I'm still counting this as a "productive use of my time.")

Most of the drafts are getting deleted on the basis of them being either utterly old news or totally unintelligible. But this one is seeing the light of Internet day, solely because of the cuteness.

My son Ziggy when he was three (now age five!) used to always say:

Can you give me a leaf pile?

As in:

Mom, I'd like a leaf pile of chips.

Can I please have a leaf pile of strawberries?

I want a leaf pile of cheese!

And how could I forget:

You call that a leaf pile of chocolate chips? That is not a leaf pile! That is only three leafs. Not a leaf pile!