Valentine's Day

There aren't a lot of negatives I've found to homeschooling, but when it comes to the holidays, one negative stands out...it can be lonely.  Who wants a Valentine's party with your sister?!  We aren't part of a co-op that meets regularly, so really it's just us.  Makes a mom get creative!  I think we've made the best of it this year.  Today was cookie day.

 We made sugar cookies using the recipe below (best sugar cookies ever) and Anna delivered hers to her gymnastics class.  Ella will take hers to her Hip Hop class tomorrow.

Aunt Evon’s Sugar Cookies
For the cookies:
3/4 cup butter flavored shortening 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt
Blend all wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to wet ingredients. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Roll out dough and cut to desired shape. Bake 6-8 min on 400 degree oven.
Let cool and ice.

We also took some time last week to make some homemade valentines to mail to family.  Now, I did just like every other mom and scoured Pinterest for the cutest Valentine ideas for my kids to do.  But you know what?  They just really wanted to sit in the floor with all their arts and crafts and let their imaginations run wild...so that's what they did, and they had a blast.

sorry for one bright color and one black and white...
but I'm having iPad/mac/phone issues and this one was the most accessible.

 I think it was a Valentine's success.  But just so all my hard work wasn't in vain... Here are some of the more fun ideas I found across the Internet.
Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with hugs and kisses! Xoxo