Happy SWEET {Valentine's} Day!!

Today was the day before tomorrow!

The day before Valentine's Day!

Two of my three boys are teenagers and are really too 'cool'

to celebrate it much anymore.

It mostly just means a day of

 sugar {hoarding} for them.

But, my baby {okay, he's 10} is still young enough

to have a party at school and get excited!!

We had three main objectives today:

1. The Party Snack

2. The Valentine

3. The Valentine Box

And none could be sub par. We've back ourselves into

a corner when it comes to this. We've set a bar that's high

in quality and creativity. So, it's a bit of a pressure to

find something new, fun, and exciting!

First, we tackled The Party Snack.

I knew right away what we should make!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes. 

I've been working on perfecting this recipe for awhile. 

{The first time I made them they were very dry.}

But, I think I've finally hit on the right recipe!!

Normally, they're topped with a cherry but for V Day

I chose a pink heart marshmallow!

Check one off our list!!

Next:

The Valentine

This was a bit more challenging for us. Caden {my 10 year old} is 

quite specific in what he wants. Nothing too girly, too cheesy 

or glittery {this one KILLS me--NO GLITTER?? I live, eat and 

breathe for glitter!!} So, off I went in search of the perfect

Valentine! I found the winner

at this wonderful blog

 http://www.nellie-design.com/2012/02/valentines-bouncy-ball-favor-bag-tags.html

So, we got to work!

Caden prepping the Valentine's!

And this is what we got:

My horrible picture doesn't do it justice! 

It's a cello bag with a bouncy ball 

inside. A header {available at the blog above}

 says 'Valentine, you make my heart bounce!'

Cute, but not too cute!

Check another off the list!

And last,

The Valentine Box

{Gluing takes LOTS of concentration!}

We pulled out all my scrapping supplies. My boys have remarked more than

once, 'What do the kids who have Moms that don't 

scrapbook do?' Thankfully, they'll never have to know!! 

They always have a plethora {I l like that word} of 

supplies at their fingertips!

Here's are version of a design we saw online!

Oh yeah, that's an Alligator Valentine Box!!

Very boy-ish and cute!!

WHEW! I think we're ready for tomorrow!

From our family to yours:

Have a SWEET Valentine's Day!!

Be SWEET to those you love!

Tracy

You Rock!

My husband {Brian} came to me last week

and {sweetly} mentioned he needed

to come up with an idea of something to give all his {50} employees to

celebrate what a GREAT job they did last year.

Now, my husband knows me and knows that mentioning this

to me sends me into a {creative} frenzy. My first creative stop

was to my Pinterest boards! {OF COURSE-is there anywhere else to go?}

http://pinterest.com/tracybakes/ {hint hint: visit my boards!}

Anyway, I found the cutest Pinspiration to make {If you Pin, the word pin is like the word

Smurf to those blue, little people. You begin to use it as a verb, noun, adjective

and it finds it's way into everyday conversation!}

At this point, Brian realizes it's out of his hands and he leaves me drooling on the keyboard.

So, Saturday I took over the dining room table. Spread out my scrapping stuff.

And got to work! Here is my most favorite scrapping tool~~My Big Kick!

I love it {and I'm pretty sure it loves me.}

And I got to work making these:

Cute, huh? {and easy to make!!!}

All you need is:

Packages of Pop Rocks {be sure to get a couple extra~~trust me, you'll eat a couple}

12x12 Card stock

Adhesive runner

Either letters you've made, bought or a marker

Cut your card stock into 3x6 inch strips. I cut 4-3 inch strips first and then simply

cut them in 2 {Gotta keep it simple!} These fold perfectly around the

package of Pop Rocks. Add a line of adhesive to the inside of the

strip and stick it to itself!! LOOK you've made a belly band!

Here's where I used my Big Kick.

I cut out all 350 letters {that's a lot of letters!}

You could just as easily use

stickers or even write it on with a marker!

And, you're done!!!'

The original pin said 'You Rock Valentine'. How adorable is that?

But, since, I'm not wooing all 50 of my husbands

employees, I stuck with just 'You Rock'.

Sweet {P}Inspiration,

Tracy

What a Sad {Little} Blog!

My, oh my! How terribly sad! My poor {ignored} blog!

Life has just been so busy and crazy with the holidays! My intentions were to post

all our wonderful decorations, traditions and holiday fun!!

But {unfortunately} we had sick ones and craziness abound!!

{Soooo..} Here IT is!! A NEW year and a NEW post!

{about time, huh?}

I've been doing a lot of contemplating on what my new year's resolution should be {one that I may actually keep!} And, finally, I've made a some decisions!

First...........

GET ORGANIZED

I mean really {really, really} organized. I dream of it when I lay in bed at night {yep, sad as it sounds!} Oh, how much happier {and easier} life would be! With lots of help from my favorite site ~http://pinterest.com/tracybakes/~ I am getting lots of ideas and help!

Here it goes. EVERY day. I WILL organize at least ONE thing in my life!

Second.....

Simplify

I guess this goes along with organizing! But, we have too much STUFF in our life and our home. We have too much physical STUFF that we don't need. It's time to get rid of the excess and stop bringing it into our living space! We have too much emotional STUFF in our lives. So many things we dwell on and spend time on that really don't deserve {or require} the energy we give it! It's time to BE DONE with it!!

We're going gangsta on it and cutting it out!!!

Third.....

Prioritize

{see how bad I am, this should have been first!}

Faith, family, friends, work, school, volunteering, cleaning, entertainment.......

There is so much!! The stress all these good things in life can cause! Why? Because I can't say NO and I let myself become overwhelmed. Here's where I put my foot down and say NO!

{NO, NO, NO, NO, NO........just practicing!}

It's time to decide what's most important and what deserves my time the most!

WHEW, I'm exhausted from just thinking about all this. But, it's time to move forward!!

Who's with me?

What are you life changing goals?

Sweet decisions made,

Tracy