The Valentine's Day dress I made for S is full of ruffles and polka dots. She loves it (although we had to layer it over warm pants because of the freezing temperatures. Just be grateful you can't see the flushed cheeks and runny nose accompanying the ensemble.
It was one year ago today that I woke up with the kids for the first time by myself. We were in the middle of the three-week transition from the previous foster family to our home, and we were doing overnight visits off-and-on. Poor S had a horrible cold, and J was all over the place with anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty. What a year makes! Kind of...
S is home sick again. We tried school yesterday, but they called us mid-morning to say that she was feverish and "trembling". As far as I can tell, there is no fever -- but today she's pretty content to sit on the couch and look out the window. It's not much of a Valentine's Day around here -- Bill is also feeling sick and will come home from work after lunch. I'm desperate to avoid getting sick, since I have business travel early next week. Poor J, with the constitution of an ox, may be the only one to soldier on with only a mild cough.
I've done a decent job (I think) of getting ready for V-Day. I distinctly remember my mom having special decorations and activities for all the holidays, so I feel obligated to try and match her initiative with my own.
First up...a string of heart garlands that hang down in six strands from our big bay window. It's kind of hard to see here, but they are damn adorable. Dollar Store, represent!
Next up, a heart garland for the inside of the window. I made these out of six different kinds of Valentine's Day fabric that I picked up last week.
This is a poor photo because of all the backlighting from the windows, but I assure you, this heart garland on red ric-rac is freaking awesome.
I also used the fabric to make four reversible placemats for our V-Day dinner table. The most kid-friendly side is simple strips of fabric sewn together and top-stitched with a heart.
Each person also gets a Valentine's Day napkin sewn from some red heart fabric that my mom gave me last year and I just found this morning. Lucky that napkins are so quick and easy to make!
The other side of the placemat is white linen with a fabric heart appliqued on the top, with top-stitching around. Maybe in 10 years, when I can trust the kids to keep the majority of their food off the table...
The back side of the reversible placemats. Each one has a different fabric heart.
