Just Saying

Did you have a wonderful Valentine's Day?  I hope so!  Erik and I don't celebrate (does this surprise anyone who knows us?  I bet it doesn't!) but since The Boys have joined us, I have to say it has taken on a whole new meaning for me.

I can totally remember, in elementary school, decorating a box and getting it ready for Valentine's Mail ~ with glitter and stickers, of course, but... ~ with that all important slit at the top, where each classmate would drop in a sweet treat or a fun note.  *love*

I see my own boys, too, just as excited!  Tommy's hippie school that doesn't let them have candy (which, okay, I get that for, like, a daily policy, but hello it's Valentine's Day!!!) but the kids get around that stipulation by giving each other pencils, stickers, temporary tattoos, and handwritten notes.  (ps  I do so wish there was a way to avoid the drama of signing their names to 30 or 40 cards!  It snuck up on us this year, so instead of pushing this "chore" over several nights, it was a marathon session that tried my patience and my sanity.   Just saying.)

How much did I love the two of them, sitting around and reading their notes, both  of them eating Scotty's candy?  So much!  As for us, I finally had a reason to use one of the many fabulous Williams-Sonoma treats my parents had for me under the Christmas tree.  They gave me two of these (one shaped like a heart, another like an apple).

You roll out pie dough, and use the heart as a 'cookie cutter'.  One side is plain, the other side also punches out a wee heart for venting!  Then, you open up the cookie cutter (it's on a hinge) and lay down the plain heart.  Spoon in any filling ~ I am still getting through all that apple pie filling I made in the fall! ~ then plop down the vented heart.  When you close the cookie cutter, it crimps the edges shut.

Bake on a cookie sheet.  The perfect Valentine's Day treat! 

Add to that two more pumpkins that I processed that same day  ~ netting pumpkin bread to the tune of 8 mini loaves, two large loaves, and five dozen pumpkin muffins...

...not to mention the four quarts of pumpkin puree I split with my mom and currently have in the freezer (one bag is enough for a double batch of batter!)....

....and of course the roasted pumpkin seeds.


*sigh*  One more pumpkin to go.  So bountiful!  Also?  By the time I had everything put away (or passed out, as so much gets gifted to neighbors and my mom) and the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up?  It makes for one, very, very, very long day of baking!  I'll also add that, on the day I did this baking, my nieces were here and that makes 8 billion kids...er...wait...four....four kids.  Still.  Just saying.
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