Tubs of Love

I'm excited to share about a fun family tradition that we started with our family when our oldest (now almost 9) was 7 months old. Each Valentine's Day we create a little "Tub of Love" for them. For one thing, the name is just cute and fun (hehe). It's a simple Rubbermaid shoe box size tub, I've decorated them with stickers and their name. They get the same one each year (like an Easter basket or a stocking), lined with tissue paper on the bottom, and filled with a few simple items for them. It's a fun way for us to share some love with our boys on Valentine's Day. Sometimes I have let them open them in the morning. But now that they are older, we are going to have a fun Valentine's Family Dinner (heart shape strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, no boiling baked ziti, and garlic bread with special valentine cupcakes...keep it simple around here) and then share their tubs of love with them. Below are pics from the past 8 years of doing them (still need to add tonights picture after we open them), one year they didn't have the tubs because we were living in my in-laws basement while building our current home and I think the tubs were in storage...we made do and kept the tradition!

First Tub of Love 2011

 2012

 2013 (no pic with kids, but at least a pic of the tubs)

 2014

 2015 (tubs were in storage)

 2016

 2017

 2018 (no kid pic apparently, but we had a pic of the tubs!

 2019

I was just approved to be a part of a book launch team for a new book that will releasing March 5th. I love book launch teams (this will be my 3rd one) because you get to preview the book before it's released and then share how amazing it is with all your friends! The book is called Memory Making Mom: Building Traditions That Breathe Life into your Home by Jessica Smartt. Seriously, this book is already amazing and I'm only on Chapter 4. It's all about how to set aside the distractions of life and focus on our families. It's about how to create traditions with your family that your children will remember as they grow up and look back on. It's not a book to make you feel like you aren't doing enough, it's simply suggesting that you take time to do simple things on a regular basis (which builds the tradition) and then continue to do them. I have been challenged to think outside the box and really look at my daily life and what things are being a distraction and what things I can do to make connections with my boys. 

Starting the book has allowed me to think of some of the traditions that I love doing with my family. Our Advent Book tradition, our Birthday Balloons (they get 1 balloon per age each year and we do a photo), Tubs of Love at Valentine's Day, just to name a few. But the book is also challenging me to think about how I can be less distracted and more engaged with my boys on a daily basis and build traditions in to our daily, weekly, monthly routines.

If you want to pre-order the book, you can do so HERE