For Valentine's day, my kind and generous Valentine bought me new dining chairs for our little kitchen nook. I'd wanted these particular chairs for years and began to feel desperate when I realized they were on sale for 50% off, plus the 15% off coupon I had clipped over the weekend! Still, they were pricey and I knew it was a lot to ask of my man who is very uninterested and quite repulsed by the act of purchasing big ticket furniture items. I gently reminded him that I rarely ask for anything like this… that almost every piece of furniture in our home is second hand and that this purchase could count for not just Valentine's day… but mother's day as well. Plan worked! LOVE them… and feel so grateful!
In other news… we did not get to as much valentine-making as I would normally have hoped for this year. But the kids did peruse the internet with me to find the perfect saying for their school valentines. Grant picked an orange, Evelyn- goldfish, and Dane wanted a little chocolate heart. We put together quite the valentine mailbox for Evie's school project this year (crocodile). Very fun!
Along with our little mailboxes in which we exchanged notes and fun little candies/toys throughout the month, this year I decided to write little notes to the kids on paper hearts. I'd typically write them in the evenings and then have them there next to their cereal bowls, or on their pillows the next morning. The notes would contain a small compliment or a reason why I loved them. I even left hearts for Blake. Interestingly, the notes meant so much to my little ones. Grant's little face was just absolutely thrilled when I'd read him what the note said. I found Evelyn's hearts all together one night-- in a small compartment of her backpack. It warmed my heart- truly! I didn't know she had been saving them. So sweet! As I started the little project, I felt that it might take up too much of my "spare time" in the evening. I have so little! But I soon realized that the feeling I had after writing these notes was well worth the effort. Could there be anything more valuable I could be doing with my time?? I'll definitely do this next year-- and maybe even periodically throughout the remainder of this year.
One last thing I must mention. On the big day, the kids brought home their bags/boxes full of valentines from their classmates. Each with a huge grin on their face. Of course, they hadn't had time to review them at school and so I was excited to watch them open them up together! Interestingly enough… Dane, my least sentimental, asked me to read each and every Valentine with him. We did so, after which he carefully counted them, organized them and returned them neatly into his bag where he stored them for the evening. The next day, he asked if we could read them together again!! Now Evelyn, on the other hand, she set them aside without even so much as opening them up! She ran upstairs to practice gymnastics and use up her computer time. After dinner I asked her if she wanted to read her valentines to which she replied, "na". Next day, again I was turned down, but I still held on to them thinking surely she'd eventually want to look them over. But over the weekend when asked one last time, she told me I could just throw them away!?
I had to open them up myself without her! I couldn't very well throw them away without even looking, could I??
And Grant, well.... he did the thing you might imagine any three year old boy to do: he ripped open those valentines that contained candy, ate as much as humanly possible before I could intervene and then threw the remainder away.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Dane's handwritten valentine words...he's getting so good at spelling/writing!
