valentine's day

Before the calendar had even turned to February I realized something, I now have a child in school, which means a school Valentines Day party! I realize how silly and over-blown and commercial this holiday is, but I also remember how fun it was as a child to come home from school with a paper bag full of silly notes with candy taped to them from each of my classmates. I immediately logged on to Pinterest for some inspiration. Whoa, I was not prepared for that. I ogled over the plethora of possibilities: cleverly worded puns, homemade crayons, candy bouquets…

The I reeled myself back in to reality and realized that, although it may be irresistibly cute, I couldn’t see myself finding time to dress up 24 tootsie pops in miniature super hero costumes.

So, I settled on something simple, non-commercial, and (slightly) healthier. I filled dollar-store printed bags with strawberry cereal and teddy grahams. Liam signed each of them with his name (writing practice bonus!) and we called it good. 

 

Perhaps the most special thing about Valentine’s Day this year was that Phil had decided all on his own to take the morning off and volunteer in Liam’s classroom. The teachers were thrilled to have a parent helper for the party and Liam was so proud to show off his daddy. We all woke up and ate breakfast together and then I sent them off while I stayed home with a still-sleeping baby and enjoyed coffee and heart cookies in peace and quite. I was so happy I actually cried.

That night we had a “family date at home.” We had a candlelight dinner of cheese fondue followed by chocolate fondue for dessert. It was perfect.