But this year I decided to make it super extra special for the kids. Who cares if I'm not in a relationship with anyone but Facebook and Once Upon a Time. (Seriously, best show EVER!) I've got my kids, who love me despite my many faults. And I love them. So why not celebrate that?
Let's do it!
I was so excited to finally celebrate this overly commercialized holiday that I may have gone overboard. But it was so much fun! As good as Christmas Eve! (almost) Yesterday on my lunch break I went to the dollar store and loaded up on cheesy, fun red and pink covered things. Streamers, balloons, favors, gift bags, chocolate roses, toys, etc. I got a little balloon bouquet for each of my kids. Little plastic champagne flutes with plastic hearts on the stems. A pink table cloth.
Just call me cupid!
Now the problem was . . . Where was I supposed to hide all of this?! 3 kids and myself in a 2 bedroom apartment. There are no secrets or hiding spots in this family.
So, I figured the ONE PLACE the kids would never look would be our little laundry closet. GENIUS! After I ran amok in the dollar store, I headed home and stashed my surprises there before heading back to work. I got worried when we came home last night and the kids started playing hide and seek. These kids will hide under the kitchen sink behind the garbage can, I wouldn't put past them to slip into the laundry closet. Luckily, that was the one place they avoided hiding in. Also, luckily, I had just taken the garbage out from under the sink. EW.
So last night after I finally got them all to bed and asleep, I pulled out my stash and went to work like the little Valentines fairy I had turned into. I pulled out all the red, white and pink balloons from the party mix bags I bought. The plan had originally been to blow them ALL up and cover the apartment with balloons. About 3 balloons into that plan, I nixed it. I ended up with 4 each of red, pink and white. Good enough, right? haha! I taped the balloons and the silver and red sparkly garlands to the bedroom doors. I tied the balloon bouquets to each of their beds. I laid out the gift bags all pretty on the table for them to wake up and discover.
Then I settled in to catch up on Grey's Anatomy. Valentines episode. Oh yeah. I'm SO in this Valentines!
I made the kids stay in their rooms while I cooked dinner and got the table ready. I wanted to surprise them again! And the boys really, REALLY needed to clean their room. (and it's still not clean. figures. lol) I left work a few minutes early today and I stopped and got us some flowers for our table.
I made Pink Punch, to make it an extra special dinner. Raspberry sherbet, pink lemonade and sprite. YUM! I even brought out my china plates and fancy glasses. (To go along with our plastic champagne flute water "glasses.")
On each of my kids' plates, I placed a little stuffed animal.
Alayna got this little elephant. She has so many stuffed animals, but not an elephant. Her zoo is now complete!
Hunter got this little frog, because he's always asking Alayna to play with her giant stuffed frog that my older brother got her for Valentines when she was 1 1/2.
7 years ago, when my dad was in the hospital right before he died, my then step mom called my siblings and I into his hospital room. Laying on my dad in the hospital bed were little bags with his Valentines gifts to us. His last gifts to us. He was in a coma and couldn't give them to us himself. In my bag was this little bee keychain:
Bridger is always asking me if he can play with it. And then he leaves it places and forgets where it is. I panic. Then we find it and I tell him he can never ever ever ever play with it again. Until he asks me again, and I let him. Repeat process. So I got him his very own bee. Hopefully my little bee can stay safe now. ;)
I had wanted to watch Lady and the Tramp with the kids. I made us spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and thought, "How cute would Lady and the Tramp be, to go with our spaghetti!" You know, that whole scene where the dogs share the noodle and end up kissing. It seemed like a good love story to watch with the kids. But the store didn't have it! GASP! Sigh. Sadness.
So we watched Glee and sang along and had strawberry shortcake.
Best. Valentines. Ever.
