Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Dog!

That's what we say around our house, anyway.  We have a neighbor who has changing decorations and lights up on their house all year round, and part of their February display includes a Valentine's flag where the AY in DAY look like OG.  Every time we pass it we wish each other a Happy Valentine's Dog.

Chipper got groomed this morning, so we actually have a happy Valentine's dog.
I love Valentine's Day.  I can see why people would get irritated with it if they thought about it solely in terms of romance, but I've never thought of it that way.  It's just about making people smile as far as I'm concerned, and it's nice to remind people you care.  My mom always prepared cards for us and still sends me and my brothers a Valentine's box every year.  My kids gleefully opened it up this morning to find shortbread heart cookies, little wind up owls (Mona's had a broken foot so it just gyrates in place which is very funny so she's delighted), and beautifully decorated cards among other things.

Kids went off to school this morning with their homemade Valentines.  We looked at Target to see if there were any they just wanted to buy, but they didn't see anything they liked.  Aden did pick up some kind of candy treat to put inside each of her cards, and I showed Quinn how to cut out heart shapes and he went to town cutting them out in different sizes and colors.  Each time he finished one he'd update the count on his Magnadoodle board.  He got a list from school of the names of all his classmates and wrote all of them in cursive on the cards.  I love that bag of hearts.

But the big Valentine project this year was Mona's. 
That girl decided over a week ago that everyone in her class was getting a pocket mouse.  Red duct tape pocket mice for the boys, and pink ones for the girls.  She built herself a little duct tape mailbox (with working flag on the side) and started cranking out mice.  Mona was in a panic the last couple of days that she wouldn't finish them all in time, but I sat down with her last night and counted and realized that she was making way too many.  When I showed her really how few left she had to finish for school she breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down.  The extras are for other friends and family, but I told her she could take her time with those.  They didn't have to be ready today.

Anyway, check out the Valentine Pocket Mouse Collection:



Prototype mouse, front and center
I told her I would like to have dibs on the pink prototype mouse, so we'll see if I get it.  I made pink, heart-shaped pancakes this morning so that should buy me a little influence with the artist.  We'll see.

Wishing all of my readers a very Happy Valentine's Dog!  Hope someone you know makes you smile today.

7 comments:

  1. Hahaha! "influence with the artist". :) nice. I am a homemade-valentine sort of person too.

    Nice job guys!

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  2. Homemade valentines are the best. My kids have spent countless hours over the years creating masterpieces with paper doilies and glittery heart stickers and the like. I treasure those memories.

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  3. I love love love those mice.

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  4. I agree about the spirit of Valentine's Day. I've never really thought of it as a romance day. Yes, I did go out and get a box of chocolates from Choco Bella for my partner yesterday, but really, it was for both of us and Valentine's Day was just an excuse to spend more than I normally would on tasty chocolates. I remember in college giving out a valentine to everyone with a campus mailbox. Some even got stuffed animals as extra special prizes. But it was all anonymous. Just sharing smiles. :)

    Also, Paul got one of Mona's pocket mice. It made me smile as soon as I saw it and I was glad to be able to see one of her creations in person.

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  5. Any tips on successful heart-shaped pancake making? We make pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream every Valentine's Day, and that would be a valuable trick to add to our repertoire.

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    1. No real trick to it--just kind of use a spoon to blop one bit down and drag it to a point, then blop the other side down and drag it to the same point. Anything that looks weird we just declare a stomach or a lung instead of a heart and it's all good.

      Or you could go crazy like this guy: http://laughingsquid.com/saipancakes-dad-creates-amazing-pancake-sculptures-for-his-kids/

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  6. My favorite Valentine's Day celebration is the closing of the Arnold Klein Gallery, with all of the homemade artists' contributions on the walls.

    (I passed out some store-bought Spidey valentines to my fellow professors. Store-bought or not, they were a hit.)

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