Feeling the Love

I clearly remember sitting on a yellow vinyl chair at our white formica dining room table making fancy paper valentines for the valentine exchange at school.  Always the Elmers glue, the paper doilies, and the carefully traced construction paper heart.  Maybe even a candy conversation heart glued to the middle. A classic!


I loved everything about Valentine's Day.  I certainly did not want my kids to miss out on the Valentine's festivities during our home school years, so we made our own kind of fun.

Heart Shaped Pizzas

Heart-shaped Pancakes--yes, that is a heart shape. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Wearing pink and red, of course... and sometimes balloons.

Sorry, I have no pictures of the heart shaped meatloaf. No, I'm not kidding.

But the greatest thrill of all?
Valentine MAIL BOXES

A week or so before the 14th, each person makes a "mailbox" to hang on their bedroom door.

We set up a table somewhere with all the supplies needed to make little valentines.
Each day you "secretly" make and deliver a little note to each person's mailbox.

 Josie's enthusiasm for this has been building for weeks. 

She always makes her cards first thing in the morning, still in her pj's.  

Maybe for the kids it's all about the stash of chocolate.
Nothing like a little sugar to motivate acts of kindness.
But I hope it's more than that.  I hope it's making sweet memories.

You know I'll be keeping these little scribbled love notes forever.

See! They really do love each other-- I've got it in writing!