Easy Homemade Valentines

Even though many see Valentine's Day as a "Hallmark holiday," I think any day dedicated to letting people know that you love them has to be a great day to have around. And the beauty of it is that you can celebrate it without spending a lot of money. Ayden will be giving a handful of Valentine's to our immediate family this year and we made it into a fun multi-day project. Last week we used an idea from Pinterest and did heart paint stamps with toilet paper tubes.

Don't limit yourself to hearts for this activity!
You can make all sorts of shapes out of tubes for stamping.

Then over the weekend I trimmed down the cards we were going to mail, wrote Valentine related messages and signed our names. 

On Monday, I emailed our latest favorite photos of Ayden to myself, saved them to my phone and went to Target where you can use their wifi to send the photos directly from your phone to their photo kiosks and print them out.  It's kind of awesome.

We stopped by the post office on Tuesday and mailed a few of our cards off to our our of state family. We met the nicest lady while we were there. She had ELEVEN grandchildren. The line was long and I had to get out a couple of times (to choose envelopes and then to sit Ayden down while I filled out said envelopes). She saved my spot and said that every mother with young children needs a little help now and then. Thanks to her I was able practically able to walk right up to the desk as soon as I was done addressing the envelopes.  It really does take a village!  

Now the only step we have left before we can deliver our local Valentines on the day of love itself is to have Ayden add his own artwork inside. Just to give them a little something extra special. That is our planned activity for tomorrow. 

Of course, Ayden is still too young to understand Valentine's Day, or any day that is more "special" than a normal one, but that doesn't mean we can't start planting the seeds. To me, it is about taking the time to think about those you love and make them something from the heart. Just to let them know you are thinking of them. Yes, I will be that mom who makes sure Ayden writes his own thank you cards someday and will strongly encourage him to write a thoughtful and unique message in each and every one. I am always going to involve our children in the gift making/giving process for any special occasion. It's all about spreading the love!  

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Anyone else make homemade Valentines? I always had a student or two who would bring homemade Valentines for their classmates. There was just something special about those jagged little scissor cuts around the homemade hearts.  Those were always my favorite for sure. 

~Sarah

**side note** There has been a HUGE recall on Graco convertible carseats (including Ayden's My Ride 70) where the buckle has been known to stick.  If you have a Graco seat and are wondering if it is one one the recall list, check here.  You can order your replacement buckles here. 

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Fresh Air!"

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