Valentine’s Day Mania

Kelsey has been extremely worried about Valentine's Day this year.  The party is Friday, and as of this morning, she had not yet finished her cards.  Ahem, she had not yet started her cards.

We wanted to have a bit more of a hand-crafted touch this year, but I knew with Peter out of town, and 4 hectic schedules…I really wanted to find the time to  sit down time to cut out the hearts and fold the envelopes, but finally threw in the towel and headed to my new favorite crafty place.   The only location is in Berkeley, so we have to go when we have enough time to get caught in pre-tunnel traffic.

We were supposed to head out early Saturday afternoon, but with getting to the gym, the Farmers' Market, and feeling lousy due to a newly expanded cold (love it when it takes root in the chest…lots of fun!), I had to try and nap (this did not go over well with a certain Little Guy).  We finally headed out very late in the day, and made it just before closing time.  We arrived, found what we needed, borrowed their bathroom thanks to a kindly cashier who bent the rules (I'll give you one guess as to who was 'doing the dance' the minute we walked in….) and on the same cashier's recommendation, headed to Jimmy Bean's for dinner.

It was a delightful little cafe with many organic options and quite a good cup of coffee with dessert.  We could have driven straight home, but we were all starving, and having received the news that morning that Pete's return was delayed again…I needed a bit of a break.

Now to get back to the point of the story, yesterday Kelsey and I both realized that tomorrow is going to be so busy, we will not have time for Valentine's Day cards.  Given that today is her 'early' day, it seemed like a fun activity.  She grabbed her stickers, I got out the new stamps (yes, I am edging ever so slowly back in…), opened up the cards, and she went to town.  I demonstrated how to use the stamp and then left her to her own devices.  She did not mind me taking a few photos, but insisted that this was her project and that was that.

Half an hour later she had every card completed and while it's not 100% hand-made, they are very sweet and full of Kelsey creativity*. Who knows, maybe next year, we could have a Valentine's Day card making party…not that we would know anyone who might be interested in participating?  Oh, and the last picture really has nothing to do with Valentine's Day…but it's just so sweet to see the Little Guy having quality time (in person) with his dad once again.

*I should note that the boys in the class are receiving Hot Wheels cards. Kelsey quickly decided they would like them much better than the other cards.  Hopefully, they won't be offended, but I have a feeling she is probably right.