Happy Valentine's Day

...but I am all Valentine'sed out.

Even though the boys don't go to school, they got enough Valentine's Day.

The first celebration was at the end of January. We went to a local homeschooling co-op valentine party. The boys spent the day before writing their names on valentines to pass out. At the party the boys decorated valentine bags, then lined them up on the table to have Valentine's dropped in. Then they made little Valentine decorations. When we got home, the boys went through and enjoyed their spoils for many days.

The next celebration was a PTA party that I was in charge of. Why am I in the PTA while I homeschool my children you ask? Well, it's an early childhood PTA, so it's for everyone with kids 0-6 years old. I like it because I've been able to meet a lot of friends through it.

Last year the ECPTA needed someone to be in charge of the Children's Parties, which puts on 3 big parties every year for all the members, their husbands and their kids, so the VP asked if I would do it. Because I'm terrible at saying 'no', I agreed to head it up. Then because no one volunteered to be in charge of the parties again, I offered to do it. The good news is that you can only do the same thing for two years, dang it!

The Valentine's Party went well. It's not really that difficult to be in charge of, but it is stressful because we usually have 100 kids plus their parents (and in these areas, most people have 1-2 kids) and there is an overwhelming sense that if anything goes wrong with the party, it's my responsibility.

We usually have some form of entertainment, and this party we had Outback Ray. He's a guy that brings these exotic animals and tells the children about them and lets them pet them. He was awesome and was able to keep most of the children's attention.

The next celebration was this afternoon. My friend Katie (thanks again) watched my boys so Todd and I could go out for lunch. It was so nice to have some alone time with Todd.

At first when we got to the restaurant, Todd and I were a little unsure of the place. The seating is a little cozy and close and our table was very close to tables on both sides of us. I was very annoyed by the guy at the next table as he went on and on about his previous relationship. I'm pretty sure his date was annoyed as well. But after he left, it got a lot cozier and Todd and I were talking nonstop.

Our final Valentine celebration was tonight. Though I had hopes of a great family Valentine's Dinner followed by a Family Home Evening about loving one another, I just ran short of time. Dinner was nothing special. But FHE was good. Roger was in charge of the lesson, so I helped him plan it. We put together a lesson and a game on saying nice things and showing people that you love them. I will just say FHE was a success. The boys were hugging each other all over the place.

Then Todd pulled out my gifts. He and the boys had gone shopping last week and picked me out some things (honestly, I enjoyed having the time off more than anything). Of course the boys picked out things that they wanted, a teddy bear, candy, singing monster, spinning light ball.

But I am done with Valentine's day, I think if I hear "Be Mine", I may just punch someone.