Tales of Lunacy (Our Valentines Evolution)

Tales of Lunacy / Our Valentines Evolution...
    As is the case with pretty much every holiday, Valentines Day is a big deal at our house.  I go over the top.  It started very innocently when I had one child.  When Gabe was tiny I cut hearts out of construction paper and taped them up around our little apartment.  He was delighted.  From there it has kind of exploded, just see the above picture, and keep in mind that this is just a picture of the kitchen, every room has some sort of Valentine's decorations.  I began when Gabe was tiny and an only child making his meals heart shaped.  Again he loved it and it encouraged me.  I now make every meal heart shaped (stupidest think that I ever started).  This morning for breakfast I made the kids heart shaped banana / strawberry pancakes.  I then cut strawberries and bananas into the shape of hearts and topped the pancakes (there is definitely something wrong with me.)

For lunch I packed them a heart shaped smoked turkey sandwich, heart shaped marble cheese, heart shaped cantaloupe and pineapple, heart shaped rice krispie treats, you get the idea, I am certifiable!  Tonight for dinner I am making heart shaped pizza.

The cupcakes I made for the kid's class.  They are super easy.

    You would think that for my husband and I our Valentines would be ultra romantic, that the over the top would continue into our relationship, nope.  We exchange cards, sometimes chocolate.  Our big romance for tonight is that I plan to make us M&M Meats dinner and a glass of fruity wine after the kids are tucked into bed.  We don't need all the hoopla, for ourselves.  It's not that we don't love each other, we really do, we just don't need bells and whistles.  For the kids we do bells and whistles, for our selves we prefer the subdued.  For ourselves we like quiet and just being with each other, it doesn't happen very often so when we get two uninterrupted minutes, we treasure them.

    Valentines is a funny holiday to me.  If you are single and alone Valentines Day is the most depressing holiday there is.  When you are dating, Valentines Day is a test to see if this person really loves you enough, and if you should keep them around.  When you are happily married, you don't need it.  You know you have someone, if they need to prove themselves, Valentines Day is not the proving ground.  For us as in every other holiday, Valentines Day is about the kids.  It is the day that we show them how much they are loved.  They know in their hearts and more importantly their souls that they are loved, but on this holiday they can see with their eyes our love for them.

Do you notice the shirts are the ones that we made yesterday?