Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day! Somehow January felt like it had 687 days, and then poof – half of February was gone in a flash.

We are doing a little road trip through Alabama to land in New Orleans, so Honey and I did a quick gift exchange this morning. I was so excited to surprise him with a “you’re hot” card and this Truff hot sauce. It’s SO good! We’ve had it at friend dinner parties and I made a mental note to get Honey his own. I bought it online, but you can also find it locally using their stockist locator tool if you need something last minute for tonight.

My gift from Honey was these TeamRLN earrings!! Let’s be real clear and say I sent him a link with the exact ordering info. But, hey, I got exactly what I wanted!

There’s another topic I want to briefly discuss today… class Valentine’s. Remember these darling things from year’s past?

This is exactly what Whit took to school today. In the bag. Not addressed or personalized. With the Kroger bag they came in as his “Valentine’s box”.

This is not very Amanda-ish. Right?

But it is very Whit-ish.

And THAT’S exactly what class Valentine’s are all about.

I have always told my “real life” friends… don’t get hung up on the things I do. I do them because they bring me and my family joy. I haven’t read that love language book, but I’ve self diagnosed special treats, fun dinners, and, yes, cute perfectly put together Valentines, as my own kind of love language. The things I do are real, not contrived for a blog post, and I only do them because I want to and because the three other people that live under this roof like them. I share them in case they are inspiring, but not to make anyone feel bad or less or like they aren’t doing enough.

I figure we started celebrating Valentine’s Day at school about 11 years ago when John was in pre-school. Over those years we had a lot of fun scheming and planning what they would send in and decorating the perfect themed box for what ever thing they were into at the moment. I’d then spend a night coming up with a witty tag line, and designing and printing the cutest cards. We’d sit at the table in the office while they carefully went through the class list addressing them. And then I’d tie everything up in coordinating ribbon, and safely packaging them for their bus trip to school. It was FUN and how we collectively chose to do things.

Now, back to Valentine’s 2020… Over the course of the last two weeks I threw out a bazillion ideas for Whit’s class Valentine exchange and he wasn’t excited about any of them. I offered up a trip to Target multiple times to hear “I’m not sure if I’m doing them or not. They are optional, you know.” And then, around 5:30 PM last night, “If it’s not too late I wish I could choose a bag of candy to hand out. I definitely don’t want to decorate a box OR sign them.” Lord knows we can’t do anything that would require additional writing. :-)

Honey was already running out so he took him to the closest store – Kroger – and spent a whopping $2.98 on the candy. He said Whit took a long time choosing it… pouring over every option, checking to be sure they were gluten and nut free, and picking up a few others before he settled on the right one. SweetTarts Lollipops.

I don’t regret the years of cute Valentine’s. I don’t regret the time, the money, or the memories. In fact, as the boys get older, I am more thankful than ever that we did ALL the things when they were younger.

I loved seeing all of the cute, perfectly prepared Valentine’s cards as I scrolled through Instagram this week. Truth be told, I did feel a wave of nostalgia that my baby is growing up, but I love the person he’s becoming and am thankful every single day that he gets to grow up. <3

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

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17 thoughts on “Happy Valentine’s Day

  1. I so relate to this post about Valentine’s Day and older kids. We keep things pretty simple now with two teens in the house, but I remember those special and eventful days with a joyful nostalgia. Have a wonderful weekend.

  2. Amanda, I think you said that very well about it being your love language. I feel very much the same way. All the many class favors, snacks and dinners were done because I loved doing it but I also respectfully stopped as my kids got older. Having an 18 and 24 yr old I still do stockings, Easter baskets and make their birthdays special. It’s how my mother did it so I don’t expect I’ll ever stop but I get it that others don’t do those things the same way. Love your blog and have for many years. XO

    1. Awwww, right?! Some things I’ll never let go of. My parents still do Easter baskets and birthdays and stuff too!

  3. Yes, yes friend – I feel completely the same way. I don’t regret all of the things I/we did, memories we made, time put in. My boys are away from home quite often these days, but they still come home and tell me all-the-things. I’ve invested in their lives and memory banks, and my own. xoxo

  4. My son will be 8 next month. I absolutely LOVE doing all the things with him. I am *that* mom and you know what? I would have it no other way! I am treasuring every single moment, holiday, special occasion, etc. with him as much as I can because we all know time waits for no one! This morning I was running behind for work but I was not going to leave until he had his heart shaped waffles and bacon for breakfast along with all of his Valentine’s Day treats! I do look at your blog for inspiration so even though your boys are growing up, keep posting away because I am here for it! Thank you for all of the great ideas you come up with! :)

  5. Not all of us have your strengths and talents but I always appreciate your ideas that are simple enough that even someone who is not crafty can do! This year my 5th grade boy also wouldn’t tell me what he wanted to give to his classmates saying that he didn’t care what I bought. So we went with Starburst and I wrote his name on them. Thankful my 3rd grader still wanted to hunt around on Pinterest for a sloth Valentine idea. Hope y’all have a great winter break!

    1. That’s really sweet of you to say and I hope I never seem like my way is THE way. <3. The sloth valentines sound adorable!! I can only think of the dmv now when someone mentions sloth, thanks to Zootoopia. Ha!

  6. It funny my hubby and I are baby boomers but some of our fondest Valentines memories as children where when we were in grade school and would trade Valentine cards with all our classmates. Sometimes, we would have a Valentines class party as well. He said he remembered one Valentines his Mom had been sick and forgotten to buy a box of cards for him and his Dad had to run out at the last minute to buy a box. That was before there was a CVS,Target, or Walmart on every corner….ha!

    1. Well, that was Whit and his dad last night! I also vividly remember elementary school Valentines. And then in middle school hoping I’d get a candy gram (didn’t happen) and then our high school Valentines dance. All sweet memories! Happy Valentine’s Day!

  7. How thoughtful of Whit to look for something gluten and nut free! Since two of us in our family have celiac disease, I’m always appreciative when someone makes the effort to do so. That’s a kind-hearted boy you have.

  8. I loved this blog post….because as a long time reader, I remember many of those fun things you posted…and what I chose to see at the end of your post was a son who has been taught love, respect, caring and kindness for his classmates….sure the crafty things are so FUN…(right there with you~but with glitter!) but what’s more important is that when Whit did choose to make a last ditch trip he still was thoughtful in his selection~how many children his age would stop and think about gluten free and nut free? So very kind….just like his mom!

    1. Your comment honestly brought me to tears. He’s a great kid and he wanted these allergy friendly treats of his own volition. Thank you!!!

  9. I was thinking similar thoughts. My husband stopped at the grocery store on the way to drop off our middle schooler to let her pick something out for the group she sits with at lunch. I also thought it was sweet that she made sure to get something for her bestie at school that is allergic to some things.
    My middle wanted cake pops again this year, so I happily made those.
    Then, I was telling our littlest that one day she, too, will be taking Valentine’s Day treats to school. So, for anyone missing the sweet little kid things, do what we did, have another baby! HAHA!

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