Goody, more goody bags...

Today the kids had their Valentine's Day parties at the day care.  Ethel, as I've mentioned, is all about hearts, coloring hearts, and giving heart shaped gifts.  She quickly tired of making love fans, unfortunately, so we went the easier route and cut and colored big hearts.  She drew her inspiration from her book, Biscuit's Valentine's Day.

I think Ethel envisioned some pretty large, fancy hearts matted on white, lacy eyelet.  Mommy wasn't quite on board with that vision, and luckily, Ethel is happy to go the minimalist route when it's called for.  This is a skill I appreciate when she changes her plan two days before said craft is required for presentation. 

I cut and she colored hearts for the entire class, many family members, and a few friends.  The sky is the limit when you give a 5 year old a box of crayons and white paper.  I admit, they weren't the most sophisticated hearts she's made, but, they're worth their weight in gold for the effort she put into them.  She worked hard at writing the names of her classmates on each of the hearts, making sure to pick just the right color for each classmate, even using multiple colors in a single name.  She was so excited to bring these hearts to the party.  Fred wasn't quite to keen on the idea of sitting and coloring anything for his classmates, so Ethel assisted and completed his Valentines.

Both kids were looking forward to their parties.  Well, Ethel more than Fred.  Fred thought the party was for him, so I went with it.  When you're two, what does it matter?  :)

This gave me a couple hours of solitary time at home.  It's such a strange feeling to be alone in the house.  It doesn't happen often, and I'm pretty glad for that.  I had a bunch of work to take care of, so it was nice not to have the distraction of the kids playing, fighting, needing to go potty, wanting a toy that's out of reach, or not wanting the other one to be in their room.  Two whole hours.  What's a mom to do?  Well, this mom got some work done.  And some dishes. 

Having gotten work caught up, I chose to leave a little early and head to the school and hang out with the kids for the end of their parties.  When I arrived, Ethel's class was playing Valentine BINGO!  They were in the middle of a game, and all the kids had very intent looks on their faces as they studied their Valentine BINGO cards.




This is when I got to witness Ethel in action in class, doing an activity having to do with reading.  She's bright, she recognizes her letters and a few words when she puts her mind to it.  I could see today, though, that she appears to be drifting off and not paying attention.  She knows just what's going on around her, though.  I'll make time next week to talk to her teacher about watching for sings of ADD.  I want to nip this in the bud.

It was time to go see what Fred and his class were up to.  By the time I got to his room, they were all done with their party and were getting ready to eat lunch.  Fred said he wanted to stay for their lunch, so Kaitlin and I hung out in the room while the 2's had their beef stew and apricots.  Ethel, being my picky eater, chose not to eat the lunch at school today, so we came home and had a sandwich and I went through their bags of loot. 


Pencils, cards, chocolate, and lots of candy hearts.  Fred got a coupon for free bowling, and Ethel made me a keychain.  I got a bookmark and a framed picture of Fred, and Ethel got a cool Valentine with a paper pot of seeds (this one is ultra cool).  The empty tissue box I sent to school earlier this week came back decorated and repurposed as a Valentine treat holder. 

While it's little more than a Hallmark holiday, the kids sure had fun with it this year.