Valentine's Day At The OP

These were the most Valentine's Day themed outfits I could find so I went with it. The shirts have some red in them if you look closely enough: 

Still, it didn't seem very "Valentine", so I asked my boys to hold up their paper hearts from the craft we did earlier "so everyone could see" and they did – right in front of their faces: 

– Hey, Mommy said "hold them up for everyone to see". She didn't say where!
– Trust me when I say this could have been much worse, everyone.

 

In the end, I managed to get one of them (mostly) in focus: 

– This one's for all the "grils".

Our craft this year from re-purposed from here (where I apparently had time to string them and take semi-artsy photos – ha ha!), but this time we made wax crayon valentines: 

This year I had time to lay them on a table for 30 seconds before the
demolition started. Still, it was fun.

They are best viewed when held up to the light (pictures never do it justice, but really they are very pretty): 

And maybe someday they will last longer than 30 seconds.

We also made cookies: 

And by we I mean me, but my boys sure played quietly once I turned the mixer
on to make the frosting. If you want to see my kids scatter, just turn a hand
mixer on. They practically become a vapor.

This year I made sure I had some proper Valentine cookie cutters on hand, and from all appearances, they were a big hit (maybe even more than the "Valentine Swine" from last year): 

And best of all, they forgave me for turning on the hand mixer.
At least, I think so.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day everyone!

- L.

PS. My boys captured the attention of pretty much everyone at the grocery store on the big day shouting "Happy Valentine's Day!" to anyone that came within passing distance, but none more so than a little red-haired girl. Nate and Seth were both a little bit smitten I think. It's two days later and they're still talking about her.