Normally my Valentine's Day shopping involves looking for the boxes with the most Valentine's. The boys all had 30+ kids in their classes. No way were we making Valentines.
This year, Zack's class has a very manageable 18 students in his class. We decided to get crafty. Crafts can be challenging with Zack. I am all about going to Family Fun to find a clever idea. Zack likes to do his own creating. Sometimes his ideas can get a little strange and elaborate. We were trying to think of rhymes or puns and he was stuck on using lollipops. He didn't see anything wrong with saying someone "sucked" as long as it said Happy Valentine's Day after. I let it go for a day then showed him the magical world of Family Fun online. I hoped he'd like the word play and the design of the fish Valentine. He did and happily cut out 36 of the 54 hearts we needed before abandoning the project. He was diligent with the rest of the process and we ended up with these Valentine's:
(Best Fishes this Valentine's Day).
Ben was content to give out Laffy Taffy Valentine's but his class was having a Valentine's container contest. A few years ago Noah and I made a locker (as seen on Family Fun) and he didn't win. We thought a robot might be cool and searched through our recycling for parts.
The giant cheese ball container saved the day and along with some toilet paper rolls, Sobe lids, cardboard, tin foil and lots of packing tape we had a robot. I was pretty sure we had a solid contender this time.
I opted to drive him to school to protect the creation. His school has a very organized drop off system. I pull up to the curb and a volunteer opens the door for kids. The mom who opened the door said, "Wow, someone is an over-achiever." Ha ha. I gave her some polite laughter. She wasn't finished, "Mom must be pretty creative"and then she shut the door. Hmm. Did I just get dissed? I'm not sure, but for the record this was all Ben's design. I did some tin foil attaching and I cut that hole, but that was just because I was avoiding a trip to the ER.
After school I had a few little surprises for the kids. (I'd like my kids to remember me for more than just my impressive nagging skills). Ben is holding his first prize award for the robot. He was sad when I met him at the bus stop. It was the most sad good news I've ever heard. But neither he or Zack were feeling well. He was also disappointed in his prize. He had it in his head that the reward for first place would be a $150 cash prize. If so I would have taken my hole cutting 50% share. Anyway, we made some Valentine's Day pizza and had a nice night together.
Until Zack continued his getting sick on a holiday trend and threw up all over his bed.
