Party Prep

Yesterday was a big day.  At 9:00am, I carted the kids to fellow blogger Shawna's house for a Valentine party for 12 precocious children.

(Well, they're not all precocious, but Cael and Graham have such a surplus of attitude that, when averaged out, it makes for one rowdy bunch.)

When Cael marched into my room yesterday morning, he was already on high alert.

"Mommy, is today the day that we go do that thing?  The fun thing that we're gonna do with those things we made?"

"Yep."

That's more specific than he's been in weeks.

The "things" he was referring to were the treats and valentines we'd assembled the day before.  While Graham napped, I got busy labeling and filling the tiny envelopes.  Originally I had planned on making our own valentines after receiving a dose of motivation from Pinterest.  A few shots with my nice camera later, I'd design, print, assemble and label the cutest, most custom valentines one had ever seen. 

Instead, I played Bejeweled.  And then I went to Walmart to buy valentines.  I figured that the next best thing would be a Thomas the Train boxed set, or maybe Toy Story, but when we arrived in the seasonal aisle, I found that the valentine selection was even more pathetic than the Halloween costume section days before Halloween.

If only they had "garden gnome" valentines as well.

As I rifled through boxes with boyish skulls and Justin Bieber's face emblazoned on the covers, I spotted it.  Different.  Unique.  Just strange enough that it was still endearing.

Just like Cael.

The valentines we selected were called  "I Love Sliderz", and were covered in images of hamburgers and french fries.  While I do know a number of people that would use the words "burger" and "love" in the same sentence, I'm still not sure the two relate.  But something about the quirky pictures and tiny enclosed hamburger erasers told me it was the right choice for us.


Once home and with Graham tucked in bed, I began labeling the cards, leaving the "from" box blank for Cael to make his mark. 

"Cael, can you come over here and write your name in this box for me?"

"Why?"

"For your valentines.  It would be neat if you wrote your own name."

"That's okay.  You can do it, Mommy."

"Gee thanks, Cael, but I would like you to do it."

With a huff, he managed to pull himself from eating Kleenexes, or whatever activity he was doing.  He took the pen from my hand and began to write. 

"Wait, wait.  Let's practice on this paper first."

Cael has been writing more lately, but he does occasionally choose not to line up the letters or write them in random order.  But this time, he scribbled a strange object and walked away.

"What is that?"

"My name."

"No it's not.  I don't see any of the letters.  Can you try again?"

"Ugggghhhh.... fine."

When did Cael turn thirteen?

This time he drew a small circle with a line through it and laughed at his handiwork.  But I still couldn't identify it as a C, A, E or L. 

"What was that?"

"A hamburger."

"Why did you draw a burger?"

"Because it's Valentine's Day, Mommy!  Ugh!"

I filled out the valentines myself.  If one letter of his name led to that much premature angst, it simply wasn't worth it.  Maybe we'd have better luck with some treats.


Some of Cael's favorite treats are the instant fudge squares I will occasionally make and decorate seasonally or simple let Cael vandalize with sprinkles and cat hair.  The idea, while customizable, was originally adorned with brightly colored conversation hearts for Valentines Day, so I knew it would be a fun choice for the party.

"Okay, Cael.  I need your help with these candies.  I need you to stick the candy on the top, okay?  Just pick out the ones that have clear letters."

"Okay.  But what do they say?"

"All sorts of stuff about love."

"What does this one say?"

"It says 'be mine'.  Can you hand me some candies?"

 Not being able to read the phrases on his own, Cael decided to ad lib.

"This one says 'snuggle'!"  (It didn't.)  "And this one says 'sharing'!"  (Nope, not so much.)  "And this one is a picture of me shooting Graham with a pretend gun!"

Where is the "God, please pray for the unwitting children we will traumatize tomorrow" candy when you need it?