Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! I was so happy to celebrate it again this year with my three favorite guys. Of course, with Valentine's Day comes valentine cards, and at the boys' school...they MUST be homemade. Nothing store bought. Nothing with licensed or commercial characters. Honestly, I love the parameters, but when you have a kid who hates crafting...valentine making becomes horrific.

Last year Ian fought me every inch of the way when it came time to make valentines for his classmates. I had gotten him rocket shaped cards, planet stamps, and stickers thinking that it would thrill him to his core. It did not. But, we've come a long way in the past year. Behold the difference one year can make...

On the left: a 2014 Valentine. On the right: a 2013 Valentine. Please note that the orange "I" was added this year. For 2013 the valentine was declared complete with nothing more than the blue scribble.

I mean, wow! Last year I couldn't convince him to sign his name because, and I quote, "It makes me too tired." He did write "one piece" of his name, a single letter "I", on ONE valentine last year and then refused to write anymore. This year he wanted to address each individual valentine, which they don't actually do at his school, but I let him address the valentines for his teachers.

Yes, this year Ian was the golden child when it came to valentine making. He did a few every day or two for the weeks leading up Valentine's Day, and it just could not have been easier. This year it was Eli that was the challenge. He refused to work a little at a time, and on the 13th he had yet to complete a valentine.

I went back and forth on what to do...do I let him refuse, resulting in him sitting out of the party while all the other children participate or do I force him to do the work? I could see pros and cons for both approaches, and I eventually settled on the this-is-what-was-assigned-to-you-and-this-is-what-you-WILL-do approach and prepared myself to lock horns for the next THREE AND A HALF HOURS! Yes, three and a half hours to complete 15 valentines. That basically equates to 14 minutes per valentine, with a time breakdown like this...

30 seconds: sticking stickers on the front of the card 

30 seconds: signing "Eli" on the card

14 minutes: screaming, whining, crying, pouting, stomping, rolling on the ground

It was a blast.

The only place he would work on the cards was on the floor, under the dining room table. Didn't bother me a bit. You want to work on the floor? Knock yourself out. You WILL make these cards.

 After a while he became concerned with the quality of his signature and had no problem making multiple attempts to get it right. I was very pleased that at some point he did begin to take pride in his work. If you are going to do something, do it right!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Anderson Family!