My Little Valentine

Diego's first Valentine's Party was this Thursday at his preschool. I was excited because I love Valentine's Day and I always enjoyed making valentines as a kid. I was certain that I wanted Diego to have the experience of making them for his classmates. I wasn't sure what sort of project he should make though. I knew that I didn't want him to bring food of any kind (because every time it's his turn to bring snacks kid-who's-allergic-to-everything's mom always glares at me) but, I didn't have any other ideas. Then I ran across this at The Long Thread and knew it was perfect! I actually remembered making something similar when I was a kid and knew everyone would love them.

I found the silicone heart muffin pan at Target that she used for her project, but it was $10 and I didn't know if I wanted to invest that much money into it. So, when I walked over to the cheapy section and found what looked like silicone heart ice-cube trays for $2.50, I thought, "Perfect!" and bought them instead. Lesson #1. If it doesn't say silicone, it probably isn't. Lesson #2. Ice-cube trays aren't really meant to be used in the microwave. Lesson #3. Don't try to complete a project like this in the last 45 minutes before you're supposed to leave for school.

After the first tray melted onto the turn-plate, I decided to fill all the hearts on the second go around. The second tray did much better except for the fact that towards the end of the melting process, my microwave over-heated and stopped working. Fortunately, the crayons were melted enough by that point that they were okay. I pulled the turn-plate out and put the whole thing into the fridge to speed the cooling process. (I still haven't tried to see if the microwave is working again.) We were 15 minutes late to school and I didn't have a shower, but I think they turned out pretty cute. Diego signed his name on the back of all 14... his little hand was tired by the time he was done, but I think it was important to for him to do it himself.


When I picked him up he was excited. He had candy in his bag that he made. (Do you see all of the stickers he used? Most of the other kids used about 5... talk about a sticker-hog!) He was ready to eat it the second I picked him up, but I made him wait until we got home and put Eliana down for a nap.

Then we went through all of his valentines together. Now, I was prepared for some store-bought valentines... I am a teacher after all. (But every single one? Really? And they were all signed by their parents. Good grief!) But this one here, took the cake. It read: "You're a glittering princess, Valentine!" When a three-year-old recognizes that there's something wrong with a valentine... it's seriously wrong! "I'm not a princess! I'm a big-boy!"

And just to prove it: "Rraaahhhrrr!"