High Maintenance Mom

Another Valentine's Day will be celebrated on Tuesday. Many moms have spouses/significant others who continue to participate in this holiday as if we were still single and childless, the rest of us either don't care or have to find another way to compensate. I changed my toenail color to a deep red, bought valentines for my kids' friends that I would like to receive, and I bought a few fun items for myself....

As a child, I loved receiving valentines. It's fun to get cards from your friends. By B's second Valentine's Day, he could remember which friend gave him which card - "Susie gave me the one with the fish, Tom gave me the one with the bear...". He carried them around for months. Not everyone gives valentines at our preschool but it's something I love to do. I usually go to Target and get the pack of 20-30 cards for about $1.99. I'm the mom standing in front of the cards for 30 minutes trying to decide which ones to get. At first I tried to get non-commercial ones, like a bear with a heart. Some years all the cards say really lame things. Last year was brutal. This year there were some cute ones. If I have time, I might get a few on sale for the next year (because nothing makes you feel better than saving that extra $0.50).

In addition to the cute valentines, I've also been thinking about something for the office. Sometimes I get the candy hearts, although I feel pretty ill if I eat too many. This year, Knock Knock has several fun of Valentine's items. There are a bunch of Wheels O' Wisdom that can be sent as cards. My favorite is the "I Love You" translator that tells you what to say in a variety of languages including morse code and sign language. I'm happy that I don't need the "After the Breakup" one but I wish I had had it in college. There's also one on where to find true love and a "Loves Me? Loves Me Not?". If you or friends are dating, there are the "Secret Admirer Memo" pad and the "Be My Valentine Memos". Because I don't really have the right workplace for the Valentines type of memo pads, I'm planning to get a few of the corporate stickies. They're not really for Valentine's Day but they are fun and for me, that's what Valentine's Day all about.

I hope you have a great Valentine's Day. We deserve to be pampered, even if it takes a commercial holiday to remind us to take a break.