Valentine's Day 2013

Valentine's Day just happened to fall on a school day this year, so that meant singing and parties and Moms at school. It was a full day of non-sense, err... I mean, fun. Yeah, fun. :)

Abigail snuck out of class to watch Cooper's kindergarten program with me. You can't beat cute, little kids smiling and singing songs about love.

Seriously, just try and beat this...


Since Abigail missed lunch in lieu of kindergarten cuteness, she was forced to be seen with her mother. Can you imagine the embarassment? We stayed on a picnic table behind the school. Hopefully no one saw her.

Once Abigail was safely back in the comfort of cool third graders, I checked out Cooper's party. Y'all, this is where it got non-sensical. Seriously. I had missed the first part of the party and stepped into a group of people awaiting my arrival. What?! Why do they need me for a kindergarten party. I sent my obligatory paper goods in Cooper's backpack that morning. (I've learned to pounce on party planning sign-ups as soon as possible to secure the coveted paper goods slot. They can be purchased weeks in advance and sent via backpack. Paper goods require no baking, parent visit to school, last minute trip to store, etc. In other words, it's the holy grail of classroom party sign-up slots.) Back to a kindergarten class awaiting my arrival...

I was asked to read a Valentine's Day letter I had previously written to Cooper. Out loud. What?! When I sent this letter to the teacher, it was never explained that I would be asked to read it aloud. Oh, well. I read the letter to the class and Cooper responded with his usual kiss on my cheek. It was weird because everyone stared at me as if I hadn't finished. I had nothing else to offer. A few minutes later, another mom showed up (later than me, yea!) and read her letter. She didn't get but three words into the letter and started crying. She ugly cried through the whole letter. When she apologized for her emotions, everyone dismissed has saying that they had all cried through their letters. What?! Not me. No crying. Just usual words of how funny and sweet Cooper is, and how much I love him. I say those things every day. It's not anything to boo-hoo about. I can't imagine the words said about me, the heartless mom. Oy vey!

After all the hormones were out of the way, we played Valentines' Day bingo...

... and dug through the day's loot...

... and ate too much candy...

... and then I moved on to the third grade party where there was very little fanfare, and I was much more comfortable. I help Abigail assemble her heart wreath craft and then we jetted out of school and on to calmer environments. Ahh...

The best part of Valentine's Day came the day after when Cooper's class took their program on tour. Okay, it wasn't  Pepsi-sponsored tour with an opening act. But, they did assemble at a near-by nursing home and performed their songs as the residents ate lunch.

After performing, we handed out cards, hugged necks, and visited with the sweet residents.

I LOVED doing this with my kids. I would take this activity over a party any day. Really, these kids are in kindergarten. Every day of their lives is a party! They don't need another day to celebrate themselves and eat candy. They do need an opportunity to serve others, hug necks and hand out smiles.