Valentine's Day is my least favorite "holiday." However, I could not be the only mom who sends their kid to preschool on their Valentine's Party day without valentines for the whole class. So, I got this idea to make felt envelopes for everyone. I mean I can't just buy a lollipop from the store. No. I have to make felt envelopes for everyone. Of course!
This was the plan. I had bought all the materials about a month before Valentine's Day party. I had made some of the stamps already, too. I was going to make all the envelopes a week before we were going on our vacation (which was a week before the party at school), so when we got home a day before the school party, I would have everything ready for her to take to school. The envelopes would be stuffed with lollipops and a little sweet note from O. They would be neatly in a bag waiting for us when we left for school after our vacation. That WAS the plan.
This is what actually happened.
A week before our trip to Mexico, I came down with this crazy cold that just took all the energy out of me. No sewing of felt envelopes even crossed my mind during that week. I just needed stay awake enough to focus on every day routines. I was annoyed that I couldn't breathe through my nose, and I was certain I would be sick the whole following week in Mexico too. "The vacation is ruined!!!" I convinced myself. (Turns out that I was wrong, and I now realize a bit too dramatic about it all.) Then we were off to Mexico for a week. It was fantastic. It was a well needed vacation for all of us.
On Sunday night, we flew back from 90 degree sunny weather from Mexico to snow and ice in New Jersey. What a welcome back! The next day, I unpacked, did laundry, tried to get used to being home again, thought about my English lesson that I was going to teach that night...and, then I remembered. "Tomorrow is the Valentine's Day party at preschool, and I haven't made the envelopes!!!" It was 2 pm. Any normal person would have driven to Target, bought a packet of cards and lollipops, and call it a day. But, not me. I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it. Time or no time. I was going to make those stinkin' felt envelopes for the class. I needed to make 11 of them. And, 30 minutes before I was to get ready for my evening class, I had all the envelopes done. I left the task of writing the notes and envelope stuffing to K and O. And, we did it.
But, it was not enough that I had made the envelopes to her classmates. I could not forget the teachers. "Everyone else is bringing something for the teachers," I was thinking. I had learned my lesson from the previous year. (And, I should know better...after all, I am a teacher as well.) So, after I got back from teaching (at 9 pm), I sat down on the living room floor and made three felt heart pins for O's teachers and the director of the preschool. I got the idea from PurlSoho's blog (Valentine Pins), and I thought the pins were super cute, usable and quick to make. I was having fun making them while watching Downton Abbey and eating cereal for dinner. However, it wasn't until three hours later that I realized I was still sitting there...And, I should have been in bed a lot earlier.
Nevertheless, O went to school the next morning with cute Valentine's Day gifts for her class and teachers. And, I am happy I made them.
This was the plan. I had bought all the materials about a month before Valentine's Day party. I had made some of the stamps already, too. I was going to make all the envelopes a week before we were going on our vacation (which was a week before the party at school), so when we got home a day before the school party, I would have everything ready for her to take to school. The envelopes would be stuffed with lollipops and a little sweet note from O. They would be neatly in a bag waiting for us when we left for school after our vacation. That WAS the plan.
This is what actually happened.
A week before our trip to Mexico, I came down with this crazy cold that just took all the energy out of me. No sewing of felt envelopes even crossed my mind during that week. I just needed stay awake enough to focus on every day routines. I was annoyed that I couldn't breathe through my nose, and I was certain I would be sick the whole following week in Mexico too. "The vacation is ruined!!!" I convinced myself. (Turns out that I was wrong, and I now realize a bit too dramatic about it all.) Then we were off to Mexico for a week. It was fantastic. It was a well needed vacation for all of us.
On Sunday night, we flew back from 90 degree sunny weather from Mexico to snow and ice in New Jersey. What a welcome back! The next day, I unpacked, did laundry, tried to get used to being home again, thought about my English lesson that I was going to teach that night...and, then I remembered. "Tomorrow is the Valentine's Day party at preschool, and I haven't made the envelopes!!!" It was 2 pm. Any normal person would have driven to Target, bought a packet of cards and lollipops, and call it a day. But, not me. I had a plan, and I was going to stick to it. Time or no time. I was going to make those stinkin' felt envelopes for the class. I needed to make 11 of them. And, 30 minutes before I was to get ready for my evening class, I had all the envelopes done. I left the task of writing the notes and envelope stuffing to K and O. And, we did it.
But, it was not enough that I had made the envelopes to her classmates. I could not forget the teachers. "Everyone else is bringing something for the teachers," I was thinking. I had learned my lesson from the previous year. (And, I should know better...after all, I am a teacher as well.) So, after I got back from teaching (at 9 pm), I sat down on the living room floor and made three felt heart pins for O's teachers and the director of the preschool. I got the idea from PurlSoho's blog (Valentine Pins), and I thought the pins were super cute, usable and quick to make. I was having fun making them while watching Downton Abbey and eating cereal for dinner. However, it wasn't until three hours later that I realized I was still sitting there...And, I should have been in bed a lot earlier.
Nevertheless, O went to school the next morning with cute Valentine's Day gifts for her class and teachers. And, I am happy I made them.
Here are the pins for the teachers.
Happy Valentine's Day! Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!
