Two days ago, I shared long, rambling post about all the stuff my kiddos seem to be receiving of late—along with a confession about my personal contribution to their indulgence (a rung below spoiled). All in the name of fostering quality time, activities and interests we can both enjoy (that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it, ha).
Not gonna rehash it. You get my drift. I’m kind of a softie and I hope my kiddos aren’t selfish and unable to appreciate all they have, but this has certainly been a time of plenty, and I’m hoping we’re only a few days from cutting off the stuff-receiving by a whole lot.
But before we go all cold turkey, let’s have just one more round of indulgence fun, and look at one of the other contributing factors to this accumulating of things that’s got me feeling a little guilty lately: our beloved Valentine boxes.
This tradition in our household originated when Chica was a toddler, and we were both having a bit of trouble saying goodbye to all of the holiday season hoopla.
You know, back in the years when it was so, dang, hard to come up with diversionary tactics and things to look forward to for a toddler and her pregnant Mama (or was I already pregnant with Little Man by then and distracting a toddler and an infant?? Who knows. Can’t remember, ha).
Anywho...we decided to phase the fun into Valentine decorations and celebrations. We turned our smallest Christmas tree into a Valentine tree (we still do this)...
...and I established the Valentine boxes as a fun, first-thing-in-the-morning treat.
They are felt mailboxes that hang on the chairs in the dining room, and each morning for the 14 days of February leading up to Valentine’s, they contain and treat. :)
Well. As you can imagine, even the smallest treat (sometimes it’s just candy) for three kiddos, times 14 days, can equate to a lot. Oye.
But I suppose I wouldn’t trade this beloved little tradition for anything—I’ve just been doing my best to lecture as we go, really hammer home the appreciation factor...and then just sit back and enjoy it for the childhood fun that it is.
Some of the Best Of treats lately (and some of these are grandparent gifts or non-Valentine box related)...
When Chica added this last-minute request to her Christmas list, “Santa” was concerned that it would be difficult or expensive, but luckily, “Santa” had an easy time of it, and even loves these cutie jewelry/toys quiet a bit.
They can be a bracelet (like above), stay flat (like a snake, as Chicklet says)...
Or twist into a pet...
They’re so much fun, so adorable—and affordable—that I foresee a lot of them in our future, ha. Maybe because this is type of thing I would have loved as a little girl, hehe.
Or twist into a pet...
They’re so much fun, so adorable—and affordable—that I foresee a lot of them in our future, ha. Maybe because this is type of thing I would have loved as a little girl, hehe.
Other fun indulgences, of late...
Yup. We’re still Harry obsessed. :)
Superheroes of any variety?? Need I say more.
Their favorite place to indulgence shop.
And this one was particularly fun. It was some stuff very similar to kinetic sand. They received it in their Valentine boxes and played with it for 90 minutes straight, and would have kept going if we hadn’t rallied for the grocery store.
Oh—and the school Book Fair is this week.
I mean...it really is overwhelming to look at all these small items they’ve been gifted from various peeps and sources, for various reasons over the past few weeks. No wonder I’m feeling so guilty!
But. All things come and go in phased, and I know we’re wrapping this one up.
So here’s to powering through the last couple days of this Valentine hoopla. And then we’ll try to get back on the straight and narrow. ;)
More catch-up posts later, if I can manage them!
Over and out.
No comments:
Post a Comment