My daughter-in-law, Shelly, is such a wonderful mother. This week she hosted a little Valentine party for the neighborhood children. They exchanged homemade cards, decorated heart cookies, dipped strawberries in chocolate, chased balloons and had a big time. It was pouring down rain, so the other mothers were happy to have a fun indoor activity for the children. These Florida kids are usually outside playing, so one rainy day gives them cabin fever.
There has been a lot of Valentine activity in my sewing room this past week.Laurel and I worked together to embroider a red tee shirt knit dress, a blank from my stash,  for her to wear to the party. This is just one of the delightful designs from the Zundt Design Valentine collection. We also stitched a few others on dishtowels because Laurel couldn’t choose just one.
Using some darling Michael Miller Valentine fabric, I made turn tube pillowcases for the older grandchildren. The remaining piece was serged and served as a table runner for the neighborhood party.
Laurel enjoyed making a Valentine tree.  She painted the balsa wood kit from Michael’s with her watercolor paint pens, then wrote names on the blank hearts.
For the past few days, as we sewed and crafted Valentine bookmarks for her friends, Laurel and I sang along to Skidamarink, a sweet and bouncy song suitable for Valentine’s Day. Laurel has memorized it and plans to sing it to her family Sunday morning. This is a free download from this site:  www.freeabcsongs.com  Scroll down the song list until you see Skidamarink.
Holidays are so much fun now that Robert, 4, and Laurel, 5, are old enough to anticipate and plan for special occasions. I look forward to enjoying these activities all over again with Alastair, 11 months, when he is a little older.
What did you make for Valentines Day?
