Of course yesterday was when I thought about Valentine's Day cards for my kids.  I've said this 100 times, but I am NOT a crafty mom.  {except for that one year 7 years ago when I made these …. you will laugh b/c this is my highlight in crafty, and they are b.a.d}  But for some reason even though I know this, have said it out loud, and believe it to be true, I STILL find myself wanting to create something crafty with my kids.  Why is this my reality?  Why do I know I can't, but yet I still want to?  I like to blame it all on Pintrest.  I think from now on I'll never look at Pintrest during the month of February.  That will solve this problem.

I also have several friends that are so crafty and love to do this.  They know I'm extremely jealous of them, and have to deal with Jesus about my jealousy towards this gifting they have received in their lives.

Anyhow yesterday I had 15 minutes to run into HEB to get a few things so I thought I'd come up with a cute idea for Valentine's.  I wondered around the store for ten minutes feeling the weight of this dang holiday.  I was wishing the whole time that I had done what Kristen told us about earlier in the week.  That seemed so easy at the time, and yet I never acted on it.  Finally I called Amy and told her that I had five minutes to figure this out.  I call her because each year she has the cutest Valentine's.  I mean she's an artist so of course she does.  This year her son made those loom bracelets (we are so far behind and don't know about these!) for everyone in his class.  Of course she found this printable on Pintrest, and so she claims this was an off year because she didn't come up with her own idea.  Off year by butt.  No sympathy here.

So back to the grocery store drama …..in my hand I had a pack of construction paper and tape, because clearly that's what you need to be crafty, and I demanded that she tell me what to do with it.  She laughed and threw out several ideas.  Each of her ideas was grand but they demanded more of me than I could handle that day.  Printing out something cute and attaching it to oranges was her first idea.  Such a cute idea.  My friend Amanda actually did this.  How stinking cute is this.

Nope, that would mean going to get colored ink and cutting out lots and lots of circles.  No thanks.  No time the night before.

Then I ranted about candy on these holiday's.  I hate how much candy is thrown at our kids.  I mean seriously do we have to give them 800 bags of candy several times a year.  What happened to just cards that said BEE MINE with a cute bee on them?  Now every card is attached to a lollipop or pack of skittles.  I hate so much about that.    So, she threw out the idea of buying banana's and writing on them.  This would make me for sure the lamest mom around, but at least it would be healthy.  I thought about this for one second and then remembered this small fact …. 4 kids x 18 kids in each class = way too much banana writing!

She finally told me to suck it up and go buy the pre-made cards.  She said this is what you do, and it's OKAY.  There are two groups of moms on Valentine's day.  Those that make cute crafty cards and those that buy pre-made cards.   I need to own my group and stick with it.  I mean someone has to buy them or these poor companies would go out of business.

I did it.  I bought the pre-made cards that all involve candy.  For.The.Love the candy … ugh!  I am not sure why I put myself through this each year.  It's just plain stupid.  Here's the truth.  Kids don't care what their Valentine's look like, just adults do.  And since I'm an adult that doesn't care, then I need to just BE that adult and quit stressing out each February 13th when I realize I have nothing cute to do with my kids.  It is what it is.

My kids loved them, and you know what they were personal because they wrote every single kids name in their class on those cards.  That's personal if I have ever heard of personal my friends.  Deacon even demanded that he make himself one even when I told him that he didn't really  need to.  Kid is covering all his bases.

I hope that whatever you sent with your kids today for Valentine's Day that you know that it doesn't define you as a momma.  Whether it's the cutest thing ever, or a piece of construction paper with their name on it, this does NOT DEFINE YOU as a momma.  You aren't better if your cards are cuter, and you aren't worse if you buy pre-made cards.  We're all on the same journey of raising kids, and this is not a defining moment in their lives.  Relax, and embrace your group.  In fact, be the captain of your group.  Whatever group you are in, do it well, but do it without pride or shame.  Neither of those work well on Valentine's day!

Love you mommas out there!

PS – Jen wrote a great blog about Valentine's Day for those of you that are not that fond of it.  I loved it and it inspired me today to buy a gift card for a single momma struggling to make ends meet.  I don't say that to brag (because for the love it was only $10 to Starbucks), but I say that to say let's look around us and see those that need a small act of kindness and act on it.  Listen to that nudge in your heart and do it.  You can spare a few bucks to bless someone. I promise.