Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

What a huge week. It has been a devastating one for so many. It has been so heartening to see the generous response. I know that my life will continue on as normal where others' lives are forever changed. Every time I get annoyed by something I remind myself of what other Australians are going through right now and I get a bit (a lot, actually) of perspective.

Today is Valentine's Day. In days gone by we did nothing to celebrate this. I once proclaimed it to be ridiculous for all manner of reasons, that we all get/give flowers or silly stuffed bears and love hearts on this random day. And I still proclaim the pretty much same thing, but I now think that if you can't express love to those you care about most on the day the whole commercial world is reminding you to, then what's going on there, really?

I have started a new tradition of giving a love note (I used this one) and handmade gift to the kids, and a love note and small (not handmade, nor fluffy nor stuffed, but this year a "Top Gear" related) gift for the man. I quite love giving presents, and it is especially nice to give a little "handmade by mummy" gift to the kids at a time when they aren't bombarded by a whole bunch of other gifts like at Christmas or birthdays. 


For Jemima I got out my hot glue gun that I bought months ago and never used, and the packet of plain hair clips I also bought ages ago, and went crazy sticking buttons onto them. Perfect for her wispy baby hair that is getting into her eyes, but I can't contemplate cutting. Generally they won't all be worn at once, but when you are a nearly 2 year old, more is more I think.


For Caleb I made him this tie using a pattern from the stash I got recently from a friend. To make it more kid friendly, I made the tie per the directions and then "tied" it around Caleb's neck and cut it at the centre back, tucked the raw edges in, and then sewed in some elastic to join it back together. This way he can get it on and off himself without having to undo the tie in the tie. The buttons are from Smiggle (a love heart and one that says "I'm your number one fan". I was thinking of making one this coming week for Handmade Helps Out. What do you think?

*sigh* I am so thankful for my lovely little family. Especially this week.

3 comments:

CurlyPops said...

So sweet! That tie is very cool indeed.

Madeline said...

What cute kiddos!!! The tie is too cool. Yet another idea to stash away in my brain.

Monique said...

Thanks for leaving a little happy birthday message for Missy. I am glad you stopped by.