Feb 112011
 

The boys keep bringing home stuff splattered with hearts and pink paint and more hearts. I do think that the coffee cup with puffy hearts all over it that BigBrother just knew I was going to love really was quite perfect for me.

But… last night in our living room, I saw more love than all the pink puffy hearts in the world could attempt to portray. During an extremely loud dance party that my sons were having while I was attempting to rest, feeling quite exhausted after dinner, they got a bit huggy.

Dance Party Hugs

Dance Party Hugs

Dance Party Hugs

I wished this for them. I prayed this for them. I’m not naive to imagine that it will always be like this. They pushed each other ten minutes after this photo, both ending up in tears — in their rooms. They’re going to argue. And fight. And I venture to guess that each will claim to hate the other at some point in time, if not more than once. But this? This is what I wanted for my children.

This is the stuff of real love. This is the stuff I want to remember. This is the stuff of my heart.

Jan 202011
 

We — meaning FireDad and I — don’t “do” Valentine’s Day. We have our reasons, which I might explain on Valentine’s Day, but mainly we like to save up for our annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Pittsburgh.

We do, however, like to make sure the boys have a nice Valentine’s Day. By nice, I don’t mean that we go overboard. They get a coloring book or a book (or maybe/usually both) and a special treat. I do make sure they have Valentine cards to hand out to their classmates.

This year, thanks to a tip from Mandy and subsequent repeated Googling, I’ve found quite a few fire truck Valentines. I thought I would share them with you, just in case you have a little firefighter in your midst who wants to give some Four Alarm Valentines this February. (Which, by the way, it is almost February. Don’t ask me how.)

The first place I always look for fire things is Etsy, and I was not disappointed this time around. The first one I found was from Three Shiny J’s. It’s a great fire engine Valentine with a turquoise background. Best part of this one? It’s customizable with your little Cupid’s photograph… in the fire truck!

This particular Valentine can be printed at home on your own printer for a price of $5.00. The listing also says that she can print them for you for a price of $10 for the first set of 10 and $5 for each additional set of 5. If you order them printed, they come with envelopes as well. Not a bad price for a personalized card!

My next pick is another Etsy find; this one is from Pickled Pumpkins. In fact, this one might be great for the all-things-rescue lover as this Valentine set has a fire truck, a police care and an ambulance!

The words are all super cute. “You set my heart on fire,” for the fire truck. “I caught you stealing my heart,” for the police car. And “You rescue my heart,” for the ambulance. Super cute, as I said. They’re $8.50 for a set of 12 and come with little envelopes.

The next two are from Tiny Prints. One has a bulkier fire truck with a light blue background.

This one is kind of awesome since you can add a picture of your little Valentine on the inside of the card. Ten cards are $12.40 and continue to drop in price the more you order.

The second Tiny Prints option has a skinnier fire engine on a navy blue background with hearts flying from the hose.

This one doesn’t offer an option to add a photo inside, but it’s a bright yellow with flames at the bottom. I kind of prefer this one myself! It’s the same price as the other Tiny Prints fire engine Valentine.

And, lastly, my favorite fire truck Valentine is another option I found on Etsy. This one comes from Cara’s Scrap ‘N Stamp Art. It features a 1950′s vintage fire truck theme… and I adore it.

I don’t know if it’s something the kids themselves would love. But I love it. These run $5.00 for 5, and they come with cute little paper envelopes. One of the pricier options but, oh, the cute.

If you have seen any great fire truck Valentine’s Day cards, would you please let me know? I haven’t actually made my decisions yet, so I’m still game for anything out there.


[Disclaimer: This post is pure opinion. I received nothing to write this post. None of these people know I wrote this post. In fact, writing this post made it harder for me to decide. You're welcome!]