Homemade Valentines...

I'm going to go ahead and just admit it (since it is probably obvious to anyone who knows me): I'm a bit of a control freak. It's not that I got nuts if things don't go according to plan, but I still want to have a plan in place.  For example: I strategically choose my line at the grocery store based on a quick scan of all of the lines, how quickly they seem to be moving, how many and what type of each items are in each person's basket, etc...I typically end up in the line that will have some random weird issue tho, so my "plan" of moving through the line quickly goes out the window. It doesn't necessarily bother me that it didn't go as planned though.  The point is that I can't just walk up to a line without analyzing it and making some sort of plan.  This also means I'm obsessed with writing lists, but I'm okay if not everything gets done on said list. The issue though is that at some point in the early process of things, there's a plan of attack-MY plan-, which seems pretty logical to me...except it's not something that should be carried out into every aspect of life...  You would think the musician side-the artsy side, if you will-would be a little more free spirited, but quite possibly THE most difficult area for me to let go of my controlling tendencies is when it has to do with anything artsy...especially children's art projects!  Lucy recently attended a birthday party, and I found myself trying to talk her into which piece of pottery "she" wanted to paint, and which colors "she" wanted to "choose" to paint it. I literally should have just walked away and let her do her own thing, but we know that wasn't going to happen, so instead, I just tried my best to keep my mouth SHUT, and her project, of course, turned out beautifully and showed her amazing creativity. (By the way, she chose a very sizable hello kitty face.)

So, now valentines day is approaching, and my planning, controlling self had pinned all sorts of fun ideas for valentines for "Lucy" to make...except Lucy didn't actually want to make those.  (She did fall in love with the princess valentines box, so we worked on that while watching the olympics pairs skating on Tuesday evening:)

 But as for all of the cute valentines candy card ideas I've been pinning the past several months, she had her own ideas, no pinterest needed.  She wanted to cut out her own hearts...all 18 of them.  So we sat down earlier this week and I supervised her safety-scissor usage...and I literally couldn't handle it!  I found myself saying "Don't you just want mommy to cut them out for you?" And then I quickly found myself losing patience over the project. (The planner in me analyzes the quickest way to complete a project so more things can get done.)  So we just had to walk away from it...and I realized how ridiculous I was being. Why on earth would I want to hinder my child's own creativity? But at the same time, Lucy wanted to cut out hearts for her classmates, and we were getting these mutated ovals instead that she wasn't happy with  (Have you ever tried to cut out hearts with safety-scissors?  Probably not, because you know better!)  So tonight, we sat down after mommy had a nice long breath, and I realized my 6 year old is quite capable of using a "normal" pair of scissors.  I also realized that while I didn't need to take over this project, I could still help her attain what she had envisioned. So, I traced 18 hearts that she cut out.  And instead of mommy trying to rush through the project, I sat there and let her go at her own pace.  And instead of mommy trying to take over the project, I sat there until she asked for my help.  (I did go ahead and tape all of the candy in place, but mostly because we were very limited on tape today since a certain 6 year old is obsessed with taping things...anyone else have to constantly switch which drawer they keep their scotch tape in to try and hide it??;-) And as I looked at the finished project, I smiled.  It was was so much fun to help my daughter accomplish HER plan, instead of trying to enforce one of my own. And while they aren't the next biggest pinterest idea to sweep the Valentine pin boards, they certainly are what this Mommy considers a work of art--because they are Lucy's art.

Does this mean I'm going to stop analyzing the checkout lanes at the grocery store? Um...doubtful! But it does mean I realize I don't need to be in charge and in control all of the time.

Okay...maybe even most of the time!;-)

And speaking of homemade Valentines, Lucy's classmates aren't the only ones who received a "Lucy one of a kind" this week.  In fact, both of my kiddos made me special Valentines this week.  Seriously, I had tears in my eyes when I saw my sweet boy's handprint:

 and my precious girl's handwritten note to me.

There really just isn't anything quite like a homemade valentine--it not only came straight from their hands, but also straight from their hearts:)