Love is in the air . . .

Part of being involved with a co-operative preschool comes the responsibility of having to volunteer as a parent in the classroom once every couple of months. I actually really love this aspect of our membership, as it gives the school a real sense of "community" and allows me to actively participate in Thing 2's preschool experience.

And, more importantly, to spy on him.

I lucked into getting scheduled to volunteer tomorrow, which is the preschool class' Valentine party. What could possibly be cuter than 20 three-year-olds fumbling around trying to hand out red and pink doily-like valentines to the correct little preschooler? And getting so incredibly excited that they could burst at the prospect of having their own *mailbox* chalk full of brightly coloured cut-outs?

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

OK, I would. Since Paul has recently found himself a little more available during the day, I offered to let him go fill in our parent volunteer responsibilities tomorrow morning. He doesn't often get a chance to see Thing 2 in action at preschool, and this could be his last opportunity if he nabs a new work gig in the next little while.

So I whipped up some chocolate cupcakes (egg, nut, and dairy-free, of course - yeah, it took me a while to perfect this recipe) . . .

. . . then whipped up an easy Martha buttercream icing recipe and slapped on a red heart and BAM I call these Valentine cupcakes.


To further save money I made these cute little Valentines for all of Thing 2's friends at preschool - using stamps and materials I already had on hand at home.

My sappy heart is already swelling with pride and oozing with excitement to hear how the big day goes. Thing 2 candidly asked me this afternoon if I would like to be his Valentine. Silly question, because that's a role I took on the minute he was born.