My Funny Valentine

Step 1: strip the crayons of the only clothes they've ever known.

Step 2: Shred them (not your fingers) with recently-never-used cheese grater onto wax paper

Step 3: Watch as Mommy carefully uses the iron to melt crayons in between wax paper (keep asking, "Mom, what is that?" which implies the child has never seen mommy using an iron before.)

Step 4: Let dry, cut into heart shapes, punch a hole, cut strips of yarn, tie, and hang in the windows.

I am tempted to leave this post at this point. However, this would be inaccurate to the true experience of doing crafts with boys. At least this boy. Or maybe I should say crafts FOR this boy. Yes, it looks as though Eliot is a very helpful participant. Let me add a few more steps.

Step 2 1/2: Since we're already on the floor, take this opportunity to stop watching the crayons melt and do push-ups instead.

Step 3 1/2: Carpe Diem that ball of yarn! Realize that if you run in circles around the table, you can actually trap mommy.

Step 3 3/4: Realize step 3 1/2 can be done even quicker with your bike.

Eliot was over craft time pretty quickly. We took a few minutes throughout an entire morning to complete something that should have taken 30 minutes. Russ was working in the office all morning and when we finished our project Eliot told him to come look. He kept yelling "Happy Birthday, Daddy!"