Tuesday, February 14, 2012

the valentine squirrel

every family has some traditions that make certain days extra special. there are the standards like santa and the easter bunny. or you might have an adoption day celebration of some sort. when i was growing up, my mom was really good at inventing ways to make days feel special. at one point, she decided that whenever one of our family members who didn't live in our house had a birthday, we'd have dessert for breakfast. brownies and milk before school? yes please, and happy birthday aunt joan!

another little gem she invented was the valentine squirrel. we would get an annual visit from the mysterious squirrel. at night while we were sleeping on the night before v-day, the squirrel would hide 25 hershey kisses around our bedrooms for us to find and gobble upon waking. of course, we never found them all right away. sometimes months would go by before the last one or two would be discovered and one even turned up possibly years later when we moved. by then it was mummified, dusty and covered in white spots.


there was also a treasure hunt with clues that led us to some prize at the end and a basket filled with fun little goodies. it was kind of like easter in february, but without the bunny or eggs.

i've started doing the valentine squirrel with brooke for the past several years. each year i have more fun hiding the kisses because her ability to look for them improves, so i like to give her a challenge. she decided after the first year that she couldn't properly celebrate this holiday without an actual, physical squirrel to hold and play with. but do you have any idea how hard it is to find a toy squirrel?

we searched high and low for a couple months to find this elusive squirrel and one day at walmart, brooke spotted one in a lady's cart, walking through the store. so i ran to catch up with her and asked her where she found it. in the dog toy department! why didn't i think to look there? we found it, bought it and brooke promptly named it Tiny.

one year i made a cute little pink, hearty shirt for tiny to wear on his big day, but brooke immediately ripped it off and told me that squirrels don't wear shirts. duh. i guess i won't waste any more hours making clothes for squirrels. though, in brooke's world, dogs, cats and hamsters do wear clothes. obviously.

i haven't started on the treasure hunt business yet because i just haven't felt inspired to invest that kind of time in the process. and once i've done it the first time, i'll never be able to NOT do it again without brooke feeling let down. so i just haven't done it. however, she did get a bowl filled with paint bottles and sugar this morning.

i was awakened at 7:30 by brooke bouncing on my bed, squealing, laughing and telling me that she'd already consumed at least 30 pieces of chocolate. she woke up at 5:55 and got started right away. this is the one day of the year that i let her go buck wild with the junk food and we take a day off from school because there's no way she'd be able to concentrate with blood as thick as syrup slogging through her veins. plus, if she eats it all in one day, we can get back on track tomorrow and fondly remember the day when sugary goodness rained from the sky.


18 comments:

  1. What a great mom you are, and you are creating great memories for Brooke!

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    1. thanks, eva. i hope she only remembers the happy parts when she's grown.

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  2. I was just thinking, dog toy, but than you said it.
    My sister gets those for her beagles. They last 2 minutes before their poor little stuffed heads are torn off.

    I like the valentine squirrel.

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    1. dog toys never seem to keep their stuffing for long, do they? we used to buy them for our dogs at cheap second hand shops like goodwill. when they only cost .25 cents, it's not so bad when they're immediately dismembered.

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  3. Love the concept of the Valentine's Day squirrel, that's awesome! I agree with Eva that you're a top quality mum!

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    1. a top quality mum. i like that! maybe i'll make myself a t-shirt. lol!

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  4. that's kind of disturbing that it's a dog toy--is it like fulfilling a dog's dream??? That's cute though, and funny about finding the ancient chocolate a long time after.

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    1. i know at least one dog who fantasizes about tearing up some squirrels. you know the huge st bernard i was posting pictures of last week? there's a squirrel that comes up by the window where she looks out and does a rotten little tail flicking dance in poor anna's face.

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  5. I love the idea of hiding kisses.. hmmmmm

    It really is a shame *snicker* how much that kiddo looks like you! ;) I love her dimples.

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    1. she does look a little bit like me, doesn't she? especially when she makes a really stupid face.

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  6. That picture made me laugh for some reason. Haha!

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  7. Cute pictures of Brooke. Now I must say , I have never heard of a Valentine Squirrel. Very inventive.

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    1. everyone should get visits from the valentine squirrel. he's very friendly and leaves the tastiest droppings.

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  8. Replies
    1. i come from awesome. some of it was bound to wear off on me.

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  9. How great us that? Love the idea of taking totally unrelated things and pairing them up to make a cool tradition. Your mom sounds like she was really fun, awesome that you are continuing with that :)

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  10. Brooke looks appropriately deranged from the sugar high! How wonderful to see those traditions being carried on!

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  11. Those pics are awesome! Sugar rush proof.

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