It's amazing how Valentine's Day changes the older you get. The degree of change also seems to have everything to do with how many kids you have and how old the kids are. Even though Kerry and I are busier than ever, we still made time for a Valentine's Day celebration in honor of us. Of course, this celebration occurred Feb. 13th instead of the 14th for a couple of reasons, but after you've been married 8.5 years, that part really doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that we were able to spend some time together thanks to Kerry's mom since she watched the kids so we could go out. Going on a date is a big deal no matter the time of year, but it is an especially big deal this time of year because this is Kerry's "Busy Season", so he is quite scarce in our home. But, Kerry always slows down during the busiest time of his year and takes time out for Valentine's Day to treat me like a princess. This year we went to a new Mexican food restaurant (Are you surprised? ha ha) WITHOUT the kids! And, what Valentine's Day would be complete without flowers? I LOVE that Kerry got me PINK roses this year. Sure, I love any rose color - red is my favorite color after all. But, PINK was a spunky change of pace, and I feel warm and loved every time I look at them. Thanks, Boy, for not only loving me, but for working so hard for us!!!
On a totally different note, I am announcing that I am a horrible mother. I did nothing for my kids on Valentine's Day. Thankfully, Rhett does not know that something called "Valentine's Day" exists, and Grant was really happy about the Valentine party he had at school, so I didn't feel too badly about ignoring the holiday (although my guilt is growing as I am writing this). I normally would have made the boys AND myself Valentine's shirts, we would have done Valentine crafts, and there would be lots of heart shaped food during the day: heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches, heart shaped pancakes, heart shaped cookies, heart shaped sprinkles... But, I've made soooooo many shirts this year for the boys and other kiddos, and I really wasn't in the mood to pick up the horrendous mess crafting would have made, and I honestly HATE cooking, so I found myself feeling deprived of motivation for celebrating Valentine's Day. In my defense, I went ALL out for Christmas and Grant's birthday in all three departments of shirt-making, crafting and food, so surely that earns me some points, right????
Now on to some Valentine humor. (Did you know such a thing existed?) Below is a picture of a Valentine's Day craft that some of the kids in Grant's class made. The kids wrote affirmations about each student, and then those affirmations were glued on to the respective student's paper. Grant's hearts say things like:
"I like the way Grant shares the sand with me."
"I love the way Grant smiles."
"I love the way he is nice to me."
"He plays with me."
"I love his eyes."
"I love the way he listens."
But the winner is the heart that has the arrow pointing to it...
This heart says: "I love his tummy."I don't know what it means either, but I thought you'd get a kick out of it just like Kerry and I did.
