Happy Valentine's Day

Sometime last week, my husband told me of a conversation he'd had at work regarding how much money people spend on Valentine's Day. We typically keep things cheap and simple at our house: candy and a bunch of children's Valentine's cards hidden throughout the house, for example. We especially have to keep things cheaper now, since we're living on one income. I guess some of his coworkers tend to spend a lot, so I asked my husband whether he'd told his coworkers that he was getting me a Lexus with a bow on top. Well, look at what I got for Valentine's Day!

(I realize I'm wearing this same shirt in my "Introducing Me" photo.  No, it's not the only shirt I own.  Really!  I just wore it because it's red, for Valentine's Day!)

My husband can be quite the romantic. Since he sometimes wakes up early and can't get back to sleep, I wondered yesterday morning whether he'd meant to get up early or if he just couldn't sleep anymore. But my question was answered as he came into the room while I was stretching and easing my way out of bed, laden with a tray table and a full breakfast of French toast, fruit, and juice. Ooh, yum! I got breakfast in bed, complete with the color comics, while he fed and entertained the kiddo. It was very relaxing, and a nice break to hear the occasional cry of "No, no, please don't do that!" and not have to deal with the discipline (or mess) of whatever it was our son had done. (And no, I didn't get any syrup on the sheets.)

He also gave me a massage later on in the day, and some candy.

For my part, I made my husband a batch of his favorite cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, and "our son" gave him a box of chocolate covered cherries. I usually only make those cookies during October and November (they're so good, we'd blow up like balloons if we had them all the time), but I thought they would make a nice, unexpected treat. And they were not an easy thing to make during an apparent pumpkin shortage! I hadn't expected that quick trip to the grocery store to turn into an all-over-town hunt! And they wound up being Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip, because I realized too late that we were out of chocolate chips--but at least I caught myself before I added the peanut butter swirl chips, since I wanted our son to be able to eat them too!

All in all, we had an excellent day--full of simple gestures of affection. Creativity and ingenuity can work wonders, and I'd definitely take them over a piece of expensive jewelry any day!