It (almost) didn't suck!

Valentine's day was surprisingly good. Well, almost. My husband is not known for his grand gestures of romance (to put it nicely) and I have discussed this in prior posts. I mean, he ignored my birthday and, luckily for me, he has been trying to redeem himself ever since. He did really well for Christmas and now Valentine's day. So, I gotta tell you, Mike hates Valentines day. I think we went out once on Valentine's day, probably during year 1 of marriage, and he decided that everything is so crowded and the waits are so long that it isn't worth it. So, we do not go out on Valentine's evening, because I prefer a husband who is not annoyed and cranky to a dinner out.

Oh wait, before I bag on the man for being a Valentine scrooge. I forgot, the most romantic gesture of our entire relationship happened on Valentine's day 2001. We had been dating long distance for about 7 months and Mike was working long hours in Arizona at the time. He sent me roses at my job on Valentine's day that said something like, "Wish I could be there." Then, after I got off work I found a card on my windshield that had a clue in it, that then proceeded to take me on a treasure hunt that took me to some places that had special significance for us, like where we first met, as well as to spots that took me to my friends and family members who gave me more clues. The last clue said, "Since I can't be there, I've arranged for you and Sheree to go out to a nice dinner, so you won't be alone on Valentine's day." When I arrived at the restaurant, I was waiting for Sheree who is chronically 20mins late to everything, I turned around and, yep, of course, there was Michael. He had surprised me with a week long visit! BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER! (He probably should've proposed that night, because that was the biggest romantic gesture he has ever made. His actual proposal didn't even come close.)

So, I have to throw that story in so I don't completely dog on my poor husband. But, honestly, do men ever try as hard once they are married? I think not. We have had a few good V-days, I think. But, most of the time my poor husband just doesn't even try. I also kind of think Valentine's day has definitely been over commercialized and manipulates us women into thinking our men should spend money on us. So there have been many years when Valentine's day goes basically ignored by both of us.

Oh wait, last year he did something thoughtful too. I posted it here. This year, he got me beautiful flowers. Not the last thing he could find at Walmart on Saturday night, he actually planned ahead. I am more impressed by the forethought and planning than the actual present. I just like knowing that I am on my husband's mind sometimes when I'm not around. He also planned ahead and bought my favorite kind of cookie dough, so that on Sunday he could make me a giant heart-shaped cookie. LOVED that!

The kids were so excited to be part of the surprises. Gavin had known about the flowers for a week or so, and he was so proud of himself for keeping it a surprise. BTW, I ate the whole cookie in one sitting. Don't judge me, it was Valentine's day.

My husband did really, really well this Valentine's day. But, here's the sucky part--I was very sick. Miserable. Don't want to face the world sick. I was sick when the flowers came on Friday. I was even sicker all day Sunday. I try really hard to give a lot of positive reinforcement when my man does something great. So, I mustered up all the energy I could to praise him, and my boys. But, I was like "Thank you, I'm going back to bed now. . . .but, I will take the cookie with me."

So, let me say it this way, it was a really, miserable, annoying Sunday that came after a really long, miserable week. . . .but, as for a Valentine's day, I have to count this as a good one.

And one last picture, because it is sooooooo Ruby. I was very sick in bed, and I wanted my hubby to snuggle me for a few minutes, and while the parents were distracted, Ruby climbed up onto the counter and found Gavin's Valentine candy from school. She was only busted because after about 10 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted snuggling with my husband, I knew something must be wrong. I thought I might find her playing in the toilet (yes, that happens way too often) so finding her with 3 suckers was actually pretty cute.