Valentines Day (aka VD)

I'm neither here nor there about Valentines Day (although I do think it's funny when people that hate it refer to it as VD, heh). I could go along with the notion that you shouldn't really need a specific day to celebrate your loved ones, that you should just show your love all the time ( not like, you know, show it in some literal way...), but I can also get on board with the idea that having a day that is all about love is just a little incentive to go all out with pda's, gifts, extra smooches or what have you.





In my eight Valentines Days with Brian there has been a moderate amount of attention paid to it - never nothing and never over the top. Which is cool with me.





Although, I do like making memories with my kids so in celebration of the day I decided we'd make some heart shaped cookies. We were all set to start when I realized there was not a single bite of butter in our house. None. How does that even happen?? Sheesh. So first thing this morning we headed to the grocery store.





Right there as we walked in the store was a giant Valentines Day area - flowers, chocolate, balloons, candy. It screamed 'Right here men that didn't plan anything earlier than the morning of, now you have to pay $20 bucks for this bouquet of flowers that was only $8 yesterday'



We wandered the store and every stand that we walked by sat perched with heart shaped boxes filled with nothing special candy at over inflated prices. Maizey wanted to pick up every single box.

           Uh, no Missy, We have those same chocolates at home, it's just that they are in regular packaging and therefore you could care less about them. 

The more we wandered the store, the more inadequate I started to feel. I hadn't put together packages for the kids, I hadn't even made them a card. Hell I hadn't even bought a card. For Brian either. There were no little Valentines cards to give to her friends. We hadn't done any cute crafts. Nothing. Here I was looking at all the pretty pink and red boxes and wishing I had just bought something at least. We walked to the cards and picked one out for Daddy from them and from me. Julie (you all know her, right?) (she works at the grocery store) gave Maizey a red balloon with hearts on it and seriously, I think she thought she had died and gone to heaven. She wore that sucker on her wrist like the proudest little girl you have ever seen. We got the butter and went home.





We made the cookies. We made the shit out of those cookies. We rolled dough and cut hearts, we watched at the door of the oven just to make sure everything was okay in there. We made icing and licked beaters and then sat at the table and squished delicious pink icing out of a ziplock bag onto our perfect little cookies.







We spent the whole day as a family, including the trip to Public Heath for Jaces four month shots (he weighed in at 14lbs 14ounces... no longer a giant, just a little perfect boy, but  more on that later). We went for a late afternoon walk in the sun. It felt very much like an early Spring day.








 (I am just going to go ahead and nickname this walk The walk of the sun flare - holy schnitke they were amazing, between every house, every tree and mountain out there!)


Maizey wore shoes and jumped in every puddle she could find. We invited Brians parents over for dinner and they stayed until after the kids were in bed.
Jace obviously couldn't care less what day it was and Maizey, well she knew (and announced about a billion times) that it was Valentines! Day! but in reality, all she really knew was that it was a super fun day with cookies and walks and coffee and no nap and a balloon and fun fun fun.




(love this action shot - hat falling off and everything)



   I don't often have those feelings of inadequacy but when they sneak up, they are ugly. And for what? Honestly. A day that should make you feel good?? It was stupid and unnecessary and luckily, passed very quickly.





We had a great day. Perfect actually. I have always known that we don't need much to make us happy and today just reconfirmed it. One little batch of cookies and a big walk and my girl could not be happier (or more exhausted after coming down from the sugar high). I know that it's not pretty packaged candy and expensive flowers that take a day from normal to awesome, but really just spending a quality day together being a family and expressing how much we love each other with our words and actions is all that it takes.



No, I don't NEED a specific day to do that, but I did take THIS specific one to do it and it turned out pretty damn great.

 

Happy Valentines Day to my little family. I love you all with my whole heart.