That's Love

Cheers to you who chase around toddlers all day, trying to get a good, festive photo on holidays. I gave up and turned on the flash and finally chose pictures where the balloon wasn't even all the way in the photo. Then I folded and put away the outfit I had set aside to take photos with older brother. I quit.

Cheers to you who are washing dishes, wiping snotty noses, and not going to elaborate Valentine's dinners tonight with your significant others. I'm right there with you.

Cheers to you, the one who sat down at the computer for a few brief moments to yourself still in PJs from the night before. It's okay- I'm doing the same thing.

The house might not be perfectly clean and your children probably aren't for that matter either, but you're working. You're working hard to create a happy home and life for your family and that, ladies, is love.

Happy Valentine's Day to you from me and my crew.

The Valentine's Day Miracle

February is nearing its end and I still haven't told you about our Valentine's Day. I'm one of those people who likes to celebrate every holiday- no matter how small or ridiculous- and I just can't let the month slide by without a mere mention. I mean, it had to be better than last year's Valentine's Day, right?

The night before I rummaged through a packed closet, searching for a festive bag to put the completely unromantic gift and nonexistent card into. I finally settled on a blue one with white swirlies that didn't look a thing like snow. Or maybe it did. I wrapped said gift up in a single piece of gift wrapping paper and placed it on the kitchen counter alongside a mess of other papers we've been sorting through since our move.

We woke up, said 'happy valentine's day' and commenced to double diaper changes.

Then, J worked on homework.

A couple hours into the day, we were all- oh yeah, let's exchange gifts.

As we sat down at the table, shushing both children as they let out their mid morning wails, I began second guessing the gift I got him. The man is a beast to buy for. If he wants something, he normally gets it himself. Or he will mention that he wants something and then totally forget that he ever uttered those words, making me look crazy....and then he's stuck with stuff like food dehydrators and zombie books. 

There was nothing to cushion this possibly bad gift with either. Typically, there'd be color coordinated food, actual tangible Valentines, or at least booze to add to it. This year, I had no such thing to offer.

Anyway, he opened the Christmas bag, tore off the paper, and stared a bit too long at the package...

Inside, was a shiny new pair of headphones.

I'm smiling at the thought. How random? How stupid. The insecure woman inside of me was screaming, "You idiot. You've done it again. Why do you even try?" I start my usual explanation of why I wanted to get him that and have a revelation that if I have to explain a gift, it's probably not a good one. Still, I soldier on with "You're going to be traveling a lot on air planes. You're going to be working a lot at home. There's noise cancellation! The boys can scream and you won't hear"...yada yada yada.

I tried. I really did. I thought about this gift for months in advance and guess what? I finally purchased and surprised my husband with a gift that he actually enjoys. It only took four years of being together to do it. It's a Valentine's Day miracle.

Our V-Day wasn't at all like the romantic one we spent in Savannah, GA...

and it didn't have cutesy crafts or festive food...

but at least it wasn't spent miles apart like our first Valentine's Day.

The day went by just like any other. And when J's parents showed up that weekend, we got the best gift ever- the gift of time out together sans children!

No matter I had just left the doctor with a diagnosis of "breast infection".

No matter I had just changed no less than 10 stinky diapers that day.

No matter we barely had a week together before he had to leave again.

We were together this Valentine's Day. 

And I reckon that's all that matters anyway.

That and the date night margaritas.

Can I get an amen?

voice of reason

I'm bad about having expectations for my birthday and other holidays and when the day doesn't work out exactly how I imagined, I'm all -woe is me. On Valentine's Day, I was sure it would be a perfect day. It was a Tuesday so I had plans to go to PWOC, come home and clean up the house and decorate, and get ready for a romantic evening in with my man.

If we're friends on facebook, you know by now that my day just didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped by my status that read- "Today-3, Me-0" that was posted in the evening of February 14th.

(1) It all started with my (much too early) morning wake up call. For an unknown reason, Baby K decided to wake up at 3:30...for the day! Umm, no. I refuse. Not going to work little man. I finally was able to get him (and myself) back to sleep for another hour that day, but I wouldn't exactly call it a restful nights sleep. Determined, I got out of bed and began getting K ready to leave for my bible study group. I was so excited to go, especially because we missed last week because K Baby was sick. Our house was alive with the bustle of the morning when Captain J mentioned that he didn't have any clean socks (again). I told him to go look in the bag where I keep all the unmatched socks, a bag he didn't realize I had. He then remarked, "THAT'S where all my socks are." Which, I of course interpreted to mean that I was a terrible house wife because I couldn't keep clean or matched socks in his drawer. Ridiculous? Yes. But I wasn't operating on much sleep. Anyway...

(2) I dressed K in one of his sweet Valentine onesies and headed off to chapel without a shower and smelling like baby spit up. I dropped him off in childcare and 45 minutes later my pager was going off to come get him. I walked in and he was freaking out- again. And again, all the other little fellas in the room were quietly playing or sleeping. Ha! No biggie, I thought. I'll just bring him in the room with me. But he wasn't having that. He wanted a nap. He wanted his crib. And he wanted it now. Before ever sitting down to get into the lesson, I was packing up and leaving. And crying myself because of the stress of the last few weeks and my lack of sleep I'm a baby, too.

He cried most of the way home and fell asleep as we were pulling down our street. He woke up as I was bringing him through the door. I got him out of his car seat and he laughed. He laughed. Little stinker.

(3) I decided to post something for sale on a facebook for sale page but I forgot to take into account how mean (and ignorant) the general public can be. Epic fail. I posted the item by saying "$20 OBO (or best offer) and immediately got a text message asking if I would sell the item for a lower price. Sure, $15 is fine. I told her I WOULD take $15 but ya know...I still had best offer on the item. I return her text by saying someone else would pay 20 because I was getting messages left and right. She completely flipped out like a crazy person. She was texting me constantly saying how she wouldn't be treated like this, how it wasn't fair, and God bless me anyway.

UM?

What just happened?

I tried explaining to her what OBO meant but it was to no avail. This person was a grandmother, for crying out loud. She even told me she "really needed it." And then it all made sense. She must be one of these people who think the world owes her something- and that because she needs something, she should get it. This was not a need item, folks.

And I instantly felt icky for all the Christians in the world who truly mean it when they say "God bless you" because this woman was completely using those words to try to make me feel bad.

Because I care what other people think, I let her get me down. I worried about this mean person and for what reason? I finally realized that I was ruining a perfectly good Valentine's Day because of small, petty things in my life. I left the silly facebook group so as to never have to deal with her (or anyone else like her) again. Then I turned off the computer, put down my phone, and focused on my husband.

And you know what?

V-Day wasn't all awful. I got dressed (ha). Captain J and I had a wonderful candlelit dinner and he surprised me with an appointment for a massage, facial, mani, pedi, tanning, and makeup session. A "me day"- sounds perfect.

Thank you, J for being my voice of reason and my happy place. I love you!

Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day, Lovers!

*First off, I just wanted to say to those of you who left comments and sent messages about my sweet boy yesterday- Thank you! I felt better reading that "Failure To Thrive" was more common than I originally thought and not always something to fret too much over. Honestly, you all made me feel much better. Thank you mucho.

Last V-Day, we were celebrating our love at the Olde Pink House in Savannah, Georgia. This year, we're enjoying a night in. We have plans to cook together after little K goes to bed and we'll likely stay up describing in detail how cool the other person is talking about how cool our kid is. I hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating all the people you love in your life.

Here's what Captain J has waiting for him when he gets home!



I'm so glad Baby K likes to craft as much as me. Just look how talented he is at only 6 months:



So proud.

Again, Happy V-Day, y'all! I'm guest posting over here today so head over and check that out, will ya? I'll be back here tomorrow with a recipe and a confession. Get pumped!

XOXO,

Mrs. K

Cupid Cutie

It's February! Or at least it will be in a couple of hours. And can I just say? I like Valentine's Day. Some people are haters, but I think it's just fine to celebrate love by eating candy and buying ridiculously hideous stuffed animals for the lovers in your life.

If you want to get more creative, though...

Here are some things I've done in the past. The plans for this year are still in the works, but I thought I'd share with you part of Captain J's VDay surprise just because it's so darn cute.

Are you ready for this?



I couldn't decide which picture to use because there were tons of cute ones to choose from (including one where Baby K was gnawing on the canvas photo) but in the end, I went with the happy smile one. I just can't get enough of that sweet smile.

Wanna pin this photo idea? You can do that here.

XOXO,

Mrs. K

Savannah On My Mind

As you may have heard, J and I had a great time visiting Savannah, Georgia last weekend. We didn't want to leave. One weekend just wasn't enough time to do all that we wanted to do! He didn't get off work till rather late on Friday so we had a four hour drive ahead of us in the dark. It's unfortunate that we missed all of Friday there, but we were glad to check in around 11:30 pm.

Our bed and breakfast, the Eliza Thompson House, was perfect! It was a beautiful old building with very gracious employees and gorgeous atmosphere. It wasn't without perks either! There were designated wine/cheese times, a dessert hour, and complimentary sherry available 24 hours a day. Most of which this pregnant gal didn't partake in, but I still enjoyed sitting in this old room, chatting with my man-

Honestly, we collapsed into bed when we arrived, too tired to explore the city at all. In the morning when we awoke, it was a beautiful, sunny day. The shaded parts of the city were windy and sort of chilly (sorry Alaskans. I became one of them!) but for the most part we were able to enjoy the sun on our faces. After a good breakfast at the inn, we headed toward the trolley station to purchase informative tours.

The trolley ride was interesting because of all the deep rooted history tied to Savannah. I would definitely recommend informative trolley, horse carriage, or walking tours during your stay in this city. It's much better to know what you're staring at, right!? It's something we will probably do each time we visit Savannah because there's so much more to learn that the guide could teach us in a 90 minute tour.

The above is Mercer House. I was disappointed that we didn't have time to tour this old home because I had been learning so much about the happenings inside from the book I'm reading, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. We will definitely go tour this one next time.

By the close of the tour, Baby and I were starving! We walked over to Paula Deen's restaurant to see what it was all about, but we, of course, didn't get in. This was true for both days we were there. You wouldn't believe the line that the place attracts! We just wanted to say that we had been there, done that, so we weren't too disappointed that we couldn't get in. I mean, I like Paula Deen, but we're in the south, baby! My grandmother can make fried chicken just as tasty, I'm sure! ;) I took a photo in front of the joint for good measure.

We found ourselves eating at the Six Pence Pub for lunch, which was very good. Reminiscent of European pubs, the atmosphere was fun and talkative. We both had sandwhiches and talked about what we would do the rest of the day, as I tried to focus on our conversation. I was in full alert mode because I'm pretty sure we had been dining near Derek Dooley (Go Vols)! Anyway, there's some Hollywood connections at the famous bar (aside from ole Dooley) that make the place definitely worth a peek inside.

We walked down by the water after lunch to watch the boats sail in and soak up the talent of the local artists in the area. After seeing the pretty blue water, we decided that it was the beach we were actually craving. We found the car and drove to nearby Tybee Island for a midday nap in the sand. It was a nice day for it. We strolled around, holding hands, and talking excitedly about how likely it was that the next time we were at a beach that we'd have a little one in tow. It's pretty crazy to think about!

After that, we went back to the hotel to get ready for our Valentine's celebration dinner. How appropriate that we went to the Olde Pink House.

Picture courtesy of Daniel Mayer

 I can't believe we got in! I called a week in advance, but our butler told us that it's usually booked months in advance. I understood why when we arrived. Inside the house is gorgeous! The service was exellent, too. Our waitress saw that I was in a delicate condition and offered to trick me with a fruit drink of punch instead of an alcoholic beverage. It was yummy! The food was good and it wasn't one of those places that try to rush you out. The appetizer came well before the meal and dessert wasn't rushed afterwards. We spent a couple of hours there and enjoyed every second of it. A lovely black lady meandered through the tables in her huge hoop skirt and sang in a soulful voice, Georgia on My Mind.

Here are a few photos of us getting ready to eat that night:

Ok, so maybe it was just me getting ready!

We had many other adventures during our stay, too. We toured churches, homes, and gardens. We listened as people regaled us with tales of ghosts! We looked up at the huge trees with their spanish moss draping down and silently begged to not have to go home just yet.

Until next time, Savannah!

Love,

Spread the Love

I got a couple of emails asking for creative date and gift ideas for Valentine's Day. I was drawing a blank for the longest time. It's difficult to come up with something fun and new when I follow this amazing blog that does all the thinking for me - The Dating Divas.

At their blog, you may find cute ways to make your man feel special- like this:



If you're into card making (and who isn't on Valentine's Day?!), here's a super cute idea-



Or browse around their Romantic Rendezvous section to find a perfect date night for you and your hubby. The divas provide printouts for a lot of the dates and crafts so you really don't have to spend much time making what you'll need. These are quick and easy!

Like I said, I was just drawing blanks. I'm not feeling very creative! I stressed over what I would do for Captain J. He really is so hard to buy for because if he wants something- he just gets it himself. I really have to concentrate to be thoughtful! ha. Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, Captain J and I are spending a romantic weekend in Savannah for Valentine's Day so we didn't want to spend too much on gifts. I decided I would get him a few small things to let him know I was thinking of him:





This, he'll love. Because our Alaska fishing supplies won't really be efficient here in the south, I decided to update his tackle box. I bought a cheap container and filled it with lures that I thought might be helpful. Now, he might be headed back to the store for something totally different, but it's the thought that counts, right? I don't know what happened to using live bait or food, but whatever! I included the receipt in case he might want to exchange.



I used rubber stamps on a lot of these gifts because my cricut bit the dust. I'm really annoyed with it! It just stopped cutting. Has this happened to any of you? It goes through the motions but the blade doesn't extend. What a time for it not to work! Hmf!

The next crafty idea I cannot take credit for.



I got ideas from this "Bottle of Love" project found here:



For Captain J's bottle, I used pink and red starbursts and pink and red kisses. He's not into sweets so I'm guessing he'll share the chocolate with me and he'll take over the chewy fruity treats!

I also wrapped up a few other treats-



The kiss me package is cherry chapstick. I provided a ring (pop) because I know he's going to want me to marry him all over again after I give him fishing supplies for Valentine's Day.



And there you have it! I plan on buying a few other practical items to slip into the bag (Isn't that bag too cute? I got it on clearance for 77 cents!) and also making his Valentine card, but I haven't done that yet. This is all I've got so far. Anyone have any bag stuffer suggestions? I'd be all ears.



For more tutorials visit Erratically Elizabeth's post Tutorial Tuesdays.

Thanks for viewing! I hope these links help. Spread the love!

XOXO,

Military Mondays- Care Package Edition

It's time for one of my favorite blog hops-- It's Military Mondays with Candace over at Army Wives Lives! Go link up your recent military related post with her and then hop on around to see what everyone else has to say today. As for me, I'd like to help my ladies in waiting out. If your military sweetie is deployed this year for Valentine's Day, this post is especially for you.

Care package preparation is an art form, isn't it? It can be so much fun. All the love and longing for that person has to be summed up in one little APO flat rate box so that when the service person opens it, he/she feels all the love from a million miles away. That's how I liked to prepare my boxes for Captain J anyway. And if it happened to be a holiday, his pride had to go out the window (For those who don't know, the army will go through the box to make sure there's nothing that isn't supposed to be in it)! For Valentine's Day that year, I went all out with pink and red and other embarrassing things.

I didn't go out of my budget, though. I was in college, people. Broke! Just because you don't have funds to buy something nice doesn't mean his Valentine's Day can't be special. Here's what I did:



Lots of cheesy stuff involved in this package! I used my crafting skills to put together a sweet note for him and various other reminders of why I love him ;) The dollar store helped out with this package, too. They had a ribbon there (see photo) which I can't remember for the life of me what it said, but it inspired another idea that I'll get to in just a moment. Captain J isn't a sweets man (which is nuts!) so I had to get creative with the food I sent. Wrapped up in pink tissue paper, I sent one of his favorites that he couldn't seem to get in Iraq- popcorn! On it, I left a silly note that probably said something along the lines of: "My heart is poppin' with love for you" or something equally corny (no pun intended there!)

Get a Valentine's picture frame with your photo in it so he can place it by his bed and think about how next year he might get to be with you when Feb. 14th rolls around! I also placed a candle in there (but you'll have to make sure that is an approved item).

Next, decorate the inside and outside of the box and fill it with red, decorative foods. I used kisses and twizzlers.

Voila! You have the beginnings of a sweet box! My favorite part of the whole Valentine's package was this, though:



The trophy! I went to my local goodwill and picked up a small trophy to recycle into something fun. Choose one that looks festive and not too sporty. Because Captain J and I weren't married yet, I gave him the "Best Boyfriend Ever Award". I personalized it by putting his name at the bottom. All I needed for this project were some markers, construction paper or card stock, and ribbon. Measure the parts of the trophy that need to be covered and then decorate accordingly. I had some extra heart stickers so I used them on the base, too for extra color.

I'd love to say he cherished this and it's sitting on our bedroom dresser now, but I'm pretty sure it didn't make it home from the deployment. As you probably know, being in Iraq surrounded by hundreds of bored soldiers can create some pretty interesting scenarios. This trophy ended up being re-gifted to someone in some sort of prank. At least they're having fun, right?

There you have it- a very cheap and easy way to show your man you're thinking of him.

Now, this post was geared towards those who will be without there significant others this year. It's about time to send off those packages so they'll get there in time! For those of you who get to be with your lovers this year (lucky!), I'm still thinking on ideas for us. Look for a post soon!

Happy Monday!