it's valentimes!

Valentine's Day at our house was celebrated with...

...an early date with my sweetheart. We've never been very good about actual thought-out Valentine's dates, so it was a big step for us this year when we committed to put the boys to bed early on Saturday night, order Chinese take-out, and eat it, along with a bottle of sparkling cider and a box of chocolates for dessert, in our kitchen by candlelight.

Also that night, Blake came home with a large bouquet of "happy flowers" -- yellow and white daisies. Happy indeed.

...a heart attack. On Sunday night after the boys went to bed, I taped paper hearts all over their bedroom door, dresser, and part of the bunk bed for them to wake up to in the morning. To say they loved it would be a gross understatement.

When I wished Garrett a happy Valentine's day the first time, he assumed I meant "happy birthday," and spent the rest of the day spontaneously asking me for a party hat and saying, "Happy Valentine's Birthday, Garrett!"

...an outing to the park. It was sunny and warmish, but very windy, so we didn't last there long. But the boys and I both agree that it felt good to be back.

...heart shaped pizza for dinner. I thought the skills I gained as an employee of 5 Buck Pizza back in high school would have helped, but apparently not -- heart shaped pizzas are harder to make than it would seem on the surface! For a while there, I thought the whole endeavor would be a total flop, but in the end it turned out decently enough. I served it with hot cinnamon cider. So good.