A for Effort

I’ve decided that Valentine’s Day should always be on a weekend. Mondays are busy at our house. After the kids get home from school we have scouts, Abby has dance, and Ben and Emily each have to practice the piano for 30 minutes. Somewhere in the middle of that we find time to make and eat dinner. When everything else is done, we get to have Family Home Evening. Trying to squeeze in some holiday fun is just too much to ask. I did give it my best effort. Well, maybe not my best effort, but some effort. Here are the highlights:

• Nate bought a big bag of Heath miniatures and hid them all around the house before he left for work. It provided entertainment for me and the kids all day. He had thought through our morning routine and left them where we were sure to find them . . . under the toothpaste, behind the vitamins, on the computer keyboard, in the kids’ shoes, etc. We found 46 in all. My favorites were the one that I found resting just above the ignition when I went to start the van and the one I found in my purse when I reached in for my credit card at the store. It was just a two dollar bag of candy, but it made me feel loved all day long.


• I found a fun new heart hairdo for the girls. Elise got pigtail hearts and Abby got a ponytail heart. They loved it. Emily was a little moted that I didn’t do anything special for hers. I assured her that it wasn’t personal. It’s just hard to be festive before 8 a.m.


• The kids got fun little gift bags from Grandma Reatha that included a mini gumball machine for each of them. It was easily their favorite gift of the day.


• I pulled out my trusty cookie cutters and made heart-shaped omelets and heart-shaped toast for dinner. The kids had eaten so much junk from school that they didn’t eat much of their food, but they were still impressed with how cool it looked.

• I copied Kaylynn’s Valentine tradition and made a string maze for the kids that led to their presents from me and Nate. I might have gotten a bit carried away. The level of difficulty was a little high for our first time, but once the kids figured it out they loved it. They did not, however, love their gifts. I got the girls cute new summer nightgowns with hearts on them. Abby opened hers and said “I hate this! I wanted slippers!” Nice. Elise said “Why did you get these ones? We already have one almost like it.” Nice. I bought fabric to make Ben pajama pants a couple of weeks ago, but then decided that since he doesn’t need more pajamas I would get him some socks instead. I know it seems like a lame gift, but Ben has an unnatural affection for Old Navy socks. He has nine pair and when I get behind in laundry and he runs out, all I hear about is how horrible his other socks are and how much he loves his Old Navy socks. I thought he would be thrilled with ten new pair so he would never have to run out again. I was wrong. He growled, tossed them aside, and said “I wish you would have gotten me pajamas.” Nice. All three of those reactions happened pretty much simultaneously. It was not a good moment. I felt like a loser mom for not getting gifts they would like and even more like a loser mom for not teaching my kids better manners. Hello, Gratitude? Where are you?


• After the kids got a big fat lecture on being good gift receivers (guilt-inducing enough that Ben was in tears . . . he even wrote me an apology letter this morning), we finished off the night with dessert. Nate made heart-shaped pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Yummy! We let the kids open their other present, a new game called Quirkle. The original plan was to play it, but by the time we were done with everything else it was time for bed. Maybe we’ll play tonight.


Nate and I have long-since gotten over the notion that Valentine’s Day is meant to be romantic. Maybe before kids and maybe again when they are grown, but not when we have kids at home. Luckily our engagement anniversary is just two days before Valentine’s, so we get to have a fun date but skip all the pressure to do something big on Valentine’s Day. It was nice that our anniversary fell on Saturday this year so Nate could be home. I woke up to a yummy breakfast and a dozen roses. We went to Wiseguys for our anniversary date. It was lots of fun to laugh together for a couple of hours. It’s our new favorite date plan. Our kids had a late night with the Jensens. This babysitting trade we have going is working out really well. The kids love going and always have tons of fun. It’s definitely a win-win.