And then I endured the years of not having a Valentine, and that only compounded my dislike for the holiday. And now, as lame as it sounds, I don't like it as an adult because I feel like unless JIm and I lock all the doors and submerge ourselves in nothing short of hours of romantic bliss, we are doomed as an old married couple who have lost the passion in their relationship. I just feel like there is so much...pressure. It is kind of like vacations away from the kids--as retarded as it sounds, I feel like there is so much pressure to just behave like newlyweds at all times. Like when we were in Fiji, I wanted to relax, and heaven forbid just go to sleep some nights (I mean, let's be honest, a vacation without kids consists of VERY different things for me than it does for Jim!), but I knew all the cabanas around us would be rockin' so I felt guilty if we weren't. Kind of like keeping up with the Jones'.....sex life. :) I know, it's dumb, but I'm just keepin' it real. But with two kids and limited finances, how realistic is it to expect this Valentine's day to be off the charts in passion and romance? And then of course, you talk with all your friends and compare notes on who's husband actually put a single thought into the day, and who's didn't (ahem, diamond earrings--you know who you are! :). And there's the whole dance of telling Jim that I don't need anything, and let's just save the money, while secretly hoping he will just disregard everything I say because he just HAS to let me know how much he loves and appreciates me as his Valentine. Laugh out loud, right??
But today I went to Kate's school for her Valentine's party. Apparently, the "in" thing to give out this year is pencils. I'm guess I'm glad it's not candy, that I just end up eating, but good grief--the girl is barely learning to write!
So maybe this is just Kate's class, or a Montessori thing, but this party was during lunch, right? I'm not joking this was the menu--ham sandwiches, pb & J sandwiches, turkey meat and cheese slices, chicken nuggets, hot dog rolls, pizza, veggies, fruit and chips. Then each kid had a fruit smoothie, and a cup of milk. Then dessert was two kinds of brownies, and two kinds of sugar cookies. Seriously?? It was out of control...what kid do you know who eats two sandwiches, nuggets, hot dogs, and pizza in one meal? You should have seen these little kids piled behind these enormous plates of food. Can you say waste?? I have a hard time with wasting food anyway....hence, the extra weight that I wish I could lose, but I digress. I'm serious--these kids plates were overflowing and every single plate I saw go in the trash had both of their sandwiches untouched. It was painful to witness! But don't worry, I spent like 6 hours yesterday making sugar cookies for her party. I had 9 different Valentine cookie cutters, 3 colors of frosting, and every Valentine sprinkle possible. I ended up making and frosting like 75 blasted cookies....and even my delicious, works of art, were being thrown away, with only a bite or two taken. So anyway, I talked to the room mom, and she agreed that the next party would only have either nuggets or pizza, not 8 different items on their plate! I mean honestly, these are 3 and 4 year olds, not high school football players gearing up for the big game!
And this is unrelated to Valentine's Day, but today I found this paper folded up in Kate's folder. I opened it and laughed when I read it. How hilarious is this? (hopefully you can click on it and read it bigger)
But anyway, Happy Valentine's to all of you! I hope this day holds no pressure for you and your Valentine, and the day meets all of your expectations!
10 comments:
We all know that you and Jim don't need a stinkin' holiday to trigger a night of 8x the passion that the "Jones" have. Let's be honest, going out to dinner and a movie is a nice break. But doing it on a special day, once a year doesn't make you fall in love all over again. It's the times you become one purging the garage together or have a successful day at the beach with the whole family. I don't ask for much. I don't need any diamond earrings just surprise me one day and be home from work before dinner for once and you will make my whole week!
I love Valentines Day now that I'm married. Now, we're not hopeless romantics -- far from it, in fact. It's 9:45 pm, our kids are in bed, Scott is downstairs watching tv and I'm up here doing some freelance work. But these are the things about married life I love: Scott just walked up here, handed me a folded heart Valentine card (one that he pulled OFF the wall that Hen and I had put up earlier for HIM) and here's some of the heart-palpitation-inducing, penned-in-pencil romance, "Thanks for cleaning the bathrooms and doing my laundry ... We got no dough so we'll just have to keep living on love." I don't need diamond earrings either (although they'd be GREAT!), I'll take my handmade paper heart.
As for Kurt, it's true he may be a spitter but at least the kid's got excellent penmanship. Way to stay in the lines bro! LOL!
Who got the earrings? HOw fun, but I do agree with Wendy and you that we do not have to run out and eat a romantic dinner just because of this holiday. It is just nice to even think and remember why we love our hubbies, that is what this holiday is about for me. Some years I have to dig deep (ha ha) and others are easier. Wade fell asleep already putting Bennett to bed, so if that makes you feel any better, we won't be keeping up with the Jones's either. And about your sugar cookies, that is a shame. Do you think they have emptied their trash cans yet because I'm about ready to barge in there and stop that insanity!
Ha! I think I'm in love with that little Kurt boy already. Veevs just discovered gleeking, and maybe I better get a form letter ready to distribute to her friends?
Ditto on Valentine's Day. It's better for me if we don't "celebrate" if you know what I mean.
That is too good of writing! His mom must have wrote that! Sooo funny!!!
I am late reading everyone's blog and after reading yours I have to say, dito! Todd and I hate Valentine's Day, we just never want to spend the money on something so frivolous just because when we go out to eat all the time anyway and would rather use the funds on something we need. He does bring me roses every Vday though, but that's really the only thing I will let him buy! The pressure of the day is amazing! I sent Madison to school with lame little valentine's that closed with a sticker, no envelope, no candy, no nothing. I felt aweful, like what kind of mother am I not going over the top with some kind of cool treat or gadget. In the end I just felt like she already gets way to much candy and crap as it is and I was just going to help everyone out by not sending more junk home with the kids. I figure if I set the bar at it's lowest possible point with my first kid I can only go up with the others right? Needless to say she did end up coming home with tons of candy that I have since thrown away, she doesn't need it and man I don't either! The whole sex thing, amen. I mean I put some lingerie on but was so tired and not in the mood. I promptly removed it and said, let's just skip to the end of this senario shall we! So there you have it, I'm not bitter, I just think that we live in a society that takes things to extremes all the time. I am no bagging on people that do, I just won't! I think I'll write my own blog on this, although I will most likely offend many!
I can't stand how true that is about valentines day. I told Rob not to get me anything, just a card, and you better believe that's all he got me! It was pretty sad, beucase obviously I keep thinking that when i say, "you don't need to get me anything", that he will secretly be this really cool husband and by me something awesome! I'm still waiting for that day!
Adrienne,
I hate V-day. I liked it in elementary school but that's only because we got a party and tons of candy. But now all it does is remind us single people that we're losers. What a sad day for us. The ladies went out and drank away our sorrows with Dr Pepper, but even that doesn't fix everything, am I right? I mean, a girls gotta get a little action of V-day! Come on! Throw me a freakin bone here! Think about it.
-Kate
Ok, first of all, you are hilarious! I can only say that you just nailed that one on the head. I have always felt that same way. A couple of years ago, I just decided to lower my expectations (sad) and it's been a whole lot better since. V-day is built up WAY too much. I think our poor husbands are bound to fail with all the hype that we've built up since we were like 4 or something. So, loved this post...too funny!
I also just had the best time reading Kate's little quotes. Kai just gave me a comment on how I'd have to get up off the couch, too. These kids are starting to pick up on things, eh? Last, but not least, how funny and adorable is your last post with your little missionary?!!! Too sweet!
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