Will You Be My Valentine?

Our original 3-day weekend has now turned into a 6-day weekend!  Today was so cold that school was cancelled based on the single digit temperatures alone, rather than any actual snow coming down.  To say that being cooped up in the house all week long has been trying would be an understatement.  Hahaha.  However, there have been a few good developments around here this week that are worth noting, and a brief recap of Valentine's Day is in order as well.  :)

The biggest {and best} happening of the week is that the basement is FINALLY cleaned and organized.  Ish.  Haha.  It was seriously so bad down there -- with stuff still needing to be unpacked and organized from our move almost 2 years ago -- that I bribed the kids with money to get it done.  Ethan was the only one to jump at the offer, and for $50 and two weeks worth of labor, he got the job done!  Money WELL spent in my book.  Haha.  He's saving up to buy a Chrome Book for school, since apparently they are "highly recommended"/practically mandated for Junior High use next year, and he's been itching to get one ever since he heard.  Between the basement job, regular allowance, and some additional money chores, he has already earned enough to pay for half the price as per our agreement!  Placing the order on Amazon this afternoon was probably the highlight of his month. 

As for the rest of the week, even though TONS of TV and other electronics have been watched and used, the kids have surprised me by actually playing and doing OTHER things as well.  Like sledding in the front yard and riding scooters in the basement (now that it's finally clean).  A box of dress-up clothes was re-discovered while Ethan was cleaning, and as a result, Alex has spent a lot of the week running around wearing a superman cape.  Hahaha.  Many messes have been made, but they've mostly been cleaned up again, and with 5 loads of laundry done yesterday, I'd call this week a housekeeping success!  Hahaha.  Throw in the fact that all of our down time has allowed me to finish up reading a gigantic trilogy I started a while back, and I'd say this week has been salvaged from the snow.  :)

Meanwhile, last Saturday was Valentine's Day, and I haven't posted ANYTHING about it.  Not that there was a whole lot of fanfare surrounding the day, but STILL.  For a family that celebrates the 5 Days of Valentine, something needs to be documented.  Hahaha.  In years past, when I had fewer kids and less to do, I tended to go all out with each of the 5 days.  This year (and the last few for that matter), I relied on the fact that kids know we "celebrate" the 5 days of Valentine and got away with far simpler fare.  A different treat each of the first few days, followed by an acrostic love poem for each of their names on Valentine's Eve, with the only actual real gift being given on the day itself seemed to suffice.  Thankfully, perception is reality, and they accepted the paltry amount of actual celebrating as being a bigger deal than it actually was.  In fact, this was the first year ever that Grace even realized that not EVERYONE celebrates love for 5 full days.  Hahahaha.  Nonetheless, I was thrilled to see how happy and excited they all were for the fleece blankets I found for them at Target for their very last present. 

 The girls all had "love" blankets...

 ...and the boys both had heart blankets.  Love Pup was sad about something here, but I don't even recall what it was.  He probably didn't know either.  Hahaha.

In return, I was tinkled pink by the Valentine card that Sophie had made for me at school (How did she know that words of affirmation are TOTALLY my love language???  Hahaha.), and the "love bug" that Ethan created with his 1st grade buddy and then gifted to me on the big day.  Not to be left out, Scott made my day when I called him from Costco last week (to ask if I should get a Fitbit) when he said that he had been planning on surprising me with one for my birthday or Valentine's Day, and I should go ahead and get it!  :)  I have really loved having mine so far, and it's been really interesting to see how many steps I get in on a regular day.  For instance, on Sunday -- a day that should be a day of "rest" and where I don't exercise -- I was totally blown away to see that at church alone I walked the equivalent of 2 miles.  There's a reason why Sundays are so exhausting with little kids!  Hahaha. 

 {I know you love me when you find time to do fun stuff with the family.  You always make dinner, breakfast and lunch for the family.  You always let us watch TV when we want to.  You always buy us clothes when we need them.  You always buy food for us when we don't have enough food.  You always plan out the birthday partys that we have.  You always hug me when I feel sad.  I just always know you love me!}

Tomorrow is only supposed to be a 2-hour delay, so fingers crossed that I'll actually get some peace and quiet.  :)