Random Thoughts on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the seventeenth year that Emmett has been my Valentine.  How sweet is that?  

I stayed up way too late last night so I could clean up a little and have some alone time.  Ben has been sick for a few days, so he's been clingy.  I finally took him to the doctor on Wednesday and it turns out he has strep, bronchitis and an ear infection.  I get the terrible mommy award (What's the opposite of award?  Reprimand?  Dishonorable discharge?) for waiting too long to take him.  Sigh.

After a long day of soothing a sick baby, I spent a couple of hours just being alone.  I did some dishes, read some blogs, decorated some cookies and did some Valentine's prep.  I set the table with our pink tablecloth and made cards for the kids and husband, so when they woke up this morning there would be a fun surprise.  No gifts or anything - just a homemade cookie.  :)  (Corrie and I made cookies for her preschool class this year.)

However, I may pursue cookie decorating as my new hobby.  I'm not great at it or anything, but I enjoyed making those cookies. 

Speaking of cookies, Ben is a smart cookie!  He army crawled over to the Xbox remote today, turned it on, and then grinned at me while signing "Baby Time" for "Baby Signing Time."  Ha!  He would watch Baby Signing Time all day long if we would let him.  Which might be OK, because he's learned several new signs, including "apple," "phone," "sleep" and "baby."  

I love all the signing!  Although I still can't always understand what he's trying to tell me.  You need a blanket?  Do you want to go to sleep?  Clothes?  A bath?  It's a guessing game.  

In other news, our house is hopping every weekday afternoon after school.  A couple of kids from the neighborhood have been coming over to hang out until their older siblings get home from the local middle school.  It has been fun to have the extra activity, but I have a lot to learn about setting limits with other people's kids.  One of the boys occasionally swears, and another one wants to bring over horror movies or play scary Xbox games.  I encourage everybody to use their nice words, and tell them that those movies or games aren't for kids at our house.  My limits are definitely being tested.

No pictures today, unfortunately.  Sick kids don't translate well to cheery Valentine's photo ops.  :)  Maybe this weekend!