Our Valentine surprise

"Love is a many splendid thing. It's the April rose that only grows in the early spring..." And all that good stuff. It's Valentine's Day, the ridiculously sappy parent of the Hallmark-inspired Sweetest Day.

Though I refuse (REFUSE!!!) to celebrate Sweetest Day (stupid Hallmark overlords), David and I also usually skip out on the typical Valentine's Day hoorah. His birthday is in 10 days, so we like to combine the two events and save some dough.

We don't skimp on Noah, though. Even though he has no idea that he should get a little treat on Valentine's Day, I can't imagine being a good mom without picking him up a little something.

So today he opened up a Kissing Elmo, some dollar-store Sesame Street & Pooh books, and what seemed to be his favorite part of the package—some Gerber Fruit snacks.

Huggies for Elmo

This picture means, "Mom, put down the camera—'NO!'—and open up this box of fruit snacks so I can have some."

But, despite the ban David and I put in place on gift-buying (cards only allowed), I got a little crazy and went crafty on us. Yesterday I dug around online and found some of my favorite love "stories" by this artist named Brian Andreas. He takes these really nifty things people say and illustrates them. See?


I discovered him in the Mall of America in Minneapolis last November, and his collection has literally been on my mind since. I decided this was the perfect time to put his stories to good use.

So, I found 10 or so snippets that I liked, and then I looked around for pictures of David and I to match them. I designed a quick layout (limited because I don't have my fancy color printers or cool paper stock at home) and pulled in the text and pictures I wanted. I printed them out, edged all the sides with an artistry trimmer, added a faux bow at the top and hung them up in our hallway like a gallery.

I didn't quite get all this done when David woke up, but I did send him away for five minutes to get it finished. Even though the project was a bit girly, I do think he liked the way it turned out and its sentiment (at least I hope so!).

Here are some of my favorites:

Look at skinny Tiffy!

And here's one of us kissing... love this saying too.

Presents and cards distributed, I announced that we should go have brunch at the local diner, which I have taken a shine to in the last few months. It's one of those places where there are a minimum of 200 items on the menu, and the waitresses are rough around the edges but super efficient.

We arrived at the diner and ordered up our usual grub (eggs, hash browns, toast, sausage gravy and grilled cheese for the boys). Everyone was happy happy. And then from nowhere came our Valentine's surprise: Noah puked... and puked... and puked until he had soaked his shirt, pants, shoes, the booster seat, the plate in front of him and the floor. Oh my goodness it was gross.

There was literally no warning (no gagging, no coughing, no reason to think he was anything less than healthy). I think we both just looked at each other, stunned, before we sprang into action, sopping up the mess and apologizing to our booth neighbors. Needless to say, we took our brunch "to go," and hightailed it on home. On the way there, poor Noah got sick again. And then an hour later...yet AGAIN! I can't decide yet whether he has a standard tummy bug (or from where?!), or if he caught Rotavirus from his friend at the sitter's house. Can't wait to find out!

My hubbie seems to think all isn't lost. He's planning to cook dinner for me tonight. I just hope Noah's tummy (and mine) can hold out long enough for me to eat it. And if that isn't romantic, I don't know what is.