The Sick Ward and Weird Pangs

Kate is on the way out of her sickness- it has been a full week of coughing and general misery. Unfortunately, Kiki is just beginning down the road, and I can only hope that she kicks it a little faster than Kate did. In the meanwhile, our NP prescribed plenty of liquids, a humidifier, and never ending episodes of Spongebob Squarepants.
Thanks, Amber, for the Valentine's package! We made you one, but I know you are moving, so you will have to settle for an online thank-you. We had a ton of fun making Valentine's for our family and friends.
Kate missed the Valentine's party at school, and she was so sad. I did take her Valentine's to school for her- she had been so excited for the party on Friday that we had made her cards on Tuesday. Her teacher brought by her mailbox after school and that seemed to make her feel a little better.

Kiki loves to eat snow. I've repeatedly explained the various dangers of eating snow in the yard where a dog also resides, but she still bangs the back door saying, "Snow! Snow!" She was wearing her usual outfit the other day- a diaper only- and was wanting to go outside. I told her, "Kiki, if you want to go outside you better put some warm clothes on." She disappeared into her bedroom for a spell, and then came back wearing: Still just a diaper, but also boots, gloves, and her blankie tossed around her neck.


No wonder she's sick.

Valentine's was a little bit of a bust around here. Seems it's hard to get a babysitter for two sick kids. Bruce was sweet and gave us all Valentine's apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (evil, Evil, and E-VIL) as well as a David Cook CD for me. I'd been housebound with the girls, so Bruce definitely got the short end of the gift-giving stick. I tried to redeem myself a little with a tasty Valentine's dinner- steak, risotto, squash, and homemade brownies. I even served it by candlelight, but it's not as romantic when you have one kid who keeps shrieking, "More Meat!" and the other who tries to set herself on fire. We wrapped up the day by watching "A Perfect Storm" which I chose because I had deluded myself into remembering that someone from the boat makes it. That isn't so, and thus Bruce and I spent two hours on a movie with a terrible ending.

Bruce and I hadn't been dating too long when our first Valentine's rolled around. It's awkward territory (How awkward? Watch the most recent episode of 30 rock.). I wanted to get him something personal but not TOO personal, but I really liked him. The measuring stick for any guy I dated was developed by my dear friend Brooke. If you went on a date, she always would ask, "Did he give you a weird pang?" A "weird pang" was a good thing, and Bruce gave me a weird pang (still does), so I really did not want to mess up on Valentine's Day. I wound up giving him some camping supplies and a book. He gave me what will go down in history as one of my favorite gifts of all time: a five pound bag of Hot Tamales and a vibrating toy gerbil. I'm not sure what led him to pick out the gerbil- it seemed a little weird, but it was funny and I appreciated that. And he had managed to figure out in just a short time that I have a serious love of Hot Tamales. The rest, as the say, is history.

It's hard to believe that was 9 years ago! It's gone by fast, but it has been great. I would marry him again in a heartbeat, and I hope he feels the same.