i love doing special things for my loved ones and making fun memories with my little chickadees. i had grand plans in my mind of how the day was going to go. let me start off by saying that nothing really looked the way i had envisioned. some moments better, some... different.
we woke up wednesday morning and i got the girls in their valentine's outfits. i'm such a nerd, i know, but i saw these pretty pink frilly skirts on clearance at target for five bucks. i mean, how could i resist that?! and just look at the cuteness:
i planned on us taking a morning trip to target to pick up a few items that i needed, and then surprise my mom at work with some candy from the grandbabies. i finally got the girls in the car and we headed out. our target trip started off without a hitch. until bella saw a gift bag with disney princesses on it. yes. a gift bag. apparently she had to have it. she began a major meltdown while i rushed to gather the rest of my necessities and get in the check out line. people were staring, i was trying to remain calm, cool and collected while inside i wanted to die. then she began taking off her shoes and throwing them on the ground.
feel the love? not the valentine-sy outing i had imagined.
i got to the car, plopped her in her carseat while i began telling her how disappointed i was. got all my stuff unloaded, buckled emmy in her carseat and before i knew it both of the girls were screaming at the top of their lungs.
we made a quick stop at my mom's office. as we were walking in, i told bella how lucky she was that we were stopping to visit meme with how she had acted at the store. "bella, what do you say to me for behaving that way?" i said. "i'm sorry, mom. i didn't mean to!" hmmmmm.
i get the girls home and emmy proceeds to scream all through lunch, refused her bottle and didn't stop crying until i finally put her in her crib and shut the door.
i like making valentine's treats every year for our family and for bella and i to bring around as "special deliveries". this year, we were making heart-shaped red velvet whoopie pies. i sit her up on the counter to help me, and as i'm scooping ingredients into my bowl, i realize she had been unscrewing parts to my kitchenaid and putting them in my mixing bowl, unbeknownst to me.
as the whoopie pies are baking, i shoo her into the dining room while i clean up. after a few minutes i discover that she has scribbled all over the keyboard of our laptop with a hot pink magic marker.
holy cow.
it was an insane day. topped off with a visit to my grandfather who has been in the icu after a fall he took on tuesday night.
while i love holidays and enjoy doing what i can to make them special, i'm learning to hold my expectations loosely. i did come home wednesday evening to nick and the girls standing by the door holding tulips and a sweet card they made for me. it was the most precious sight. bella came running toward me, so excited to give me their gifts that she fell over her own two feet. nick told me my aunt was on her way over to babysit and we were going on a date. i cried. it was the best. there's a new restaurant downtown we've been saving a gift card for. there was an hour wait, so we gave them our name and went next door to an italian market and had a latte (me) and a beer (him) while we waited. it was a *great* date, the best gift i could've asked for.
thursday night we had my mom and a friend of our family's over for dinner. i made chicken piccatta, and we ate by candlelight with glasses of wine. the day ended up much better than it started, and i went to bed with a full and thankful heart... and reminded of how my own expectations can rob me of the joy of the moment.
so grateful for the people in my life. my cup runneth over.
happy valentine's day (a few days late).
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