Love and Elephants

It was all love and stinky animals over this long Valentine / President's Day weekend...and it was so lovely. It began on Thursday with our family Valentine's Day dinner. We ate pizza and gave the kids little Valentine gifts after dinner. Olivia had her first Valentine exchange at the preschool and came home with a huge goodie bag decorated with little foam hearts and lace doilies. I'm not sure she entirely understood the Valentines, but she got the candy part. My gift from Joe was so kind and thoughtful - a spa gift certificate for a massage and facial (and some beautiful daffodils to plant in the yard). Now I just have to figure out when I can get away for my "spa day..."

VD isn't so bad
February 14, 2008
I really love Valentine's Day and I hate all the negative press it gets. Some of our friends were complaining about the commercialization of the holiday and how it really means nothing to them. I see it another way. To me, Valentine's Day is a reminder to pause in the busyness of our lives to pay tribute to our sweethearts. It's not that we don't mean well...and we mean to acknowledge all their wonderfulness on a daily basis, but that's not reality. Reality is getting up early, rushing to work and school, changing diapers, feeding kids, cleaning up messes, doing laundry, paying bills, grocery shopping...shall I go on? At the end of the day, we might watch a little TV, give our sweeties a kiss and just collapse. So Valentine's Day is that little nudge some of us need to say the things we mean to say everyday. Besides, I like all the red hearts and goopy sentiments...I'm a sucker for the idea of romance. Honestly, I hope I stay that way. I sometimes think all that whining about Valentine's Day is just a way to hide a lack of comfort with all things romantic...or a way to get around having to actually make an effort. Incidentally, I got Joe the Amy Winehouse CD (yes, we're a bit behind...but well worth the wait) and a big box of Ghiradelli chocolates (of which I've already eaten more than my share).

Zoo Trip
February 16, 2008
On Saturday, we took the kids to the Chaffee Zoo (minus Lily who went to Chloe Clark's all-day and all-night birthday event...I swear that kid has more social engagements at 11 than I had at 21). We had taken Olivia to the zoo before and knew she would love it, but it was Harry's first experience. The weather was beautiful - sunny but cool, very coastal. We took the big double stroller and prayed the kids would be content to stay in it during our trek around the zoo. Harry surprised us and really enjoyed it - oohing and ahhing and leaning as far forward as possible in the stroller to see everything. It was fun to watch him. Olivia was even more excited - every other word was "Wow..." and "Look, Mommy!" They especially loved the elephant observation deck where the kids literally have a birds-eye view of the elephants. They loved the orangutans, the flamingos, the sea lions...but Olivia kept asking us to go see the snakes. I don't know how she knew there were snakes because we didn't take her to the reptile exhibit the last time. So this time we made sure to take them through the reptile house (yuck). There's a step for the kids to walk on so that they are about a foot above the floor and high enough to see inside all of the cages. Olivia has no fear of snakes or lizards or frogs - all of the things that make my skin crawl. Before heading home, we took the kids to the playground there at Roeding Park to let them stretch their legs. Harry was asleep almost before we got onto the freeway and Olivia sort-of faded in and out. With the kids so tired, we were amazed that there were no melt-downs or whining...it was just a great afternoon.

That night we had dinner with Joe's folks. Louis, Joe's oldest brother, was in town for the holiday weekend, so went to Grandma's and visited with him awhile over some spicy tacos. As always, the kids had lots of fun playing at Grandma and Papa's - and I think Louis thoroughly enjoyed playing on the floor with Harry. Big boys and little boys never seem to tire of that.

Cheap Therapy
February 17, 2008
Sunday morning I met with the girls for our book study at Borders. We spent a good couple of hours talking - and not always about the book. I am grateful to have such good friends to share things with - it's like a big group therapy session without the cost. It's also very enlightening and somewhat humbling because you realize that while some people go through exactly the same trials you do, some have it even worse. The talking didn't stop there because afterward I went to Costco and ran into my old friend and hairdresser, Brian. Then I saw an another friend from my county days, Patricia, and her very pregnant daughter. Who don't you see at Costco?? We spent some time catching up and needless to say, my shopping trip took an hour longer than I had planned. When I got home, Joe was feeling a bit under the weather and said his sinuses were bothering him. He now has a full blown head cold. Harry woke up early Monday morning with a slight fever, so I think he may have what Olivia is just getting over. It never ends.

O & E
February 18, 2008
Olivia had a playdate with Evan today, which is also a date for Carissa and me. The kids had a great time and wore each other out. It's amazing to see how much they've grown up and how much they still enjoy being together. I have a photo of the two of them as babies - Evan was a year and a half and Olivia wasn't even walking - sitting on the floor in our old house, just looking at each other...sort-of sizing each other up. It's a great picture. Today I watched them run all over the park, eat lunch together, and then kiss each other goodbye as we left. Carissa and I are thinking of having their birthdays together this year as they are just a week apart. It would be great fun and a lot less stress for us moms. Evan's into princesses right now - specifically Ariel (she's his girlfriend, you know...).


All in all, a nice weekend even though my poor hubby got sick. We had planned to see Atonement, but maybe we can do that one night this week. I'm in the middle of processing applications for my school's honor society now - it has grown tremendously since I first took it on, and for our school, that's a really good thing. We're looking forward to the Oscar party this Sunday, and I must try and get my house in order and wrangle Kathy Clark into helping me with the menu (she's already on board for making drinks!) Cheers!