Our Valentine's Day

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a pretty nice Valentine's Day yesterday. I kind of tried to lay low where the hubby was concerned. Sometimes I unintentionally put pressure on him where these things are concerned and it backfires big time. Last year I had all these expectations, and I'm sure part of it was because he was deployed the year before. So I was really hoping that he'd do something really special (although that's not really his style) and then got really disappointed. I'm not saying I expected flowers and candy, blah blah, but I guess just something other than the day-to-day routine. But it was totally my own fault, and I did apologize to him and we talked about it.

Anyway, I didn't do that to him this year. I got the kids off to school, got the coffee ready for him before he left and tried to do some schoolwork. He called me about 10:30 and invited me to lunch. So I got dressed and went to meet him at the office. He took me to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, which was delicious. I love that place. They weren't at all crowded, so we enjoyed a nice lunch and talked about some things he's been thinking about lately. We're contemplating a big decision, and I'll share it once we know a little more. But anyway, it seems like we don't have time to talk as much as we used to, so that was really the best part of the lunch. When we were in Germany, we used to have lunch together every day - except for the year he was gone, of course. We both worked on post, so there was no reason not to. We really valued that hour every day where we had the opportunity to carry on a conversation without the interruption of the kids. Some folks used to comment that it was nice to see us do that, and seemed surprised that it was a daily routine. One thing I've learned over the past couple of years is to appreciate the time I have with my husband and kids - it's precious. It's been much more difficult here, especially once I started having to go out to the hospital every day. We talked about that yesterday too, and he mentioned that since I'm not going to be working anymore, we should be able to pick our daily lunch routine back up. I'm glad to know that he misses it as much as I do.

I got home right as the kids were getting home from school. My mom and her boyfriend came by to give them a little Valentine's present. P. and I planned to take them out for a Valentine's dinner before J.'s basketball practice. I had wanted to pick them up a little something from us, but didn't have a chance to go without them. That's what I get for being a procrastinator, I know. So I called the hubby and asked him to pick them up a little something on his way home. He balked a little about that, but agreed. Turns out his awesome secretary had actually gone out to get something for her girls and picked up something for him to give our two. What in the world are we going to do without her? So he got home with the gifts and the kids came down. He had even gotten me a little something, which was a nice surprise. J. got a cute pen. It's covered in a red felt-like material and has a fuzzy top with a little frog sitting on it. He was tickled with it when he first saw it. Then later on last night when he realized it was a pen, he got really excited! A. got a pink rose. Let me tell you...she really felt like a princess then. Her little face just lit up and she gave him a hug. I wish I'd had my camera out when he gave them their gifts, but I didn't. It just brought back memories for me of getting flowers from my Daddy and how special that always made me feel. For me it was usually to congratulate me for a significant accomplishment or something like that. But I know just how it made her feel.

We took the kids out to Mi Casita for dinner. They love tacos, so we thought they'd really enjoy it, which they did.

After dinner we hurried home so J. could change for basketball practice, and he and I headed to the gym. That boy did so well last night! One of the dads and I were talking, and we agreed that it's too bad that Saturday is their last game. Now that the kids are finally "getting it" and it's all starting to come together, the season's over. J. is finally starting to get aggressive and really played defense. At the end of practice, I told him I wanted to see him play defense like that on Saturday. The coach overheard me and praised him as well. He has come so far the past couple of months and makes me so proud!

So all in all, we had a pretty good day. The photo above is the gift that P. brought home for me that really touched me. There was already a perfect place for it on the mantel. It's things like this that remind me why I love him, even though he makes me crazy! But don't they all? :-)

Oh, and my lesson from yesterday? Don't pressure the hubby with high expectations. Just let him be himself and make me feel special in his way. I won't feel disappointed and he won't feel inadequate. Maybe that's not quite the right word, but you know what I mean. We're both happier then.