Valentine's Day Plans Gone Wild: Going Forward

This past weekend, a friend was supposed to come visit, and I imagined she would bake us 6 million gazillion delicious things. Instead, the girls and I battled the flu, and I couldn't taste my first coffee back so... still a ways to go on Love Day.

These roses - the "least sad looking ones" from the hospital; and you know? All I noticed is that they are the happiest color. Thanks, babe. 

Will fixed me coffee, just the way I like it, which makes me a little sad that I couldn't really taste it due to total clogging of the sinuses. One of the hardest parts of having the flu is his lack of flexibility. Residency means long hours taking care of someone else, and that's just part of his education. It can't be skipped. Even if he was sick, he would probably keep working. (ED doctors, I've noticed, have a very high standard for what is considered "dire" and what is considered "deal with it"!) But he's the guy coming home from late shifts, taking Laura's temperature rectally without a second thought, and multiplying all these numbers in his head for correct dosage via her weight (I just look at the package like a math slacker).

Valentine's Day is a mixed bag for me. I'm not into big gestures and I don't need to go out to eat, but I like celebrating little moments - and this is the kind of holiday I want someone else to plan something for me. I wrote about this last year; the 10 ways to celebrate Valentine's Day (which starts with accepting your loved one for exactly who they are).

And maybe that's what I really want for Valentine's Day, anyways. My husband (bless his heart) is not a gift giving person, but he is the gift that keeps giving. He texts me to remind me to shower, calls me with an order to drink more cranberry juice, gets out of bed because I forgot my tylenol and benedryl before I climbed under the covers, refills my humidifier, and helps monitor our little fevered daughters during this time of rare illness. He worked 10-8 on Sunday and I'll spent the day - more or less - catching up with a few animated favorites (Tangled, Mulan and The Emperor's New Groove), Grace and Laura. (I think Daniel Tiger showed up later again, as usual.)

 Hey Dad, can I eat your soup with you? 

What a guy, my valentine.

It's a kind of love language I'm still learning - I'm the one who likes to buy balloons for the girls, dress them special outfits and fix holiday-centric meals. He's the one who's always up for playtime with the girls, gets us cleaning the downstairs before bed because I love waking up to a clean house, and readily collapses next to me in bed or on the couch, studying for his in-service exam with his iPad so we can "hang out" for a bit. We splurged time-wise by watching the entirety of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and laughing together.

I like nurturing; he likes doing. What are your love languages? How do they work with others?

For this post-Valentine's Day week, I'd like to...

• fix these one bowl chocolate cupcakes with the girls... because Will is going to be on night shift half the week, and they look delicious. 
• go to a craft store (or maybe just Amazon Prime, per usual) and make these flamingo handprints for the girls's room. (Well, we'll see how well they tolerate paint on their hands!)
• start to plan Laura's first birthday party!!! {pink and gold seem the most appropriate colors}
• take it easy... classes, therapies and grading. Done. Rest is best, rest is best.  

More exciting than Valentine's Day, however, is happening in five weeks: Will and I are going on our FIRST RESIDENCY VACATION SANS KIDS!!! Just us. No littles. We only mention it every other day to each other. If you've ever been to Baltimore, have any suggestions? I'm enjoying doing research too. It's going to be a fun trip.

**

Our Baldwin Valentine's Day looked like...

More poor sick Laura. She didn't like being put down, ever. 

Fortunately! She responded well to her medicines. What a sweetheart. 

This girl took a four and a half hour nap (unusual in one session), so that meant the girls enjoyed me in shifts. 

Perking up enough to eat a few blueberries... then a few more...

My darling GHB looking especially darling on Valentine's Day, complete with runny nose. We learned to say "mama! nose!" or "mama! tissue!" or "nose! help!" instead of the perpetual sleeve wiping I battled.

So, we're (FINALLY) officially over the flu around here and just enjoying the residual symptoms. What does your week look like?

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