Catching Up and Valentine's Week

Well, it's February 15th. I haven't written at all this month. I don't have any great excuses, I just haven't felt like blogging. I've also been really stressed out and not particularly happy and I didn't want to take it out on a blog post I might later regret. Anyway, here I am now!

On February 1st I took Caden on a date I've been planning for quite awhile, but things kept coming up so the date kept getting postponed. Our main event was going to Build-a-Bear so Caden could make his very first stuffed bear there. I was excited to do this because after months (years?) of having what I felt like was a pretty strained relationship with my son, things have started to get a lot better. Maybe I'm being a better mom, maybe he's just maturing - either way, things have been so much better. And I wanted to celebrate that by giving him a special day out with just me. We went to the mall, played on the playground, ate giant pretzels (his "favorite!"), made a bear, ate cookies, and played with the train set and Legos at Barnes and Noble. It was a great day and Caden loves his new bear, Ice Cream.

On the night of February 1st, my siblings and I threw a surprise birthday party for my mom. We managed to get all the food together and keep it surprise, despite the fact that the party was at her house and she was home first. It was fun, though!

After the first day of the month, February turned into quite a drag. It's been incredibly cold and windy. It's snowed a lot. It's rained a lot. The roads are always icy. I've been so frustrated because we took the month off of swimming lessons just so we could do a bunch of fun things in Madison that I've been wanting to do. It seemed like every day I had something planned we ended up getting stuck at home because of the weather. No fun.

One day this month I tried a recipe in my awesome Joy the Baker cookbook for chili cheese fries (without the chili). They were amazing. It's the first time I've ever made homemade fries where they actually turned out like fries - and they were delicious! Super spicy (I accidentally put cayenne in the mix instead of paprika), but sooo good. I'd like them again right now.

Last Saturday I had a MUCH needed girl's day in Oshkosh at an artsy craft fair. I got all these goodies, which I love! It was a lot of fun!

On Sunday we put together Caden's Valentine's for school. I elaborated on a pinterest idea. It was really hard to narrow down which idea to follow! Caden was pretty excited about these.

On Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum in Madison - we were finally able to follow through with a free day fun plan! We haven't been there in almost two years. Two years later, this ball on the wall thing was still Caden's favorite!

Four is a much better age to visit this place than two. Caden was so interested and excited about everything. Shepard observed very carefully, but he was hesitant to actually play with anything.

He did really like stacking these building pieces.

After the museum we went to Ella's Deli for lunch, another thing I've been wanting to do with the boys. Caden was barely interested and Shepard was scared of all the toys flying around the ceiling. Not really the reaction I was expecting!

On Wednesday, Caden had his Valentine party at school. Once again I was somewhat unprepared (it's really hard trying to learn everything when your first child starts school) and didn't have Valentine's for the teachers. We distributed our gifts right away and Caden was really upset that he didn't have anything for the teachers and I felt awful. And annoyed because I just didn't realize all four teachers would have their sacks sitting out to be filled right along with the kids'. The note that went home said we needed 15 Valentine's. With four teachers, that is more than 15!! Anyway, after much debate we ended up running to Walgreen's and bought candles and chocolates to give as gifts when we picked Caden up, like that was our plan all along. Caden was really excited about handing them out when we got there, so I guess it was worth it. I just felt dumb about the whole situation the rest of the day, though. It was stressful.

Anyway, Shepard and I had some cuddles that day. He's so huggy, I love it.

Random cat picture. They're waiting for food, as usual.

And finally Valentine's Day! Another day of plans not going the way I expected...

We had heart shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

I gave the boys their presents. Caden was really excited about the 52 Reason book I made him. He was pretty sad I didn't make him one at Christmas when I was doing them for everybody else.

Tissue paper for the cats.

I debated back and forth on giving Caden this white bear (that he's been wanting for a really long time) after he made his new favorite, Ice Cream. But I did it anyway. He screamed "Thank you, Mommy, for giving me a white teddy bear!!!"

The bear I got Shepard is so cute. I want to steal it back.

Each boy got a bag of sour gummy hearts.

And a tin of sweethearts. Which was our undoing for the rest of the day...

I decided since it was Valentine's Day I'd let them eat all their hearts at once. BAD IDEA. We headed to Costco in the horrible sleet so I could join and buy fruit and meat for the next week. When we got there I took Shepard out of the van and he was really hot. And then he threw up all over me. I stood in the parking lot for five minutes trying to decide what to do. We finally ran in, joined, got the food we needed the most, and headed out. Shepard threw up again in the checkout line. Really freaked the guy out. Anyway....that was the rest of our day. He didn't throw up anymore, but he had a fever and was listless and crying and just wanted me to hold him and do absolutely nothing else the rest of the day. Which was pretty stressful since I was trying to put a Valentine dinner party together. But...it was kind of nice to be forced to cuddle too. I'm glad I can be here for him when he needs me like that.

Greg came home and brought me flowers. Very sweet. Then he vacuumed. Very very sweet!

I liked the heart candles I bought Caden's teachers so much I had to get a few for myself too. Ambiance is key on Valentine's Day! :)

Quick photo time. It was our first year not doing a family picture. I don't think the boys were really up for it, though.

Greg gave me this donkey that I fell in love with in a store last month. He's super soft and very cute. I decided that even though I'm a grown woman I'm still allowed to fall in love with stuffed animals. I'm not going to fight it anymore.

Shepard felt better for about an hour. And then just wanted to be held by Mommy or Grandma the rest of the night.

Our Valentine table! Heart shaped ravioli, breadsticks, tons of delicious fresh Costco fruit, and red sodas.

My donkey again. Love it!

And finally - my cheesecake! This is a trial run for the cream cheese competition I'm in next month. It's chocolate raspberry truffle. I think it's one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had. It was delicious!

And that's been my month. I'll try and be better about writing again from now on. Shepard's birthday is Monday so at least we have something to look forward to in the next few days!