a farewell to valentine's day

Another holiday gone, and that's crazy to me. Maybe it's all the incessant planning that goes into the holidays with children, but it's always a little sad to see them pass. Maybe there's a little bit of clarity and relief for a few seconds that there just might be a moment to breathe and take my nose out of the overflowing pages of my Erin Condren planner, but still a little bit of sadness. Valentine's Day is just one of those holidays that goes from commercialized insanity to pure and total cuteness once you throw some kids into the mix. Something about playdates and toddler-sized valentines and heart-shaped food just makes my heart go all pitter-patter. After Wednesday's Valentine's Day party, we were all set and in the spirit for the big day on Thursday. Of course, detailed plans and to-do lists only take you so far when your day is being more or less dictated by a toddler who I still swear is simply allergic to sleep so maybe it didn't go entirely as planned. But, still, it was a good day.

Ethan kicked off his Valentine's Day morning with a playdate at his friend Aviva's house. Feet were painted, hands were traced, and Ethan left with an arsenal of adorable artwork to deliver to his daddy on Valentine's Day night!

Ethan and I had some tricks up our sleeve for Valentine's Day for daddy. Instead of braving the crazy crowds and mad dinner-out rush, we opted for take-out, which I diligently placed an order for at noon to ensure it would be ready on time that evening. Of course it wasn't and, well, I may or may not have broken down crying at the take-out counter after a thirty-five minute wait in which Ethan rolled around the dirty restaurant floor and screamed in between chants of "eat, eat, eat," and the obnoxious teenager behind the counter may or may not have grumbled -- in regards to Ethan -- that "everyone needs to learn patience at some point," and my perfectly straightened hair may or may not have been completely soaked in a random Valentine's night downpour, but that's okay because it ended up being okay in the end. And I silently wished nothing less than quintuplets on the wise guy restaurant employee ten years from now, so, there's that. Or maybe it was the fact that I walked into the house, dragging a maniacally hungry little boy and unnecessarily bulky take-out bags to my actually home from work at a decent hour husband. Or maybe it was the fact he handed me a box of chocolates and a gift card to Sephora. (Insert brief mental vacation while I fantasized about shopping for myself while by myself for a few brief guilt-free moments.)

Regardless, it was a pretty sweet Valentine's Day. Ethan was pretty excited about his Valentine's Day gift from my husband and I. By "pretty excited," I should specify that I mean the plush Curious George has traveled everywhere with us today and is currently accompanying Ethan during naptime as well.

Something I never want to forget is this Curious George kick that Ethan is on. (Any guesses to the theme of his 2nd birthday party coming up in June?) Mainly the way that he says "George," that sounds a little more like a messy "judge," and the way his smile just explodes onto his face at the sight of George. Anything George, which is why we triple lucked out with Ethan's gift of a plush George, a new George book and a George t-shirt which, you guessed it, he wore today.

In addition to a whole slew of ridiculously cute artwork, we were able to surprise my husband with some cards, a box of his favorite chocolates and a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie ice-cream cake from his favorite ice-cream place. I'm not entirely convinced he didn't somehow sneak a peek at his box of chocolates before Valentine's Day, so I was pleased that the ice-cream cake came as such a huge surprise.

To close off this farewell to Valentine's Day post, I'm excited to share my Valentine's Day goodies from a Valentine's Day swap that I signed up for! I was paired with Brooke from the blog Silver Lining and she is just so very wonderful! It's been great getting to know her and take a peek into her lovely blog and check out these goodies that she sent our way!

Bath goodies, a back massager, a notebook for my (always overflowing) thoughts, a craft kit for Ethan and I to do together and delicious chocolate -- could she have pegged me any better? Talk about a few of my favorite things (even if I have to wrestle the massager away from Ethan, who is sure it's a "choo choo" that he gets to drive across the tile on the regular!). Thank you, Brooke!