The Week in Review

If you had woke up Monday morning last week in my bed, in my pajamas, and stumbled to my bathroom to take a shower, you would have thought that the coming week would be pretty ordinary. So what if Valentine's Day was coming. Valentine's Day is a nice celebration, if you have the money to enjoy it. Lewis and I had already agreed to wait until our tax refund came in to celebrate this occasion. So even with the holiday, there was nothing very exciting going on.

Well, Valentine's Day came and went. Marley and Laney received about a million Valentines each at their respective daycares and enough candy to keep them wound tight for about a year. There's really no meaning to children (at the tender age of two) giving Valentine cards to each other. In fact, in Marley's class, her teachers asked the parents to just put the name of their child on each card (From: Marley) and leave the rest blank (To: Whoever happens to get this one). That way, they can line up the bags for the children and just drop one in each bag. This is really a waste. Parents feel like their kids have to have the little cards, but I bet not one parent from either daycare went home on Valentine's Day and read every one of those little cards to their two-year-old. (Okay, I feel better now.)

We took the kids to Walmart and let them pick out a Valentine present from Lewis and myself. But the Valentine balloons and stuffed animals had all disappeared. We ended up getting each of them a new puzzle (homerun!) and a ball. Mom and Dad came over with some Valentine Cards for the girls. These were a little more worthwhile, considering the five dollar-bills in each one. Laney took her five out of her card and stuffed it in Daddy's shirt pocket. I don't think she quite understands the idea of money just yet.

We put the kids to bed and were just sitting and watching t.v. Laney started crying at about 10:30 and when I went to pick her up, she was burning hot. We gave her Tylenol and she slept in my lap for about half the night. When I got up, she was still fevered and restless. I called my Dad and he kept her for half of the day while I worked. Then we went to the Doctor.

Okay, so Laney is terrified of the Doctor. I try to mentally prepare her whenever we go so that maybe by some miracle, she won't freak out when he enters the room. "We're going to the see the Doctor, Laney, and he's going to help us feel better," I tell her. "Mh-hmmm. Okay." is her response. But of course, when the Doctor finally does come, she freaks out and cries the whole time he is checking her out. He checks her ears--they are clear. He does a strep test
and it comes back positive.

So all day Thursday I was at home with Laney.

Friday, I took her back to daycare. I went to work. By about 12:30 Friday afternoon I was tired of surfing the internet, but not inspired to write anything. Fridays are slow days anyway, but at work, last week was a slow week. However, Friday morning our Federal Tax Refund hit the bank. I went Friday afternoon and paid off the loan on Lewis' truck. Wooooo-hoooooo!

Saturday night, we finally celebrated Valentine's Day. Lewis had arranged for the kids to stay with his parents. We went to Carraba's for supper. We had never tried Carraba's before, and I can't say we'll be back anytime soon. The food was wonderful, but the prices were too high and it was way too loud for a romantic date. Then Lewis and I went in search of a movie.

It was 7:20 when we left the restuarant. The movies that had not already started at the regular theater were not really all that interesting, not to mention that there was a line wrapped around the front of the theater and it was about 30 degrees and windy outside. So we went to another theater. I wanted to see The Chronicles of Narnia, but it had started at 7:00 and the next showing was at 9:50. So we headed to the Omni Cinema.

What a wonderful concept this is! The Omni hosts movies that have been out for awhile but have not hit the DVD aisle yet. Their ticket price is $2.00 per person. Popcorn and drinks cost the same. Since we were full from our supper, we got to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for $4.00. Oh, bliss! A movie and a really good one too, for a price Lewis could agree with.

Sunday afternoon, after picking up the kids, we went over to my cousin's new house. Her husband plays guitar and so he and Lewis spent the afternoon playing guitars and talking about guitars, and generally in guitar player world. My cousin and I played with the girls and talked about everything but guitars. It was great and I love her house. It's a three bedroom modular with a garage. The upstairs is unfinished but has the potential for three more bedrooms and a bathroom. We're not envious, but Lewis and I definitely are seeing what we want to go for when it comes to buying a house.

So you see, this was my ordinary week. I got up yesterday morning and started the next ordinary one. Let's see where this one takes us.