my valentine present

I am not a big Oh-surprise-me-with-something-special (ie, flowers, candy, jewelry, etc.) kind of girl. No no. I prefer to get my own presents. Or I'll tell you just what I want. (I LOVE giftcards-those are my most favorite presents-a gift PLUS an excuse to shop, and not at our expense!) Anyhow. Don't get me wrong. I have been surprised with great gifts. But I have also gotten great gifts that I really don't need. Or want. (I've even been labeled by some as the Queen of Returns. I have even returned things I have purchased for myself...) At this stage in my life, money is tight and I want a lot of stuff. And I don't want alot of "other stuff" just hanging out. So when it comes to gifts, please get me what I want or need. Even if it is a case of toilet paper. (Seriously.)

So, back to Valentine's Day. I told Joey, no gifts. And not a don't-get-me-anything-but-just-kidding,-I'll-be-upset-if-you-don't. No, I really meant it. And I wasn't getting him anything either. Which, by the way, is Joey's favorite gift from me. (This was the same for Christmas.) Sure, I'd love to get a bouquet of flowers or really good chocolate (not the lame-o stuff in those traditional heart boxes), but I'd rather have some of the scrapbook crap I just bought myself a few days ago... So Valentine's Day came. I got nothing. Joey got nothing.

But then I started to think about it later in the day.

I got to sleep in.

I got to sleep in while Joey got up with all the kids.

I got to sleep in like I get to every weekend.

I got to sleep in like I get to every day.

We are night owls. No matter how tired we are, we have a hard time going to bed before midnight. Awful, I know. The kids go to bed anywhere from 8-10 and then we just veg out in front of the TV. Watching sport highlights, design shows or Friends reruns. This is what we do. And we enjoy it. So then we get to bed around 12 and Christian almost always wakes up sometime in the night (yes, I really don't know when, Joey gets him) and I nurse him while I sleep. And then I often wake up to an empty bed because, yes, Joey has taken Christian back to his crib. And then later Joey gets up for work. When? I don't know. I sleep through it all. If the girls get up, he gets them food and cartoons. He then leaves for work somewhere between 8 and 9. And if the girls aren't screaming at each other yet, I'm still sleeping in bed. So then the weekend rolls around. These are my days to really sleep in. Once again, the kids get up and Joey gets up with them. Even though he's running on less sleep. He's willing to do this for me. Everyday. And on this particular day, Reganne got up early early in the morning. I just slightly woke up to hear Joey telling her to come onto his side, "Mom's sleeping."

I have the most incredible man in the world.

And going back to that whole presents thing. Want to know what he got for me on our first Valentine's? We had only been dating a few months and he surprised me with the 4 DVDs of The Best of Friends (this was prior to any of the seasons being out to buy-and yes after purchasing all 10 seasons, I got rid of them...). Now, that was a great surprise.

One more thing. I had gotten the girls each a little red jewelry case and had them setting out (wrapped up) for them to find that morning. Joey said that when Reganne saw them, she whispered real seriously, "Santa came."