A note on Valentine's Day:
I am a very un-romantic person, I'm sad to say. Well, I feel sort of bad for Jonas sometimes with my total lack of creativity, but other than that I guess I don't feel SO bad about it. :) We've never been big on Valentine's Day, Jonas and I. Granted, I LOVE holidays, and I love making a big deal out of them to create fun memories for our family, but Valentine's Day has always been my one big challenge. I just think it's silly to have a holiday centered around couples--I much prefer families, that way everyone is included, no matter what their "relationship status" is. I don't want to go on a date on the same night in the world when EVERYONE ELSE AND THEIR MOTHER is also going on a date...if feels weird! I would so much rather go out with Jonas the day before, or the day after, instead of Valentine's Day. So, long story short, we've never done much, although Jonas has always done something little to show me he loves me, which I think is very sweet--I just don't need diamonds and crazy expensive dinners, etc.
This Valentine's Day we actually had a reservation at a restaurant, but we couldn't find a sitter easily, and neither of us felt like putting too much effort into it, so we canceled the reservation and just decided to stay home. As our kids go to bed so early, we could easily celebrate in a much more relaxing, comfortable (for me the pregnant lady), and FREE environment at home. I suggested we have steaks, something we NEVER ever buy, but something we (strangely enough) have on hand these days due to our cow purchase. So, we grilled our first steak (just 1, as it was MASSIVE), baked some asparagus, mashed a few potatoes, purchased some fancy Irish butter, and made the most delicious blue cheese sauce to put on our steaks. Seriously, these steaks were to die for, and the sauce put them over the top. We ate in front of our fire, and it was perfect--I'm loving our "staying in" traditions for Valentine's Day and parts of our Anniversary, I can tell you that! There is no pressure, and it's so relaxing, and...it's much cheaper. ;) I DO love that too!
This year Jonas hit his gift to me out of the park: he left me a few flowers that morning, which were lovely and completely enough, but he ALSO came home that night with all of our knives professionally sharpened. *SWOON* THAT is love, people. True love! Don't give me chocolates, do something that will make my daily life delightful for months to come! These days, as I chop and slice through anything with ease, I feel loved. :) (By the way, if you have never had your knives professionally sharpened, you have no idea what you are missing. We normally do it about 2-3X a year, and it is so worth it, but it had been too long since our knives had last been in, and then things start to become dangerous with your knives. Do it. Trust the professionals. Worth every penny.)
A note on Finn:
We moved Finn out of his crib this past weekend, a few months shy of his 3rd birthday. We left Layla in her crib until I think around 3 or 4 months after she turned 3--my motto would line up quite nicely with "If it's not broken, stop trying to fix it." Both of our kids have slept great in cribs, and Layla NEVER climbed out of hers. Finn climbed out once, only because his mattress was on an incline due to a severe cold. Since they were safe and comfy, we just leave 'em as long as possible! I don't at all get the parents who want to rush their kids through every possible "milestone," but that's another very long tangent/rant. So, anyway, we really didn't need to move him from his crib, but he's been having a little bit of a harder time at bedtime lately, and we thought we might change things up and see if that helped (he has been very clingy when normally he would go down in his crib just fine). ALSO, with the baby coming, we're planning ahead to help everyone get the most possible sleep at night. Layla and Finn sleep just fine--exactly as toddlers and preschoolers should sleep--but they still obviously get up at night for the many reasons we all wake at night: using the bathroom, being sick, aches and pains and sickness, bad dreams, etc. When baby girl comes, I'll need to focus most of my night energy on her, so Jonas will be doing most of the handling of the other two kids at night. With this in mind, we put a queen size mattress on the floor in Finn's room--a Montessori style floor bed of sorts. That way, if something is needed at night, Jonas can still get sleep and snuggle with him, and the baby and I can do our thing in my bedroom. Everyone getting enough sleep is a big priority for me, and so I'm glad we have this option. Last night was his first night in the bed and he did just fine, although I went in to check on him before we went to bed and he was right on the edge of the mattress, outside of the covers. So, I tucked him back under the covers, far along the OTHER side of the mattress by the wall. At least that way he'd have to do a lot of night rolling to become uncomfortable again. :) I always wonder if I'll feel all sentimental about moments like this with my kids, but frankly, as much as I am not romantic, I am also not super sentimental about most things--my kids included for the most part. I think it helps that we just don't rush most stuff when it comes to our kids, so by the time the "milestones" happen, it seems more than appropriate, and more often than not it's super easy.
So, that's that! Finn is in a big-boy bed now, and it was barely a blip on our radar. :) I'm just glad it'll be normal before the baby comes, because I want to try to keep as much stuff simple and the same as possible--for the older two kids, initially. Based on Layla's FREAK OUT reaction to Finn when we brought him home, I know those transitions can be hard for some kids. However, I'm really not expecting much chaos from the older two--Finn will be three when baby girl comes home, and that is SUCH a better age than 18 months (Layla's age when Finn was born). He can understand so much more, he can communicate well, and all of this leaves me VERY thankful for the space of 3 years between my youngest two children here. VERY thankful. :) 18 months--mercy. That was rough. Cheers to a new beginning, and learning from the past! ;)
A note on the Olympics:
1. I am a die-hard Olympics fan, but I have to tell you, having the opening ceremonies on day 2 totally threw me. I couldn't take the 1st day of competition very seriously, and I've been less-than-invested in these Olympics every since.
2. "Normal" Lisa cries at almost every finish in the Olympics, no matter what the event is. Pregnant Lisa? Holy Cow. My tears know no bounds. I was almost sobbing at the women's cross country relay finish a while back. CROSS COUNTRY SKIING. Sobbing. I'm truly rolling my eyes at myself, and the crazy things hormones can do to your body, mind, and emotions!! :)
