Valentine's Day

Ooooh it's that time of year again; Valentine's Day. Oh yes, hearts and valentine's cards and chocolate and flowers and lovey dovey ooey gooey romance, right?

Not so much in our family. Geo and I have bad luck celebrating Valentine's Day. It started with our very first V-day, which I won't recount here so as to not embarrass Geo, but suffice to say, it was not the overly romantic warm and fuzzy date one would expect on Valentine's Day. We gave it a go again a few years ago, only to have our dinner take so long that we missed the movie we couldn't wait to see. Yep, that was enough for us, Valentine's day is now just for the kiddos.

Just for the kiddos? WHAT? That's not romantic, that's not lovey dovey. That's ridiculous.

Actually, it's not. Gabe and SarahAnne are the physical manifestations of the love Geo and I share every.single.day. Geo and I don't need a special day to show how much we love each other, and quite frankly if you are only expressing your love for one another because the calender says you should, you should probably step back and reevaluate your relationship.

Each year for Valentine's day we do something for the kiddos; one year it was a movie they both had been dying to see, another year it was a year long membership to the zoo, and this year I think it's going to be a four pack of tickets to see a minor league hockey team play-complete with on the glass seats, t shirts and hot dogs.

We give the kids cards, sometimes silly little gifts and so does the rest of our family. Today the kiddos got a card from their great grandparents that Bitsy swooned over and I'm sure Gabe will be equally as enthralled with. My sister sent them cards as well and I'm betting there are a few grandmas and grandpas who will be following suit, along with an aunt and uncle and maybe a Godparent or two who will acknowledge the day for them.

We want the kids growing up surrounded in love; does that mean that we only surround them with love on Valentine's day? Of course not, but it's a special day when you're a kid and we want them to know, especially on Valentine's day, how loved they are by not only us, but by the rest of their family. Raising your children in love is never the wrong thing to do; a child can NEVER have enough love in their lives. In fact, the more love the better, no one has ever said "boy I wish my parents wouldn't have loved me so much" now do they? Go out there and love someone-especially your kids!

thanks for the card Greats :)

Thankful Thursday-WHAT?

What? Could it be? Could my little Bitsy girl actually be healthy already? It would appear so. She's been fever free for over 24 hours now and has been bouncy and perky since yesterday morning. Also it appears that none of us has gotten the plague either. All three of us feel pretty darn good and now Bits is back to nearly normal (still a little tired but that's no biggie)
So today I am thankful for a quick recovery by my Bitsy and thankful that no one else got it either!

A Plague O'er Both Your Houses

We've got the plague-a particularly nasty one-Bitsy tested positive for Influenza/H1N1 yesterday and is pretty darn miserable. Right now, I'm pumping her full of fluids when she's awake and letting her snooze where ever she wants (right now it's on the couch with her "softy" blanket) We've had Sarah McLachlan on repeat for the last 24 hours as well, because it's what makes Bitsy happy-can't say I blame her :)  I've been spraying everything with lysol and pulling out disposable cups, napkins, towels, etc so that we can just throw things away rather than worry about germs. I am hoping it works since the three of us would really prefer to NOT have this bug.

As of right now, I'm on a mini hiatus; I probably will not be posting much, so if you don't see much from me in the next week or so, it's just because I'm taking care of my sickie :)

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

It's been almost a week since we all went sledding and I am still finding bruises all over my body. Sledding isn't USUALLY a contact sport, but in the Witkowski family it apparently is. Case in point: when Geo's dad and brother were going down the hill, side by side, JD decided it would be funny to grab a hold of his dad's sled and flip him over. I was majorly impressed with Dad's cat like reflexes-he jumped up and jumped onto the sled, belly first and flew after JD.

Then of course, JD decided it would be a fabulous idea to stand on a flying saucer and try to-I honestly don't know what he was trying to do-all I know is that he went down the hill ass over tea kettle (love the phrase, I don't get to use it nearly enough) and none of us could stop laughing to go see if he was ok (and he was, no worries)

Now onto my *brilliant* idea; I am also going to blame Geo AND JD for this one. See, we have a toboggan that conveniently holds TWO Witkowskis. The first set of Witkowski's to go down the hill were a daddy-daughter combo, then another daddy-daughter combo, then a brother in law-sister in law combo-that was fun. JD and I nearly hit the fence (we were aiming for the river, damn fence!) and since it was SO much fun with JD, I thought, "woohoo, this'll be even MORE fun with Geo!!"

So Geo, of course, thinks it's a great idea and we hop on the sled...and the boys start to push us and before we make it five feet, we tip over. No worries, it was not OUR fault, it was our pushers fault! So we confidently got on the sled together again and started down the hill and my goodness was it FUN! FUN FUN FUN! Until, of course....Geo and *I* went sideways again and rolled over each other two or three (or fifteen, I don't know, it was all a blur at this point) times. We pretty much rolled over each other, tangled up, until we landed at the bottom of the hill in a heap. A giggling, snow covered heap, but a heap nonetheless. My feet were tangled with not only Geo's feet but also with the toboggan rope. It was a mess.

Honestly, it seemed like a good idea at the time, it was HILARIOUS. We trudged up the hill to laugh with everyone, not imagining that in a few days odd purple marks would be all over my body. Woooo. In retrospect, maybe Geo and I should stick to things like cooking together and playing card games, those seem like activities that have less potential for bruising...

Friday Five: All About Fives

A Friday Five all about the number five....

1. What is your favorite Maroon 5 song?
Can I put my FIVE favorite M5 songs? No? Okay, my favorite is "Secret/Ain't No Sunshine" it's very sultry. I adore Adam Levine almost as much as I adore Sarah McLachlan.



2. Five things that have made me giggle this week:
1. SarahAnne telling me that she gets covered in "chickens" when she gets cold.
2. My sister's storytelling; the way she recreates things makes me laugh so much, even when she's being unintentionally funny. Love you Buzzy :)
3. The Office I love Steve Carell so so much.
4. Gabriel saying "let's have a snuggle" when I asked him why he said "because that's what we do, it's our thing" he he
5. Being woken up by Boni cat nibbling on my lemon thyme at two a.m. Doesn't seem funny, but it was a pretty funny sight.

3. What can you buy for a nickel?
Not a whole lot. Maybe a piece of gum at a candy store.

4. You're stuck on a desert island, what five things  do you take with you?
In no particular order: a vat of diet coke, the book I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, a Sarah McLachlan mix cd, sunscreen, and Boni cat (for hunting purposes)

5. Is five a magic number?
No, not it is not, NINE is a magic number, just ask Bitsy :)

Thankful Thursday: Snow Days

I am so thankful for snow days this week :) I know a lot of parents don't like them, but I am loving having Gabriel home. He's such a fun kid, I feel like his days go by so quickly for him-he's up, he goes to school, he comes home, does homework, we have dinner, bath, stories and bedtime! Not a whole lot of time for hanging out. I am also thankful for the super sleepover the kiddos and the cat and I had last night. Nothing like being snuggled together when it's super cold outside (and woooo was it cold last night-some reports had us at -35 with the wind chill!) We told knock knock jokes, Gabe rubbed my back (he's so sweet) and we had a good snuggle.

 In addition to snow days I am thankful for Geo's new job. He's always been a good hard worker and he's finally being rewarded for that. We aren't going to see a ton of him but I will be able to stay home with the kids as long as Geo and I feel it's necessary and we are going to have AMAZING insurance (something that is an absolute necessity for our family) I'm so thankful I married a man who is such a hard worker and so devoted to his family.

And last but not least, I'm thankful for a silly little SarahAnne. Today she got dressed in a dress with a skirt underneath it, pink "high heels" and said "ok momma, I'm ready to sweep the floor" She grabbed the broom and swept the kitchen floor...she only stopped to swig some of my diet coke once and then, when she was done, she came out of the kitchen and said "ok it's done but I can't use the picker pan"  I went into the kitchen and sure enough, she had swept the floor and had left me a neat little pile for the "picker pan" and broom. I'm thankful for her help :)

(And now something YOU will be thankful for, a picture of the kiddos he he)

Wordless Wednesday: Snow Day!!