Happy Valentine's Day

Everything was wrapped and laid out on the table for an early morning surprise.

And it looks like Caroline was surprised!

Then it was on to Valentine's pancakes and hot chocolate.

This is how the quilts turned out. There are some mistakes, but not bad considering I really didn't know what I was doing.
And that's pretty much a wrap for Valentine fun this year. Oh, we'll probably do something special for dessert (if I can find a recipe and if I have all the ingredients in the house). But on the whole I'm pleased. Each kid had one present to open--it was something I had made with my own hands, and each kid loved it. More importantly, I wrote valentines out for each child and for Rob, telling each person what I loved about him or her, and those went over hugely (I know the grammar/syntax is off there, but you get my point). That felt great.

The reason I have to use ingredients from the house is because I woke up at 4:00 to the sounds of Bobby throwing up. Bless his heart, he got all the way to the toilet and threw up in the toilet--what a kid! Of course, I couldn't fall asleep after that, and only when I woke up again at 6 did I realize that I had indeed fallen asleep. Bobby had apparently been in the bathroom again and had left on the light. I got up, turned it off, and was awake again at 6:20 when he went in for what I'm guessing was Round 3. In the toilet again, my little man! Then, at 6:30, the dog had to pee, and by 6:40 I gave up and went to take a shower. Bobby has no fever, but he is pretty crusty. Poor thing missed out on pancakes and hot chocolate this morning, and that kid just loves his "panpakes," as he calls them.

On the plus side, Caitlin finally returned to school today. I'm thinking she'll probably exchange valentines and germs just in time for the long weekend--that's right, no school Friday or Monday. Sigh. One of these days, everyone will be healthy!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.