Valentine's Day Tricks and Treats

Ok, so I know there are some people out there who don't celebrate Valentine's Day because they feel like their significant other should love them more than just on one designated day of the year. I look at it like this: since Mr. Simpleton does love me unconditionally and shows it more than just one day a year, I'm pretty blessed...
but he better lay it on extra thick on this particular day of the year!

But I like to include the kiddos on Valentine's day, too and try to come up with different ways of surprising them and showing my children how much I love them.

In case you haven't figured this out about me yet, I'm a pretty serious individual compared to Mr. Simpleton. He'll get down and play with the kids and wrestle. But, I'm only good for that sort of thing so long before chores start calling my name or the phone starts ringing or I get jabbed in eye with sharp 5 year old elbows. Personally, I'd rather take them to see a movie or go get ice cream or do crafts together or read them a book or do things like plan the 12 Days Of Christmas and special Valentine's Day Breakfasts like this that they find equally as enjoyable. Stumbling sleepily down the stairs Saturday morning and after rubbing dreamy fog from their eyes this is what my kids found waiting for them:

(Spoken with a somewhat French accent) Here we have Strawberry Stuffed French Toast with a delicate strawberry cream sauce and a generous dollop of whipped cream, 2 fresh strips of country bacon and an organic banana all served with pink Sweet Milk.
For Valentine's Day Evening we went out with some close friends of ours, Collin and Monett, to the Smucker's Stars On Ice event at the Dallas American Airlines Center. Sasha Cohen was beautiful as always. Not to mention, Todd Eldridge and Michael Weiss were just as amusing as always to watch.

Meet our friends Collin and Monett:
Notice Monett's beautiful genuine smile.
Notice Collin's, uh, yeah.

And here we have Mr. Simpleton and myself.
Notice my genuine happy-to-be-here-celebrating-Valentine's-Day-with-my-husband smile
Notice Jonathan's...oh. You've noticed.
Hmmm....I have to wonder, did these 2 grown-up, adult, 30 some-odd year old men plan this while giggling in the boys' bathroom or is this just a classic case of I-can't-help-that-all-my-male-testosterone-is-seeping-out-through-my-face syndrome?

But this year I must give Mr. Simpleton the award for Best Gift Ever Given Thus Far.
I received no Valentine's Day cards from him addressed to "My Husband" (please see my Blog Archive for Feb. '08);
No 1/2 off flowers from Wal-Mart ("Fireproof", baby.);
No, he scored big points with this diamond ring flaunting our symbol of eternity!
I am so flippin' spoiled.

Thank you, Mr. Simpleton. I love you!