Valentine's Day and My Children Are Growing Up Too Fast

Valentine's Day fell smack in the middle of a busy week, with Tim working long hours and my kids very busy with school and other activities. My mother spoiled us with boxes and boxes of chocolate that arrived by mail, along with an obscenely large gift card to one of my favorite clothing stores. Between that and a Valentine's Day brunch I hosted for a friend who sells clothes, I am now swimming in adorable spring outfits and ready for it NOT to be 29 degrees in Virginia. Thanks to my friends and sister-in-law for spending so much money on Valentine's Day - I scored tons of deeply discounted stuff! The kids and I headed to church on our own Sunday because Daddy had to work. As we sat at a favorite diner after, I noticed how big Chase has gotten, and chuckled at his serious demeanor and the way the other two treated him as a stand-in for his father ("Chase, look at this!" "Chase, I'm getting french fries!" "Chase, can you open this jelly?"). It breaks my heart a little. Meanwhile, Cole is heading into his second month taking piano lessons and he's making wonderful progress. His teacher is incredibly sweet (although I do get terribly nervous when he asks us to play duets - I find myself sneaking in some practice time on my own when the kids are at school!). In any case, hopefully Tim will get a break soon, after he plows through this current project at work and heals from his dental implant (long story - it was a bum tooth from an incident at Chipotle years ago, then he cracked it clear in half on the salted caramels I gave him for Valentine's Day!). Maybe he'll be able to take me on a hot date soon and I can wear some of my new stuff!