X-O-X-O

Our Valentine's Day was fairly low-key this year.  I think it's neat that in marriage sometimes low-key can be just right... not any less special, but just comfortable.  If you're doing it right in a relationship, your spouse already knows how much you love them.  It's certainly wonderful to have a day dedicated to celebrating the love you have for one another, and as a hopeless romantic who loves to celebrate just about anything, I certainly would never turn down any excuse to do just that.

Heart Day was on a Tuesday this year, and my March for Babies Kick Off Luncheon was on Friday so work was busy, and a low-key night at home sounded great to us.  We took Dakota to her training class that meets on Tuesday evenings and then came home to cook a yummy meal together.  I shared our Valentine's Day Menu with you last week, but here's a look at the final product.  It was delish!

 Filet Mignon with Goat Cheese topping, steamed garlic broccoli, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

 The only down side to cooking a romantic dinner at home is that when you are finished, your kitchen looks like this...  We left it just like this until the day after Valentine's Day though.  No dishes on Heart Day. :)

 After dinner, we exchanged gifts to each other.

Joey got a four wheel drive remote control tank with an air soft gun on top of it that is called the Air Soft Justice Dealer.  Scary sounding, right?  He saw it around Christmas time when we were considering giving it to my brother.  We decided on something else, but I made a mental note because JW thought it was so cool that it could be a present for him one day.  I also found a football bean bag toss game at Marshall's.  It will be fun to play with friends in the backyard or at a tailgate.

Joey got me a pretty porcelain and iron spoon rest for the kitchen that I had pinned on Pinterest.  Yes, a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day when I was showing JW some things I had pinned, he realized what a helpful tool Pinterest could be in his shopping for me. :)  I have a resourceful hubby.

Along with our Valentine's Day card from my parents, my mom sent us these cute Valentine's Day debit cards.  We also got an email with these instructions.

Instructions from Mom: You are to spread them out and take turns picking a card to use for special favors or treats from your mate.  At the end you will each have six cards to collect on the specified "gift" from each other.  The best part is that once you redeem the card it then becomes the property of the other person so they can redeem it at a future time for the same gift or service.  They don't have an expiration date, but the more you use them the more fun you'll have together!  Happy spending and giving!

So fun, right?  So, as directed JW and I spread them out on the table face up, and I get to pick first.  I pick "Write me a Love Poem" because JW is good at that sort of thing and I didn't particularly want to do that one.  JW picks next and he picks "Night out Dancing" because he doesn't love to dance and if he picks it, I can't use it.  Now wait a minute, right?  That is not the idea here.  We are supposed to be using these to love each other, not scheming to avoid the ones we don't want to do...

So, we scold ourselves, put them all back, and turn them over- this time face down.  We take turns picking again and each get six cards that we are excited to redeem at any time.  JW proposes one trade- If I give him the "Dance 'Til Dark" card, he will give me "Breakfast in Bed".  I love breakfast, especially if it's in bed and I don't have to make it, so I agree to the trade.  They have been fun to use and redeem so far.  We have enjoyed "Breakfast in Bed", "Pizza for Two", and bought the ingredients for JW to make me a "Batch of My Favorite Cookies" in the near future.  Low-key doesn't mean insignificant.  We had a great day celebrating our love.  Can't believe this was our third Valentine's Day as a married couple... time flies!