Valentines, Presidents, Etc.

First, here's a list of the lucky winners of my giveaway!

Lizzy
Joanna
Stacey
Koni
Laurie Jayne

I pretty much have no idea what I'll make for you, so I'm open to ideas. If there's something I've made in the past that you're interested in, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just have to resort to brainstorming with people who may come up with crazy ideas (i.e., Joel). Something crafty? Something yummy? Something sewy? We'll see!

Next up, Valentine's Day. We had a fun day. Someone had given Joel these coupons for free Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches, so we went and enjoyed those. Then they messed up our order so we ended up with a free extra sandwich! Triple free! Dane had a fun time playing in the play place, although he was too small for much of it. I took a few pictures with my phone, but I don't know how to upload them yet so we'll have to wait.
Then I went to a baby shower for my good friend Mirjam. It was fun to see her and worth the drive to Payson. When I came home, Joel had completed several little fixit projects around the house. Now our bedroom door closes all the way! And doesn't make a loud sticking sound! And the medicine cabinet is silent and close with magnets! And now I have a place to put my brush and the toothpaste where Dane can't get to it! They were all little changes but have made life much more enjoyable. Then it was time for presents. Things were pretty low-key in the present department. One thing I got for Joel was these little chocolate biscuits:

For those of you who don't know, "kancho" means "enema" in Japanese. These little treats are from Hong Kong and have nothing to do with enemas, but it made us laugh.
Then Joel fulfilled my wildest Valentine's dream by getting me something even better than what I wanted: A Dustbuster!

I originally wanted a Kone just because they look cool, but we found out that they don't really serve their function of dustbusting very well. So Joel researched good hand vacs and came up with this one. It reminds me of an elephant and makes me smile. The little nozzle part pivots up and down to help you reach on top of tall shelves or under couches. It even pivots all they way down so it sits compactly in its charger. I am very happy with it.
Then we went to the capitol of romance: Chuck-A-Rama. Since Joel and I tied on our DMV test scores, we kept trying other methods of determining a winner. Bananagrams, Street Fighter, etc. We seriously kept tying. Then we figured out that we both wanted to go to Chuck-A-Rama. The fates knew our true desires before even we did. I thought maybe the restaurant wouldn't be too crowded since most people don't go to a buffet for a romantic evening, but I was wrong. It was really crowded. But we had a good time even though Dane was pretty restless from all the noise.

P.S. He was extra sensitive to the noise because he got tympanostomy tubes put in the day before. He was a great little trooper and did well in surgery, and I didn't freak out too much. It all went down at Primary Children's Medical Center, so we felt like we were in good hands. Hopefully this will prevent him from getting more ear infections and also help him hear better so maybe he'll start talking. A couple of nights since the surgery, he has awakened in the middle of the night with a terrified sounding wail. He just sounds so sad. I am wondering if he is having bad dreams about the surgery. But I just go in and rock him for a few minutes until he points to his crib to tell me he's ready to go back. He is a brave, sweet boy.

Anyway, then on to President's Day. We spent most of the day doing some cleaning and what not but finished up by going bowling, getting overpriced pizza, and enjoying delectable Maggie Moo's. Let's just say that it's a good thing we didn't use bowling as our contest to see who would choose our Valentine's restaurant. For our first game, Joel scored 104, I scored 72, and Dane scored 76. That's right. Dane used the little track so he can push the ball down onto the lane, and he still beat me. At first, Dane did everything he could to run away from us so he could chase the ball down the lane. He even got about five feet in and Joel had to chase him (they didn't slip and fall). But eventually he entertained himself by hugging and "bonking" the balls sitting in an unused ball return. Anyway, I am a terrible bowler. For the second game, Joel scored 101 and I scored 74. At least we're consistent. I am way better at Wii Bowling.

To round things off, we played a few arcade games so Dane could push some buttons. We played the Deal or No Deal game, where you had a chance to win 200 tickets, and I won four. Yes, I am one of those people you think is a total idiot for recklessly deciding No Deal. But I won enough tickets from the various games to appropriately celebrate Presidents' Day by cashing in my tickets for an oversized, plastic penny, which Dane promptly chewed on. Then I sang my presidents song where I list all the U.S. Presidents in order, except that I learned it in elementary school, so it ends with "Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, now George Bu-ush!" Then Joel recited what he could remember of the Gettysburg Address. Chief Executives, we salute you.