be mine

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope that everyone feels LOVED and ADORED today.

I've had a really fun weekend. My girls and I made yummy sugar cookies in the shape of hearts and decorated them. I have forgotten how freaking YUMMY sugar cookies are. Seriously... STOP ME. We also have a special Valentines Day dinner prepared for Hubby/Daddy later. The girls are really excited about it. We did half of it last night- the twins got jammies from their daddy and the oldest got skull-candy headphones. They also each received two roses delivered at school on friday from their daddy. I KNOW. See why I love this man??

A V-Day Tribute

(warning... sappiness to ensue...)

I have been with my husband for 7 1/2 years and we have been happily married for 5 1/2. In all honesty, he is my best friend and I am the happiest married person I know. I feel so lucky every day to have him by my side. He is brilliant, hilarious, handsome and sweet. Here are some little things that I think make our marriage as happy as it is:

1) We have coffee together every morning. He prides himself on making me delicious coffee with just the right amount of creamer. We sit at our table and talk or read the paper... or he reads and I try to talk to him (he says talking AT him is not the same as talking WITH him, but I think that's just semantics...). Either way, I love cherish these times when my hair is crazy and I have no make up on and he looks so handsome in his suit and tie and the world shrinks to be JUST US.

2) We champion each other. He always has my back. To anyone. Anytime. Always. And I do the same for him. Life has enough challenges in it- there's no reason to tear each other down. Plus, nothing feels better than having someone BELIEVE in you and really be behind you. I love knowing, and hearing him say to other people, that he thinks Im brilliant, and beautiful and a great mommy to his girls. It means a lot to have him still say sweet things about me after all the years.

3) We laugh. All the time. Seriously, no one makes me laugh at things more than him. He is especially, and almost strangely, witty in the morning and it is not uncommon for me to be reduced to side-splitting laughter before 8am. We laugh at ourselves. We laugh at all the ridiculousness in the world. We laugh at the stupid people we have to deal with during the day. We laugh at our families. We laugh at our dog. We laugh at each other (wait... I meant to say WITH each other...). His sense of humor is a top contender for my very most favorite quality in him.

4) We hang out. There is no one I'd rather spend time with. A woman I really admire once told me to "be in each other's space." Both of us are very busy, and we enjoy different things, but we both make a point to be together. Take right now for instance. Hubby is watching the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and Im sitting on the couch with him blogging.

(as an aside, something I LOVE about him right now is how cute he looks in his jammies)

5) We dream-build. Im not exactly sure when this started... well I guess we've done it from the very beginning. One of my favorite past times is we go get Starbucks and then we just drive around and look at homes, or different places in the area and talk about the things we want- our "someday" house- the pool in a big yard with music playing in the background, and the sweet office he will have in the back of the house; and we love to entertain, so we want a house that can be filled with our friends. Its more about cultivating a life for our family than a big house or specific things. We just talk about all the things we want and are striving for. These dream-building drives take us all sorts of places- stores interesting buildings in our city, little places downtown and up the canyons. We also do this while we are on vacation, which is even more fun. I think that one of his business partners came up with the term "dream-building," which may sound trite, but I kind of like it. No one gets anywhere unless they've thought about wanting it.

6) We tag-team. There are a lot of things that can bog down relationships- like our responsibilities as parents, keeping the house going, errands and of course working. I am really lucky in that my husband is all for helping out around the house. We are both willing to take turns doing things that need to get done. A lot of times we do things together, but we also are considerate of one another and both try to help out, and realize that we have energy at different times and sometimes and one of us will always step in when the other needs a break. It really is so refreshing when I just cant DO anymore in a day, he he just takes care of the dishes- without me saying anything. And then he also doesn't make me feel bad for chilling on the couch and WATCHING him do them. :) Of course I will do the same for him.

7) We say it. Im not a high maintenance woman, in the typical sense. But, Hubby has kindly pointed out to me that I AM high maintenance in that I like verbal affirmation. I dont think he used to be the kind of guy who always said stuff, but I think I've rubbed off on him. :) I tell him I love him and that he looks so handsome all the time. BUT- its not just flippant- I only say it when I really mean it... I just mean it all the time. I tell him he's brilliant, because I LOVE hearing about how he rocks his office. I tell him that he looks freaking HOT in his suit (that I want to rip off of him). Sometimes I'lI text him that Im thinking of him during the day. I love knowing what I mean to him and Im really glad that he is comfortable telling me. Three little words, yet they mean so much.

8) We snuggle. I am well aware that we are in maybe a 2% bracket of people that actually still snuggle, but we do. We are talking pretzel. And I LOVE it. There is nothing that makes me feel more loved and safe than my tall strong man pulling me close and cuddling.

9) We keep it sexy. We both work out. We try to eat healthy and take care of ourselves. I still try to dress nice for him (well, and for myself. Im kinda funny with wanting to look pretty all the time.) We are both up for trying new things or adding in a naughty little nighty or . He still flirts with me and gives me those "come here" eyes. He is romantic with me and sexy as hell. We keep it spicy without really even trying.

10) We realize what we've got. I always say how lucky I am, and I KNOW that I am. We still have people mistake us for newlyweds. One time we were out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and we had gotten a glass of wine while we were waiting. I hadn't realized how engrossed I was in our conversation until a woman touched my arm on her way out and whispered to me "Tonight's the night- he's going to propose for sure!" as she squeezed my arm and walked out the door. We always say how no one has what we have. And I love that- because it makes it... hallowed..(this is funny because I just asked him what another word for sacred or special is... and he said hallowed. I was like, "no, something else." And he says "what's wrong with hallowed? thats a perfect word." and then Im laughing saying... "nooo you wont want hallowed, trust me." He says, "I want hallowed. Hallowed will be fine. What are you writing anyway??")

See what I mean? I know what I've got. :)

Love you baby!! Happy Valentines day to my lover and our HALLOWED relationship!