These are the beautiful roses Dave sent for Valentine's on Friday. As always, it was thrilling to see the UPS guy standing at the door with the oblong box, exciting to open the box and arrange the flowers, and lovely to read the sweet note that came with them.
Last night, we had Chinese food for dinner and it was the biggest mess because Max decided he wanted to transfer egg drop soup from the plastic container it came in to his purple bowl with his purple plastic spoon and we let him—good use of his hands. Then he picked up the container and tried to slurp the soup from it and we let him—good drinking! The he tried to transfer some mei fun from the container to his purple bowl, and we let him. (Do you see a pattern in our meals?!) So there was a big, soupy, noodle-y mess on the floor and table.
It was getting late and I had to run out to Target and find us a new comforter, since Sabrina had puked all over ours the night before (she had a bug) and it was unsalvageable. "Honey, try to clean up some of the mess, I'll be back in a half hour," I said, and dashed out.
When I came home, it was all cleaned up. All of it. Dave had even put the dishes in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink.
I have to say it, I appreciated that even more than the flowers. Which freaked me a little—am I getting unromantic?! Well, no, I still love and appreciate flowers. But being thoughtful in an everyday way is even more meaningful. As in most households, I'm pretty much the one responsible for keeping it in shape. And when Dave pitches in, well, it's hot.
How about you? Do you love something a little more than flowers? (And remember, guys, this is G-rated blog!)
Gorgeous roses. Good job, Dave!
ReplyDeleteSo, seriously - we have the exact same problem with Foster. We encourage the independence and deal with the mess later. It's not an intentional mess (as you know well!).
Remember how you told me you were thinking about a puppy? Clara loves Foster for this very reason. She sits by his feet and waits for whatever drops next. I can't tell you how much time she has saved me on the sweeping/vacuuming/mopping the floor. Say what you want, but there is NOTHING wrong with letting the dog clean the floor - especially when your kids aren't particularly good at chores.
Just sayin'.
xo
a clean house.
ReplyDeleteWHen my kids (or hubby) wants to make me smile, they will clean for me.
TOTALLY unromantic, but thrilling for me, nonetheless!!
Love meeting you, as well. :-)
I got flowers for Valentine's Day, too! Are yours from ProFlowers? They look a lot like the ones DH sent to me. They are even more beautiful today because they've opened up!
ReplyDeleteI must agree that there is nothing like coming home to a nice clean house and it surprises me every time, too!
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
I just love the stuff the kids make for me -- always from the heart.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day and Happy Chinese New Year -- Year of the Tiger
Husband doing housework, especially stuff that you didn't ask for or have asked for in the past? Best thing ever.
ReplyDeleteI love the thoughtful gesture of flowers, but I agree with you, I love when hubby does some unexpected cleaning. It means that he is thinking of me and what I need, and doing it without me having to ask. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI don't think my husband has ever cleaned anything as a surprise! He does clean, but only by agreement or as the result of my goading him. But he does send the flowers to my office, so other people can see them and feel envy, which I think is kind of cute.
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have Dave. I can't wait to find the man of my dreams one day, and I know it will come. Patience is a virtue that is sometimes hard to instill, but fortunately, with my background, it comes pretty naturally!
ReplyDeleteDo you do anything for the kids for Valentine's Day?
I got one single rose, which means a lot to me. I don't like big, huge fancy productions on the actual day cause every says it is so. Flowers "just because" is much better on an unexpected day.
ReplyDeleteI also love a good back & arm "tickle". Nothing feels better & helps me relax.
I also LOVE getting anything handmade by MM. I melts my heart cause she tries so hard!
As far as the dinner mess, same thing here. I guess neuro-typical parents would be upset. Nope. GO MAX! Using your hands AND a spoon! Awesome! AND that is something I love more than flowers!
Aw, so sweet. Happy Valentine's Day to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend currently lives in California, so for Valentine's Day this year I told him to save the money he would spend on sending me something because I would rather him buy a plane ticket.
ReplyDeleteValentine's Day for me has always been about spending time with each other- not swapping gifts.
Krajcimama: Yes, they're from ProFlowers! Erin: We don't do anything particularly special with the kids on V day, just cards and the usual good times. :) And GingerB, when I did have an office job, Dave loved to send flowers there!
ReplyDeleteDave really did a good job with the flowers - they're beautiful! Even better is the cleaning job - nothing better than getting surprised with a clean house.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese food mess brings to mind a spaghetti and pudding mess that we had in our kitchen when Monkey Boy was going through a three - week Constraint Induced Therapy (cast on his strong arm to get him to use his involved arm) program. I think getting to make a mess can be a great motivator.
One thing I like more than flowers is having Hubby do the bedtime routine every now and then so I can get some rest. Oh, and when he brings me a big cup of delicious coffee, it just about makes my day.
Well, I stayed over at my folks with the kids last night, so we "did" Valentine's Day for THEM, to show them how much we adore them! They got cards and flowers and a new shovel with a red bow for Grampa (his was getting very ragged). We made pancakes and bacon and eggs, and orange juice and coffee, and I got to show them some love by actually cleaning up after myself as well as not expecting Grammy to do all the cooking! We're getting ready to go out to supper now, so there's no more opportunity for me to make another mess, today anyway!
ReplyDeleteOh Ellen, you always get me laughing! But guess what? I let Carl read your post and he immediatly jumped up, acted like he was yawning and made a b line for the kitchen sink! LOL, thank you very much, my friend! Yes, when Carl does the dishes or picks up the living room boy does that make me happy! He got up this morning and made breakfast and washed dishes! Pretty amazing considering he can barely boil water. (Seriously though, I noticed the laptop sitting on the bar in the kitchen with a recipe for making omlets up on the screen!)
ReplyDeleteHey, I have an interesting situation going on over at my blog you might be interested in reading about/helping out with.
ReplyDeletehttp://allyinwonderland0611.blogspot.com/
Like you, I am much more appreciative of effort as opposed to gifts and No, I don't think that makes me unromantic.
ReplyDeleteNo flowers here- we went to IHop- why there? I LOVE pancakes :)
ReplyDeleteI didnt know your hubby's name was Dave-mine is too. And dont know if you know, but I am an Ellen!
My Dave cleans nothing- with the exception of the garage :/ Not all Daves are created equal !!!
WTG Max!
And I hope Sabrina is feeling better!
Yes, flowers are always lovely, but I've come to prefer them from our 3 sons.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really like is when my husband comes home with food! The sight of him walking in with a ready made meal just puts me to tears with gratitude!
"Thank you," in a hoarse whisper, is all I can manage. "Thank you." By the end of the day, I am so worn down and out that not having to prepare a meal is better than anything I can think of at that moment.
Alexandra
My sweetie had roses sent to me, too. Naturally, the snow shut down the city and nothing was delivered on time.
ReplyDeleteBut EVEN better was this: he folded my laundry for me.
Now THAT's what gets my motor goin'.
Nothing is better than waking up to a clean kitchen. Often dishes are left in the sink overnight that couldn't fit in the first load in the dishwasher. Sometimes hubby will put away clean and run another load of dirty for me in the morning before he leaves for work. That's love.
ReplyDeletenice post. thanks.
ReplyDelete