And now, for something completely different.

This week is actually almost over. I think we've made it. Daddy will be coming home late tonight (if he can make his connecting flight in Memphis. He has about two minutes from when his first flight is supposed to come in and his second flight starts boarding. I guess all that running in high school is going to pay off.) Both kids are healthy, (the chicken pox scare was just me overreacting as usual) and the house, while not technically clean, is presentable.

In honor of hubby returning, I just thought I'd share a little bit about the different gifts he's bought me through the years. I'll have to make it a Thursday Thirteen someday. When he goes on business trips I usually guilt him into bringing something back for the little lady at home. (I can just see my mother, whose love language is as far removed from mine as it gets, and who has the self-confidence of Queen Elizabeth II, rolling her eyes.) He understands me like nobody else, and usually does very well in his choices. He's still a man, of course. For instance, today I asked him what he would be doing while he waited for his flight out of St. Paul, and he said he might wander around the Mall of America. "Do you think there's anything there that you want?" Hmm. Let's think. Biggest mall in the country. "Oh no, honey, you know how happy and fulfilled I am. I can't think of a single thing I might like to have." (That was tongue-in-cheek for my sarcasm-challenged readers, and yes, you are out there.)

When he went to New York, he ordered a vacuum cleaner online and had it delivered while he was gone. Which was great, actually, since I had given our old one to the dorm boys, and this one is a Dyson. The only possible problem there is he doesn't want us to have any carpet in our new house. None. I've begged to no avail. I guess it works on hard floors too, though. It was very rare for him to spend that much for a "my wife made me feel guilty" gift, so don't worry, Mom, we have not been corrupted by American Materialism. More often he brings me books. Once, it was about undeciphered ancient languages. Very interesting, I might add. I'll probably use that for a future Thursday Thirteen post too. When he went to California the first time, he had a chance to go sea kayaking with a co-worker there. Because it was January, they had to wear wet suits. The kind that look like surfer suits, with short sleeves and shorts. Strange. He bought me one, too. Why? Beats me. It's true that I get cold swimming in 100 degree temps, but wearing that wet-suit once I'm out of the water is just short of torture. It really does help at the lake, I have to admit.

I have to end my little expose with this years Valentine's Day gifts. I got an ice crusher (pictured above)and a book on HTML. Talk about romance! Just kidding. Actually I loved them both. I've been wanting to learn HTML so I could do my own "tweaking" and I'm an ice-aholic. I've used my little manual ice crusher at least once a day, and could never go back.

There, now, as if you cared, you know a little bit more about the strange relationship that is our marriage. And included here below, for the Grandmas and relatives who really only read this blog to see cute pictures of my kids, (Admit it, you know it's true) I've included pictures of my little nerds, err, safe children. Look Grandma, I'm sacrificing my children's dignity for their safety. Daddy and I even have helmets, although on our last bike ride he "couldn't find" his helmet, so I looked like a total geek all by myself. Trust me. No one in this town wears bike helmets, and we're making ourselves huge "We-didn't-have-helmets-in-our-day-and-our-kids-turned-out-just-fine" targets. But that's a whole other post.