I love dirty feet.

The day started out with this patch of sunlight on the floor of my bedroom.  

Appropriate for the day, I think.

It is Valentine's Day, and an unexpected gift to myself was an article I read this morning about how French mothers' more laid-back parenting style encourages healthy, normal development in their kids (as opposed to American families rushing to sports and music classes in addition to school, which snuffs out free time).  While I have no formal thoughts on the article, it was a nice reminder for me to take it easy and stop running around at top speed.  So this day of love has been quite lovely here at Winter Farm with a relaxed Mommy and the first sunshine in 5 days.  Some highlights of the day:

Vera educated me on what a "princess smile" looks like.  That's her princess smile.

I had fun visiting my kids' pre-school this morning to share the love... 

and see the ingestion of sugary products.

Our kitchen table has the classroom Valentines sprawled out all over, 

with empty wrappers strewn about.

Vera did some tree climbing (and flashed me the princess smile).

I decided my Valentine present to our song birds will be to STOP feeding them, since our cat, Eggnog, is very very interested in them.

William had an idea to make a boat for our fish pond.  He hauled out art supplies and got busy.  I made a newspaper boat using the instructions from a Curious George book.  His boat is still in the making, though he assures me "it will be awesome!"  Sure there is still a pile of crayons dumped into the leaves by our pond, but that's alright.  It was fun.  We got dirty.  And I loved watching the kids create.

We did some porch lounging...

Some m&m bartering...

And after all the fun, Vera wanted me to take a picture of her foot, which was rather dirty.  A great sign that fun was had, and perfect for making kid tea (in case you don't know, you make kid tea with a dirty kid and warm bath water... it's not really the kind of tea you drink, though my kids beg to differ).

The best part of the day has yet to come.  Justin (aka Daddy) is on his way home from a 5 day business trip (which happened to be on a cruise... but I'm not jealous, really... really).  I very much look forward to seeing my Valentine.  One of the teachers at the pre-school said "Oh, he's been on a cruise, huh?  So where are YOU going when he gets back?"  My reply "To Bed!"  

3 young kids + 5 days without Daddy = a tired Mommy

Well, may your feet be dirty, may you soak up some sweet sunshine, and may you get to share a hug with someone you love.