Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day ... never really a big fan of the day.  When I had someone and when I was single ... i always felt like it was a forced day where I had to be extra love-y on you.. UGH.  I always felt like you should always be love-y with you person every day and not just extra on that one day.
Tommie has been good about it too ... he celebrates it with me, and we give things that are "functional"
we have never been able to really celebrate vday on the day ... it's one of his busiest days in the restaurant world. 
And because of the days leading up to it - it does gets busy before and after.  So I decided to go to the restaurant so that we can have "our" dinner.  It was nice ... he was so prepared and ready for the night and luckily it wasn't too busy that he was actually able to spend the night with me. He had planned such a wonderful night and it was just so relaxing to be able to be with him.
But the best part of it all was my gifts!  Now ... let me just tell you what he got me and then i'll tell you which one was my favorite.  That night he got me a brand new windows 8 htc phone, my collection of old cards and pictures he sent me - on actual valentine's day he had 3 bouquets delivered to me at work.  Now mind you the phone ... i currently have a samsung phone, I've had it since sept  and i wanted it.  And then after about a month or 2 I hated it!!!  it was just not working for me, my typing made me look like an idiot ... i wasn't loving it!  I had been complaining for months ... i had been trying to work with Tmobile to help me out and they just kept saying try it this way for a month and then come back.  it was the worst!!  And i wasn't complaining because i was hinting to a new phone ... i was going to wait (sadly patiently) till I could pay off this phone and get me my windows. And he surprised me with my new phone and it's under his plan!!  (I'm slowly offically becoming a Koukoulis) The cards are from the past 10 years ... yeah I saved them.  And not just cards, but little notes he left me, pictures ... everything!  He and I (when we started back dating again when I came home from Hawaii) broke up because we thought our differences would be problems for us again.   I remember this ... and I remember telling myself (when we started dating again) that if this doesn't work - I am cutting him from my life (besides the fact that he is Kekoa's father ... none of the things he gave me I will have any more)  CLEAN SLATE ... i wanted to be able to move on from "us" and be able to have a clean slate.  So when we broke up I gave him back EVERYTHING!!!  all the gifts, jewelry, cards, pictures ... i was wanting to start my clean slate. Then on Valentine's day I came to work ... normal.  I had my first bouquet of flowers delivered and they were just beautiful!!!  I loved them and the note was just heartwarming!  Then about an hour later another bouquet came in.  I was a shocked and surprised by it ... but i loved it!  I at first thought "o dear he forgot that he ordered me flowers already ... he's going to be so upset that he ordered me 2" haha ... then another hour later another bouquet came to me.  And by this point I was just so embarrassed cause i just recieved 3 stunning flowers in 1 day!  But i love flowers!  : D

So can you guess which one was my absolute favorite Vday gift?! 

If you guessed my phone ... You're wrong! 

If you guessed the flowers ... you're wrong again!

If you guessed my cards ... you're right ... and clearly have no other choices to pick from!  : D

It truly just brought tears to my eyes ... that he 1 kept them still and 2 remembered to give them back to me.  I remember ever single card ... when he gave it to me ... why he gave it to me ... and how just wonderful they were.  I remember what was happening at the time of the cards being given and I felt like I was reliving that moment all over again.  I forgot how young we were when we fell in love .. i forgot that we truly did love each other and it wasn't just kids in lust.  It was a nice reminder to me that he was just wonderful and amazing when we met and started dating ... and how he continues to be.  It was fun remembering the feelings/thoughts/dreams we shared with each other back then and how now our dreams are still the same but so much has changed since then too. 

i love my man ... with all my heart.  and to be reminded that my love for him started years ago and just continues to grow and grow each moment i'm with him ... he truly is the best "thing" that has ever happened to me!
I love you Tommie!

2005 date night vs 2013 date night

With Tommie working all these crazy hours - Kekoa and I have plenty of time together!! I fear that he'll end up hating me ... spending all this time with me!  And it really tests my patience and sanity some times because all i want is some me time at times.  But majority of the time we do well together.
So because we spend so much time together, I try and think of things that we can do on the weekends since during the week we are so go-go-go. 
Sadly I didn't take any pictures, but hopefully when we go back I can.  Last week Kekoa and I had a "date night" (he loves our date nights ... which include something fun and dinner at Pizza Hut or Bob Evans) to this pottery shop ... Amazing Glaze.  They have a wide selection of things that you can choose from the paint.  You pay for your hour stay there and for the piece(s) that you want to paint.  For me I really enjoyed going here ... even though the last time I was there was years ago ... it was so nice ...

*** the thing about this place that brings back such great memories for me ... when i got my mission call Tommie was the only non member friend (we weren't dating at this time) who was geniuenly excited for me and wanted to celebrate with me!  We met here for the start of our celebration night.  I remember I picked a turtle to paint and he picked Micley's Sorcer hat to paint.  Sadly we never but the deal was that we would go back ... do he took the pieces and i took the receipt.  And to this day I still have the receipt ... i don't know if he still has the pieces ... : ) ... BUT the whole point of this little walk was ... it was this night that started it all back up again between us.  He hadn't seen or really talked to each other for the last year, but we still had feelings/loved each other and all those feelings just came flooding back.  We ended up going to Outback (which was our place when we were dating) for dinner and then we went and saw The Longest Yard at Regal.  It was too cute ... while we were watching the movie he says, if you want to hold my hand you can (hahaha) and i respond back if you want to hold mine, you can make a move ... which he did and we held hands the rest of the movie.  It was nice to "be with him" for what I thought was just for the night.  But we had a really nice long talk ... and we ended up getting back together.  One thing lead to another and we ended up ... during this relationship ... having Kekoa.  And the rest is history ... : D ***

I painted a large teacup and plate and Kekoa painted a tank and a small soccer ball.  He loved it ... or at least he told me he did!  He said this was just like school and art class ... he was a little too quick for me and he was ready to paint everything there ... i had to reel him in.  But we are to go back today at the earliest to pick up our finished pieces!  Hopefully we can go today, I can't wait to see Kekoa's face when he sees what he made and the finishing look.

Afterwards we went to Bob Evans (he and i LOVE breakfast food) and had dinner (breakfast for dinner) there.  We ended up not getting home till 930ish and we relaxed at home for the rest of the night ... but it was soo much fun!  Like I said I always feel bad because we are so go-go-go the whole week and I want to find things fun for he and I to do so he doesn't end up hating/resenting me. 

RAVENS

If you didn't know ... let me tell you.  We live in Maryland ... home of the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens.  And this past Sunday was the Superbowl.  Now the great thing about this superbowl was a couple of things.

1 this was the 1st superbowl ever where brother were head coaches of their teams. 

John and Jim Harbaugh. 

2 The 49ers had a rookie quarterback starting and playing off their team

3 Ray Lewis for the Baltimore Raven's was retiring this year ... this would be his last chance ever at a superbowl and the team made it for him

4 this is the 2nd time the Raven's made it to the superbowl in just about 10 years

So there was a lot of ... emotions ... going on this game.  Now clearly I can't speak for the City of San Francisco but the city of Baltimore was just pumping with Purple Pride, with absolute faith in our Raven's team because it was their Destiny this year ... if you weren't a Raven's fan, you became one. 

This year Tommie had to work on Superbowl Sunday ... so Kekoa and I went down to celebrate the night with him. 

If you know Tommie ... Tommie can never have just a little gathering  ... o no.  He had a big to do with this superbowl.  He had a Chili cook off ... he had some of his customers and workers participate and each one brought a chili that was tasted by everyone and judged. 

He had a few of his friends show up and cheer with us as long as his workers came in.  It was so much fun!

My little Kekoa was so funny.  Every Friday leading up to the Superbowl I would tell him he needs to wear purple cause it's Purple Friday.  It's to help cheer on the Ravens. 

Now when we played the Denver Broncos ... he was cheering for them.  Why ... well because they have orange in the shirt and Fallston colors are orange, so that's why i'm going to cheer for them.  Okay ... well they lost.

When we played the Patriots he was cheering for them again!  WHY?! well because they are red, white and blue, just like the Patriot program in school, you know for America ... Okay .. well they lost. 

And not that i'm a superstitious person but I saw a pattern going.

So when Kekoa refused to wear Purple, I didn't really push it cause maybe it'll help us win.

WELL ... he told me that the reason that he doesn't wear purple was because he didn't have a shirt that had a number on it ... Ooooo alright son

So on Saturday we went and got him a Jersey. Now he wanted a specifi number ... Joe Flacco's number.  For his size, Dick's only had the superbowl ones left.  And for the number that he wanted it only came in Large ... haha so this jersey looks like it coul fit me/a dress on Kekoa.  But he loved it!  And clearly with him wearing it - it must of brought us luck!

We WON!!!!  We were killing it the 1st half ... 28-6.  It was just epic and destined to be ours!  Then Half time came ... beyonce worked it ... and then the game came back.  But not even half way through the 3rd quarter the lights randomly went out and stayed out for about 35 minutes.  But no biggie ... look at our lead.  And some how the 49ers were able to score 2 towndowns and made the score a 28-34.  It was intense!!!  How did that happen?!

BUT our Raven's held on and we won!  It was just epic and a wonderful night! 

Flacco was named MVP of the night

The trohy came home to Baltimore!!

on a side note ... Kekoa and I kinda got bored half way through the way.  I mean I paid attention to majority of things ... but once a baby enters the picture I don't care!  haha ... so we stole a baby for a little bit and Kekoa and I just LOVED him.  He was so adorable ... and look at Kekoa sharing his movie with him.  I just love how little man's hands are folded across him, and Kekoa is showing the movie at his eye level and smiling!  We totally can't wait for a baby to be in our house!!!