Hey, happy Cynical Jokes About The Corporate Nature of This "Holiday" Day! As you can tell, I am actually entirely unprepared this year. It probably has something to do with Ivy's V-Day gift to me, which was making sure I got to see the first half hour (the magical 12:00-12:30 AM block) of this special day while driving around the neighborhood desperately trying to get her to fall asleep. Now, the more attentive of you sentence-parsers out there will notice that I said "fall asleep" and not "fall back asleep" as though she had been asleep at any point previous to midnight, because she had not. She had not.
Anna's gift was to make sure I was up again in time to see daybreak. No crass commercialism in this house! Just thoughtful children who are slowly loving me into a state of delirium.
My Valentine's Day gift to myself was letting everyone have cereal for breakfast this morning. Okay, that's a lie, I made toad-in-the-heart-shaped-hole, but it was joyless and there are no pictures. I recommend you revisit the past three years for some memories of less depleted days. Don't worry, though! I didn't totally forget about you guys! I love you enough to return to In The Kitchen with a Good Appetite and direct you to Melissa Clark's Chipotle-Glazed Roast Chicken with Sweet Potatoes.
It's a really fantastic way to use chicken breasts, particularly if you are fueling up for a 4-5 hour bedtime struggle with your toddler. You're going to be glad you have all that slow-burning energy!
Also, if you receive a Valentine from Anna today, I want you to know how lovingly and painstakingly she handcrafted it.
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| I'm pretty sure at least one of those adverbs is accurate. |
