Love Me, Love Me Not

During the past week and a half, my love has waffled.  First, we had Valentines, a day of full-blown love, which included Valentines for all and takeout Chinese, and, of course, the Valentines pocket pillow cases in which I tucked positive notes and treats.

Sweetie played "Fur Elise" in her class Valentine's talent show:

The kids had worked hard on their Valentines:

Here is my little Valentine girl. (At the time, I joked that the only way she would ever be called an angel baby is by wearing this outfit with the wings on her back, but she seems to be settling down nicely now that she hit the magic 5/6-week milestone.)

The day after Valentine's Day we took off on a last-minute trip to Utah to check out a house we thought we were going to buy.  30 hours in the car severely taxed my love, especially for this guy, who thought it was a good idea to spit, kick the seat, and generally throw fits for a huge portion of the trip. Here he is, practicing "sitting on my head" (in his words):

And so I have been reminded that, as William Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."  Sometimes loving this offspring of mine is a matter of ignoring the macaroni-and-cheese-smeared face and the tantrums and the episodes of spray-painting the patio and scratching names into the neighbor's wall (Sweetie's latest endeavors) and trying my hardest to focus instead on the inherent worth, the potential, and the goodness in each of them. I didn't do that very well this week.

Fortunately, Utah is full of cousins and grandparents to take over when I no longer want to be in the same space with them (after 12 hours in the car). And, of course, Utah has snow!! (so very exciting for the desert-dwelling children)

And, in purely practical matters, this week has been a week in which our love for different homes has waffled.  Do we buy  

(1) The house that's a fabulous deal, in a great neighborhood, with perfect bedrooms and baths, but that has no private land/yard (only communal), and smaller-than-desired main living spaces?

or 

(2) The gorgeous, newly remodeled--but much more expensive than the others--rambler with all new (and very stylish--everything I would have chosen myself) flooring, kitchen, baths, walls, etc. and with nice, open living areas on 1/2 an acre, but in a neighborhood with less kids.

or

(3) The very large home with a great main living area and the entertainer's dream of a backyard--pool, swings, firepit, slide, trampoline, large deck, etc. but with carpet, bathrooms, and a kitchen that's in dire need of replacement (think badly-painted kitchen cabinets, linoleum, bathroom with water damage, etc)? 

Decisions, decisions. We can't go wrong with any of them, but the whole process has been--and still is--very stressful. 

So as to not end on a stressful note, here's a pic of Lil' Miss, who went to church today for the first time, now that she is a grand 6 weeks old! (She ended church in this outfit, but went in her pjs. How nice would that be.)