"Oh, You're SO Cheesy!"

I have an addiction.

Well, several, actually. But this particular addiction is to Qdoba's 3 Cheese Queso (and their overly salted chips but that's different).

I CRAVE it.

I get PMS and waaaaaant it.

This is better than chocolate (don't send out lightening bolts, Traci!).

I like other food there, too, don't get me wrong. But if I can only have $4 to eat out on, a side of Queso and Chips and a Large Coke to share is good for me!

I looked online to see if the recipe is listed. I'm sure there's a lot of fakes to weed through, BUT, Aiden printed one of them out, went investigating and shopping (it called for Pablano peppers which are AKA Pasilla or Ancho. It took some digging to know what to buy at Safeway).

He roasted the peppers, fine diced tomatoes, those peppers, and a bunch of other stuff. He learned there's a difference between heavy cream and whipping cream ;), and he made me an entire crock pot of knock-off 3 Cheese Queso from Qdoba.

It wasn't the same. We both knew it. But it was still really good. AND it was better since he made it for me.

and then I ate the entire thing of it in 48 hours.

We don't have the kids this weekend so we spent the entire day today watching shows, sleeping, and just taking it easy. We are totally broke but we scrounged up $6 and went to Qdoba for 2 sides of Queso, chips, and a large Coke to share.

I inhaled my Queso. I pointed out that I deserved applause for NOT licking out the bowl as I sat in the corridor of our "mall".

Aiden took his time with his bowl of cheesy goodness. He calmly placed the lid back on his bowl.
While it was half full.

I couldn't believe what he was doing! My eyebrows must have shot up high enough to tip him off.
"I'm saving it so you can have some later," he told me.

SWOON!!!

Romance on a dime (or $6) is so fantastic!

One Down, a Whole Bunch To Go!

Things I love about my husband, on our anniversary:

• He loves our kiddos as if they were his own.
• He is my best friend.
• He does the laundry.
• and the grocery shopping.
• and the taxi service.
• and he rarely complains about it.
• He makes me happy even when I am feeling totally down. and don't want to be cheered up
• He proofreads all my papers for me.
• He lets me practice my speeches on him and is able to give excellent feedback.
• He thinks I'm pretty.
• He loves me.
• He thinks he is the lucky one. (ha!)
• He does 97 % of the cooking.
• and 99.9% of the cleaning.
• He takes the kids out of the house so I can sleep the day away (occasionally).
• He tells people (and me) what a great mom I am. even when I don't believe it.
• He goes to class for me when I am sick.
• He gets excited about all the little things I might forget to notice.
• He has introduced new traditions to our family (like St. Patty's Day celebrations)
• He loves Christmas.
• He covertly got my friend to babysit tomorrow night so we can go on a *free* date. It is not sad and pitiful, either. We are going to eat a picnic and watch a movie in the van.
• He's romantic like that.
• He knows not to buy fake diamonds.
• He knows I would wear them anyway.
• He is everything I ever wanted in my husband and I am excited each day to spend another day on this spinning rock that's hurtling through space with him and the kiddos.
• There is no one else I could laugh this hard with.
• We're stupid in the same ways (nerdy stupid). Like, we critique our arguments by how well we obeyed the rules taught in every communications class across the land.
• He served his country in the Coast Guard and has MANY stories to share about it.
• We got married on a Tuesday at some random time in the afternoon JUST so we could be married on April Fool's Day. It fits us.
• We're cheesy together.

These are some of the bazillion reasons I love my Aiden. My midgety, crippled Aiden.

And because he's so nice

I feel like poop. I feel like white crusted until it sat in the yard all winter and slightly melted into the spring thaw poop.

But I cannot miss class.

My doctor at the urgent care place said not to go for a couple of days minimum. Then he wrote me a note for the entire week.

There is one class I CAN'T miss and others I just shouldn't. So Aiden is going to class for me today. Right now, he's navigating the labyrinth of Todd Hall to find the right room and take notes for me.

How great is that?

And, as a special treat to my speech teacher, I will be in class this afternoon. I will sit front and center and I will cough all my flu-y flu like germs at you with the hopes of infecting you.

Thanks for making the attendance policy so freakin' flexible. It's really your own fault. I mean, I don't want to sit in the back and cough all over EVERYONE so I'll sit up front to minimize the damage.

And I love LOVE love that another guy from that class was in urgent care yesterday, too. He had a cough and "cold". Just because I hate the dumb teacher so much (and not because I don't like him because I don't care about him either way) I hope he has the flu, too.

Maybe we can be coughing buddies and cover each other's lapse in coughing whilst we try to catch our breath and/or suck our inside out lung back into our chest cavity.

WEEEeeeeee!!!!!!!!

gRRRRR UMP!

I'm sitting here waiting for Aiden to return from the stupid grocery store. Why? Because my dumb body is not going to ever decide whether this particular virus is gone, I guess.

All day I laid in bed whining about Cocoa Pebbles. And sleeping. And watching Hulu but that was during the whining.

He kept offering to go forage at Ye Olde Safeway. I kept being pathetic and what I saw as brave and declining his gallant offers.

The day could not end without them, so he remembered my need for Orange Hi-C when feeling icky and started to head out.

Then he asked if he could just get it from-

NO. It's not the same if it's not on ice and in a McDonald's cup.

I don't know why.

He just returned and has successfully hunted and gathered my supplies to pout into my Pebbles and then go to sleep drunk on Hi-C goodness.

How I know

When I first met Aiden he was not a firm believer in celebrating Valentine's Day. In fact, he was quite a firm believer in MOCKING Valentine's Day.

Now he celebrates it as well as we can on our budget. This year I got to go out to lunch with him on Thursday since it would be the last time all weekend we had no kids and the babysitter situation didn't look promising. I got a new stuffed frog (somehow this became a thing for us) and a new mirror to replace the one he stole for shaving in the shower with.

But I don't need expensive dinners and jewelry to know he loves me. I don't even need a mirror and a frog.

I know he loves me because of all the other things that happen. This may just become a new label category for me so I can post random things as I think of them.

I know he loves me because we have two bathrooms (which he keeps clean!) and if we both gotta go, or if there is a possibility we will both have to go, he will use the kids' bathroom thus allowing me to use the bathroom free of pee dribbles from bad aim, scary things in the garbage can, toothpaste all over the sink, and the cat box.

That's love.