Valentine's Day

This week, our little one weighs about 3 pounds and is about 15 inches long. Baby is currently breech, so I feel lots of little jabs and movements way down low. One of baby's current hobbies is kickboxing my bladder. Another one is playing hide and seek (mostly hide) whenever Daddy tries to feel the baby's movement.

I've been getting Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are such a trip because they don't hurt, but my whole belly gets super hard for a moment. Speaking of the belly, my clothing options are rather limited, now that I'm hauling around another person. My non-maternity shirts sometimes don't cover the bottom of my belly, but my maternity shirts are kind of baggy and can hide the fact that I'm even pregnant. Neither option makes me feel very sexy at the moment.

But then Valentine's Day rolled around and Louis made plans for us to have a romantic dinner at CreAsian in San Leandro. I did my best to get all dressed up and was super excited to learn that I could still fit into a non-maternity outfit, complete with knee-high boots (no foot swelling here). It was the best dressed I had been in a long time. Louis found parking directly in front of the restaurant, which was a good sign. Every single table in the restaurant was full, so we were glad he had made reservations ahead of time. We even had a coupon to use!

All week, I had been craving a certain dish (Hunan salmon) that I always order there. It's so good. During our short wait, we noticed and said hello to quite a few people we know from the community. Ah, life in a small town. We were seated and handed menus . . . but wait. The menu was a special Valentine's Day menu with a short list of fancy dish options that did NOT include my salmon. At the bottom was the price - $45 per person. I looked at Louis and said, "FORTY-FIVE DOLLARS!? No way." I threw a bit of a pregnant lady fit and Louis took the opportunity to point out that we could not possibly leave without embarrassing ourselves in front of all the people we knew, plus with our coupon and his recent commission, we could actually afford it. And, he pointed out, there was no way we could have gotten in at another restaurant at that point, plus, we always talk about trying something new. When did he become the calm, rational one?

Anyway, I realized he was right and I vowed not to ruin the night (being dressed up and all), so we stayed. I was still disappointed that I couldn't have my salmon dish (which would have cost only $12) but I tried Chilean sea bass for the very first time and loved it. The main dish, salad, crab cake appetizers, and dessert mousse were all really good. Each couple at the restaurant was also given a heart shaped container full of Ghirardelli chocolate. In the end, it was a great night and a delicious dinner. And I looked good :) My loving, patient husband earned major points by making me feel very special all night.

And so, our last Valentine's Day as a family of two was a success.