What did y'all get for Happy Hearts Day?

Jacob got nine million red and pink cards and candies from school. Except for two "low-carb" peanut butter cups. Seriously, someone sent low-carb chocolates for kindergarteners. I'm dying to know who it was. I bet their birthday cakes are just delish.

Danny got a  little heart-shaped box filled with conversation hearts, because once I saw what Jacob was bringing home, I knew he would be miserable. And what did the little monkey do with his candy? Promptly offered it up to Jacob. *sniffle*

Alberta, the Saint of All Nannies, got flowers from me, because I may have just about no money left until payday, but the woman deserves it. And I doubt her husband is the Valentines type. (Although her genius grandson Gemel will probably have something sweet for her.)

I got:

- an upset stomach from the z-pac (see Strep, below)
- fever and chills
- kisses from GUI the wonder cat
- puke on the floor from SCSI the beastly cat
- a crying baby, who I think is just overtired
- hassled by my boss for not openly infecting the 440 people at my office with strep throat
- nightmares about 
    - bringing snack to Jacob's class and not having enough (16 instead of 24)
    - being forced into porn (although, weirdly, I had a great body in my nightmare)
    - losing Alberta to another family, who offered her fewer hours but more pay
    - work, as usual
- and a still very-sore throat

Nothing from DH. He admitted last night that he hadn't gotten me anything. I'm not incredibly disappointed, if only because we have no money. Even if we did, I'd bean him silly if he spent $60 on flowers that you can generally buy at Costco for $12.99. He hates greeting cards, so I've come to not expect them. My mom thought that was weird, but I explained that if the giver doesn't believe in them, they don't mean anything. Plus, greeting cards are increasingly expensive. I'd much rather have a night out, or even a little thing of chocolate, anyway.

Of course, I could be really small-minded and say that I wish he'd thought ahead, but we've been tight on money for weeks and, having known the man for nearly 11 years now, I can honestly say I'd be shocked if he planned that far ahead for something so silly.

I did get one incredibly significant thing - yesterday. I need to explain first, if I haven't before, that Jacob's school has a positive reinforcement plan called Tiger Tickets. They have all these rules of deportment, and every time a kid is "caught" doing good stuff, they get a Tiger Ticket. All of the staff -- not just teachers -- are charged with trying to hand out as many a day as they can. They're for stuff as big as helping a disabled kid and as small as sitting quietly during a certain period. The tix are then redeemable for little prizes and special activities (for example, in hot weather, they have popsicles once a week for a certain number of tix, or "Chalk the Walk" with the principal -- special time outside drawing on the sidewalk with the Big Man).

Tiger Tickets are the main focus of Jacob's life, to hear him tell it. He judges his day on whether or not he got any. So when he came home yesterday with two homemade valentines (to "Mom" instead of "Mommy" -- he's all grown up!), I was touched. But I was practically devastated when he said it cost 10 Tiger Tickets to get to make valentines -- it was a special lunchtime activity. This child redeemed ALL of his Tiger Tickets in order to make valentines -- just for his Mom.

I do have a Valentine this year... he's just about four feet tall with big blue eyes and a penchant for whining. But he's all mine.