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I took today off to give Michelle a hand with a few things. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I didn't want to go for the traditional flowers, candies, or dinner. I had contemplated buying Michelle a little something from PajamaGram.com but their stuff seemed a bit overpriced for what it is. Not that I don't love her dearly but their least expensive pajamas would set me back $50. Valentine's Day markup alert! Just because you want to show your love and appreciation doesn't mean you should have "sucker" stamped across your forehead.

So as I said, I took today off from work. Because of the way the calendar worked out this year, ARC gave its US employees one "floating holiday". Let's not call it another vacation day. No, that would be too simple! Since things look a little rocky for the Nashua office, I decided to use the holiday rather than a vacation day.

I started the morning off running errands. I ran to Milford's Postal Center to get some stamps and mail some things -- including William's present. Alyssa, it should arrive in several days. From there I headed north to Manchester to return the bedroom television to BestBuy for repair -- again! I'm glad I had several days to calm down so that I could patiently explain to the clerk that I brought the "repaired" television home only to find it still with the same problem.

While I was at BestBuy I decided that it might help our longer family trips if I picked up a GameCube monitor. (shown at right). The GameCube is already a pretty small, easy to carry system compared to the other console game platforms. I had read a few reviews of the monitor last month and thought it would be an inexpensive way to avoid the "are we there yet?" of long car trips. We already have wireless controllers so that should eliminate a lot of the cord mess. When I gave it a trial run in the van, it was pretty weird seeing and hearing Mario Kart inside the Odyssey. About the only thing that might be a problem is if direct sunlight washes out the screen.

Since I was already in Manchester, I made a quick stop at Cathedral Church Goods. They have a decent selection of Catholic books and items. I was looking for a little book called "Scriptural Rosary" we had back in Nashua. I believe Michelle's mom gave it to us years ago. We haven't seen it since the move to Milford. Michelle liked it and was missing it because it gave you a verse of scripture to meditate upon before each prayer to help you focus on the event and avoid getting distracted during prayer. Luckily they had plenty of copies available.

On the way back from Manchester I stopped in at the Black Forest Cafe in Amherst to pick Michelle up a few little pastry treats. They have so many tasty treats in their bakery, it's hard to go wrong! When I arrived back home with the pastries, the book, and the GameCube monitor, Michelle was very happy!

Michelle let me take a little rest when I got back (along with the boys' naps) and she took Abby out for a little shopping. Around three was my biggest task: taking the twins to see their doctor for their three year checkup at the Milford Family Practice. Initial checkin was a bit bogged down because our insurance switched recently to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Once we got in the twins were a bit anxious about being in a tiny room while awaiting their doctor. They were good for the doctor but the biggest embarrassment was at the very end. While she was writing us a prescription, the boys noticed she had some toy cars at her desk. She let them look at them but when it was time to go, it was time to return the cars. That's when the major blood curdling screams came out. You would have thought the doctor gave them multiple shots with a large bore needle! Because I was alone, the doctor generously offered to help me get them out to the van since my hands were a bit too full.

Typically before the boys go to bed, they watch one of their Baby Einstein videos to help them settle down. Tonight during that time I made a quick run to Santos Dumont to pick us up a couple of hot drinks before we called it a night. It had been a busy day and I wanted it to end on a nice note. Tomorrow it's back to work and business as usual.