Growing up, one of my favorite books was Just for You by Mercer Mayer.

In this book, Little Critter tries his darnedst to do nice things for Mom and Dad, but each time something goes horribly wrong.

I tried to make eggs just for you….

But the eggs were too slippery. [eggs on the floor]

I tried to put away the dishes just for you…

but the floor was too wet. [broken dishes on floor with crying critter].

Poor Manatee has watched me go through my own Just for You series of events.

I tried to make him thanks-for-fixing-our-furnace bars with all of his favorite ingredients (almonds, protein powder, dark cocoa, flaxseeds, more almonds) and spicy chicken wraps to show him how much I love him.

My story would go…

I tried making furnace bars just for you….

But you will need to drink about four glasses of water with them because they are a little dry. 

I made SPICY chicken wraps just for you….

But I forgot to add the Sriracha. 

Yes, it’s been a rough round of cooking in the Badger Girl/Manatee household (I am not even going to talk about the dangerously hot chipotle butternut squash fries I tried, no pictures of that, thank goodness).

With all of my cooking mistakes, Manatee is the first to tell me how good it tastes and how much he loves it.

Even when I know he’s lying,

Even when I can barely choke something down,

Even when I knew he is grimacing behind my back,

he never complains.

He never refuses to eat something.

He always cleans his plate and asks for seconds (and thirds).

He keeps Chinese takeout on speed dial for those nights I don’t want to cook.

And when I do cook, he always makes me feel like he has a permanent table in the best restaurant in Madison.

He is the most, loving, and supportive Manatee that I have ever met.

So Happy Valentine’s Day Manatee!

I’ll try not to screw up dinner tonight, I promise.

Love, Badger Girl

Happy Valentine’s Day readers! What are your plans tonight? How do you view the pink and chocolate holiday, yay or nay?