LOVE Day

This year for Valentine's Day (or "Love Day" as I'm hearing families call it) I wanted to make it a special, family affair.  Why should it just be for Daniel and I when 2 other, little people hold our hearts, too? :)

I planned a fairly simple meal of Chicken Alfredo and green beans, with chocolate fondue for dessert.  I recently unpacked my good dishes (after being packed up at my Mom's for close to 4 years) along with my fondue pot.  I was excited to have my good dishes usable again, and Susannah was dying to use the Hershey's Kiss fondue pot even though she had no idea what it was for.

On Wednesday, Susannah helped me make an angel food cake for the fondue (have LOTS of egg whites in the freezer from making mayonnaise helps :) ), and I'd bought strawberries because they were cheap, smelled really good, and would be a special treat.  I also had quite a bit of dark chocolate ganache leftover from some cupcakes that I'd made the week before.  All that helped determine a special dessert menu.

Thursday afternoon I spent all of naptime getting the table ready by pulling things from here and there around the house.  I even unpacked the two candle-holders that I'd decided were yard sale material.  I wanted candles, but realized that the tall candlesticks I had decided to keep were not practical for a family dinner with 2 active little people at the table.  The flower arrangement was my bridesmaid flowers from my sister's wedding.

All day Thursday - that she was awake and not napping, that is - Susannah kept saying "It's my malentime!" ("It's my valentine!" is the interpretation) similar to how one would say "It's my birthday!".  After her nap, I gave her a bath and got her dressed up for the special dinner, and I dressed up, too.  I was going to bathe Sylvia but ran out of time... and after dinner realized it was a good thing because she needed a bath after eating!

Daniel surprised us with handmade cards. :)  For Susannah's card, he signed it "Your muscleman"; in mine he added a post-script inviting me on a date that Saturday evening that he'd secretly planned!

Susannah was very eager to get to dessert.  Sylvia, even though she was eating her supper fine, kept vocally indicating that she wanted something on the table.  I kept shoveling food in her mouth (she can EAT, I tell ya!), thinking she was just hungry.  I finally figured out that she wanted the strawberries. I gave her a tiny piece, twice, and each time she made a horrible face and spit it out.  But she kept begging for it.  Finally, to ease our eardrums from her very loud grunting, I gave her a whole strawberry.  Her grin was from ear to ear and bright enough to light the room.  She still didn't like the taste of it, but loved holding it and mutilating it with her fingers for the rest of dinner.

It was a special dinner and a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more special dinners to come.  Susannah really enjoyed the anticipation of the special meal which made it that much more fun to do.