I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day week. We sure had a busy one! And it spanned over a few days, too. We filled food bags for hungry kids through our church and school (which is the same thing for us). It was a great way of showing Bigs how to show love to others, even if we don’t know them.
It was nice to let Bigs pick out the pantry items to put in the bag.
And then to see the sea of red bags in the foyer of his school was just heartwarming.
Then, Bigs’ Thursday class party was just precious. The kids sang (so very softly and with some nervousness too) “Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink”. Then we ate. And it was just a perfect day.
Bigs and his Valentine’s for his teacher and the Admin 🙂
Bigs woke up to his last “What I love about you” heart on his door on Valentine’s Day. Each morning, starting February 1st, I put a new heart on his bedroom door while he was sleeping. It was a fun thing for him and it allowed me to put in writing for him to see, some of the things I love about him.
On Valentine’s morning, I made pink almond pancakes with sprinkles.
They were so good. I put conversation hearts as decoration, although they were highly coveted by The Big One.
I let him only have a few, knowing how sugary sweet the rest of the day would, inevitably, be.
And Cupid came, wrote a poem, and left his poop (hey, I live in a house where poopy humor runs [get it?] rampant)!
We went on our Friday playdate, where the kids exchanged Valentine’s (just like at school the previous day). It was a lot of fun. I packed up the cookies I’d made earlier in the week (what’s interesting to me is that the kids liked the Sweethearts candy more than the cookies! Oh well – more for us Moms!). I had made sure to make double batches of everything so we’d have enough.
After we got home and napped, I took the boys to the market to get some dinner supplies. I wanted to make a nice meal for them and my Sweetheart. I made Chateaubriand Filet Mignon (such a rare treat!!) and asparagus, and had a few salads.
To make the steaks, I let them get to room temperature, sprinkled them with Kosher salt, and placed in my preheated, olive oil-coated grill pan. I seared them for a few minutes on each side and transferred them to a sheet pan. I put them in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes and brought them out to rest. For the asparagus, I rolled them around in olive oil and Kosher salt and roasted them in the 400 degree oven for 13 minutes on a sheet pan.
I served them with a strawberry and spinach salad, and a cucumber and dill salad purchased from the market. It was all delicious!
We had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert, quite fitting.
That night, I made a Flourless Chocolate Cake (the recipe was already gluten free and I made the ganache dairy free) to celebrate my father-in-law and husband’s (husband has birthday coming up) birthdays the next morning.
The cake came together easily and so beautifully. It was dark, dense, and oh-so-chocolately. The ganache was glossy, rich, and shiny.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe
While I was making that, the boys painted their little ceramic elephant craft we’d gotten them for Valentine’s Day. They had a lot of fun. It was a lovely day.
Bigs
Smalls
Final product: Bigs, left, and Smalls, right
Bigs also did his Valentine’s Day homework that his awesome teacher sent home! It was a neat Sweethearts themed one!
It involved counting and coloring heart shapes and sweethearts. SO CUTE!!
The next morning, we got up and “released” Bigs’ Valentine’s Day heart balloon. I sort of love doing that. It’s fun to watch it flit away, wherever the wind pulls it. The kids liked it too.
I like to think that if I saw a heart shaped balloon flying in such a gorgeous, crisp, blue sky, it would make me smile!
Then we went to my husband’s parents’ house to celebrate his and his father’s birthdays with chocolate cake and a sunshiny day!
We played with sidewalk chalk and played hopscotch. Does anyone play that anymore?
Then…cake!
I used this knife that my wonderful sister-from-another-mister friend gave me:
It’s always been my life’s motto! Even as a young child!
The cake was RICH! So rich, like a truffle. But very good.
Despite being a short little old thing, it fed a lot of people – my in-laws, my own family, I gave some to my parents and also to our neighbors! The cake that kept on giving!
We ended our day with walking around a craft store. Look at this cute bike bell I found – it’s a donut! I just need a bike now!
Although I didn’t get it, if I did, it would have been like buying the shoes first…THEN the outfit. That’s normally how I do it.
Church on Sunday was wonderful. We love our pastor and his messages. The boys had fun in Sunday School and had a fun snack before naps:
Yogurt Banana Splits!
I cut a banana in half and lengthwise and put vanilla yogurt and chopped strawberries in between. The boys got such a kick out of it. We needed to get back to simple eating after all the festive, rich foods we consumed this weekend.
And back on the diet. :/
I hope you all had a blessed “holiday” weekend! I’m ready to slow down, get back to “normal” (schedules, diets, LIFE!).
Kristin