Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have fond memories of my Dad coming home on Valentine's Day, after work, and bringing each of us kids a Russell Stover's heart-shaped box wrapped in red cellophane. I even remember as a pre-teen, loving the heart-shaped box even more than the chocolate inside (now THAT'S a long time ago...). So, I have always made certain, ever since our children were small, that each one received a similar box of chocolates on Valentine's Day.

My girls, as you may know, love spending time in the kitchen with me and really love doing special things for the holidays. With St. Valentine's Day being no exception, we've created a special family meal for a number of years now to celebrate. We've had a variety of red foods, heart-shaped desserts and pink drinks. This year's feast included: Heart-shaped meatloaf with ketchup sauce, pink mashed potatoes and green beans (I just couldn't figure out a way to make them pink or red and (much to the children's chagrin) insisted that at least one vegetable from a non-starch category be served.

Here are some pictures of the dinner, as well as a few of the *sides* the girls helped prepare.

Above, strawberry jello jigglers made by N and CB. The chocolate covered strawberries were B's own special creation---and did they ever taste good!
And just because he let me take his picture, I won't even mention that you should take notice of the Boy trying to duck out of the picture because he had just come back in from basketball practice. See me not even mentioning it!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please tell B. that her chocolate-covered strawberries look DELICIOUS!!! What a great family dinner. Sure beats room service. ;-)

Jane (a.k.a. patjrsmom) said...

Thanks, Faith! She was (rightfully so) pretty proud of herself!

Julie Cooper said...

Your table looks so beautiful and yummy! It's great how you made it such a special occasion. I feel inspired, yet a bit sad because I only gave my boys chicken tenders for dinner and they ate the candy they got inside their valentines for dessert. Maybe next year! :)

Jane (a.k.a. patjrsmom) said...

I'm just guessing, but I'll bet my four girls had a slightly higher interest in the aesthetics of the day compared to your four boys? I'll bet to them chicken tenders and valentines candy spells L-O-V-E
just the same! :-)
Jane

Anonymous said...

Hey, I have the same plate as your strawberries are on!