As I mentioned on Monday, Valentine’s Day has become a much more enjoyable holiday now that I make it about loving on my family and less about the romance. Nothing against romance, but I prefer romantic gestures to be on less commercialized days.
This is our 4th year of doing a pink and red dinner, but I decided to make this year’s whole day of meals festive. If you keep reading, you’ll see how we ended the day with a new and unexpected red addition….
Lest I get further ahead of myself, we’ll start the day’s recap…
The husband was supposed to leave really early for a conference call, but got a nice Valentine’s Day surprise of a dead car battery. No amount of muttering and attempted battery jumping worked, so he shut himself in our bedroom and took the 2 hour call at home. All this to say, he didn’t get to participate in the special breakfast.
I prepared a Valentine’s Day themed morning meal:
Blueberry muffins from a box (the second appearance in 2 weeks and the last until a birthday) + strawberry yogurt with red sprinkles + whipped cream with sprinkles + strawberries + pink lemonade and sparkling water
My little valentines viewing the breakfast table:
Twirly Straws make everything better.
I had a less festive but no less delicious breakfast of vegan cookie dough oatmeal (recipe coming soon).
I packed my daughter’s lunch for preschool.
cheese tortillas + fruits and vegetables
The preschool class was all abuzz with Valentine’s Day excitement. It was really sweet. Not only was it Valentine’s Day, but it was also pajama day, which is adorably exciting to the kids. Pajamas? To School? So funny for 4 and 5 year olds.
My little guy and I came back home, picked up the husband and drove him to work. After dropping him off, we drove to the gym and I got to enjoy a run with some new music – thanks for the suggestions! We came back home and had some snacks.
He had a cookie.
I had a redish-green smoothie.
Purple Kale + Strawberries + Raspberries + 1/2 frozen banana + water
We played for a bit and enjoyed some Love Day themed Dora the Explorer. That show is starting to get old after 2.5 years of watching it, but it is his current favorite and he only gets to watch when his sister isn’t around, so sat beside him, tuned out the strange yelling-instead-of-talking of Dora and played Scrabble on my iPod while he enjoyed the show.
We had some lunch.
PB&J + vegetables
Non-festive Butternut Squash and Coconut soup (recipe to come) and Kombucha
Upon arrival home from preschool, there was an immediate dumping out of the school valentine’s day bag. All cards and sweets were thoroughly inspected. They each got to eat one. The girl chose a hershey kiss, the boy chose a sucker. I, however, chose kale chips.
When dinner time finally arrived, we welcomed over some family friends and had our 4th Annual Pink and Red Dinner. For the fourth year in a row we had Penne with Tomato Cream Sauce (which is almost pink). New to the table this year was some Valentine’s Day Cheese Ravioli that we found at Costco. It was pretty good. I also set out some jarred tomato sauce.
We had red produce: cherry tomatoes, strawberries and red peppers.
And our traditional heart shaped focaccia bread.
As for the new addition to this year’s dinner….
During a rambunctious game of chase (is there any other kind?) in the house (bad idea 1) with overly excited kids (bad idea 2), there was a collision involving my daughter’s tooth and my son’s forehead. So, the new red addition to our dinner was blood, generously provided by both kids.
After some TLC, a failed attempt to go to Urgent Care (which was jam packed), a quick trip to CVS for some first aid supplies and some ice packs, we patched him up. He seems no worse for the wear, but may sport a little scar to always remind him and us of Valentine’s Day 2011.
Hope your Valentine’s was equally as exciting, but without the head injury. :)
linking up with Peas and Crayons….
Tags: Cooked, Daily Eats, Green Smoothie
Everything looks amazing! I think i’m going to adore Vday once I have little ones! =) They make the holidays so much fun! <3 minus the "incident" awww poor little guy!
Thanks for all the amazing amazing support ever Wedensday! =) You're so awesome <3 Helloooo kale chips and kombucha! yum!
That is all too cute. I agree, twirly straws do make everything better.
All of this looks so wonderful! (Except the head wound part…no bueno) Loving on your family=perfect. Love that Kombucha too. Tried the citrus just yesterday and am in lerve!
Dora is definitely a yeller… I’ve never understood it either!
Oh your son’s poor forehead!! Ow.
Ok, you’re too stinkin’ cute! These meals are adorable and look/sound delicious! I love all the pink and the hearts and need that cookie dough oatmeal recipe.
I love the heart shaped everything- sandwich and focaccia bread. Fun!
Twirly straws do make everything better, you are such a fun mom!!!
Sorry about little man’s head!
how fun! your kids are adorable and the eats look super yummy! i am looking forward to the vegan cookie dough oatmeal recipe and love the cbou mug
I really really loved this post!! You did such a fabulous job making Valentine’s meals…I bet your kiddos loved it!!
Thanks for sharing it with us
So many cute and creative things! That cookie dough oatmeal = droolworthy…
Nice blog. So scary about falling though. Glad you are okay. I just posted about Kale chips today too. Yours look great. I think I like your version. Do you have any left?