Happy Valentine's Day

It was a terrific Valentine's Day today. Once Benjamin, Anna, and Emma were off at school, I took care of feeding Cameron and laid him down for a nap. He has been dealing with a cold recently, so I laid him in his carseat so he was more upright. Plus, he tends to sleep better and longer that way.

Once Cameron was asleep, I left Justin and Cameron at home with Clinton and headed grocery shopping. I was gone for a few hours getting groceries and some Valentine's Day treats for my kids and Clinton. When I returned, the preparations for our special dinner began.

The main dish that I fixed is something that everyone enjoys - Lime Basil Chicken. Along with it I fixed green beans with a twist (beans, mushrooms, bacon, and ranch), lemon-pepper broccoli, chocolate covered strawberries, this beautiful fruit tray with fruit dip, and heart-shaped raspberry jello. The jello that I made is not the regular jello, but the one I make for Thanksgiving and Christmas (raspberry jello, jellied cranberry sauce, and sour cream). The kids love it. Everything looked beautiful and tasted wonderful. For dessert, we had chocolate cake and ice cream. I had hoped to have time to make a special peach cobbler, one of Clinton's favorites, but I didn't. I'll have to make that another time here soon.

Benjamin, Anna, Emma, and Justin received their own movie-sized box of candy and a box of Cheez-It crackers. I don't normally buy them, but they had a variety, so everyone would have similar things, but not exactly the same. Justin received Cheez-It crackers with the "Cars" movie cars on them and a box of Swedish fish, Emma received Cheez-It crackers that were Scrabble Junior (they had letters on them) and a box of Junior Mints, Anna received a duo pack of Sharp Cheddar & Parmesan and a box of Cookie Dough balls, and Benjamin received a duo pack of Smoke Cheddar & Monterey Jack and a box of Reese's Pieces. Each of them also received their own movie-sized box of candy.

After the kids went to bed, Clinton and I had IBC Cream Soda and watched the movie "Contact". Clinton said he chose that Netflix movie because that is the movie we watched the night we got engaged. I probably would have remembered that years before, but once he said it, I was surprised that I didn't remember. At first, I couldn't remember what the movie was about, but once he started to tell me about it and we started watching it, I vividly remembered the movie. It is a terrific movie. One that is very touching and thought provoking. I was also quite touched and impressed that he had been thinking of a special movie to watch and how he chose one with significance - one that I hadn't remembered about.

Early Valentine's Day Lunch Date

Clinton and I decided we would celebrate Valentine's Day one day early, especially since Clinton would be teaching and working with the scouts on the Family Life merit badge the night of Valentine's Day. We had wanted to go to Olive Garden, but due to the time crunch that we had, we decided to go out to lunch at Chili's. On the way there, Clinton asked if I would prefer going to New China Buffet since we were close. We could have gone there, but we went there recently for our anniversary, so I chose Chili's.

We dropped the Justin and Cameron off with a friend. Cameron was asleep when we dropped him off, and I figured he would most likely stay asleep the whole time. He takes great naps in the car seat.

Clinton ordered the Over-The-Top Cobb Salad and chose Chili as his soup. I ordered the Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas and chose the Chicken Enchilada soup to go along with it. Unfortunately, Clinton didn't care for his Chili. He thought it tasted like chili powder and water. He said it was very light on ingredients, in fact, there were no beans in it either. I told him he should let the waiter know about it and he could possibly switch to another soup. He was able to replace the soup and ordered the same one that I had. My soup was very delicious. Other than that, the meal was quite tasty. I think Clinton would have preferred going to New China Buffet, though.

I think Clinton and I will have to plan another date soon so we can go to Olive Garden, our first choice. I'm up for going out more with my husband and eating great food! :)