The weekend before Valentine's Day, Chick Fil-A hosted a Daddy-Daughter Date Night at their local Atlanta area restaurants. I signed Donald and Stella up for a 6:30 time slot. Stella and Daddy both napped late that afternoon and when Stella awoke, Daddy was in the shower. I told her it was time for her to get ready for her special date so she chose her kitty cat dress, leggings and new boots. She said she wanted it to be a surprise until she got to wherever she was going so we didn't tell her, just that she was having a special Daddy-Daughter Date.
Donald said she was a little weary at first about the big moo cow, but when he explained it was just a person in a costume she was cool.
They had to give their name when they walked in and were seated at tables with white tablecloths and flowers. Each girl received a rose and a little sachet with a few pieces of candy. There was even a limo service there with a stretch Hummer for the girls and their Daddy's to ride around in.
We'd eaten a late lunch so they both weren't terribly hungry for supper so they just shared some nuggets, fries and a milkshake.
Unfortunately, Stella has Wanda's trait of blinking for a photo. Donald said every picture turned out this way due to the flash.
And of course, the crappy-lit one she has her eyes open for!
Stella also came home with a CFA cow. She was so happy and still talks about her and Daddy's special Daddy-Daughter Date Night. I'm hoping to get them to do something-just the two of them once a month. I enjoyed my quiet house and she just ate up the special time for just her and Daddy.
Back when school started I passed out a favorite things list for her teachers to fill out. It asked favorite places to eat, candy, flowers, etc...
So going with the Redbox-movie-and-a-treat theme I picked up bag of fancy popcorn for Stella's two school teachers and her two dance teachers. Miss Aja got her favorite: Reese's and Sour Patch Kids. Mrs. Melissa got Swedish Fish and a Hersey bar. Stella helped stamp Valentine themed stamps on their white bags. The other bags were just red/white/pink recycled bags I had on hand along with the tissue paper. Yes, I save it all. Because 1. Why not when they still look brand new? 2. They are expensive. 3. I hate having to run out just to go buy a bag.
The dance teachers also got popcorn to go with their movie code. In addition, I made lavender bath salts for her dance teachers, because dance = tired feet, put them in 4 oz glass mason jars and put them in cute cellophane bags along with a separate bag of chocolate truffles.
I have very little Valentine's decorations. It's just not a holiday I get hugely into, but there are a few things. This wooden/tin heart I've had for many years. I love having it out year round in fact, but it was residing in my closet until I pulled it out. I made the pipe cleaner heart garland which, I think is super cute. It was also very easy and I had the pipe cleaners in our craft closet.
Stella and I did some Valentine's crafts too. We gave one lovebug to Lollipop and one of the hogs and kisses went to Daddy's office. The other two I kept to remember her hand and feet size when I look back years later.
Stella's rose from CFA. Photo by Stella.
Monday morning, Donald headed to Texas for work until Thursday evening so it was just going to be me and Stella for the week.
Stella's party went well, but I'd hardly call it a party. I had decorative plates, but that was it. I didn't even use the tablecloths provided because the kids were still eating lunch when I arrived. Three other moms were supposed to help out, but life happens and they weren't able to. It was fine because we knew this was going to be a low-key event. I did get to pick up the goodie bags from Kimberly after dropping Stella off. This party was held in the classroom versus the space room we've had the other parties in. I made brownies and coconut milk whipped cream for the special treat and brought along sprinkles and mini M&M's to top with. Charlotte's mom, Kimberly stuffed little Valentine's themed metal buckets with Valentine stuff and Annika's mom had a few little treats that I threw in with them. The kids had decorated white paper bags that week for their Valentine's so those got passed out and the kids dropped in the Valentine cards and candy. I opted for these fruit pouches instead of candy and a card for Valentine's for her friends.
On Tuesday, which was Valentine's Day we drove down to Bass Pro Shop in Macon to pick up Lolli. She came up to visit for a few days. Stella had ballet that afternoon so Lolli got to see Stella do that. Then we went to Jitterbugs for Stella's first performance class. It was obviously Valentine's themed and she did great. I did hear Miss Ashley say to the other girls and boys to give Stella some space, but once we came in for their performance at the end she was ok. I could tell she was tired, but Miss Ashley commented that she did really well for her first class and to be one of the youngest.
I'm really trying to focus more on experiences versus stuff for holidays instead of more random crap to clutter her room and our house. This was the first time I didn't get Stella a single thing for Valentine's Day-not even a card. But I wasn't feeling guilty about it at all. I knew my mom had her something and that she would receive stuff at school. Instead, I offered to take Stella to get either a doughnut, cupcake or frozen yogurt for Valentine's Day. She opted for fro yo, but then didn't want to go that evening. On Wednesday, we went for a walk down at the creek with our friends/neighbors down the road. Stella really enjoyed this and since she was so good I tried to take her afterwards to get the fro yo, but once again, she turned it down. Thursday we took Lolli to The Children's Museum. We had a picnic upstairs and Stella was super excited to show Lolli all around. Donald got home that evening and I dropped Mama off with Jessica's mom so she could get to Athens for the weekend. We were leaving for Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge on Friday, but when we returned from our trip Monday, we decided to go get frozen yogurt then. The weather was unseasonably warm and that evening we were able to eat our yogurt outside which was the perfect end to our extended weekend vacation and to finally celebrate Valentine's Day together.
On Tuesday, which was Valentine's Day we drove down to Bass Pro Shop in Macon to pick up Lolli. She came up to visit for a few days. Stella had ballet that afternoon so Lolli got to see Stella do that. Then we went to Jitterbugs for Stella's first performance class. It was obviously Valentine's themed and she did great. I did hear Miss Ashley say to the other girls and boys to give Stella some space, but once we came in for their performance at the end she was ok. I could tell she was tired, but Miss Ashley commented that she did really well for her first class and to be one of the youngest.
I'm really trying to focus more on experiences versus stuff for holidays instead of more random crap to clutter her room and our house. This was the first time I didn't get Stella a single thing for Valentine's Day-not even a card. But I wasn't feeling guilty about it at all. I knew my mom had her something and that she would receive stuff at school. Instead, I offered to take Stella to get either a doughnut, cupcake or frozen yogurt for Valentine's Day. She opted for fro yo, but then didn't want to go that evening. On Wednesday, we went for a walk down at the creek with our friends/neighbors down the road. Stella really enjoyed this and since she was so good I tried to take her afterwards to get the fro yo, but once again, she turned it down. Thursday we took Lolli to The Children's Museum. We had a picnic upstairs and Stella was super excited to show Lolli all around. Donald got home that evening and I dropped Mama off with Jessica's mom so she could get to Athens for the weekend. We were leaving for Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge on Friday, but when we returned from our trip Monday, we decided to go get frozen yogurt then. The weather was unseasonably warm and that evening we were able to eat our yogurt outside which was the perfect end to our extended weekend vacation and to finally celebrate Valentine's Day together.
No comments:
Post a Comment