Happy Valentine's Day 2009

How to make Valentine's night special with a two year old on the premises. That is, besides the fact that every night is special with a two year old on the premises.  Given his choice Calvin would make a every night a party (although, apparently not with cake, but I'll get to that later).  At least a couple times a week he asks to have a picnic in front of the fire place, an activity which, thanks to the difficulty of keeping a two year old sitting during a picnic, we reserve only for occasions which we deem as special.  So we made tonight just one such occasion and spread our blanket in front of a warm fire to enjoy its coziness on "the day of love".  Of course, many people celebrate hearts day with fancy meals; some go out, some order in, and still others plan and cook delightfully gourmet versions of an edible love affair, but that just wouldn't do for a picnic dinner and we opted for something way more fun than fight crowds or pay exorbitant amounts of money - we made individual heart shaped pizzas.  Perhaps that's the crowning glory of making your own pizza dough - being able to shape it however you want and in any size (and dressing it however you want, too, of course).  We had two different Valentine themed pizza options tonight - The Audrey Hepburn Classic Romance pizza (sporting clever cheesiness, olive you olives, going all to mushrooms, and slightly spicy uncured pepperoni), and The Brad Pitt Spice Things Up pizza (with it's extra cheesiness of Italian mozzarella and Mediterranean feta, and slightly spicy, yet goofy, banana pepper rings).  Strangely enough Jon and I opted for half and half pizzas and Calvin opted for everything everywhere.  I guess you just can't have one without the other.  Don't forget to pour the (cheap) champagne.  We hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day, no matter how you decided to celebrate!