Day 178 The Perfect Mom Project

"Laissez les bon temps rouler"

The above statement means, "Let the good times roll!" We had Mardes Gras here at home last night. Mardes Gras means Fat Tuesday and since we have a love for all things Cajun, we have adopted this holiday as our own. Yesterday afternoon I made a big pot of Chicken Creole and I had all the things ready for our dessert of Bananas Foster, which is a yummy flaming dessert that you put over ice cream.

When the girls were younger I would always decorate and make something to eat that was in line with the holiday of the moment. In the last few years, I have gotten away from the tradition. I am not sure why, maybe because I was too busy or maybe I just did not think my family appreciated the time and energy it took to pull these events off. Most probably it was a combination of both. Regardless of why I was not doing it anymore, I have decided to bring back the tradition. I may not put as much gusto into it as I once did, but I enjoyed celebrating each holiday in a special way, with a special meal. Next up is Saint Patrick's Day and that is always fun making a boiled supper like my Grandma used to do.

I like to think that by sharing these moments with my kids, they will learn to appreciate celebrating life. I have always told our girls that as you get older the opportunities to be celebrated or to celebrate become fewer, so it is important to enjoy each opportunity that comes along whenever you get the chance. As I stood in the kitchen making the Bananas Foster last night, I called everyone in to watch the process. The first time out we ended up with a giant blob of hard goo. I am not sure what went wrong, but fortunately I had enough items here that I could try one more time. The second time was the charm, and our dessert turned out yummy. There was a little excitement when we lit the dessert on fire, since we were not expecting the large burst of flame that we got, but it was fun to experience the moment with Mark and the girls.

Now we are on to more fun and new celebrations. This Saturday is my Son-In-Law's birthday and we have invited Scott and Ashleigh over for dinner. We are excited that they will be sharing this celebration with us. After that, the next event is Saint Patrick's Day, so all I can say is Laissez Les bon temps rouler!