Come one, come all ...

to the greatest show in town! Keira turned 6 last week and we had a circus party to celebrate. And boy was it ever a circus. We invited the whole class, expecting to get about 6 or 7 kids. This was based on what I had seen at other parties that Keira had been to that the whole class had been invited to .... well, Keira is apparently a popular kid because we had 18 kids show up on Saturday. Yikes!

Keira's party invitation





One party activity was dressing up like a clown - we had hats, noses and funny glasses for all the kids. They also decorated a funny tie too.

There was also lots of games .... knock over the cans, pin the nose on the clown, a fishing pond, ring toss ...

Of course, there was food. And plenty of it. One of my big stressors was whether or not there would be enough food for everyone. So stressed was I, that on the morning of the party, I baked an entire extra cake because I was afraid we wouldn't get 20 pieces out of the clown cake I had decorated the night before. Yes, I know I am neurotic! We had popcorn, goldfish, animal crackers, popcorn chicken, fruit served in waffle sundae bowls, and applesauce packets, cookie pops, and cake. There was plenty!

Here is the cake. Yes, I realize that I am not going to be the next Great Baker, but I thought it was pretty good for never having done anything like this before. It was all free form, made from a round cake and a 9X13 cake. I was so terrified of cutting up the 9X13 into pieces that I made Wade do it!

Oh, did I mention there were clowns a the party ;)

Birthday girl getting ready to blow out her candles!

I think everyone had a great time. There was no crying and no fighting and only a small amount of wrestling! One kid told me he never wanted to leave. What is that song ... You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here ....

Wade and I celebrated a successful party with margaritas at our local Mexican restaurant for dinner. Well deserved!

Last Update ... promise!

Keira has chosen to switch from Dance to Gymnastics ... here she is in her leotard, cute, right?

New Recipes

Despite the illness, we actually have tried some new recipes ... all of which have turned out great!

This first one is for Brussell Sprouts. I know, gross, right?!? But these were really good! We got Brussell Sprouts in the produce basket, otherwise, no way would I have ever tried them, but take it from me, this recipe really does make them taste good. You basically roast the heck out of them until the outside is actually crispy. Yummy!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html

I also made these Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies right before I got sick, so sadly I didn't get to enjoy much of them, but Wade did. The one I did have was delicious. Super rich for sure!

http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/09/29/gooey-chocolate-chip-sandwich-bars-cookies-for-kids-cancer-cookbook/

Seems like I made something else new too, but I can't remember what the heck it was. Have I mentioned I am getting old??? Oh well, at least you can see one resolution is getting accomplished! It is back to running today, which I am sure is going to suck, but it is what it is.

Oh and Keira has chosen a theme for her 6th birthday party which is fast approaching ... Circus Party! Should be exciting, I am hard at work planning the carnival games and food :)

Snow Day?!?!

For some reason, unbeknownst to a girl who grew up in northern Indiana and went to school when snow was measured in feet, not inches, the kids had a snow day this week. I could still see the grass on the ground, but whatever, we had a snowday! We made pillow forts, drank hot chocolate, and watched movies. It was fun and Mal was glad to have her favorite playmate home in the middle of the week!

Umm, Yeah, How are those New Year's Resolutions Going????

Well, so much for the weekly posting. The good news is, I do have a good excuse. We have been sick, crazy sick. For a week, Mallory and I had a very bad cold. That type of snotty yucky cold where your child won't let you put her down even for two seconds type of cold. We didn't leave the house for almost a week. On friday, we hit the grocery store and came home, that was the extent of our travels that week. And then on Saturday, Mal got the stomach flu. Awesome. Poor poor baby. Poor poor Mommy. And then Sunday afternoon, I got it. And this was no easy going flu, this was violent illness. Wade had to stay home from work I was so sick. I stopped throwing up by monday afternoon, but as I sit her and type, I can say that I only probably started to feel sorta normal yesterday. I haven't been able to eat regularly until yesterday. I've lost 4 pounds. I haven't run in a week. So 2012 is off to a great start! WooHoo. And now, I hope to get back to weekly posting ;)

Happy New Year!

I don't even know where to begin it has been so long since I have posted. Yeah, sorry about that. In a paragraph or less, here is what happened in teh last half of the year ... We had a our kitchen remodeled (it took forever, but turned out fabulous), Mallory turned 2, we traveled to Chicago to see Kendall on her first birthday and had lots of fun, we had my family in for Thanksgiving which was a lot of fun and a lot of cooking :), we traveled to Indy the weekend before Christmas to see Wade's family and the kids got to play with their cousins, they went as a Fairy Princess and a Lady Bug for Halloween, made lots of christmas cookies, and I am sure lots of other stuff that I can't remember ... I'll try to post pictures to catch you all up!

On to the resolutions, in no particular order ... try one new recipe a week, keep up with the running (I am up to about 5 miles/day, 5 times a week). and post to this blog at least once a week. I know, I am not shooting for the stars here, but I am trying to be realistic.

The good news is, I have already tried the new recipe this week! We had minestrone soup tonight for dinner - I've never made it before, I have always been a fan of Olive Garden's version. I am not trying to brag here, but I really think what I made was better! Here is the link for the recipe.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamies-minestrone/detail.aspx

I made very few changes - only had 2 zuccinis, so that is all I used. I used dry spices instead of fresh. Left out the water, instead just used chicken broth. Fresh green beans instead of canned. It was really really good.

So, what's up with the rest of the family:

Keira: She is racing through kindergarten and learning more than I ever imagined. She is a great reader, seriously blowing me away with the books she can already read. She really loves the Magic Tree House books, we are reading those aloud at bedtime and she can't get enough, think she will love reading like I do. She has what she terms "a boyfriend" at school. His name is Charlie and he sends home little pictures with hearts on in for Keira. Very cute. She has decided to switch from Ballet to Gymnastics.

Mallory: She is my little spit fire. She is full of energy and runs around showing it off every day. She took at tumbling class at the gym and did pretty well, though staying on tasks is going to be difficult for this child. Despite her looking for trouble ALL THE TIME, she really is pretty sweet and still loves to snuggle up at bedtime. She is really into singing Happy Birthday right now, I'll have to post a video, it is hilarious.

Wade: Wade was off for 11 straight days the end of this month and it was wonderful (at least I thought so, he is probably ready to get out of this nut house and back to work ;). He accomplished a lot of projects, the biggest of which was paiting the ceiling. He has also taken up running and provides me with someone I try to beat everytime I run. Sadly, this is a losing battle for me as I will never be as fast as him.

Here is to a great 2012!!!