Princess Party 2!

At last year's party Grace learned about the whole Disney Princess thing, and it made quite an impression.  This year Grace knew what to expect, and was super excited to attend her 2nd Princess Party.

This year we invited Grace's friend Nora to attend and they had fun together.

See how excited the were?

Gracie playing a game...

Getting her picture taken with Belle....

All the little princesses (about twice as many girls as there were last year)...

Crazy dance party at the end of the night....

Grace was so excited to show me the Ariel napkin....

eating their mac & cheese and watching the Little Mermaid on the big screen....

Grace had a ball and is already asking about going next year!

Ballerina Gracie

Today was the open house for Gracie's ballet class.  Although this was only her 3rd class, Grace had a ton of 'moves' to show us!

The very serious students.  I give the teacher a lot of credit, teaching 3 year olds ballet is basically herding cats. 

 Andrew loves ballet class almost as much as Gracie.  While he watches the older dancers from the observation deck, he dances to the music.  Whenever the door opens to Gracie's class, he runs to the door.  So when he was allowed into the class today, he was very excited.  So excited, that he had a hard time controlling himself.  He didn't understand why he couldn't be out on the floor with all the ladies so he spent most of the class in the hall.  However, after class he got to run around on the dance floor with Gracie.  Which is surely any little boy's dream. 

I don't think I need to worry about how I am going to keep Andrew out of hockey and football and any other contact sport....he won't have time for that....with what will surely be a demanding dance schedule.  

And in case you were wondering, yes, that is pink sparkly lip gloss in his hand.  

(For some reason blogger cut off the sides of my collages, ugh! I am too lazy to fix.  Sorry!)

"your blog is lame"

"Everytime I look at it there is just a picture of some brussels sprouts." Is what my wonderful husband said to me the other day. 

So by request, here are some pictures of what has been going on at the Malone house. 

Andrew carries random stuff around the house and puts it in random places.  Example: I found a toothbrush in a measuring cup.

We have finally been getting some snow.  This is me shoveling.  For some reason Kevin found this funny. 

We had the Malone side of our family over for the Packer game Saturday.  Here are some snapshots from the evening.

Grace was super excited that her princess blanket was out of the wash.

 Grace and Mikey, as usual, had a ball together.

Touchdown!

Sugar high + exhaustion + excitement over a stellar Packer performance = this picture

Andrew sleeping during the Packer game.

 Poor kid, his parents were taking pictures of him sleeping with the flash on.

A few months ago my blender started to break.  Instead of getting a new one,  I ordered the replacement part online, used some tools (and muscle) and fixed it all by myself!  Now the whole family can enjoy smoothies again. 

Here is Andrew this morning after he tried to feed himself.  He was really mad that I wouldn't let him out of his highchair without getting wiped down and a picture taken.

After the smoothie excitement the kids tried on some boots.  Grace wore mine and Andrew wore hers.

"We" have decided that we need to do a bathroom remodel, so I have been busy researching/agonizing fascinating things like:

1. What brand of solid surface shower pans (also called "receptors") is easiest to clean and not horrible looking?

2. Where to find the absolute cheapest carrara marble mosaic tile for the floor.

3. Which is better slab marble vanity tops or tiled ones with a really cool backsplash?

4. Are frameless shower doors worth the extra $1500 or is semi-frameless acceptable?

5. Finding a really tiny sink for our very shallow vanity.

6. Will we be able to pull of a recessed medicine cabinet?  Will they still be on sale at restoration hardware when I know the answer?  Should I just buy one of each in case and return the other?  Hmmmm

 Anyone wanna chat about this stuff give me a call.  Kevin would owe you one.



Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Get some brussels sprouts and wash them.

Aren't they cute?

Peel off the top layer of leaves.  

WARNING: Sit down, turn on the tv or radio, this is going to take a while.

See?  Lots of peeling.

Wash them again. Trim the stems and slice in half.

Thinly slice some shallots.

Pancetta.  This is italian bacon.  It is salty and good.  Have the guy at the deli counter cut it into very thick slices or just have him give you a chunk.

Chop.

Since everything at my house is generic brand, I borrowed some good aged balsamic vinegar from my mom.  I think the older the better.

 I don't think Market pantry (target brand) balsamic would work in this recipe.  Plus my guests always deserve the best.

Mix together with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Roast in the over for 30 minutes or so.  Stir and watch it.  You want the balsamic to carmelize and some of the little leaves to get crispy.  Yum.

I made about 2.5 lbs for 15 people.  There were only a few lonely sprouts left in the bowl when I was done.  Given that these are, well, brussels sprouts, I took that as a sign that they tasted good.

Snow Days!

The past 2 days have been very snowy here.  Because I don't like to head out with the kids in inclement weather, we stayed close to home.  Well except Gracie's ballet class, which we would never miss.

Grace worked on some art projects.

Elephant puppet!

Cow puppet!

We made some granola.  I used a recipe from another blog, but I adjusted the ingredients to make it much lighter.

Step 1: Gather the ingredients.

You need all this stuff (4 cups oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3c canola/vegetable oil,  3/4c raisins, 1c nuts, 3/4c crasins, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2c coconut, whatever else you want to throw in.)

Step 2. Take a series of photos of your sweet daughter posing for the camera.

Don't tell dad we were using his iPad!

Step 3: Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately.

Step 4: Then combine them.

Step 5: Spread on a baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes, stir frequently. 

Step 6: Package it up and give it away.  If you don't, you will find yourself  standing over the tupperware container with a spoon in the bowl.  Shoveling it in your mouth.  Over and over. Until your tummy hurts.

After Andrew's nap on Monday, we headed outside to enjoy the snow.  Here is Andrew sitting in the sled the Darnieder kids enjoyed when we were little.

Here is Grace after she was told that she is too heavy for the sled.

Then we took a walk around the block.  It took FOREVER with little baby Andrew tagging along and falling down frequently.

Our lucky neighbors got a part of their sidewalk shoveled by Gracie.

Then I headed home and made mexican soup (I don't know what else to call it.  Can't call it tortilla soup since there were no tortillas). 

Check out my le creuset new dutch oven.  Just when I thought I had stolen everything I possibly could from my parents, I remembered their old set of cookware that was stashed in the basement. 

 It is awesome 70s vintage...the color fades from red to orange.

(Amy, I know you had mentioned you wanted this set.  Too bad.  Just kidding.  You can have it back whenever.  But I am not paying for shipping.  This stuff is heavy.)