Happy Birthday To Me!!!!



It's snowing! Can you believe it? It is so nice. I love it when it's cold outside and we are so warm inside with our fire. Heaters just don't compare on days like this...

It was my 34th birthday last Sunday and we had a feast. Take a look at what Mike prepared. This is actually a picture of 11 crab. I guess the picture does not do them justice. We had some of my favorite people over for some
of my favorite things to eat and for dessert, rather than cake, which I do not care for really, we had brownie sundaes.

Madeline was sick all last week. I thought she was teething and I still think she was but it was just awful. She had a cold along with a fever on top of teething so she was not happy at all. It was a very hard week to be completely honest. She really loves to brush her teeth which is highly encouraged. She really likes to do it herself however so we humor her for the first few minutes then we have to grab the brush and brush her teeth for her very quickly. Then she always has to wash her hands to finish up. She is definitely a creature of habit. And our nights are going very well. She is sleeping straight pretty consistently from 12 to 5 which is a huge deal for me. This is a lot of hours right in a row for me. However, she is still in the bed which I love for a lot of reasons but also, for a lot of reasons I am kind of over it. She is just getting so dang long! She's kind of a bed hog too and she doesn't like covers so she is constantly kicking her feet to get them out of the covers! Crazy girl. I think rather than moving her into the crib, that I would prefer to just move her into a little toddler bed. She can get up when she needs to, she sleeps on mattresses like that everyday at school and they won't have the jail bars on them which she despises. I think I will look into those soon! Anyways, wish us luck!

Hey everyone!
So, I am trying to post videos and this site is just giving me so much trouble! I will keep trying tonight. There are a couple that capture her personality oh so well and are quite entertaining. She has become very serious with her new facial expressions! There is a devious little grin, there is this fabulous look of shock and surprise with a little gasp added in sometimes for emphasis and there is a furrowed brow with some arm crossing...I have no idea who she gets that one from...I think it's Mike! ;)
Anywho, keep checking back my loyal (4) followers...I will try and be more persistent with posting this stuff!

AH! Finally! Here is bath time. She has finally started letting us give her baths again thank goodness! She loves the bath again.

Dancing queen...
This spinning circle is something totally new. So interesting to watch her and to see what makes her happy! I hope it's always this easy but something (reminding myself of what I was like in high school) is telling me I am in for a long and bumpy ride!

We went to see Old Crow Medicine Show tonight. They were SO good, as usual. I put two videos up. One is old but they still sang that song and the other one is from a month or two ago. If you have never heard them you should! They are so fun and so talented.
Enjoy, I am going to go cuddle with Madeline. Good night!

Here is another one from last night. Madeline is enamored with Christmas lights. She is so expressive! Anyways...here ya go!

SORRY!

It has been too long since I have posted anything. Here is a new video of Madeline playing this morning. She has been waking up in fantastic moods and lately has just been so funny and happy. As usual, she is a joy to be around...

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Sparkling Wine Poached Pear, Candied Pecans and Spiced Pastry Cream Tart

This was a lovely tart. Perfect for the time of year and the flavors all worked so well together. I was very happy with the outcome!

As much as I would love to cling onto the summer's bounty, i am ready to accept that fall is here and it is now time to start baking with fall fruits and vegetables. I do love this time of year though especially because of the wild mushrooms. Within this next month we will hopefully be feasting on fresh chanterelles and boletes! I can taste the forest already!

Grilled Pizza!!

Look how good these look! I love to grill pizza. It's possibly one of my favorite dinners to make. We pretty take turns making dinner during the week but we try and keep it interesting. And no, we did not eat this all in one night. That's the thing about pizza dough, a little goes a long way! Such a cheap dinner to make! The top one is spicy Italian sausage, Gorgonzola, caramelized onions and arugula. The other one was fig jam, apples and Gorgonzola. They both were very good!

Here is also a picture of Madeline from tonight. She LOVES Patsy and Patsy is very slowly warming up to her. She was actually purring tonight when Madeline was swatting her. She will learn to love Madeline. Jerky will too. It really could be the most harmonious relationship if Jerky would just relax! She loves to feed him and he loves to eat so I know it's just a matter of time before he figures this out.Anyways, that's all I have for now. Mike is on his way out of town until Saturday night so we will be on our own for a few days. Don't know if I will get around to posting anything but I will certainly try!

Show me the money! pretty please.


My kids are trying for it again. I am happy too because I enjoy these trips as much as they do. Actually, I probably enjoy it way more. We are well on our way as far as fund raising goes but we really have a long ways to go. We need to raise at least $1100 per person and right now we only have $1800. Not bad for the first seven weeks of school but not great. I have a fabulous group of students in my advanced class this year. They all get along so well and they are a JOY to be around. They make me look forward to work which is a good thing, especially for me! Anyways, back to NYC...we have tried a few new things this year as far as raising money. We have sent out at least 20 letters to local businesses asking for help. We have not heard back from any one yet...not one. I guess the next step is to actually stop by or call them. A $20 check here and there could help out a lot! We are doing lunches, small catering jobs, you name it. We just need to find the one that is going to give us the mother load of cash. We have lots of great ideas, but none are giant money makers. We are so limited as far as food sales on campus go too because of CA's nutrition laws. Ah well, I am sure we will figure it out. BUT, if any of you have any genius ideas on really big fund raisers, PLEASE let me know! Thanks! Below is a picture from our walk tonight. It is so stinkin' cold! Brrr.....

Basically, what it comes down to, is that I just can't keep up with this. I have pictures of Madeline from everyday of school since it has started but now I am thinking that I am going to do it every Friday or something like that because it is just too much! I just gathered all of the pictures that I have taken since the last blog entry and slapped those in (not in order) and we're gonna call it good.
She was sick last week, but fine now. The picture of her in pink pants and the whale shirt is from last Wednesday when she woke up with a fever. She has been putting me through the ringer lately (at night) but is finally back to sleeping! Crazy kid.
One thing that is different since last entry is that she has turned into a total helpful little child! She picks up stuff, she takes things to her dad if I ask her, she LOVES to feed the cats. She will go and grab the cat food container out of the cabinet and then pour it (with some help) into the cat bowls...but then, she takes the container back to the cabinet and puts it away. She is a GENIUS! :)
Anyways, she is quite the helper and it's pretty cute.
Alright, talk to you later!

Week 5?

Ugh, I lost count already.
Anyways, more pictures of Madeline in the morning! I have also included a funny video from the other night. Enjoy!








It was a very long week but thank goodness it is over and we are on to better times...
Anyways, Madeline is super fun as always. She is walking everywhere and it is safe to say that crawling is behind her. I haven't seen her crawl at all. She still is objecting to shoes, well, except for the hiking boots that she got at school. For some reason, those are the only shoes that she will keep on! Odd!
One of these days, I will sit down and write a real blog! But for now, you will just have to look at pictures and videos of Madeline...

What? Can't you see I am eating?

This is getting hard to stay on top of! I am trying though...here is last week's installment!
She is doing awesome and loving school. Madeline is learning how to put her hand up and say no to the boys that are bullying her or just trying to be close. We hope that she keeps this up until she's 21...
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Hey, week 2 of school.
It is truly amazing watching this little girl grow. She continues to amaze me on a daily basis with what she learns and what she does.
I have attached a video this time. In the morning, it takes her a little while to get talking so the video is kinda quiet ...
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Here is the cake that I did yesterday. I am pretty happy with it. She gave me a piece of fabric that they were using as tablerunners and wanted me to make it like that...so, this was my interpretation. She only wanted the paisley on every other tier but I think I may have liked it better if it were on every tier...can't decide if that would be too much or not. What's cool about this cake is that it is totally my style but just done with different ingredients. I guess you would have to see the rest of my cakes to know what I am talking about. Anyways, we're off to pick plums for jam. I got my mom and brother excited about canning again. Last weekend was peach, this weekend it's plum and 2 weeks from now, it will be tuna! YUM.

I take pictures of Madeline every morning before we leave for school....and by every morning I mean just the last four days. She really likes to sit there, it's funny....she's funny. She could be totally upset but when we take her outside and set her there, she just smiles and squeals at the cats.


It is our first Friday off from school. Not a bad first week for me considering. The fun teachers are gone. There still are fun kids but I can't exactly hang out and drink beers with them on Fridays. Well I could but I probably would lose my job pretty quickly if that got around! I at least still have Frank and Errin there but other than them, it's pretty dull. Everyone is new and it just feels so different. I pretty much stick to my room and hang out with Madeline and the daycare ladies and that's about it. I know, I need to get over it but whatever. I'm more focused this year, I can honestly say that. I have big ideas but I really don't like the first couple of weeks. It's just too much figuring things out and figuring the kids out and figuring routines out. I just long to be in the groove and working with them! Not spewing this boring crap about how to properly measure flour. Come next Friday when we do our first lunch, things will be moving right along.
I know it doesn't sound like it but I really am excited for this year. Last year I saw what we are capable of and it just makes me excited for this year. We are planning another trip to NYC. Two of the kids went last year but I have 12 people total in my class and they all want to go. It could be a much bigger group this year. I will probably still take 4 chaperones, especially with the bigger group. Hank? :) Well, I better get off and get to work. I have a wedding cake to do for Sunday. It is going to be an interesting but fun one. I will post pictures of it later.

I have found a new fabulous band called Rogue Wave. Okay, maybe they aren't new but I have just heard of them. And Spoon too. They are both great.