Julia Child is in the house!

And her real name is CATHERINE!!! I have started cooking more!!!! Last night it was pork chops cooked in bbq sauce and beer (ended up being drier than a popcorn fart but edible), fresh steamed broccoli, and sea salt crusted baked potatoes. Isabella made brownies all by herself (including cracking the eggs!!). Tonight, we had Asian Chicken and Rice Bake (http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/47054) and sauteed asparagus with parmesean cheese. When we got home from school, we also made fresh donuts. Frying in oil was a tad bit daunting but we did it!!!

In preparation for a snow day.....

we decided to go all out. I thought for SURE we wouldn't have to come to school today because we were supposed to get up to 6 inches of snow last night. I took Elisabeth to the mall to get her ear pierced...the cartilage part. I know it is one step closer to a tattoo, which I could really care less about as long as it is tasteful and I know about it before she does it. She just got a Maroon and Grey Award (for outstanding and well rounded students) and ALL A's ON HER REPORT CARD!!!!! She really is a good kid and deserved another piercing if she wanted it:)

After getting home from that, Todd wanted to pull Bella in the sled up to Barnes and Nobles. She LOVED it. There was snow on the ground most of the way there and back.

After that busy night and the fact that I stayed up until 12:30 am, THERE WASN'T EVEN A LATE START!!!! UGH. I am definitely going to need a nap.

Tet 2010

On Saturday, we decided to head to Ithaca, NY for their yearly Tet celebration (Vietnamese New Year). We made it the first year but skipped last year. All the children from the surrounding areas that were adopted from either Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Hanoi, or Ho Chi Minh City were there. Most of the moms keep blogs so we all know what the other has been up to and/or doing but it was wonderful to be able to talk to eachother while the kids played together. I think this is the first year Isabella has had some understanding of her birth country's cultures and traditions. One tradition she would rather not celebrate is the Lion dance, though. The whining started on the way to Ithaca and continued while we checked into the hotel, went swimming, got ready, and arrived at the restaurant. She decided that she would like to stay in the hotel instead of going to Tet and then she decided she was going to sit in the car. After all of that, she fell sound asleep and stayed asleep through most of dance. I didn't want her to miss all of it - I new she would enjoy it if we kept our distance. By the end of the night, she was actually petting the head (without the people in it) and talking about it's nostrils (don't know where she got that word).

We stayed in the same hotel as the Porters (a family from our town that adopted 5 kids and helped us through our adoption) and had a chance to look around Cornell and visit the Science Museum. It was a very nice Valentine's weekend:)

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2010

Isabella and Todd went to a Daddy/Daughter Dance on Sunday. She looked like an angel and he looked like a hot devil:)












Elisabeth got her bathed, dressed, painted her fingernails, and did her hair:)

Beautiful Blanket

My mom made/knitted Isabella a blanket for Christmas. It would be safe to say that it took at least 200+ hours and that she will never, ever make one again. It is absolutely beautiful and double knitted so it is the same on both sides. Isabella loves it:) Notice the elephants....

Playing outside before the storm...

We are supposed to be getting a huge storm this afternoon but yesterday, it was beautiful outside. Cindy and I took the kids outside to play on the tennis courts. Isabella found a huge broken tree branch and decided it was her Christmas tree and she was going to collect leaves to decorate it.

If you wonder why I have gained weight....

it's because of these:




We bought a bread maker with an Amazon gift card the kids got from Kevin and Kristin (their uncle and aunt). We figured it would serve the whole family and be tons of fun. Tons of calories is what it has turned out to be. We have made plain and chocolate chip bagels and a variety of different breads. Can you guess how much butter we have gone through in the past 3 weeks????? I am now buying it in bulk at Sam's Club.

"Get the hell out of my face!!"

If Blake, our Brussels Griffon, could talk, I am sure he would say this over and over and over. Isabella is stuck to him like glue 24/7. We have repeatedly told her to leave him alone but she can't. It is an obsession. Her favorite thing is to grab him by the collar and drag him around the kitchen. She loves him so much that she will actually walk a mile in the freezing cold just to hold his leash (or 'flea collar' as she likes to call it.