Ice Day

I remember as a kid the excitement around cold weather. Living in Dilley, TX it was not very often that cold weather was an issue, but I guess that is what made it exciting! Now that I am older and have kids, I see both sides...On the one hand you want it to be fun for them and I find myself praying sometimes that it gets really bad just so they can have the experience, then on the other hand, you hate for school to close because you enjoy the free time! Well, last night we had a light ice storm that brought sleet and what appears to be a light dusting of snow, but it is hard as a rock if you touch it. School was canceled,(bummer) and Sarah was a little disappointed that it looked more fun than it actually was (double bummer). Lauren didn't even want to be outside, so no photos of her! I fear this might be our last little bit of winter since it has been so warm this year, but I am holding out hope that it will really snow at least once, just to see the joy on my girl's faces!
































A NOTE ON THE FONDUE.........

I had a couple of requests for my recipe for chocolate fondue that I wrote about last week. It is from Rachael Ray. Normally her stuff is a little weird, but this is pretty basic and pretty yummy!
Serves 4-6

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, reserve 1/4 cup to thin the fondue if it thickens
4 bittersweet chocolate bars, chopped, 3 1/2 ounces each
2 TBS Frangelico or Amaretto liqueur, optional
1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts or almonds, optional

Heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a heavy non-reactive saucepot over moderate heat until cream comes to a low boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let it stand in hot cream for 3-5 minutes, then whisk it together. Stir in the liqueur and nuts if you want, then add it to your fondue bowl. If it becomes to thick, stir in the set aside cream 1 TBS at a time. We used pound cake, bananas, and strawberries for dipping.

Sweet N Sassy Birthday Party

January.....Tis the Season for birthdays! This time it was Sarah's friends Jayme and Ellie that had a combined 5th birthday party at Sweet N Sassy. It was sooo much fun and very cute! I must say that they have it together over there. There was about 1 person helping for each child! They had so much fun getting dolled up and dancing around. As you can tell from the pics...Sarah had a blast!

A Great Day

Yesterday was a great day. It was warm for a January day and the girls wanted to be outside and play a little. We also had Nana & Papa over for dinner and I made chocolate fondue for dessert. (One of Sarah's favorites)! Just wanted to share some of the pics.....

The Love of my Life

And then it was time for fondue.......

Two Blogs, Two Sources of Inspiration

How I found time to actually come across these blogs and exactly how I found them, I am not quite sure. I would like to share them with you, however. It all started with coming across the blog entitled Stephmodo. It was my inspiration to want to be a more serious blogger. I not only loved that she wrote about her beautiful family and the fun things they do, but she shared recipes she has tried, party ideas, shopping ideas, things that inspire her, and the list goes on and on. I found so many of her entries interesting.
The other blog I came across while reading entries from Stephmodo. It is the Nie Nie Dialogues. This one has really affected me and I find myself thinking of this woman whom I don't know other than from reading her blog and her sister's blog. Evidently she was seriously injured in a plane crash this past August, with her husband. She has a big, beautiful family which her sister had to take care of while her and her husband recovered. Reading her story made me appreciate things a lot more and has inspired me to be a more creative person and pay more attention to my kids in this crazy, busy life. Her blog prior to her accident reminded me a lot of the Stephmodo blog and now that I am hooked, I have this concern and interest in her recovery.
Keep in mind that I do not know these to women at all, but their blogs have so inspired me as a woman and a mother.

Sarah's 5th Birthday

If I could....I would like to back track just a moment to last weekend! This is such a big occasion in our house, that I can't leave it out of the new blog! Sarah turned 5 on January 9th and we celebrated with a small gathering at our house that night. It was just family; Nana, Papa, Opa, Myrtle, Mark, Karen, Rob, Nina and us. We had tamales from San Antonio and cupcakes. The next day was her Pink Poodles in Paris tea party with her friends! It was so cute and she had lots of fun! I must admit, I had lots of fun planning it even though she insisted we have it somewhere and not at the house! This was first for me! It was a great little birthday and I can't believe my little Sarah is now 5!

My Happy 5-year-old!

The group in front of Let's Pretend Tea Parties

Making a Wish!

Welcome to our World!

After having a website for a couple of years, I think I am going to give straight blogging a try. Although it was easy to do, it took more time than I think I have right now to keep up with the website. I think this will be the best way to journal our lives and be able to always go back and reflect on the past with ease! Welcome and enjoy a new year and a new look to The McDonald World!