Valentine's Day Weekend

On Friday night we went to our friends' house for a Valentine's Day Pajama Playdate. Claire and I wore our pajamas (Claire actually wore her favorite nightgown.). We made some delicious sugar cookies to share with our friends. Claire had so much fun playing with the kids and the mommies had a great time talking and catching up.

We worked on Claire's valentines on Sunday and boy to I regret waiting until the last day to do them!! Claire was "tired" after signing her name to three of her princess valentines. She had 30 to sign! Somehow she got some energy and cranked out all 30, then I addressed them and attached princess stickers to the little cards. She enjoyed mailing them at school on Monday, just in time for her school's Valentine's Day party.

After school we stopped by my sister in law's house for a little Valentine's Day playdate with my nephews and my parents.

Build a Bear Birthday Party

We celebrated Claire's friend Ilana's birthday at Build a Bear this afternoon. The last time Claire was at Build a Bear she was less than a year old. We've managed to pass Build a Bear in the mall and wave to the big bears outside and call it "the bear store." But now she knows the truth! I think my credit card will get more use as a result.

Before the party, Claire was a little nervous, saying, "But, I don't know how to build a bear!" I assured her that we would help her and she would be able to do it and it would be FUN. Once the party got started, she relaxed a little and started enjoying the experience of building her own bear which she named Fantastic. She had so much fun with the other kids as they built, cleaned and dressed their bears. After everyone had their bears, they received a little home for their bear and then we headed to the food court for some treats and one of the best ice cream cakes we've ever had!

It was a great party and we were happy to be able to celebrate with Ilana -- one of Claire's oldest friends.

40th Anniversary

My parents had their 40th wedding anniversary in January. We've never been much for anniversary celebrations, but we decided to do something special for this one because it was a biggie (and my grandmother said we should). We immediately thought of the perfect way to celebrate and made reservations at Perona Farms for their awesome Sunday bruncheon. The last time we went was six years ago to celebrate my dad's birthday.

My parents, my brother and his family, my grandmother and our family all went to the bruncheon which was delicious!!! It was a little more crowded than we would have liked because there were two parties there (including a large group of hungry Boy Scouts who may wish to work on a badge on manners and etiquette), in addition to all of the regular bruncheon guests. We feasted on shrimp, clams, oysters, home made donuts, waffles, blueberry pancakes, eggs, bagels, bread, croissants, fresh fruit and assorted desserts. It was especially nice for my grandmother who used to visit Perona Farms often as a young lady since her parents had a lake house in Lake Mohawk (My parents and grandmother tried to locate said lake house on the way back to our house, but were unable to find it due to the massive amount of snow on all of the properties and the fact that they renumbered all of the house numbers.).

We couldn't let the occasion pass by without a cake. My husband insisted on an ice cream cake since EVERYONE likes ice cream cake. After relaxing and chatting for a while, we enjoyed cake. It was a wonderful family day! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!! We love you both sooooooo much!!!

Hiiiiii ya!!!!! (Karate Birthday Party)

We went to a really fun birthday party today for Claire's friend, Brandon. It was held at the karate studio where Brandon takes karate. The kids participated in several physical activities including stretching, an obstacle course, "musical hoops" and a relay race. I have never been to a karate class or studio before and I thought it was fabulous!! After all of the activities, everyone enjoyed pizza and cake. What a fun, fun party!!

Claire going through the obstacle course wearing the hat she insisted on wearing.

Obstacle Course - Claire followed by the Birthday Boy

The End of "Musical Hoops" When all of the Kids Squeezed into One Hula Hoop

A Fairytale Princess Tea Party

This afternoon we went to A Fairytale Princess Tea Party at Pax Amicus Castle Theatre.

The description from the theatre's website read, "The Fairy Godmother, Tinker Belle, The Blue Fairy and Glinda Invite you to "A Fairy Tale Princess Tea Party" starring Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Jasmine, Rapunzel, The Frog Princess, Sleeping Beauty and Pochahantas. A New Play for Children written and directed by Stanley Barber."

In a word, the show was ADORABLE!!! Claire had so much fun wearing her Pocahontas costume and watching the show with some of her friends. One of the highlights of the show was when someone knocked on the door on stage, then a princess or fairy sang a little clue-filled rhyme and the audience had to yell out who they thought was at the door. All of the little princesses and princes in the audience yelled out their answers enthusiastically. Another highlight, without giving anything away, was the male characters that appeared in the show. Hysterical!!!

We had so much fun at this cute little theater. We will definitely attend more shows there in the future.

Meeting the Cast after the Show

Will the real Pocahontas please stand up?

Cake

For those of you who don't know, I read tons of blogs -- mostly cooking and baking blogs (Yes, I do realize the irony in the fact that I don't really cook. My obsession with the Food Network is also ironic.) and some mommy blogs too. There is so much out there that really inspires me. I wish I had half of the artistic talent and abilities as some of these bakers. Recently, I was blown away by this cake from I am Baker. It's so beautiful and looks difficult, yet simple. Since we were snowed in AGAIN today, my princess pastry chef assistant and I decided to attempt to make it. I will confess that I used a box mix for the cake (I couldn't find a cake recipe that I wanted to make.). But, the buttercream is 100% homemade.

Our Finished Cake!

 

 

Although the cake doesn't look exactly like the picture we were trying to follow, we are happy with the results. I will be investing in a larger offset spatula soon.

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

Since Christmas we have had at least one snowstorm each week. I don't think Claire has even had a full (3 day) week of school since before the holidays! When life hands you lemons...

Sledding on Mommy's sled that Santa brought one Christmas when she was a child.

The Princess in the Snow

Snowball Fight with Ollie, Ryan and Addie