Correct Grammar

So we have been in the process of correcting Veda's grammar (so she talk real nice like mom and dad)....Here are some of the common mistakes made:

Instead of "I", she says "my".....for example, "My wanna go outside" or "My want a Popsicle."  Everything is "up"....for example, in the morning, she says "my wanna go upstairs", when in fact she wants to go downstairs.   The other is "my wanna hold you", instead of "will you hold me".

Tonight everyone wanted to be "held" by mom.  Adele was screaming to be held (by mom only) and of course, Veda wanted to be held too.  Instead, she got me holding her "upstairs" watching football (which I convinced her was better than Wonder Pets).   As Kathy came downstairs, she says "yippeee, hi mommy, my wanna hold you"....I said, no, Veda, it's "WILL YOU hold me".....she said..."no, dat's not Will, it's Mommy and my is going to hold her".  I think we still have some work to do....

Ringing in the New Year

Yes we were in bed by 10pm but it doesn't mean we didn't celebrate - we just started early. Kel, Chris and Owen were in town for the Rose Bowl so we decided we should feast in celebration. The theme was blue cheese... and chocolate!!

We started off with dirty martinis with blue cheese stuffed olives that Todd stuffed himself. Todd grilled new york strip and topped it with gorgonzola. He made fresh blue cheese dressing for our wedge salads complete with fresh bacon and tomatoes. We baked baguettes and smothered them with butter too. Yummmm I'm hungry again! Then Kel and I made molten chocolate cakes.

They were sooooooo easy and sooooooo amazing. If you want to impress guests I highly recommend this dessert. Our homemade version was just as good as any I've had in a resturant... actually much better. Kel found this recipe on the Pioneer Women's blog site and I copied it from Tastykitchen.com (credit where it's due;). Enjoy!!

4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate
½ cups Butter
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 whole Egg Yolks
6 Tablespoons Flour
2 cups Real Whipping Cream (seriously It's So Much Better!)
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. whisk until chocolate is also melted.
Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.
Divide between cups.
Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand 1 minute.
Combine sugar and heavy cream and whip until stiff.
Invert cakes on dishes and top with whipped cream.

Fabio is Fabulous ; )

Oo la la! We met our good friends Jon and Christina for dinner last week at one of our favorite resturants. A perfect night all around. Cafe Firenze is owned by Fabio (one of the stars of Bravo's Top Chef). Man was I surprised when I literally bumped into him on my way to the restroom.

Mom's worst fear

You know how you have those dreams that wake you up at night? Mine is about my kids drowning. I was thrilled to see these pics Todd took. Really though they are near the shore and the water is only a few inches deep. Todd took her sleding on the lake too. Can't wait until she gets to drive out on the lake with Poppie to go ice fishing...

Christmas at the Sayre's

We completed gift opening in a record 7 hours at the Sayre house today....Opening presents has become a slightly slower process than it was prior to Veda & Adele.  That combined with the fact Kathy got the flu last night (now I am officially the only person from the Laabs Christmas not to get the flu - first Owen, then Adele, Kelly, Chris, Grandma Didi, and today Grandpa Gary and Kathy).  

We started with a 2 hour opening session this morning, took a 3 hour break for Adele & Veda's nap (Kathy also crashed with them after mistakenly taking Advil PM at 11am - instead of Ibuprofen.)  This was then followed by another 2 hour session to close it out this afternoon.  One of the highlights was Uncle Ryan's "silver noodle" necklace to commemorate Veda's AFV debut this month.

Veda certainly had a barrel of fun (pun intended)...she also loved her new toys, many of which are from our childhood (i.e. Barrel of Monkeys, Candyland, etc).  

Below are the Christmas ornaments that Veda & Adele made for Bull and Nani....and a rare picture of Kathy (given her aggressive bout with the flu last night).

And a rare picture of Baby 'dell, given her 4 day bout with the flu...

 I'm still holding strong....please don't let me get the flu before we fly back on Tuesday afternoon.

Bows, Bobs, Barbies and Bug Boxes

We have successfully completed both family Christmas events.  Christmas Eve in Clear Lake with the Laabs family and the day after Christmas at the Sayre household.  Once again, way too many presents, but certainly lots of fun had by all.  One of Veda's favorite presents was the one she gave to Grandpa Gary....a new minnow bucket (with some real minnows...aka "Bobs").  Veda wanted to catch them, hold them, pet them and even put them in Uncle Chris' shoe.

  Veda also got lots of new bows....I lost count after the 20 pack from Aunt Kelly...

 

Veda got a new Barbie, but the excitement in the night came when Barbie's shoe went missing.  We never actually found it, but I am certain it was under the dishwasher...here's a pic of Veda and Papi "searching" for it.

Veda also received a Bug Box for hunting fire flies this summer back in Iowa....to note, there are no bugs in California, but we decided that Veda might be able to use it to capture snails (which are every where).

 

Merry Christmas from the Laabs family!

Christmas Eve Family Pictures

Merry Christmas from the Laabs and Ehler's families!

An early visit from Santa Claus....

Early Christmas present

Grandma Didi and Papi got the girls (and Owen) their own big red Radio Flyer....This will come in quite handy this summer during our annual 4th of July visit....lots of trips to the ice cream place and the Tiki Bar.

Balloon Animals

For entertainment today, we dug deep in our bag of circus tricks....we stuck with the simple dog and "flower" hats....I must say, I have some skills...Kathy was impressed!

No fun for Adele

While big sister sleds, I have to watch from the sidelines...they don't even let me play in the plant dirt....

Meet the Cousins

Adele loves babies...unfortunately, she's smaller than most of the babies she meets.  That doesn't stop her from attacking them...she starts by standing up on them, and then usually goes for the hair, ears and eyes.  Here's some of cousin Colton and some with baby Owen (can you see the fear in his eyes).

Sledding on Clear Lake

Veda got her first true sledding experience in Northern Iowa today.  The snowsuit she got last year, actually fits and she loves wearing it....her big epiphany was; "mom, my snow suit has a seat belt!"  Here are some action shots from dad pulling her around the lake and making snow angels....

IOWAAAAAAAA!

We flew in Sat afternoon and have had non-stop fun ever since. Veda made ornaments with Uncle Ry, cooked breakfast with Dad, watched xmas movies with Bull, went to the Children's museum, decorated her own tree, played with the neighbor girls, and slept one night for 13 hours straight she was so exhausted from the fun. Mom got to go to lunch with girlfriends, Dad and Uncle Ry got to go to a movie, Mom and Dad got to go on a datenight with Kimmy and Wyatt to sushi and Mom got to SHOP! Oh and the Baldes clan came over for Wig and Pen and Presents.

The highlight was when we were playing Life with the Baldes fam. I noticed Veda had one of the cars in her mouth and I told her to take it out. Todd asked her what happened to the people who had been in the car and she said matter of factly - "I ate them;)"