Party

Cowboy Pasta Salad

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This pasta salad is truly addicting. When I read the ingredients for the dressing, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. Creamy, tangy, sweet and as spicy as you’d like depending on if you’re feeding adults or children…or adult children.

The girls and I made this again at home. I went a bit heavier on the heat by also adding some cayenne pepper. I thought about adding some bacon, but honestly it’s good as vegetarian side dish.

We had it for dinner, it’s just as good as the first time.

The next day, I tore some arugula and added it to the pasta salad. I suggest trying this too!

Cowboy Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. bowtie pasta

Olive Oil

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup your favorite bbq sauce

1 tbs spicy brown mustard

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1-2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce

2 ears of fresh corn

2 cups cherry tomatoes

8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

8 scallions, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Arugula, if you want.

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta per box instructions, drain in colander.

Put cooked pasta in a large bowl and drizzle with evoo, so the pasta doesn’t stick together, set aside.

Husk the corn and cut kernels off the cobs. Add corn to pasta.

Halve the tomatoes, add to pasta.

To make the sauce, whisk the mayo, bbq sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a medium bowl until combined. Add the sauce to the pasta, tomatoes and corn, toss to combine.

Finely chop the green onions, add to pasta. Top with the grated cheddar cheese.

Taste for salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Plunge into Eleven

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We went through a handful of party themes for Kaili’s 11th party. First it was this, then it was that, and finally we landed on a Cheetah theme. Which was exciting for me because for some sick reason I like to attempt new things in the kitchen when the audience is bigger than the our household. I wanted to see if I could make a cake with the cheetah print inside, reach for the stars you guys. So that put me in crunch time to order a cake topper because even though I like to bite off more than I can chew, I don’t want like to choke; so creating cheetah prints on the frosting was out of my comfort zone. I ordered an edible topper and had it rushed delivery so I wouldn’t be panicking the day before the party. I got the UPS updates all day Wednesday telling me that it was out for delivery and would be here by 5:00, sweet. Well, 5:00 came and went and then I got a message saying that it was delivered to our front door, but it wasn’t, so then panicking ensued. I went to the neighbors like a crazy person and with no avail, decided to wait until morning. Maybe the good samaritan that had my kids birthday cake topper would drop it off. Meanwhile I racked my brain of a back up plan and the thought of having to roll out fondant to decorate the cake was too much for my mind to take. So after the kids were at school, I set out on foot to check everyones front porches for the white envelope I know so well from past birthdays. You guys, I found it, it was on our neighbors porch, hidden behind plants. But….I had already rung their doorbell and no one answered. On top of everything it was a camera doorbell and apparently I am a chicken shit, I went home empty handed. Shawna told me to man up, take the envelope and stop stressing. So I went back, grabbed the envelope and cowardly mouthed to the camera that it was mine and waved like an idiot and went home with my heart pounding like I just went through TSA with cocaine in my panties. I mean, I hadn’t even baked anything yet, sigh.

Kaili wanted her party at the Plunge in Mission Beach. The Plunge is a huge indoor pool with an inflatable obstacle course. We had never been before so it was a blind mission. I was able to order all of the food before hand, they were super easy to work with and would definitely do it again. We had a nice area by the pool that had a table, a couple of benches and loungers.

The girls went straight into the water and didn’t want to come out.

I took you through a vital piece of birthday cake background and you’re probably wondering what the hell? Let’s talk cake.

Super underwhelmed about said cake. I’m not sure I even like cake anymore.

The cake was crumbly and I don’t know why because I didn’t over-bake it.

The design sort of turned out, I was not thrilled with the outcome but my cream cheese frosting is always good period.

Three hours went by in a snap, and our time slot was up. We had to drag the kids out of the pool, they were having so much fun. Next time we will reserve for a longer period of time and maybe just Uber to and fro to avoid the parking fiasco. But, it was a good time and I’m sure we will be back, however Averi has already decided on Great Wolf Lodge for her birthday.

6 Years

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I can’t wrap my head around the fact that my baby is turning 6 years old this week. It doesn’t seem so long ago that she was still in the NICU.

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This one has definitely kept me on my toes. Aside from being one of the cutest f*cking kids, she is stubborn AF.

But Seriously, this face.

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She wanted a My Little Pony party again this year.

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We stayed up Friday night grinding out the cake, it’s all chocolate under the fondant, she doesn’t want anything but.

We spent the afternoon playing pin the horn AND tail on the unicorn, made the family play The Floor is Lava and Uno, we ate cake, opened presents and then she requested cheese pizza for dinner.

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It’s been a sweet six years baby girl. I love you to the moon, around the universe and back.

 

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2020

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Resolutions, traditions and parties, all of those words are used to describe New Years Eve.  One day you’re staying up late sipping sparkling wine all night and then before you know it, you are waking up every morning with young kids. That’s when you accept the fact that none of the “fun” of NYE events are going to happen again, at least for years. But then something wonderful happens, you realize that nothing else matters aside from waking up every day with the ones you love. Even if that means going to parks every damn day of holiday break. Where the kids would rather fill up their socks with sand than play on the swings.

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After an afternoon at the park we had managed to sneak invitations into the mailbox. Casually asking one of the the girls to check the mail, it only took a half a second of screaming to let the house know all the girls had a letter.

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We thought it would be fun to include the girls in one of the NYE traditions. Get dolled up, sip bubbly (soda sheesh), and dance till midnight. They were so excited. Nothing was off limits, want to wear make-up? That’s fine, one night and one night only. Fancy shoes, perfume, soda and no bedtime. What more could they ask for?

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We dined on charcuterie and puff pastry with cheese and passion fruit. These girls sat down in front of the food like we have starved them all day. Before you knew it, shoes were being kicked off and the whining was starting. You guys it wasn’t even 7:00. And then it happened, they asked if they could put on their pajamas and we said, “only after some pictures, party poopers” the nerve.

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We all sat in pajamas and sang karaoke but the party wound down quick. Before you knew it all the girls ASKED to go to bed. Apparently the moral of the story is this…. if you want to have an adult NYE with the kids in bed, take them to the park that day, stuff them full of meat and cheese and tell them they can stay up all night. Voila!

Cheers to a new year!

 

Eggscellent

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Where do the days go?  One day it’s Easter and now I am rushing around to get everything for the almost six year olds birthday party.

Speaking of Easter, we had a pretty low key day. Early Saturday morning Kaili woke up sick. There is nothing like slipping in vomit with bare feet after you’ve taken half of a sleep tab, seriously the best! (keep that in mind my young friends.) She woke up with a fever and zero energy, unfortunately she missed her best friends birthday party that day. She seemed to pep up towards the end of the day and we were hoping she would be good for Easter.

The girls woke to their baskets delivered to our door step by the bunny, thank you for the one who gave me that idea. Kaili seemed a lot better, they tore through the baskets, ate breakfast and then set out on hot pursuit for hidden goodies in the backyard.

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The girls were invited to an Easter party by a school friend, once we decided Kaili was up for it we headed out.

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From here you’ll just have to take my word for it because I tucked my phone away for the entire party. The family was very nice, they had waaaayyy too much food, but they also had alcohol so…. We helped hide over hundreds of eggs for the hunt, which was over in minutes. All the girls had so much fun and there was a tad of resistance when we told them we had to go.

For dinner I made a fancy shrimp scampi that was a lot more work than I normally do and although the shrimp were plumper being poached, the taste was pretty much the same.  Maybe I will share the recipe some time. I do have a brilliant whole fish recipe for you, courtesy of Chrissy Tiegen! Coming soon.

 

The Party

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This year Kaili had some of her own ideas for what she wanted at her party. Reminding her that Disneyland was her big present, we weren’t going to go overboard on the party. A few of her demands requests were that there was to be a piñata, preferably Peppa Pig and she wanted butterflies on her cake, she was totally reasonable.

I was able to get all the party shopping done in a day. I made the cupcakes and the birthday cake the night before. Kaili suggested a Peppa Pig birthday and even though she loves that show I wondered if it was a tad too immature for a fifth birthday. Right or wrong I agreed on some Peppa decor and of course the piñata. In the end, it was perfect.

My only concern was this precious face.

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So sweet but yet so deceiving. She has become so attached to me that anyone trying to take her or occupy her usually led to a complete meltdown, noodle body and all. It took a village to keep her away from me and we are not above using sugar as an incentive.

I set up a cupcake decorating station which was a hit. I ordered round plastic palettes from Amazon. I bought a bunch of different topping ranging from mini m&m’s to sprinkles. We put the cupcake in the middle of the palette and gave them a cup of frosting and let them have at it. Huge hit.

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After they devoured the cupcakes or should I say licked off the frosting…we moved on to a few party games and some memorable face painting.

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The kids were more than patient waiting for their turns.

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The party isn’t complete until someone beats the bacon, or pig or sausage….

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The piñata..

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was perfect for these little people..

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Kaili had her besties with her and that is all she really wanted.

When she blew out the candles I really, really wanted to ask her what she wished for but, I’m sure no matter what it is…

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Her dad and I will do all we can to make sure her dreams come true.

Halloween in Photos

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Along with Kaili’s early rising she has also lost her taste for breakfast. Before heading to school I asked her if she wanted to eat something, “yes chocolate!” Damn kid, it’s 8 in the morning.

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Our school had a Halloween party and I went to watch help. I walked in and caught K “playing” a game.

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Her and her bestie had fun together playing the piano, dancing, playing and I led the kids in The Spooky Walk….It’s like I never left.

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Kaili was highly intrigued with the story time/ puppet show set up. So much so, that she inserted herself into the show.

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After a gourmet lunch of pizza, I dragged her home for a much needed nap.

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We took Kaili out trick or treating with some friends and she outlasted us. She wasn’t quite sure what was happening in the beginning but she quickly caught on. All said and done I think she liked the free candy thing but every dog she came across was way more intriguing.

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I vow to retire this outfit now.