Columbus!

We got to enjoy our first Crew game of the season last weekend! Pat's parents gifted Owen a ticket for his birthday and we all decided to go because Crew games = fun! We couldn't stay for a very long trip this time but we did head to Easton to stop at a couple of stores and eat dinner at Abuelo's. It ended up being a perfect night for a game too. No rain and not too cold! Aaaaand the Crew won!

Fed and almost ready for the game!

The kids were disappointed that there weren't any boats to play with in the fountain this time

Game time!

We took a picture after every goal to celebrate

Something on the ipad was hilarious!

Broccoli Slaw

I hadn't gotten a cookbook from the library in awhile so I decided that I would make an effort to grab one form the New Release shelf and make something from it. Turns out, the only thing that appealed to me was this recipe for Broccoli Slaw with Roasted Cashews and Cranberries which is surprising considering the book was called Family Food. It was actually not very well-recieved by my family. Paige thought it was disgusting, Owen ate it without complaint but didn't want any leftovers, and Pat and I both thought it was mediocre. The actual problem I have with it is the broccoli. It needs to be in much smaller pieces or maybe even cooked just a bit to soften it up. The dressing and everything else was good!

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The Cheese Stands Alone

Paige finally got to perform her first grade play after a week delay due to a snow day. She chose to be a dancer this year instead of trying out for a speaking part and she really enjoyed herself. She sang the songs around the house and showed us her dance a few times. The play went off without a hitch (from what I could tell) and no one fainted or vomited like we've seen happen in the past!

Paige! Front and center!

Another performance picture!

Paige and Miley before the show.

Nanny came to watch!

Just three of us! Owen watched Paige practice during the school day so we let him go to soccer practice.

Art!

The kids were a little thrown off that Aunt Jamie wasn't at the art museum last time we visited so we wanted to make sure we found another day to meet up with her! We hung out in the kids area, ate lunch in the cafe and walked around for a bit. I heard on NPR that you will enjoy a classical music concert more if you listen to the music ahead of time. Knowing the music makes it easier to be drawn in maybe? I thought I'd apply that to the art museum by getting out some information booklets Jamie had given us awhile back. The one we picked was focused on "Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas"so we talked about Buddha and the different meanings of what the pose of a statue's hands could mean. Paige got into it a little more than Owen but I think it did help to have things to look for! She was also pretty beat from her dance competition the previous day!

Hi Aunt Jamie!

Jamie took this picture of all of us!

And this one!

And this one! Paige wanted a picture where I was next to the older lady and she was next to the little girl. We got scolded by a museum guard for being too close...oops!

And the moment we thought it was probably time to get the kids home:)

Dance Competition!

Phew! I thought soccer tournaments were exhausting but dance competitions are no joke either! Since we had no clue what the whole experience would be like, I wanted to make sure we got there the night before even though Paige wasn't performing until the afternoon the next day. It ended up being a good decision because it gave us time to relax, for Paige to play in the pool and for me to hang out with some parents and figure out the details of the next day. We both woke up pretty early and used that opportunity to do hair and makeup (Paige, not me) with friends. Then we drove up to the auditorium and arrived about an hour before Paige needed to be ready (which would be 2 hours before her first dance!). The day was full of running around, changing costumes, and eating random snacks until we could finally get a sandwich around 4ish (Thanks to Pat and Owen who went and picked it up, we probably wouldn't have eaten at all if they hadn't driven up that afternoon to join us!). Paige loved every minute of it and it was awesome to finally get to see all her hard work on stage!

First order of business? Plop into the middle of the bed and check out the tv. I think the second order of business was jumping from bed to bed?

Hair and makeup time! 

They were so excited!

Ready for their first dance!

Paige in all 3 of her costumes

I managed to get in one picture too!

Pep talk

The entire group from mini line.

St Patrick's Day!

The kids had St Patrick's Day off of school this year because of a teacher work day so they got extra time to enjoy their Lucky Charms, green milk, and chocolate gold coins. Such a healthy holiday for us! We did slightly better at lunch time with macaroni and cheese, veggies and spinach muffins (I was going to link back to the blog where I first put them up but I can't find them! Is it possible I've never put these on the blog before??). I also made some Green Macarons with Mint-Chocolate Ganache for Pat to take to work. It was only my second attempt every because this is a very finicky dessert but I thought it would be worth it to try with the new oven. They didn't all come out great but I had better success than my first time!

Paige figuring out how to bust into the chocolate

Wearing green!

A popular request around here is to have a "reading lunch." 

Macarons!

Pi(e) Day!

Pi(e) day was also a snow day this year! Owen woke up earlier than ever and couldn't go back to sleep once he heard the news. Paige slept in until past the time she would have needed to be at school and cried when she heard the news! A snow day meant her 1st grade play would be postponed and she had been really excited about it! We made up for it a little bit by making this blueberry pie. The recipe was carefully chosen based on what ingredients I had in the house. No way was I leaving to buy pie ingredients. We all loved it and it was made and gone in the same day!

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Coffee and Talk

I love this group of ladies! Normally we gather at one of our houses but we all decided no one's house was available so we headed to a local cafe. I'm pretty sure we were the obnoxious people screeching and laughing so hard we were crying but when you're enjoying yourself that much it's hard to be discreet!

I'm...Batman

We've been excited to see the new Lego Batman movie ever since we first saw a hilarious preview for it! We finally found a date we could all go and we got to try out the newly redone theater with recliners for seats. They were comfortable. A little too comfortable. I definitely fell asleep and I wasn't all that impressed with the movie. Everyone else liked it though! And I'd like to try the theater again so I can truly test out if the movie was boring or if I was just super tired.

A day or two before the movie we did an online tutorial to draw Robin from the movie.

Ha ha! Crazy Paige!

And another group shot to fully show the comfort of the seats.

To Market

And what did Paige and I do at home while the boys were in Virginia? We talked about a lot of different options but the weekend flew by so fast we didn't have time to do most of them! Paige had dance Friday night and on Sunday afternoon but Saturday was completely open. We picked up some Swedish Fish for the road and then headed to the Westside Market to search for some unicorn macarons I had seen a picture of the day before. We circled the market at least three times before I had to give up and find a map of the stall on my phone. We found them! And then of course bought a giant apple fritter too:) We headed over to my parents house for a visit and to share our treats!

Ready with the snacks!

I wish we had been able to buy some of that cheese!

Unicorn Macaron! Finally!

We also got a lemon and chocolate-covered strawberry macaron. The lemon was meh but the strawberry was sooooo good!

Tournament

I am not the one that should be writing this post because I wasn't even there but I'll do my best! Owen's club team had a tournament in Virginia so he and Pat traveled while Paige and I stayed home (for a few different reasons). We let him miss school on Friday because we knew there would be a lot of historical sites to see and knew the drive would be long. They started off in a snowstorm but it cleared up as they drove south. That night they saw Manassus battlefield and then the next day Owen had two games. They tied the first and won the second! Pat and Owen then ventured to DC with Lauren and Dave to see some more sites before heading back for the team dinner. The boys thought they hadn't made it into the semi-finals for Sunday but then found out there would be a shootout at 7:30 the next morning to determine who would move ahead. Owen's team won the shootout!! I'm pretty sure that was the most exciting moment of the whole thing. They followed the shootout with a game immediately after and unfortunately lost so that meant the tournament was over for them! Owen had a blast and can't wait for the next tournament!

The Battlefield

In front of the White House

Hi Fives after their win!

Team Dinner

Team Huddle

Warmups

I don't know how both of the kids ended up in activities that require us to buy warmups but at least they match each other;)

Grüne Bohnen

I originally bought a pound of fresh green beans to make a roasted tofu/green bean sheet pan recipe. Then I ruined the tofu by using balsamic vinegar that was no longer good and had to completely rethink dinner. I found this recipe for Roasted Parmesan Green Beans and decided to give it a try. A more accomplished cook could probably think of these recipes on their own but I need to know quantities and temperatures! It was a really simple recipe and a really good one. I do not like juicy green beans and roasting them takes care of that for you.

Paczki!

Every year, I see the hype about paczki and sort of roll my eyes and wonder what all the fuss is about. This year, I remembered that we're Polish and we also like fried pastries and bought us some of our own paczki! They were delicious and I only bought them at Giant Eagle so I'm sure if you get to a Polish bakery, they are even more delicious!

Wedding Shopping

Lauren is getting married in a couple months! She came to town for a friends birthday and we got a chance to go out together to get Paige's flower girl dress. Success! They had one in Paige's size so it was a pretty easy trip. Later, we met the boys for dinner at The Rail. The food was fine but the milkshakes...THE MILKSHAKES! I would go there again just for the milkshakes. Paige was exhausted by the end of the day (see bottom photo) and still recovering from that sleepover!

Shopping! Done!

Paige's face was so tired that she needed to assist her smile.

Cheesiest

People will tell you that if you involve your kids in making dinner they will like it more. Nope. Not here anyway! Paige helped me make this homemade (healthyish) mac and cheese. I've made it before, click here to see it. This time we left out the chicken and added extra broccoli. Pat and I thought it was fantastic but the kids just thought it was mediocre. Oh, and I added Green Dragon Hot Sauce to mine. Yummmm.