Ashia DelaBastide Mann, Signing off

Thank you for 5 years of following our blog.
I checked the statistics a little while back, and, besides the casual (random or creepy) stranger
stopping by periodically, from the US and overseas, we haven't gotten too many visits so i've stopped blogging.
We love you guys and hope we can connect in the real world soon.
xoxo

Big sister little brother

dentist

smile! madeline has become a pro at this and she has paved the way for her brother’s first cleaning too

easy as 1-2-3.

In case you did not see this, live it, taste it or experience it live. (for any number of reasons ;)

Don went crazy celebrating my birthday this year.

He asked me what I wanted and I said that all that mattered was that I didn’t have to plan anything!

And then he and Madeline decided that we’d have to have a treat of some sort. (Though later, Madeline insisted that we have cake. Its not a birthday without cake)

(that’s my new t shirt with the chemical equation for chocolate on it

So Don did some heavy research and tried to track down my favorite ice cream of all time. Haagen Dazs’ Macadamia Nut Brittle. It has been taken off the market for 5 years. So… he decided to make it. And he wasn’t about to mess around. It had to be the creamiest, the richest, the best. It had to be precisely what I remembered from Haagen Dazs.

He then asked me if we were going to HAVE something for my birthday, and it would be awesome but it would be more awesome if it was slightly dangerous, which method would I want him to pursue. 

and of course I chose danger.

So, thanks the the sleuth work of my brother in law, Carl, it became about acquiring some heavy chemicals, a stand mixer, organic farm creams and premium flavorings and toppings and a recipe for ice cream that includes not just milk and sugar but heavy cream and egg yolks too- And a few hours of mixing, cooking, blending soaking and measuring on Don’s part. Here is a bottle of the ice cream mix- being finished off:

It was a dream come true. And, as promised, I didn’t plan a THING.

In fact, I had no idea what was happening, even after I opened package after package of ice cream ingredients, a stand mixer, and a 60lb (Doer) of Liquid Nitrogen!

Heres the footage:

Friends and family members came to add toppings (like 100% cacao from venezuela) to the ice cream, an audience for the big show and lots of laughter and fun.

And of course, there was a rich chocolate cake with the chemical element abbreviation for liquid nitrogen spelled out on it too. I wonder what the folks in the whole foods bakery thought of that request?!

Thank you for making this day so unforgettable, my love.

Madeline is 5

Okay, so its been 3 weeks, but im finally posting pics of Madeline’s 5th birthday party.

She wanted an Annie cake. so that’s how it all started

and we used the same image for the invitations (the guests’ names are written in black above ‘Annie’ )and you know whose faces we used for Annie and Daddy Warbucks, right?!

and from there it turned into a theme party, a house decorated like an orphanage, a full cast of characters, a moon bounce pillow fight like ‘hard knock life’ and a lot of fun.

behold the preparation

guests arrives as orphans and were greeted by ms hannigan and annie, sandy and daddy warbucks.

made some orhpan aprons

(uncle) Rooster showed up to help too!

they attacked ms hannigan in the moon bounce and had so much fun! Then ran to the basement for viewing scenes from the movie with popcorn

annie dressup time just before Annie songs karaoke

farewell to our guests, departing with their very own annie wigs and lockets

yeah,… I’d say she had a swell day.

Beach getaway

Don has been preparing around the clock for a big presentation at VMworld in vegas. so the kids and I have been hunkering down at home a lot- but in the past few weeks everyone seemed to disappear to the beach.

Well, as luck would have it, my dear friend, Sue, offered for us to join her and her 8 year old son Tucker, on a trip to the beaches in Delaware this week! SO of course, despite the hurricane- we went!

We had an incredible time. Cut short by a day (no thanks to the emergency evacuation that WOULD have had us leave on Friday) and we got home quickly and safely on saturday long before she hit our area.

The kids had pure fun. and I must admit. there was plenty of that for the moms too!

In the pool at the beachouse.  Yep, that’s a POOL! (and yes, perhaps those are hurricane clouds

scootin around the neighborhood

the kid’s first time to an East coast beach and as we arrived, dolphins were jumping out in the bay! (we were in Lewes)

quality time and belly laughs with bennett as madeline and tucker collect shells and have water fights

a long days work for three happily tired kids.

‘I don’t want to leave!’

Back ‘home’ for ice pops- makes everything better

the moms ate gelato (and checked the evacuation details- deciding that we’d have another day at least before irene would arrive. let the fools duke it out on the roads tonight- we have dark n stormies to drink!)

and sunsets in a stormy sky.

What a way to end a summer.

summer in review

So… we did not schedule anything for this summer. No camp, no classes, no travel. Aside from 5 mornings of soccer this month, the kids and I have been more or less just Playing for months.  And it has been awesome. Just what we needed in our very overscheduled life.

So here is proof of our mellow yellow summer :

Bennett has become a big-kid on a swing. no more baby swing.

Madeline is flipping up her training wheels and learning to balance. check out the knee and elbow pads!

she is really trying!

After this she spent the afternoon on the skut (bike with no pedals for balance practice) and was doing great but I had to put the camera down

We spend lots of time in pjs or shirtless, painting at the kitchen window.

The kids have found ways to entertain me every day. Plays, songs, costumes, recitals. they have really learned to work together on these little shows.

I have done a LOT of home cooking. Here are this week’s Mahi tacos with citrus slaw in process…

Lots of unstructured time with friends

hanging out..

camping at the lake

with friends

in the rain…

and the list goes on and on…

its been awesome. I am so grateful for this time with them.

exhausted. but in an excellent way.