Dance Baby, Dance!

These girls love to dance.

Christmas Dinner!

Mads and her self-proclaimed "best friend" looking forward to dinner ...















The menu ...




















The table ...















The pomegranate kaprioskas seemed to go down without complaints (note empty jar) ...
















Hub's famous scallops! He made the remoulade and grilled them himself.
And people couldn't get enough of them ...
















Meanwhile, at the kids table ...















And then it was time for Christmas crackers ... and crowns






























Gorgeous selection of mains ... I love all the veggie options!















Party party!















Hostess with the most-ess. Including an exhausted little one and an eldest with an ear ache.














What's that? Home-made Christmas pudding? Bring it on!















Kickin' back before dessert ...
















Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of all the desserts. Or the secret santa. But I can tell you we were gifted a Hong Kong dining guide, which we were really excited about, until we got it home and discovered it was all in Chinese. Oh well.

Chase was so whooped from all the Christmas parties, she had to go home at 3 p.m. And thank goodness mom was willing to go with her. Madoc joined shortly after. I was home by 6 p.m. Threw in my hat and put girls to bed and hung out with my mum instead of going out to the two other functions we had committed to - Hubs went on our behalf.

What I learned this Christmas. I CAN make a fabulous chocolate torte. And, spending time with my family is more important than any chocolate torte. No matter how good it is.

The Torte Of Christmas Present

We were invited to a very elaborate Christmas dinner by a friend of mine up the street. She loves throwing big parties. I have never met anyone who said "the more the merrier," and really, truly meant it.

We've gone the last two years now -- and while it stresses me out, it is a lot of fun. This year, I was in charge of creating 1) pomegranate kapriosas, 2) scallops with remoulade, 3) bacon wrapped dates, and 4) a chocolate chestnut torte. Plus I was in charge of roasting potatoes and pumpkin. Plus secret Santa gifts for adults. Plus secret Santa gifts for kids. Plus 4 bottles of wine. Plus 3 bottles of water.

And I have to admit. The idea of making a perfect chocolate torte really freaked me out. I was totally intimidated, and obsessed at the same time. So obsessed I found it hard to concentrate on anything else.

We went to a gorgeous Christmas Eve party and all I could think about was getting home to start the torte (for good reason, it takes over 2 hours to bake and has over 24 oz of Chocolate in it). And bless my hubby and Mom, who stayed up and helped me through it! Here it is without frosting. And no, I didn't get a picture of it with frosting. But it was gorgeous. Rich. And oh so sinful!

Nutcracker

Every year, we go to see the Nutcracker. This year, we saw it on Christmas Eve.

The Hong Kong ballet's rendition of the Nutcracker is unbelievably beautiful. The costumes and set are amazing. The dancers are fabulous. My only gripe - there appears to be no sugar plum fairy (what? I know, how can that be?) and there seems to be a distinct lack of plot. Of course it is gorgeous and magical, but some things appear to have been lost in translation. That said, it is still the most beautiful Nutcracker performance I have ever seen.

My two ladies, getting ready for the show ...


































At the show ... (I can't believe how grown-up they are!!!) Chase soaked in every moment. Mads sat up straight and clapped at all the right times. Way too cute!

Nana!

Need I say more?

Happy To You, Madoc! (3 Years Old!)

Madoc woke up to find Nana Cris here! What a fabulous way to start her birthday. It only got better from there... Nana Cris gave her a beautiful pink dress, that twirled exactly the right way and was exceptionally fun to run around in ...



































Then we made strawberry cake (with real strawberries) with strawberry frosting (strawberry puree), with Angelina Ballerina on top. Not the prettiest cake, but very tasty!




















When Daddy got home, we opened presents and served-up cake...















Big sister found it VERY difficult to 1) not micro-manage the entire day (hmm, where did she get that from?) and 2) not open Madsie's gifts herself. That is why we also got her a gift, to thank her for being such a great big sister for 3 years!




















Here is big sister trying hard not to blow out Madoc's candles...














Make a wish ...
















First there was barbie ...




















Then there was sizzles!















Then cake and sizzles ...




















Sizzles! And a Barbie dining room set from mom and dad. Even though I swore up and down to myself that I would not buy (1) plastic, or (2) barbie. Oh well.















I love this picture ... oh sizzles, you are cute!















Jojo gave her a lovely gift of Snow White!




















From there, we went off to dinner, where Madoc ordered Macaroni & Cheese (Madoc-a-roni and Chase as we call it in our home). And before she went to bed, she set up Snow White and Barbie at their little plastic dining room table, set out plenty of little plastic food and then carried sizzles up to bed.

Happy Birthday, Madoc. You are a shining star. You are a smart, sweet and beautiful little girl. We are so proud of you for all that you are and all that you do. We love you forever and always, no matter what.

Just Not Fancy Enough

Today I bought what I thought were two very fancy little coats for the girls. They are pink boiled wool, with a fur collar and silver buttons. I also bought two little broaches. Chase saw the two coats and immediately told me they were not fancy enough. But she hasn't seen the broaches yet...

Happy Birthday Madoc: Disney

As Madoc's birthday is at the end of December, we decided to take her to Disneyland in lieu of a birthday party. Probably won't be able to get away with that next year! But here is the 2, soon to be 3-year-old!





























And what better way to start a day at Disney?














Worth mentioning Chase wrote the names of all the princesses on little slips of paper before we left the house. We weren't really sure what she was going to do with them, but they seemed really important. Turns out they really were - she gave them to the princesses and they loved them. Who knew princesses had pockets in their dresses?











































Snow White and Cinderella just received their special name cards...














3D movie. VERY COOL. Chase almost climbed over the woman in front of her trying to catch Donald Duck.















Stopped for a rest ...














I turned to look at something and when I looked back I saw this ...














Dumbo ride ...



















Carousel ...














TEA CUPS! These photos of Mads crack me up!






































































It's a small world, after all ...



















Our two princesses ...



















Daddy and his two girls ...














Totally exhausted ...