2010 In Photos

We've had a pretty good year, a few bumps at the end of the year, but overall a year filled with lots of love and laughter, milestones and great friends and family. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more. It was so fun to go through all our photos this year

and pick my favorites to represent our year. Which one is your favorite?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

This week we took down the Christmas decorations and left up the trees and Christmas lights. The girls and I decorated the tree for New Year's. We curled colored ribbon and tossed it all over the tree and put noise makers and hats in it, It actually looks pretty good! Yesterday Issy's friend Audrey came over and we had a little New Year's celebration, complete with noise makers, confetti and treats! They had a great time!

We are looking forward to having some friends over to ring in the New Year, we hope you have a fun and safe New Year's too!

Stay tuned for my end of the year blog post, with all my favorite photos from the year!

Happy New Year!

Beignets

This morning the girls and I were watching Princess and The Frog, in the movie Tiana makes her famous beignets (pronounced/ ben.yay) and everyone loves them. Isabelle was curious what they were and asked a lot of questions about them. I told her they tasted like a donut and they were pretty good. Then I decided to try and make them for her after the movie. It was a bit messy but they came out great! Isabelle was super excited that I made them for her and she told me, "Mom, I don't know how you know everything, but I am glad you knew how to make these!" I told her I don't know everything, but with the help of the internet, I was able to find the recipe. She cracks me up, but I am glad I made her smile today! Here is the recipe in case you wanted to try them for yourself.

Beignets

• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine 23/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.
3. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares.
4. Now it’s time to fry the beignets—be sure to ask an adult to help you! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.
5. Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!

It says to mold the dough into a square but it was easier for me to make a circle.

Christmas Day!

Freddie and I woke up Christmas morning before the girls, I asked him to run downstairs and plug in the lights before the kids got up and just as he was walking out the door of our room, Isabelle came skipping in with a smile and Calista was right behind her. At least we woke up on our own first, right? I enjoyed following the girls around the house with my camera as they inspected the house for signs of Santa. They quickly noticed the presents under their tree and sweetly admired them while I took a photo. Then it was off to see if Elfie had really left with Santa....

The girls notice that the stockings were filled and they were jumping with excitement! SO CUTE!

Then it was off to see what was left of the cookies and Coca Cola.... Santa left a note to thank them for the treats and Elfie left a special note too.

The girls were bursting at the seams to get started on presents, so we let them open a couple before breakfast. We finished opening more gifts under their tree after breakfast and then watched a movie together. They found a few more gifts for them under the other Christmas tree, our attempt at trying to make it last. We opened stockings after lunch and assembled some of their toys. We played for hours together with their new toys. We made a cake for Jesus's Birthday and enjoyed dinner together. It was a perfect day!

We hope you experienced the joy of Christmas this year!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Love, The Gallardo's