Very pleasant

Madame Christine Lagarde, the French Minister of Finance, has been appointed as new chief of the IMF International Monetary Fund.

I have always admired this lady. She is intelligent, she has class and she is one of the most elegant women I ever have seen.

And though I am not French, I am extremely pleased and proud that Madame Lagarde got elected to this very important function.

Very pleasant

Madame Christine Lagarde, the French Minister of Finance, has been appointed as new chief of the IMF International Monetary Fund.

I have always admired this lady. She is intelligent, she has class and she is one of the most elegant women I ever have seen.

And though I am not French, I am extremely pleased and proud that Madame Lagarde got elected to this very important function.

Blond Brownies a la Mode

This is another super yummy family favorite recipe I discovered in an old Taste of Home magazine - it's also located on their website.

These brownies are soooo delicious!  They have a rich almost butterscotchie flavor and stay moist for several days.  They're fabulous without out the topping and are out of this world with it.  The topping's also great by itself on ice cream.  Here's the recipe so you can enjoy them to.

Blond Brownies a la Mode

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Maple Cream Sauce:
1 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
Vanilla ice cream and chopped pecans


Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in pecans.
• Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. ( I usually have to bake these for 38 minutes.  You don't want to under-bake these or they turn out gooey.)  Cool on a wire rack.
• For the sauce, combine syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in milk. Cut brownies into squares; cut in half if desired.
• Place on dessert plates with a scoop of ice cream. Top with sauce; sprinkle with pecans. Yield: 20 servings.

Blond Brownies a la Mode

This is another super yummy family favorite recipe I discovered in an old Taste of Home magazine - it's also located on their website.

These brownies are soooo delicious!  They have a rich almost butterscotchie flavor and stay moist for several days.  They're fabulous without out the topping and are out of this world with it.  The topping's also great by itself on ice cream.  Here's the recipe so you can enjoy them to.

Blond Brownies a la Mode

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Maple Cream Sauce:
1 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
Vanilla ice cream and chopped pecans


Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in pecans.
• Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. ( I usually have to bake these for 38 minutes.  You don't want to under-bake these or they turn out gooey.)  Cool on a wire rack.
• For the sauce, combine syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in milk. Cut brownies into squares; cut in half if desired.
• Place on dessert plates with a scoop of ice cream. Top with sauce; sprinkle with pecans. Yield: 20 servings.

Meeting Taelyn Marie Frangiamore

From the moment I arrived at Kristen's house the cameras were unpacked & I began photographing Taelyn. I wish I could be there to capture her every milestone, but I'll have to share the paparazzi role with her mama!! The following are a small sampling of the 250 pictures I captured during my stay. She is 1 wk old in the photos! I can't beleive she's 4 wks old today.

Meeting Taelyn Marie Frangiamore

From the moment I arrived at Kristen's house the cameras were unpacked & I began photographing Taelyn. I wish I could be there to capture her every milestone, but I'll have to share the paparazzi role with her mama!! The following are a small sampling of the 250 pictures I captured during my stay. She is 1 wk old in the photos! I can't beleive she's 4 wks old today.

Maci Celebrated her Birthday with family in Illinois during our stay!!

Maci had the giggles & loved being the center of Grandma's attention. The evening was all about her & she didn't have to share her Grandma with any other children!
WOO HOO!!! Fancy Nancy Tea Party book to go along with an adorable Tea Cart & Tea Set. The tea set Maci can paint to create her own fancy design!!

Maci loved her birthday card from Uncle Craig & Ms. Jessica. She said the girl on the front was her!

Uncle Craig & Ms. Jessica came over to visit us at Grandma Marty's. They brought along an early birthday present. Maci was thrilled to receive a fairy princess Barbie (that she likes to play with in the tub) and the newest Olivia take Ballet DVD!!

On our way to Monkey Joe's for some unlimited bouncing fun!! Aunt TT, Cody & Grandma & pa Guerra joined in too!! For $5 a kiddo, the children got to bounce for an unlimited amount of time (which our personal cut-off was 2 hrs). There were 6 different bounce inflatables & the kids had a great time. So did the adults! Afterwards we

eat dinner at Portillo's! YUM!!

Aunt TT took Maci shopping for her birthday & Maci selected a make-up kit & a Barbie that you can put pink highlights in her hair & in Maci's hair. It proved to be a fun time!!!

Cody was a great sport at letting Maci doll him up with make-up!

Maci Celebrated her Birthday with family in Illinois during our stay!!

Maci had the giggles & loved being the center of Grandma's attention. The evening was all about her & she didn't have to share her Grandma with any other children!
WOO HOO!!! Fancy Nancy Tea Party book to go along with an adorable Tea Cart & Tea Set. The tea set Maci can paint to create her own fancy design!!

Maci loved her birthday card from Uncle Craig & Ms. Jessica. She said the girl on the front was her!

Uncle Craig & Ms. Jessica came over to visit us at Grandma Marty's. They brought along an early birthday present. Maci was thrilled to receive a fairy princess Barbie (that she likes to play with in the tub) and the newest Olivia take Ballet DVD!!

On our way to Monkey Joe's for some unlimited bouncing fun!! Aunt TT, Cody & Grandma & pa Guerra joined in too!! For $5 a kiddo, the children got to bounce for an unlimited amount of time (which our personal cut-off was 2 hrs). There were 6 different bounce inflatables & the kids had a great time. So did the adults! Afterwards we

eat dinner at Portillo's! YUM!!

Aunt TT took Maci shopping for her birthday & Maci selected a make-up kit & a Barbie that you can put pink highlights in her hair & in Maci's hair. It proved to be a fun time!!!

Cody was a great sport at letting Maci doll him up with make-up!

April 13th Our baby turned 4!!!!

Our sweet baby girl is now 4yrs old!! Maci has been all about her birthday since Christmas. She has been asking for a DS for the last 6 months & we kept telling her she needed to be older. So... when her birthday was approaching she informed Scott that, "dad I'm getting bigger and I'm going to get a DS." So the question is....... Did she get what she most wanted? YES!! I love transforming the house for Birthdays, making each child's day extra special!!
Daddy put up the streamers and...... Grandma, Grandpa, Marlena & Maximus blew up 24 purple & pink balloons to decorate her floor. As our lil angel slept we dropped all the balloons on her floor!!

We always open presents before everyone heads off to school/work. We've all been staying up kinda late so getting up on Maci's birthday was a little rough! We had to actually wake our little beast from her slumber.

Maci loves Polly Pockets & her Cinderella version of Polly. She has a Castle & the Carriage. In the set she is holding she got Prince Charming & more Cinderella outfits!!

Happy Birthday Maci!!

Maci's BFF, Caitlin in Colorado sent her this awesome envelope filled with cool crafts, glitter headbands, & beaded glow in the dark jewelry!! Caitlin always has the coolest neatest stuff!!

Admiring her new princess shoes from cousins Ian, Evan & Taelyn. A girl could never have too many shoes!!

Talking to Grandma Marty on her Birthday.

Maci received a bright red DS & a Pixy Pony (my little pony) Game. She went to her room & I found her on her bed learning her new game!! Our little Olivia lover with her hand painted Olivia made especially for her by Eyve Capaz!!

Maci picked out her own Birthday cake a month before her birthday. Yep, that's right! We were at Walmart picking out some rolls in the Bakery when she spotted this castle cake & asked if she could have it for her birthday!! So... I ordered it on the spot!

The cake was delicious & the kids favorite part was the icing!!