I'm Cuban B!

 

Pretty sure we were quoting this line all night.

Nana is at it again!  She chose to do Cuba this time and cheated a little with the help of Havana Cafe.  They specialize in Family style take out which is something Cubans are known for.  We had the paradise pulled pork meal with all the trimmings.  Including : white and black bean rice, Cuban cabbage salad, Maduros (sweet fried plantains), and chocolate cake!

After dinner and clean up we all practiced our animal sounds with little Zoie.  Nana had taken Ayden to the book fair earlier that afternoon and they both scored some great books!  Thanks again Nana!

Then we put the kids to bed and introduced Eliana to the Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virgina.  It's probably the most shockingly amazing thing my eyes have ever seen, and it never gets old.  If you haven't heard of it, have a completely warped sense of humor, and you love trashy reality shows as much as this girl then you have GOT to see it, its on Netflix.  Shocking doesn't even begin.  Here is what Eliana thought of it...

Thanks for doing another country Nana!  We love that you are getting into it with us but mostly we just love having you around.  Nana helped us learn that Baseball is very popular in Cuba and so are toiletries!  Toiletries are hard to come by in Cuba because supplies are so limited on the island, so locals totally appreciate gifts of toothpaste, make-up, etc.

My laptop is up and running again, which makes blogging so much easier so I will definitely see you next week!

G'day Mate!

The Ford's were a little under the weather this week.  Total bummer.  Never the less, through the sneezes and sniffles this "sheila" managed to get our Australian night checked off the map...with a little help from Outback Steakhouse....Points for creativity, Dad!

Outback can't help but reminds all of us of Grandma Debbie, it was one of our favorite places to meet up for dinner in Prescott...her ears must have been ringing :)  We haven't been there in forever but it was just as tasty as we remembered!  Ayden loved the bloomin' onion (who doesn't?) and Zoie ate daddy's lemon all while giving us some amazing sour faces.  We even tried to see which one of us could write their name the best using our left hand.

Dad went cursive...show off.

Australia has been on my bucket list for lots of reasons but mainly because it looked like so much fun when Oprah went.  Who's coming with me?  Keeping with tradition we brought along our facts to read.  Here's a little Aussie vocab for ya.  I love the way they speak, I might just start adopting it....that's normal right?

• Cotton candy - "fairy floss"  ( I mean honestly, does that get any cuter?)
• French fries are "chips" and potato chips are "crisps"
• Clothes - "clobbers"
• Candy - "lollie"  They call the game Candyland, "Lollieland".
• Girls are "sheilas" and boys are "blokes"
• If something is terrific it's a "ripper"

Cheers!  To our 23th country!  Holla! 

Madagascar Movie Night

I'm in computer HELL.  A few weeks ago our laptop stopped working.  We bought a new battery only to discover it was most likely the power cord.  No problem, I'll just use the desktop right?  Nope, apparently our desktop has taken a strong disliking to my camera and memory card and refuses to upload my pics.  Grrrr.  Finally, I decide I will just use Ayden's mini laptop.  Key word- mini.  You'd have to be a carnie to type on that thing, you know...small hands, smell like cabbage.  Due to intense frustration I will have to keep this one short and sweet.....  

Leave it to Ayden to pick Madagascar, I think he has watched that movie at least a hundred times.  I surfed and surfed the internet until I found a recipe that looked somewhat edible.  Appropriately named Madagascar Chicken, made with coconut milk and fresh ginger.  It would have been great served over rice, but we had corn on the cob instead.  It did earn a spot in my favorite recipe book, but I penciled in a few things, like adding some curry powder and more garlic.

Of course we couldn't do Madagascar without watching the movie!  We even rented the sequel in case we felt like a marathon. 

 Then we hopped into our jammies, popped some popcorn and cozied up on the couch.

Zoie had popcorn for the first time and LOVED it!

We learned that a vast majority of the 12,000 species found on the island of Madagascar cannot be seen anywhere else in the world!  It is also one of the friendliest places based on the notion of "fihavana" meaning Brotherhood, which basically entails always finding a way to get along and avoid hostility.  I think more countries should adopt the fihavana idea!!

Can't wait for next week!  Daddy picked Australia!!

Jamaica, Mom

 

The unofficial 5th member of the Ford family stopped by this week to do another country.  Nana took over our country night for the second time.  This time instead of cooking she brought us yummy takeout from one of her faves....Rumbi's!  She brought her Jamaican facts along and Ayden even let her put the pin in our map.  BIG honors! 

 Here's what we had:

• Jamaican Jerk Chicken Rice bowl 
• Voodoo Chicken Salad
• Calypso Spinach Salad
• Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich
• Key Lime Pie
• Jamaican Rum (Which we never ended up opening, but I have every confidence it will not go to waste)

Nana had some great facts too!  For example:

1. Many Jamaican believe in witchcraft or "obeah".  These beliefs include an evil spirit known as Rolling Calf that comes out to haunt people at night....creeeeepy!
2. In restaurants Jamaicans will ask if you are "having it" which is their way of asking if you are dining in.

Thanks for doing Jamaica Mom, we always have fun with you around and can't wait for your next country pick!  It has defiantly been nice having friends and family take over lately, but I am totally ready to get back in the game!  Ayden's pick is next, lets go ask him.  Madagascar?  Yup, wish me luck.

"Are they talking about China on T.V!?!?" - Tyler Allenbaugh

My little brother is home!  After 10 months in Oregon he just couldn't stand being away from his most favorite sister any longer so he packed up and moved home.  We all really missed him and just had to have him join us for one of our country nights.  The country of the week was China which is actually kinda funny because when Tyler was a little boy he used to think that lady parts were called "Chinas".  It's something our family still giggles about, and something he is probably not to happy about me broadcasting.  Good thing he doesn't read my blog.......psh.

When I was preggers with Mr. Ayden Fox, I had the worst cravings for those almond cookies that they have at Chinese restaurants.  I used to make Adam take me to this China Buffet in Prescott where I would fill my purse plate with as many as I could eat.  Adam thought it would be a good excuse to go again, but mostly I think the man just loves a buffet.  I have to say that it wasn't quite as good as I remember, they didn't have almond cookies, and Tyler was making me vom with the HUGE octopus he was eating, whole.

 

Tyler brough along his adorable girlfriend Eliana and some goodies for the kiddos.  What a good Uncle!  Eliana has actually been to China which is super cool and she even taught us a few words.  One of our facts was how fortune cookies were invented in a factory in San Fransisco, where my Grams and I have totally been to, toured, and tasted.  Delish.

Then we went bowling!!

 Which I completely suck at.  There isn't enough beer on this earth to make me a good bowler.  Tyler implemented some dancing rules that had us gettin' our groove on.  Had there been a score board for dance moves, I would have totally won.  Just sayin. 

World's worst bowler = me.

Ay, Columbia

Okay, okay.  I totally suck.  It's true, we missed a week.  In my defense, the past two weeks have been very busy for momma Ford.  So, in order to redeem myself and ease the shame I decided I would show you all some of my very valid excuses.

 First, I loaded up my adorable kids and took them to their G.G's house in Tucson where they got to play with their cousins for 3 whole days!

Then I worked a total of 37 hours in 3 days at the salon, oh man my dogs were barking!  Followed by a super fun sleepover/wedding vendors conference in Camp Verde.

 

There was tequila...in LARGE quantities.  Cute cowboy servers, amazing food from Red's in Sedona, beautiful decor, a much needed bloody mary brunch, and a connection that landed me a styling gig for Bridal Magazine!  More on that later...

Then...Kid Rock (and Sheryl Crow..HELLO!)

For those of you who don't know, my mother and husband are huge Kid Rock fans.  Like, HUGE.  My mother even has a Kid Rock tramp stamp that she proudly portraits.  We had such a great time and got to spend time with my other mother, Starla!

Okay, so that doesn't exactly make me sound that busy but I assure you, it totally felt that way. 

Finally, we got to Colombian night.

We had Pimentones Rellenos and Coffee Cake.  Basically, I bought a box of coffee cake mix and used Maxwell House Colombian coffee instead of water.  Points for creativity, right?  We learned that 95% of the worlds emeralds come from Columbia and that Columbia is the worlds third leading producer of women's lingerie.

Lastly,

Zoie has started making this hysterical face.  The first time she did it, Ayden and I were laughing so hard we could barely breathe.  I caught a couple of them on camera and just had to share....enjoy!

See you next week!  I promise!!!

Sweet, Sweet, Switzerland.

Switzerland ranks up there as one of the most fun countries we have visited and we owe it all to my mom.  She has been patiently awaiting her turn to do a country with us.  She pondered doing countries that begin with "D" since her name is Debbie, but D countries are very limited.  Ultimately, she decided to go with Switzerland and boy are we glad she did.  Because Switzerland is famous for Fondue and who doesn't love fondue???                                  

   Here is our journey to Switzerland.....

First we had to shop for our fondue ingredients AND a fondue pot.

Then we dipped and dipped to our hearts content.

Mini Zoie Photo shoot.....why not?

 We thought it would be fun to play a little prank on Adam.  So we poured these Jelly Beans into a bowl and asked him to guess the flavors.  It gave us a serious case of the giggles, the kind where tears run down your cheeks and your tummy hurts.  Ayden was bursting at the seams with the secret of the gross flavors.  Good thing Adam is such a good sport!

FUN FACTS:

1. The first known recipe for cheese fondue dates back to 1699.
2. Swiss Army knifes are red so they can be seen in the snow.
3. There are no mosquitoes in Switzerland.
4. It was once against the law to slam your car door.
5. Our personal favorite....It is against the law to mow your lawn dressed like Elvis.  What?!

My mom is one of those instantly likeable people.  Not only is she a fantastic Nana but she is my very best friend and there isn't a single person on this planet who I have more fun being around.  Mom, you did a great job and we had So. Much. Fun!  I definitely think you need to do it again!!  Love you more!