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Last year Scarlet took Manhattan in part 1, and I died of cuteness, along with most of the internet.

I almost died of other things too, not to be melodramatic. It was never my trip to take, but I couldn’t have taken it anyway because I was dealing with PTSD. My heart started pounding in strange and uncertain places, and sometimes not-so-strange and not-so-uncertain places. I was breathless and heart-poundy a lot. And I’m ok with that. I’m ok with that because it happened for a reason and I have done nothing but challenge it since. And this year? I could have gone. I could have loved it. I could have been breathless and heart-poundy in large crowds and cities, but knowing I can find my way to the other side.

Anywhere and anytime.

Being breathless and heart-poundy can be good too, sometimes. When it threatens to overwhelm you, well maybe you’ll find your way to the other side. It takes all kinds. And maybe my way won’t work for you, or your way won’t work for me, but hey. In this particular movie with this particular girl, the hero made her way to New York City to take it by storm. And her mother was fine with that and knowing that one year, maybe they’ll all go as a family. And maybe her mother can be a hero too.

Someday.

I also want you to consider that this trip was followed by Scarlet’s performance in The Nutcracker, a trip on the Polar Express, a trip to see Santa, a two day fever and then a trip to see Star Wars. Girl’s got style and stamina. And grace too.

Although she still looks small in the Empire State Building elevator.

She made it to the top, though.

Cuteness alert.

I’ve noticed lately that people smile at the two of us whenever we’re out in public. It happened so many times the other day when I took her to see The Good Dinosaur that I finally made us stand side by side in the restroom mirror to see if I could see it. And sure enough, I did. Matching red coats and matching tousled hair. Matching smiles and joy. Matching wonder. We’re in sync a lot these days, whether together in NYC or not. Knowing I can be fully happy for their trips and fully present for when they get home is big. I also think you can’t underestimate the power of a peacoat, a smile, and messy, happy hair.

Yes.

Also, yes.

Sleeping in cabs while sober. Been there.

Frozen hot chocolate is also a yes. Yes?

As we walked out of Star Wars on Friday, Scarlet asked what the plot was. Then she delved into her own theories. If I had to come up with a plot for this story, it would be that chocolate, moose and blue whales are awesome. Oh yeah. I already told you that plot. It would be that annual holiday traditions like this are lifelong locked into the memory banks. And that messy hair and red peacoats will not only open doors for you out there in the world, but will knock them off their hinges.

And that Scarlet leads a good life.

**All photos taken by Cassidy, or by random, friendly strangers in NYC.

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsMovieNight #CollectiveBias

Maybe you know what they say about the best-laid plans…when it comes to kids.

My kids were AMPED about Minions coming to Blu-Ray/DVD on December 8th. Scarlet had seen it in a drive-in theater (which I’ve never done!!) when we were in Cape Cod over the summer and Des had never seen it. Our nights have been so busy lately. We’ve had Christmas shows and Christmas train rides and Christmas Santa visits and Christmas lights viewing. Not to mention, Scarlet had a bad fever virus for 48 hours and we had to push back family time for that and Cassidy’s hectic work schedule. It’s been hard to get the four of us together. Finally, this week, we planned movie night! Minions movie night.

So what was I saying about the best laid plans? I let my kids plan the menu a little too closely to their own visions! Honestly, that’s part of the fun. We decided to make Minions Banana (of course) Ice Cream! Scarlet originally wanted to add frosting and cupcakes and cookies to the ice cream. Des wanted to add a little cat food. I decided to take creative lead and plan the base of the ice cream myself. We received an ice cream maker and an ice cream recipe book for our wedding and it remains one of my most favorite, but largely unexplored, wedding gifts. As in, it’s daunting to make it without Cassidy and WITH kids!

I adapted my bases from an ice cream recipe book. I also added a store-bought vanilla ice cream because our ice cream maker could really only make one base per day and kids get impatient. So I used the vanilla ice cream with blue food coloring.

Minions Banana Ice Cream!

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 ripe bananas
1 juice of one lemon
Blue food coloring
Yellow food coloring
Edible eyes
Whatever else you want!

Instructions

Whisk two large eggs into a mixing bowl for about 1-2 minutes.
Whisk in the 1/2 cup of sugar in a little at a time for about another minute.
Pour in the cream and milk and keep whisking to blend.
Follow direction on your ice cream maker. We have a churn one so we let it churn for about 20 minutes.
Then mash the bananas and lemon juice together in a bowl until smooth.
After the initial ice cream base stiffens, add the banana mixture.
Put ice cream in freezer until you're ready to decorate with various things!

https://tamaracamerablog.com/minions-movie-night-with-minions-banana-ice-cream/

Once the ice creams were made, the fun began.

First, I bought the movie while the kids were at school. I wanted to surprise them when they got home by telling them we’d be having a special movie night. Minions © 2015 Universal Studios All rights reserved came to Blu-Ray/DVD on December 8th. All rights reserved. Illumination Entertainment’s Minions is something we’ve been looking forward to owning for several months.

You can find a list of retailers, HERE to find out where to buy the DVD.

We are ice cream people for sure, and it’s always fun to be inspired to try a new recipe. Scarlet informed us all that minions love bananas, so we knew we had to make banana ice cream. Before it was completely finished, I added a few drops of yellow food coloring to the recipe to make it even more yellow. Then I softened some vanilla ice cream and stirred in blue food coloring, should the kids want to feature the overalls. I know that yellow and blue really make green, but it was really fun to make yellow and blue ice cream. Both kids wanted to make their own Minions-inspired ice cream treats. I was hands off.

Scarlet’s adaptation is really cute.

Then it was movie time. As you can see from the photos, I let them eat dinner and dessert in front of the TV. I usually don’t do this and they did get up and dance at times. They were also so entertained they forgot to eat dinner..