Bakerella I Am Not... also titled The Motley Crew.

In a previous post, I mentioned the fact that all of the boys in my life...including the big one...were born  in December.

Hence, December has a way of becoming a tad stressful.

So, I really can't be sure what possessed me to try my hand at The Bakerella's reindeer cake pops.  It may have been the excess of eggnog that I was drinking...or quite possibly the large amounts of chocolate I had been inhaling for the previous three weeks. 

The fact that Wilton's chocolate melts were on sale at Joanne's drove the nail in the coffin.

My coffin.

I will start by saying that Bakerella makes the famous "cake  pop" look like such an easy endeavor.  

NOT.

I mean how hard can dipping a wadded up piece of cake on a stick into a vat of melted chocolate really be?

Really. Hard.

Not to mention the seventeen hundred steps involved in creating the perfect cake-pop.

And that being said, I will share with you the results. 




This was the very first little guy that I created.  I was feelin' pretty confident at this point.  I like how the little bump of chocolate below his red nose resembled a small mouth.  And being that I did not have edible marker to draw a mouth, I was feeling pretty genius right about now.




This was reindeer number 2. My dipping technique wasn't quite as smooth as the previous "dip". However, at this point I hadn't lost my confidence.  I was beginning to realize that this isn't as easy as it looks.  The eye placement was creating a problem as they seemed to want to sink down into the chocolate.



Things slowly began to take a turn for the worse.  I'm not sure if the children were ready to undertake such a lofty endeavor, J-boy was in charge of eye placement and S-girl was endowing each reindeer with antlers.




Then things got UGLY.
At this point I'm not really sure what happened.  I began to lose my confidence. My "dipping" ability was fading.  Apparently, so was S-girl's antler placement.



Look away if you must.
I'm not sure I can even say what happened with this poor soul. She looks as if she's had one too many.
The "lush" of the par-tay.



And this one?
You choose.
Confused?
Dazed?
Befuddled?
Any of the above will work..





This lovely lad will have great difficulty guiding Santa's sleigh.
Inspite of his "nose so bright"!



So, the moral of the story is....you will never find me making cake pops again.
Because I haven't got time for the pain....
no I haven't got room for the pain...

However, I will admit that the sheer excitement that my dear two year old displayed was well worth the production.  He ran around yelling "reindeer cake balls!" for 10 minutes straight.

So, now that I'm thinking about it...I guess the pain was worth it.
For this one time.




We made the mistake of pulling these out too early in the evening.  Before all the party guests had arrived.  I was having great difficulty keeping them from being licked and mauled. Oh well, it was only family...I'm sure they wouldn't have minded knowing that they were eating previously licked cake-pops.

Below is a brief clip. 

And yes, after doing quite a bit of video taping over the holidays...I am painfully aware of the tone in which I speak to my poor child.  I also couldn't get him to yell out "reindeer cake balls!" for the camera.  Isn't that always the way it goes!

Decem-Blur!

Hello.
The family from the Peanut Gallery is alive and well and crawling out from under the "Blur" that was December.
A lovely blur...but still a blur.
Many people ask us if we "planned" on having three December births on account of D-man being born in December.


Seriously?


Who in their right mind would "plan" such a thing?


All that being said, it was a lovely season.
We had delightful family time with relatives from near and far.
I have a quadrillion pictures and was having great difficulty choosing which ones to share.


So I thought I'd give the birthday boys the honor they deserve.


So..without further ado.
I present you the December Birthday Boys in order of their birthdays.


C-boy celebrated his day at Chuck E. Cheese...planned the night before the big event!


L-boy enjoyed his second birthday immensely. The Bakerella's reindeer cake pops were a huge hit!
However, you will never find me slaving over another cake pop in this lifetime.
More on that later.
Oh yes, much more.


The Reason for the Season!


The man who, with the exception of baby Jesus, made all of these other births possible!
I love this man.
Yes I do.
He's one of the GOOD ones!


And last...but never least..our New Year's Eve baby.
Our tax deduction.
Who is not a baby anymore. Boo Hoo.
But I LOVE the boy that he has become!
Including his "bedhead"!


And that is all for today.
I hope that your Christmas Holiday was as "blur-rific" as ours!!

Oh yes..and Happy New Year.

We are alive, well, and have yet to be trampled by moose.

I'm not sure where the time has gone!
Many sweet emails have wandered into my inbox.
Some of you have wondered if I will ever "blog" again.
And today, I decided "Yes...I will blog again!"
And there you have it!


"Why?"...you might find yourself asking.
What has all of a sudden sparked my blogging urge?


Well, it is the possibility of my small children being trampled by large moose!
I find that quite blog worthy.


It wasn't long ago when I posted a "friendly neighbor email" from one of my...well... friendly neighbors.
In that email she warned about the possibility of a cougar attack on our property.
If your memory needs refreshing you can find that post HERE.

So, after receiving this most recent email...
I felt it was my duty to share with you.
You know...so that you could pray for us.

Something scary happened this morning. Marci  had one dog trampled by 2 moose on her front porch and then they went after her other dog who was tied up outside! Tyler had to chase them off their porch TWICE!! And there are 3-4 steps to get up on their railed porch. Who would have thought!

We have had visitors of the "moose" variety.
The possibility of a "trample fest" taking place has kind of thrown a damper on the "special-ness" of their visits!

This is the proof of the visitation just feet from of our front sidewalk.



Oh, by the way, since we are on the topic of "friendly neighbor" emails. 
When browsing through my inbox to cut and paste the above note, I was unfortunately reminded of this one.
I'm thinking this is a tad more disturbing.
But I'll let you be the judge!

HOWDEE EVERYONE!!!

Before the holidays descend upon us, let's get together for another morning coffee/tea time.

I believe there will be updated information to share regarding the recent rash of burglaries in our area as well as the level-III sex offender who is now living very close to all of us. Please be sure to invite your neighbors to this get-together as it will probably be the last one before the holidays..

Signed,

Your Friendly Neighbor

Hmm...sounds like a cup full of  "glad tidings of comfort and joy" .
And in case you were wondering...I wasn't able to make it to that little "get together"!

Signed,

Annie Julie Get Your Gun!

p.s.  This is "for reals"!  I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

 

Speaking of burglaries.
We've had one of our own.
Here is the pre-burgled photo.


The aftermath!


The culprit?
Or... the only one unable to "conceal the evidence"!



And finally...if you enjoy The Peanut Gallery...would you be willing to give me a vote at Top Mommy blogs? It's the brown blinking button below with the little lady that is trying to juggle one too many things in the air!  It is just one click away. I might even move up in the rankings to number 278,987th!!
And I would give YOU all the credit!
However, do not let me force your hand in this.
Do only as your heart desires.
Truly, that's really all we can ask for here at the Peanut Gallery!

The king is on his throne...

Surrounded by his royal subjects.
They loyally support him in all of his "grand endeavors".




At your service your royal highness!
Such devotion is vital if a king is to carry out his "kingly duties".

I'm also linking up with Alicia at A Beautiful Mess for Wordless Wednesday.

One about the ladies

I'm sure you remember the ladies.
They gift us with the fruit of their loins every day.
EGGS...just to clarify.


But have I mentioned that they are un-refined and completely lacking in manners?

Shocking, I know!




Case in point.


The ladies have been given 12 acres on which to "free range".

Apparently they have zero consideration when it  comes to "ravishing the earth".
Yes, 12 acres of luscious dirt and grass...and they have selected the only "flower garden" on the property as their stomping grounds.
If they chose to act more "civilized" they may be given the opportunity to "free range" more often.

But apparently, that is just too complicated for a chicken.

Second case in point.


I love that L-boy is unwilling to accept the "cold shoulder".
I guess he figures with the amount of time he spends with the ladies...he should at least get an acknowledgement.
At least he's persistent.



I small "cluck" would have sufficed.
Evidently, she is under the impression that laying an egg is more important than greeting a small visitor!

Like I said.
Rude.

Sweet...

Can you see what I'm up against?

Could YOU say "No" to this face?

These days, I'm finding it quite difficult!

What is one to do?

Before and After...A new photographer in da' house.

I'm gonna tell you right now.
I did not capture this picture.
Apparently L-boy has come down with a bad case of "camera shyness".
That or he's just being a royal toot!
He will no longer look in my direction when my sweet little Nikon is anywhere close to my face.
It is becoming a bit of a problem.
Seriously.
My dear son has eyes for no one but me.
Have I mentioned he loves his dear mother.
Except for when I unveil the camera.
I can dance a jig, bark, meow, or even whinny like a horse.
And believe me, I do.
But to no prevail.
HE.WILL.NOT.LOOK.AT.ME.
I love candids.
I don't need his full cooperation for every picture.
But, just every once in awhile, it would tickle my fancy.
Is that too much to ask?
So, the other day, after a very frustrating attempt, I passed the camera to D-man.

"Here! You do it!", I said in the sweetest tone possible.

And what do you know!
L-boy was so shocked to see his daddy with the camera, that he looked right at him.
Of course, D-man was quite proud of himself and immediately requested that I post this to my blog.
Have I mentioned that he enjoys being the center of attention?
So, I'm happy to give him the attention he so rightfully deserves.

Here is the picture after some editing in Lightroom.
I'm new to Lightroom.
But I like it alot.
Because I like light.
Who doesn't?

As much as I want to just fix colors and such.
I can't.
I always have to de-saturate, and make the picture look older than it is.
I really should be Laura Ingall's sister.

Yes..those are crumbs on his face.
I have a really difficult time painting those out.
I've got a "thing" for dirty faces.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

And now, let's all give D-man a round of applause!


On a completely different note.
We watched You, Me and Dupree the other night.
The resemblance was un-canny.
I'm thinking maybe another haircut is in order?

But in the words of Dupree...
This is just L-boy, in all of his L-boyness.
I don't want him to lose that "ness"!

You Know You're a Mom When....Got Windex?

You know your a mom when your lovely "windowed" doors look like this....





Because of this...
(no, I have no idea what sort of debris is attached to his nose..but I'm quite sure it is now deposited on that window.)


And every stainless steel appliance looks like this...


Because of this!

Somebody get this kid some paper towel and windex.
He needs to start pulling his weight around here.
You know what they say....(they being my Dad!)
"No worky, No eaty"!

The amazing, charitable, and funny Arizona Mamma hosts this fun little meme.  Go link up! C'mon..it'll be so fun!

Pressing On

I almost displayed an extreme lapse of judgement.
I originally was going to bless you with a photo of the mouse intestines that L-boy handed to me today.
Thanks to our very resourceful cat.
Talk about a "you know you're a mom" moment.
Or more like a "disgusting, throw up in your mouth" moment!
However, on second thought....I decided to spare you the gory details.

Instead....I thought I'd share this moment with you.
Because it made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
We walk down the road to fetch the mail every evening.
I say "fetch"  because I'm pretending to be Laura Ingalls.
Pushing L-boy's stroller down the hill is a breeze. 
The kids often fight over who gets to do it.
But when her "fickle" older brothers are nowhere to be found on the way back up...




This "little mommy" digs in and gets the job done.

L-boy is one blessed little dude!

And I am one blessed mother.
 
 

I'm joining in with Arizona Mamma and The Long Road to China today.
How about it....
can I tempt you to do the same??

{Peace}

You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You...

Because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

For more Sunday Snapshops visit the lovely Stephanie from

Ni Hao Ya'll.

P.S. Don't forget Mom n' Me Monday!
Yes...that would be tomorrow!

The Peanut Gallery slash Barber Shop

On this particular day in history...I, the mother of this household...decided it

was time.

The "cute" in L-boy's "cute baby hair"  had flown the coop weeks ago.

I'm quite certain that if you look closely,

you might just find a small creature nesting peacefully.

 L-boy's attempt at accessorizing was not helping the situation.

But you gotta give it to him for trying.

He's innovative.

His sweet sister and his clever mother decided that a set of pigtails might be nice.

And I must say...

HE ROCKED THE PIG TAILS.

But for some odd reason, his brothers and father were NOT impressed.

I understand their concern.

But, I did revel in his girlish cuteness for one sweet moment!

Here is the smashingly handsome L-boy before his very first "Big Boy" cut and style.

You probably didn't know that his very versatile mother doubles as a barber.

There were some very sketchy moments. 

One in which, his mother fell to the floor in laughter as she looked at her son who resembled

Moe of the Three Stooges.

But after the addition of a few layers,

with the precision and savvy of Edward Scissorhands...

She was tickled pink with the results.

In order to achieve this most excellent "surfer dude" look...

His mother resorted to bribery.

In the form of a very blue sucker.

I'm quite sure it was organic and sugar free.

He was quite delighted with the results.

He's feelin' the new look.

This hair cut definitely calls for a "cool dude" facial expression.

And the true test of a great haircut, is how it looks the morning after!!

Eat your heart out Justin Bieber!!

"And I'm like baby, baby, baby, ohh."

Those are the only Justin Bieber lyrics I know.

Promise.