about them eggs…

they were very anticipated.

we didn’t make it to midnight.

(didn’t want to!)

and they were harder to crack that I thought.  a little pain, offense, then revenge was experienced.

(don’t be jealous of peyton’s bedtime get-up.  I know you want one just like it.)

here’s the infliction of the pain:

evidence of the pain and trust me, she’s a little offended here.

and here would be the wind-up for the revenge whack:

hope your new year is as awesome as ours is already.

new year festivities and junk.

so I have had grand ideas for our little new year’s celebration.

we are historically known for going to bed long before midnight, and this year will be no exception.  we will start 9-12 church block which means structured bedtime at our house.

we still like to have fun things for the kids to do, and those are usually noisemakers of some kind.  this one year, it was sticking popcorn kernels up your nose, apparently.  so this year, I was trying my darndest to think ahead, and get something fun together.  you know, something that says, “you just had a rip-roaring good time, now go to bed without complaining, mmmkay?”

and then came racheal ray.

I am going to tell you this little story that is much too long and perhaps even a tad unnecessary, but I have to let you know how I got to rachael ray.

here, where I reside, her show comes on at 10 am.  that is the slot of another show I love(ed), and thusly, really didn’t watch too much of our dear rachael.  until a couple of months ago.  my favorite local show started evolving, the co-hosts found other jobs, and slowly but surely, 3 of the four hosts were gone.  it is a bit painful to watch.  it just isn’t the same.  so my 10 am folding the laundry, or cleaning the kitchen, or even some days, fixing my hair, tv viewing time has been going through a change.

that is how rachael ray entered my life.

and then there was this episode:http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/sabrina-sotos-new-years-eve-decorating-tips/

and I was sold.

sabrina sotos had my new fun, rip-roaring good time idea.

cascarones.

(or in normal person speak: confetti filled eggs.)

so here you go..

1.  get a bunch of eggs, like one for each person.  hold them tightly (but not too tightly) in your less-dominant hand and poke a hole in the pointy end with a nail.  stick that nail into the egg and twist it around, like you are mixing the egg up inside the shell, because, well, you are, and you need to!  then poke a hole, a little larger this time, in the other end.

2.  get out a clean bowl (and be thinking of recipes that require eggs!!  we have cupcakes and oatmeal butterscotch cookies currently on the countertop, and omelets on the meal menu.) and put your cute little mouth around one end of that egg and blow!  just like you are the big bad wolf.

(I know, my analogies are incredible!!)

3.  wash out your egg and let them dry.  I used a q-tip to get out some of the white that was left by the hole and my trusty blow dryer.

4.  spray paint those babies!! (if you want, but it is what all the cool kids do.)

I put mine on sucker sticks that I stuck into a block of styrofoam.

let ‘em dry.

5.  after they are dry, and not while they are wet like my hands can prove I did (I look like the freaking tin man over here!), take your eggs, and with an awesomely crafted paper funnel, fill your egg up, about half way with confetti.

6.  after filling your eggs, gently (cause these are eggs dudes), brush on mod-podge around the edges of your hole.  place a small square of tissue paper and mod-podge over the top of that.

7.  try to be patient, and let them dry.

(or go bake something with all of your eggs!!)

8.  now you have a choice, you can glitter these up, to try to camouflage your tissue paper, or you can leave them, or you can be awesome and spray paint them again!!

(I totally did.)

and then I was really patient and let them dry while I made packaging for them.

the story with these mess-makers goes something like this:

and my kiddos will be busting them over each others’ heads outside, and I will probably vacuum them off on the porch.

don’t they go well with these?

(another new year’s eve celebration essential…)

(click on the pics for supplies.) 

have a happy new year!!!

Goodbye 2009...

We spent our New Year's Eve partying it up with Merrill's family.
Merrill, Brooke and I were rockstars playing Rockband..  I won't begin to share our scores, they might make you feel badly next time you play and score less than our average 93%...  Merrill was our guitarist, Brooke was awesome on drums, and I..  I saaaanggggg!
It was a lot of fun..  we even debuted as a family gig, Merrill and the girls and I, but sadly I have no pictorial proof of our awesomeness.
We ate too much yummy food, although I could have eaten more crab legs now that I think about it...
Merrill put himself to work the 12-8 shift so his employees could party it up in their own realms..  so we spent the night at the hotel.
We were hoping to swim, but due to our encore ;), when we got to the hotel, it was a tad too late.
So we goofed off a bit in the room..

Some silliness..

Lynnie, Peyton, me, Ashley, and Sparkle Belle Beauty Snowflake Gracie Sally

(The doll's name changes everyday..  at least.)

Pretending to sleep.

Throwing up silly signs..

And Peyton took note of all the happenings..

We slept incredibly..  so incredibly, that we missed breakfast, but thanks to the awesome general manager there, we were able to get some cereal and juice.
While Merrill slept a little in that awesome bed, the kids and I went and swam for a bit.  I sat in the hot tub, trying to get my shoulders to feel better after shoveling that snow the other day..  I tell you, it was tough work!