Oompa Loompa

My sweet little angel got a part in the upcoming city production of

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"!

She's going to be an Oompa Loompa

I've always wanted to have an Oompa Loompa in the family.

There will be countless practices and rehearsals before the February 

I'm thinking our lil' Smith has finally found her nitch.

Ian kicked off our basketball season.  They played against the Brookfield Bulldogs, Rick's alma mater.  This means that we sat with the enemy (namely cousins and a Aunt and Uncle) who are still residing there.  

I'm a little sad that we weren't able to pull out a win but Ian played well, and for that, I'm pleased.

He scored 8 points and played nearly the entire game.  GOOOOOO Ian!

I have lots more to catch you up on, but not a lot of time.  Hopefully I can get to that this week.  

Puss in Boots (Gracie Style)

My dear sweet barn kittens have been reduced to dress-up dolls for my daughter and her friends.

I intended for them to catch unwanted barn critters.  

Their intentions were somewhat different.

They have had a small taste of heating and air conditioning and decided that was the life for them.

I'm positive that this WAS NOT what they had in mind!

It seems like a perfect math equation........

kitty cats + American Girl doll clothes + two 10 year old girls = DRESS UP!!!!!

Our ever loyal felines took one for the team and allowed this humiliation upon themselves.

Landing on all fours seemed to be a little difficult with chaps and a tube top.

Please pardon the tail.  It's a little tricky managing to keep your dignity in this position.

Yup, the tail is still there people!!!!

Does the song, "These Boots Were Made For Walking", come to mind?

Would you believe that these kitties purred the entire time this was happening? 

It takes the story, "Puss in Boots" to a whole new level, doesn't it?

I am thankful that Mouser #1 and Mouser #2 are finally serving a purpose around Rocky Ridge Farm.  It isn't really what I had in mind, but it'll do I suppose.  From now on, I will never be able to purchase doll clothing without thinking of our kitties.  

Antlers and Buzzers

It's hunting season!!!!

That means..... I have camo EVERYWHERE!  

I get woke up before the sun so my hunters can head to the woods.

I am told countless stories of squirrels, turkey and deer!

This is Gracie's very first deer.  

I am officially the only non-hunter in the family now.

This is Ryan's deer.  I wasn't there to get pictures, so we will have to settle for this cell phone pic.  

Basketball season has also started and I'm thankful that we have now moved to an indoor bleacher.  The football games and fall baseball bleachers were starting to get a little cold for my taste.

I am waist high in Christmas decorations.  

My house is trashed! 

 My toe has a boo-boo from my trashed house!

I've been listening to Christmas music and I'm not ashamed!

I'm really not!  

REALLY!

Pop Star Wanna Be

I'm a Bakerella fan through and through.  I stalk her blog, order her cookbooks, and now I.....

make cake pops!!!!

She is the queen momma of cake on a stick.....and for that......I'll be forever in her debt!

    

These are just a few of her many creations.  

I wonder what it feels like to be so talented?  I wonder if she looks in the mirror and says, "yup, you're da bomb of sugar."?

  

She also makes other things like, brownies, cheesecakes, muffins, cookies, and these super photographic gummies.

So how does this apply to the "mommyofthree"?  

Well......

I wanted to do something special for the Hornet football team.  They made it to the play-offs and we were having a small celebration for them.  (which means, lots of food in teenager talk!)  In planning the celebration, I blurted out, "I will make cake pops"!  Then before I could retract my statement, everyone was cheering for me.  They were smiling......and nodding their heads in agreement.  They were patting me on the back and clapping their hands!  

OK, not really, but I did say it loud enough that everyone heard me.  And because I am a wanna-be Martha Stewart, I could not let them down.

It took me nearly a full day to make 60 of them.  

I destroyed two of them (then ate them).

So technically, there were 58.

I am not Bakerella! 

But I tried.

I'm sure that I'm not going to end up on her "Pop Stars" page with these cake pops.

I'm going to keep trying though.

It is basketball season now, you know?

Ohh.....Snowman cake pops!

and elf cake pops!

and present cake pops!

and.............

It's endless guys!

Halloween Night

Halloween was a little different this year.  The kids are growing up and I couldn't convince my 6'4" and 6'2" boys to go house to house.  As a matter of fact, my tall red-head chose to be with his girlfriend at her grandparents instead of me.  Ian stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the Chiefs vs. Chargers game (and to eat all the yummy food that she made for us.....as always!)  Gracie was still willing to go, but she didn't want me to walk with her.  My job was to stay in the car and follow her around.  Rick had to work in the E.R. on Halloween so I brought one of my friends along.  She kept me from hitting any smallish trick or treaters in the residential neighborhoods.  She also helped me remind Gracie to say......."Trick or Treat" and then, "Thank you".  

Manners first, right?

Her costume was a pre-teen version of a zebra.  She picked it out all by herself.  She opted out of the blue wig that we bought, yet was all for the furry boots I stumbled upon Halloween morning.  

I was in charge of favors for her classroom.  I also did Halloween favors last year.  Here is the link to them.  Last year, it was eyeballs........this year, monsters.  

I put monster bouncy balls, wax lips, candy, skeleton candy (that you can assemble), monster glasses, and a monster ring pop.  Then I tied it up with a monster plush (photo above) and a handmade tag.  I'm not sure why I go to the trouble of making handmade ANYTHING for elementary kids.  Half of them were on the classroom floor and the other half were ripped to shreds when the kids opened the bags.  

I wanted to tell each child when I passed them out, "DO NOT TEAR UP THE TAGS!  I SPENT SIX HOURS MAKING THEM!  I REPEAT....DO NOT TEAR UP THE TAGS!"  But I didn't, therefore, they tore up the tags.  (sigh) Oh well!  That's why I take my happy pill every morning.

I took pictures of all Gracie's classmates but I don't want to upload all of them.  Mostly because I'm lazy, but also because I'm not sure their mommies and daddies want their pictures on my lil' ole blog.  So, I'm only showing you my very favorite costume.  

Mr. McKay's classroom had a "mystery visitor".  He/she came into the room and passed each child a goody bag.  When he/she left, they had to fill out a Q/A about who the guest was.  If you want to play the game also, look at the picture of our mystery guest and I will have questions at the bottom of this post for you.  If you play, you cannot cheat.  That means....you cannot look at the picture   once you start answering questions.  

Promise? 

 Pinky promise?

I'm adding a few extra shots of the costume so you won't be able to see the "mystery guest" photo.

Work it GUUURRLL!

WHO IS HE/SHE?

What color is the scarf around "mystery guest" neck?_________________

Is the "mystery guest" wearing a brown suede hat or a yellow straw hat?___________________

Was the "mystery guest wearing gloves?__________________

Did the "mystery guest" use her right or left hand to grab the goody bags?_________________

Did the "mystery guest have a feather in his/her hair?______________________

How many pairs of feet are in the picture?_____________________

What color is the bowl that the goody bags are in?________________________

Were the "mystery guest" overalls pin stripe or solid?________________________

BONUS: The "mystery guest" is one of these four people...who do you think it is?_____________