THE WEAVERS NEST

ANGRY BIRDS CAKE POPS TUTORIAL

Lots of you have asked for instructions on how to make the angry birds cake pops... so here goes. May I just state from the start, that I am an amateur cake maker, and do it for my children because I enjoy baking. I am not interested in doing this for a business or for money... so please excuse any amateur mistakes etc... this is just for if you want to make cake pops for your kids too. :)

To start, you will need to make the cake balls. There are 2 ways to do this, in my opinion, the one way is far preferable to the other - purely on taste. My preferrred way is to make pure cake balls. To do this, you will need little round cake moulds or a cake pops machine, that bangs out 12 at a time, in a snackwich type device. (How very handy) Unfortunately - you need to order these machines from the States, so not that easy for everyone.

So - probably the easisest way to make the balls is to bake a large cake. When it is cool, you then crumble the cake and mix in some icing to form a mouldable consistency, and then you can make the ball shapes. Then place them in the fridge.

Luckily for me, I have a cake pops machine, so I make pure cake balls:

Chill the balls in the fridge.

So - thats the easy part over with, next on to decorating them! To start, you will require the folowing items:

From the back : White chocolate coating, edible glue, Fondant icing (coloured), powdered candy colouring, and lolly sticks. You will also need a polystyrene block to stick the cake pops in whilst they are setting and whilst you are decorating.

Melt the chocolate and then dip the tip of the lolly sticks into the chocolate

Then stick the chocolate tip of the stick into a chilled cake ball and leave to set

Next you need to colour your chocolate. You must use a powdered colour, as liquid will make your chocolate seize. Add the required amout of colour and mix very well until it reaches the desired shade.

You are now ready to start coating your cake pops. You need a bowl/cup that is deep enough for you to dip the whole ball in and pull out in one movement. If you do it numerous times, the cake ball will break off in the chocolate! It must be coated in 1 step:

Gently tap the cake pop on the side of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate, then place it in the polystyrene block to harden.

You are now ready to decorate them how you wish! The possibilities are endless, you just choose your favourite character, and off you go! The angry birds and pigs are very easy to make, as all you need to shape are the beaks, noses, eyes, eyebrows and ears for the pigs, feather crests for the birds.

Here are my finished angry birds

And the proof is really in the eating.... and who wouldn't want to bite into that crunchy shell to reveal delicious, light cakey goodness

CHEERS x

 

EMILY IS SIX...

...wow! Our little princess is 6. That is so hard to believe, when I can remember the day she was born, like it was yesterday. Will it always feel like that? 

Darling Emily....now you are 6. You are in Gr R at Saints, and just thriving. You love your teacher, your school, your friends, your uniform, your daily routine...you bounce out of bed in the mornings, and genuinely seem dissapointed when its weekend and there is no school! (Long may that last)

You are as active as ever with your extra murals, doing ballet, gymnastics, tennis, swimming and hockey. Lately, gymnastics seems to be your main obsession, and you cannot walk 2 steps without doing a cartwheel. You will be doing your 1st ballet exam at the end of this month. So exciting for you. You will also play your 1st hockey tournament in 2 weeks time....secretly, I'm just hoping that you escape without getting a stick in your face ;) . You just love to be a busy little bee and relish all these sports that you play.

You are having your party at the Johannesburg zoo. It is still your dream to one day be a vet. Your love for animals is a joy to watch. You love your Sandie dog and your kitties, and would even hug a snake if given the opportunity!

Your main birthday present this year was a Leappad explorer, and you love it! You love to do art and be creative. You make crowns out of tinfoil, cottonwool and paper and proudly display them on your head. You can sit for hours and create beautiful things out of nothing. Such imagination is a joy to behold. You do not have much time for tv and films, losing interest after about 30 minutes and moving on to do something more active.

 

You are such a confident, happy little girl and you bring your family so much joy. And laughter. Lots of laughter! You are quite a legend on facebook, as Mummy shares some of your funny quotes and antics! Just yesterday you declared "well - this is definately the best 6th birthday that I've ever had!"

Happy, happy, happy birthday our beautiful 6 year old! Wishing you 100 more happy and healthy birthdays. Love you to the moon and back our Emmy-moo. x x x

 

 

QUICK CATCH UP

• Kids are still on holiday. It's been a looonnng holiday.... we have not/are not going away at all these hols, and its been a challenge to keep the kids entertained.
• At least the weather has still been lovely, so plenty of outdoors playing
• My boys are very into playing "ARMY" and war type games at the moment...

Tis very sweet... am hoping it is just a passing phase though... definately don't want to be the parents of 2 soldiers when they are older.

• Sadly, all these war games leave Little Miss on the side lines...something she is not used to, and not liking either! She usually comes running to me and asks if we can do girly stuff together... which usually results in her painting my toenails! But as soon as the boys are all army-ed out, she dumps me, and grabs her brother to go and ride bikes, or play outside.
• We have decided to go overseas at the end of the year. (Hence no holidays now) We will be spending Christmas in the UK, and then we are going skiing in Chamonix in January!
• I am sooo excited! Pete and I LOVE skiing... but the last time we went skiing was when I was 9 weeks pregnant with Ryan. But now we feel the kids are at an age when they can pick it up quickly, and we will be happy to leave them in ski school for the mornings whilst Pete and I hit the slopes, and then we will spend the afternoons on the slopes together.... falling and having fun. ... I cannot wait! And nor can Miss Madam:

Such cute little hello kitty earmuffs... snapped up at the traffic lights :)

• Last night we had a work function with Petes  company at the Sandton convention centre. The company is celebrating its 100th year... which in this day and age and economic climate is no small feat.
• Because it is a global company, and this was such a milestone event, they wanted to use modern technology at its best, and hook up at every satelite centre worldwide with a live feed.
• Sounds all very normal and good on paper.... until you bring in the reality of time differences between California, London, Johannesburg, Perth, Shanghai, Vancouver etc... and you realise what a logistical nightmare this is!
• So the end result was, that for us in johannesburg, the function started at 9 pm, and then we went live around the world at midnight SA time!!
• This makes it a VERY late night for Pete and I... we are usually getting into bed at 9pm, not walking into a black tie function at the Sandton Convention Centre.
• So I went, warily, not expecting to have ANY fun at all.
• But it was totally awesome... which makes today not very awesome at all, as we crept into bed in the wee hours of this morning.
• A surprise of the evening was a live performance from Johnny Clegg. It was so amazing - like a personal concert from Johnny in your lounge.
• It started off rather stiff, with all the stiffs in suits sittting at their tables. So a few of us rebel wives decided to get up and go to the front and start taking advantage of this once in a life time personal performance from, arguably, SA's best musical performer.
• To begin with, there was only about 5 of us bopping at the front, but those of you who know johnny Cleggs music, and who have African roots, will know that it is very hard to sit in a chair whilst his tunes play. So we were slowly joined by a steady trickle of people.... until IMPI played. And then - every stiff in a suit took to the floor, and it was just amazing! From there he played all the usual suspects : scatterlings of Africa, Great heart, Cruel crazy beautiful world, Kilimanjaro, I call your name... and more.
• He is an amazing performer and dancer... wow- can you believe he is 59 yrs old?
• After the concert, it was just about midnight, so we all had to take our seats and then we crossed live to Dallas and to all the satellite centres worldwide.
• All in all - it was an amazing evening! We are just paying the price today ;)
• And ... in other news: I was the lucky winner of a R3000 Pandora bracelet and charms!

How beautiful? Thank you Child Magazine. Lucky me :) I was given a choice of pink or blue glass murano beads... and as you can see, I chose blue. The blue is just my colour... so all I need now is some more gorgeous charms ;)

And that is about all the news in the Weavers nest at the moment. Am going to have a quick catch up on all the other blogs now x x

Happy Sunday all

 

 

 

A FUN EASTER WEEKEND IN JOZI

We have stayed this whole Easter Weekend at home, not something that we often do, but it has been a fun-filled and busy few days.

On Good friday, we took the kids to the Bike Park, where Emily and Ryan literally rode themselves ragged. Ryan just loves to go on the big BMX track and go flying over the "humps"....I have no idea what the correct terminology for those are, so Humps will have to suffice. The one good thing about being in this town over Easter is... nobody else is here! No queuing, no crowds, just glorious weather and hours of fun. Luke had a playday with his best buddy Cade, so it was just Ryan and Emily, and I have to say.... 2 children did seem so much easier than 3! So all you 2 kid parents....quit your moaning. You should try 3....its 3 x as fun :) x

On Saturday we went to the Saints Rugby festival. They had an awesome play area for the children with jumping castles, those enormous waterballs, paint ball, a mechanical bull Rodeo thingy, swings, face-painting, sand art and other crafts. HOURS.OF.FUN. Which meant the husbank and I could watch some tennis, rugby and hockey. On Saturday evening, it was one of my best friends 40th birthday parties...lots of fun....except that the fun was not so fun the next morning when we were woken up before 6 am by 3 excited small people ready to go on a hunt.

After all the eggs had been hunted, we went to the country club for brunch with my family - an Easter tradition over the years for us. It never fails to dissapoint, especially when the weather is so glorious. some pics from the Country club courtesy of my sister Fee:

And then today, when another bright sunshiney day emerged, we decided to head on over to Irene Farm for a picnic and wander. It really is a beautiful setting and it was so nice to let the kids run free.

Little Miss Gorgeous

Little Mr Cutey

My handsome big boy

Fun in the trees:

 

Gymnastics must be done wherever, whenever...

Not many pics of the small boy... he's a bit allergic to the camera at the moment.

And now - we have had some yummy ribs on the braai, its almost time to throw the nippers in bed, and then I can sit down with a chilled glass of white. Cheers! :)

What did your easter weekends hold in store for you? 

 

MY FABULOUS 40TH

So...the waiting is over, the event has come and gone... and after that party, I have to confess that I DID feel 40 the next morning ....eish!

Even if I didn't feel 40 on the Friday morning when I woke up, by Friday afternoon I certainly did. Thanks to the freaky weather. Its sods law, but we have had nothing but wall-to-wall glorious sunshine for the past...ooh forever...until Friday morning when we woke up to grey, cloudy skies. F-A-R-K! By 11 am it was chucking it down, and my hair would have been 100% grey, had I not been sitting in the hairdresser at the time having it cut and highlighted. I could not believe it.... anyhoo, the show must go on as they say... so I fetched the nippers from school, and dutifully went to the venue to drop off my decor and show them how I wanted it set up. When I arrived at said venue, it was drizzling and rather chilly. (Said like a true South African, cos it really was about 24 C still)

After half an hour, I looked up to blue sky....a glimmer of hope. And within 15 minutes it was blazing sunshine again! Relief, happy dances, chanting and praising followed, much to the amusement of the staff. The Juke box dude arrived whilst I was there and set up the Jukebox, lights and Mic.... and I started to feel just a little bit excited :) YAY!

I went home, dropped the kids, got my camera ready, got dressed... and off we set to my party - and what a gloriously beautiful evening it was. As soon as I arrived, a Strawberry Daiquiri was placed in my hand.... and my brain promptly left the building! Which is a HUGE shame cos it means that no photos were taken of the venue with all my bright decor! :( I am so angry with myself and so dissapointed... but well, all those who were there saw how gorgeous it was, and I have the (fuzzy) memory of how it looked. When I finally did get my head together, I tried to frantically scramble around and take a few shots, but - alas - it was too late as not only could I not get any decent shots for the sea of people, but my photography skills had departed along with my brain and I have NO decent shots :( But - I do have some fabulous drunken shots that showcase the fun that we had :)

To all who came... thank you so much for celebrating with me. For those that couldn't be there due to geographical or other reasons....sorry you missed it. And a very special BIG thank you to my wonderful friend Nicci...(and hubby Glen) who came all the way from 'Maritsburg to celebrate with me. Nix - that was so special, you have no idea how much it means to me. And it was fabulous to have the Hot Hobson Ladies partying together as only we can. Jax and Cols... the 2 hobsonites missing... we did miss you terribly, but managed to drown our sorrows with your quota of alcohol and party on regardless :)

Twas a good party... and the rain did come down again later...but it didnt dampen our spirits as we happily danced on into the night.

For those that couldnt make it, here is a copy of my speech:

40 - it's a BIG number....

Famous things turning 40 in 2012:

The space shuttle programme
The VW BEETLE
Atari video games
The CT scan
Cameron Diaz
Ben affleck
Alyssa Milano
Eminem
Gwynneth Paltrow
Jude Law
Ginger Spice
....and ME!
Wow - quite a vintage us 1972 babies are hmmm? Perhaps that's because all those years ago (40 - In case you're slow on the uptake) the world knew that us 1972 creatures would all turn 40 the year the world was going to end. That's right folks.... I turn 40 in the year of the Apocalypse. I'm not really sure what to make of that... Apart from the fact that according to previous theories, the world was going to end when the clock struck 12 in the year 2000. Aeroplanes were going to fall out the sky and all the computers and world clocks were going to implode and we were all going to die. Well look how that turned out? I can't help but wonder how the UK is preparing for this Apocalypse. You see - I was living in England for the whole Y2K fiasco, and it was serious man. We all had to submit every electrical equipment we owned so that it could be Y2K checked. If it passed, we were given a sticker to place on the item to say that it was Y2K safe. If it didn't , it was removed for "safe disposal" to prevent it from contributing to the big fireball that was surely to emerge after midnight on the 1st Jan 2000. I bet they didn't have that here in Africa. In fact - all those items declared unsafe by the European checks undoubtedly landed up on African shores, and are probably still in use today.
I've gone off the point a bit...but I'll just say that if the Mayans theory is to be believed ( who the heck are these Mayans anyway? I've travelled the world a lot.... And you know what I've never met? A Mayan!) but still - if there theory is to be believed, then how handy it is that I turn 40 this year. Because it means that I get to say a farewell and thank you speech, and throw a partay, for all the special people in my life, before we all die! And for me - that's important, because I'm quite a sentimental old fool and things like this are important to me.
When I reminisce about all the great people that have impacted my life and who are a part of my life, I realise how very blessed I am. Tonight I am surrounded by friends and family who are all special to me. Some have known me for many years - since school days, since University days... and some newer friends too. My sisters and my Mom,who had no choice in the matter,  have known me since the day I arrived!
Unfortunately, due to Geography, there are some very special people who couldn't be here tonight - most notably, my sister Heather, and obviously my Dad couldn't get a pass- out from the big man upstairs, but I am in no doubt that he is here in spirit tonight.
To my 2 big sisters - thank you for all your love and support over the years. Without you, I would never turned out as cool as I am! I remember starting my 1st day of Std 6 ( That's gr 8 these days, but you all know what I mean).... And I wasn't scared. Nope.... I had 3 big sisters who had coached me on how to look cool in high school. So I marched into high school with my socks rolled down, my sleeves rolled up, my skirt finishing waaaay above my knee and an attitude so cool that if I breathed I turned the leaves frosty. And what did I get for it? A detention! On my 1st day of school. Thanks guys!
But seriously - the bond that the 4 of us share is so special that at times, it's overwhelming. And who do we have to thank for this? No - not Boland bank, but the person who gave birth to these 4 awesome creatures. My darling mom! Thank you Jayon for doing such an awesome job - and for not letting one of us kill each other during the growing years. You and Dad did a great job raising us - we all have such happy childhood memories. I hope I can do half the job with my 3. Love you x x
And last, but not least..... The man who made all my dreams come true! My better half, my children's daddy, my husbank Pete! My toy boy ;)
. I have no idea how I got so lucky as to find you and to be married to you. You really are the perfect husband and the perfect father. Thank you for always taking such good care of me and our children. I love you endlessly.
And that brings me to the end of my speech. There's not much left to say except: thank you for coming and if you don't have a good time, I'll have to kill you ;)
Please come and select your favorite songs here on The jukebox... They have everything here, so no excuses. And please all let your hair down and party.... And let's celebrate and welcome this new decade of mine. It's going to be awesome. I can feel it in my bones. Or maybe that's just the arthritis? ;)

And now.... all thats left to reveal are some photos....eeek! ( None of the fabulous venue, sadly)...but some very funny party ones. Here's a few to see... the rest are over on FB, so go take a nose over there x

The ONLY pics of my decor.... I went for a very BRIGHT colour scheme, but it looked FAB

Best friends since Primary school days... the fabulous Gaynor, now my daughters Godmother and my kids' tennis coach x

Best friends since 'varsity days... the gorgeous Linda and Nix.. Jax and Cols were sorely missed :(

My fabulous Hubby and I x x x Nippers safely tucked in bed

My lovely sister Fee and her hubby Brendon 

My wonderful Mum and awesome big sister Liz.... Heather, you were so sorely missed :(

Me and Liz 

My Bar-one Cheesecake birthday cake....to die for doll :)

And finally, one of le speech :)

 And thats all... for some funny snaps, head on over to  FB x

AND THEN I WAS 40...

....I'm not sure how it happened...but I woke up on Wednesday morning, and all of a sudden, I was 40. Just like that. I can't say I feel any different yet...but in my 4 days experience thus far, 40 is fab! :)

I had a lovely day on Wednesday - lucky me - my birthday is on a Public Holiday here in SA (Human Rights day to be exact)...and so it is declared everybodys Human Right to take the day off work and celebrate my birthday with me ;) And so we had a long, lazy family lunch at my Mums house with all my family. Thanks guys it was a lovely day. 

I was woken up bright and early on my birthday (on a public holiday- fail!) by 3 very excited little people who simply couldn't wait to give me my present. They had been shopping with daddy the Saturday before and were so excited about their gift. They had been trying VERY hard to keep it a secret until my birthday, and anyone who knows my daughter will appreciate just how very hard this was! She just simply cannot keep a secret. Bless her. So I had been given a few clues prior to Wednesday, but had not figured out what the gift was.

Well - I woke up on Wednesday morning a VERY spoilt birthday girl - because my 3 nippers came through to the bedroom ferrying a very big box. And I opened it to reveal this:

A shiny red Nespresso Citiz machine! Wow. And it lives up to its name....although I am still waiting for George Clooney to come and serve me some coffee....;)

But the coffee is awesome...I'm tempted to even say that I am such an awesome  Barrista now, that you're better off coming to coffee at MY house instead of your local coffee shop. I can even make those awesome Latte's with the 3 layers of brown... all down to my genius and skill, of course, nothing to do with the simplicity and ease of use of the Nespresso ;)

It is THE most awesome gift - I love it, and I love my husbank and 3 babies for giving it to me. Thanks babes x x. If you have not tried a Nespresso yet - I suggest you get your ass over to my house so I can make you one, or you get your ass to the Nespresso shop in Sandton city, where they'll make you one free of charge. I seriously dont know how that little aerocino thingy works either, but all I do is put milk into it, press a button, and there I have the best froth I have ever seen! It is remarkable - and soundless too - none of that dentist like air sound that other machines make, that make my teeth feel on edge... BUT... heres a tip: if you use milk that has been previously frozen, it will not froth! Who knew? Not me - and I never freeze my milk, but I have now learnt that certain milk we buy from Supermarkets has been previously frozen...because it simply will not froth in my aerocino. I'm not mentioning any names here, but when I use milk that I bought from Woolies ... I have enough froth for the whole family....when I use milk that I bought from PnP....no froth AT ALL. Do the maths. Its a pleasure ;)

And so now.... we are in final prep mode for my partay on friday. Am looking forward to celebrating with my peeps, throwing a few shapes on the dance floor... and generally welcoming myself to the club that is The Naughty Forties :) Bring it x x

PS - am deffo showing my age in the present category though....cos apart from the excitement shown from present above, the present that is at the top of my wish list now is another appliance  > I present exhibit A:

Yes ... and in purple :)

Will be back to share the deets of my party. x x

LAST POST AS A YOUNGSTER...

...SO I guess I'd better get the last silly post out before I'm MATURE and have to be all serious ;)

And...Walmart doesn't let me down, so here we go with some Walmart beauties:

Ahem Madame...it appears you've forgotten a key item of clothing...

Clearly she thinks that those ankle weights have done their job already.... keep moving love, keep movin...

Maybe if you borrow the shirt from the pant-less lady, or if she borrows your short, tight shorts/knickers.. maybe we can make 1 whole dressed person?

I'm sexy and I know it  I'm delusional...

It's important to remove VERY heavy footwear when weighing oneself in the supermarket...every little helps.

No Occifer...I'm not smuggling any stolen melons... these are my own..ummm... melons...

Eish... the butt muncher munched her underwear... and her skirt. Or in the words of my 8 yr old son: Her bums are weird...so are her legs 

Exhibit A: Big bra-less boobs when left to do their own thang...

And - Exhibit B:

Big boobs when hoisted up become back boobs.

But 1st prize goes to Exhibit C:

When there is clearly no need for a top at all, cos you can just tuck those boobs right into your pants.

And thats all the folly there is folks.

On the 'morrow, I shall be officially old and mature.... and thankfully still have wee, perky breasts and a decent dress sense ;)

 

QUICK CATCH-UP

• It's MARCH already. Holy-moley, how did we get here?
• Soooo....this is the BIG 4 -oh month. Bring it....I'm ready
• Plans for my partay are coming on nicely... and I am getting just a wee bit excited :)
• Over the last 8 years ( since I've had children) I have planned at least 1 party a year - mostly at least 3 every year....and never one for myself. I LOVE planning ( and executing) my kids parties... I just never thought that planning a party for myself would be as much fun - but it has been (so far)
• And as soon as my party is over, I will be moving on to organising Miss Madams party. She keeps reminding me every day that its her party next...
• Haven't even thought about what we're going to do for that yet... she changes her mind every 5 minutes.
• And whilst on the subject of the girl child.... she has settled so well at Saints. She has added another extra mural to her repertoire...Hockey! Better tell her brothers to watch out, as she now has another weapon in the form of a neon pink hockey stick!
• Ryan is thriving in the Boys prep. He is my most favouritest child at the moment because he had to do a project at school on his family. It had to all be done at school - he had to bring in photos and birth certificates etc...but it all had to be put together and done at school. He brought the finished project home this week ...and under the "My Mother" section, he had written:            "My mother is a Physiotherapist. She is very pretty. She is 32 years old"  Yes - yes I AM ALL of those things. But especially 32! Clever boy ;)
• Lukey had his Nursery school concert yesterday. He was "a Noah" ( as in Noahs ark). 'Twas very cute....except I got a bit nervous at one point as one of the other "Noahs", who happened to be standing next to my "Noah" was hacking away at an imaginery Ark with a REAL Saw! He quite enjoyed entertaining the crowds and was getting very carried away, flailing his very sharp Saw all over...I thought that he might remove Lukes arm at the same time, but luckily, just as I was about to heroically rescue my noah from facing an armless future, the singing stopped, and with it, the sawing stopped too. Phew.
• Apart from that - it was very enjoyable. Can't quite believe that that was the last time that I will watch a child of my own in a Land Of oz concert. Feels quite sad on the one hand.... and totally liberating on the other! 
• I'm in an odd place with this parenting lark.... I'm enjoying my troop so much at the moment, and am also enjoying the (relative) independance that children aged 8,5 and 4 offer me. For the 1st time in .......oooh forever, I am not crazy about babies. Could absolutely NOT go back to babies again. Nope ....its onwards and upwards for this Weaver clan. Am even ready to put some travelling boots on these 3 monkeys and show them some other parts of the globe. Watch this space :)
• And that...is it. Happy weekend peeps x 

 

• 

 

And no pic of Luke.....still need to download his "Noah" pics ;)

 

MY FAVE SONG AT THE MOMENT...

...Gotye...."Somebody that i used to know"

Have a listen - 'tis fabularse....even if the melody does sound like Baa Baa black sheep have you any wool

 

Whadda ya think?

IS THIS THING FIXED NOW?

Here comes the test

Hahahahahah! It worked. Yay

For those interested - the problem was with Internet explorer 9. I have to click the broken page on the tool bar in order for it to not mess with the formatting and images of my posts. Now...if only I could retrieve all those lost posts....

Later peeps x