over the weekend.

you know when you have a weekend where you are thinking up things to do just to fill the time? or relishing in the fact that there is nothing to do?
last weekend was not such a beast.

ours was packed.

and the cool factor? it was packed with some firsts. i love those.

the first first was aydan's first sleepover.
with the brownies.
at the clubhouse...how cool is that?
she rocked it.

it didn't start till 6pm so the anticipation built and built all day till she was absolutely bursting!!
in honour of the sleepover we made cupcakes to take for all the girls - there were 11 girls and 3 "owls" {leaders.}
since the mascot for brownies is the owl it was only fitting that we made owl cupcakes.

so cute right?
and they were super easy....here's the steps:

first make a batch of this chocolate cake. instead of cake pans use cupcake tins. this should yeild 24 - i got 22 but some of mine were too big. line your tin with liners and fill 1/2 to 3/4 full. bake at 350 for about 20 mins. top should feel springy and since ovens vary please use your judgement - bake for an extra minute at a time till you are satisfied. let cool completely - very important!!! your icing will melt off!

now for the owls - the eyes are oreo halves with m&m's! make some buttercream icing {tint your favorite colour or leave white for snowy owls....since the brownie uniform is blue and brown we did blue owls} or chocolate ganache. set aside. now divide your oreos and m&m's. you will need one orange m&m {or smartie} for the beak per cupcake and two brown or coloured per cupcake for the eyes. also you will need 2 x cream halves of an oreo per cupcake. i have found that canadian oreos and american oreos are different...?? i know.....and mine were tough to come apart cleanly. american oreos are softer centers. if you find yourself in this predicament...although my stomach didn't mind as it got all the duds...place a row of oreo's from the tray into the microwave for about 15 seconds then twist and separate. warming them a bit helps.
now ice your cupcake, grab two oreo halves - place on top, place two eye candies on cream filling as close to the center as possible and push an orange candy in sideways for the beak! done!

i saw these somewhere on the internet at one time - can't remember where - and i just winged it. 
i think they turned out rather well.

while these cupcakes were baking another first was going on...copper went to his first playdate at someone's home...by himself! no sister, no me, no tony, no someone he has known for a long time.
it was to one of his best friend's from school and he had a blast! no nervousness, no shyness. he just jumped right in and had the best time. so proud of him!!! and happy for his as well. hppy he has taken this step.

now on to the third first of the weekend.....cooper had his first kfc! i know i know...we shouldn't eat the stuff and as you can tell we haven't had it for 6 years {probably longer}. it was okay...not like either of us remember it to be though. and i think that was our last. we didn't feel so good afterwards. we have found a doctor oz recipe cheating to be kfc and we liked that better. i'll pass that on to you guys as well.

so after kfc, three rounds of volcano island countdown {our new favorite family game} and no call from the clubhouse, we were ready to hunker down for the night.

tony went and got aydan at 10 on sunday and she came home just bustling with excitement and tales to tell.

sunday also marked the day that we put up our outside christmas decorations. i know maybe a little early but with the schedule over the next couple of weeks this is the time that presented itself. i wanted to get you a picture of it all lit up at night but yeah that didn't happen..another time i hope! nice to have it all ready and done....and tony was happy that we got rid of the cornstalks and pumpkins! ha!

in my books, this weekend was a success.

:)