#84~A Very Busy February

So, the month started out with a 1st birthday party for two very special girls. 

My best friend has twin girls that hold a very special spot in my heart.

Their mom and I have been through a lot together and I am blessed to be called "Aunt Kate" by the cutest girls I've ever had the privilege of watching grow up. 

Behold, one of the smash cakes.......

much prettier here than it is in my hair........

"You mean I get to play with my food and not get yelled at?!?" ~P

(for privacy I am giving them nicknames for the blog, Baby 1 is P and Baby 2 is L)

"Dude, I got this messy thing down....." ~L

Oh, and I LOVED the lil tutus they had. 

Most of the stuff P has is purple and most of L's things are pink. 

I had so much fun with the girls. 

Then I helped clean them up after the cakes......

I was helping clean L and P was fussing for the relative that was holding her so I took her hoping the change in scenery would calm her long enough to get L clean. 

Then P decided I needed cake in my hair....I think, by the time I got her undressed and in the sink, I had just as much cake on me as she had on herself. 

She's lucky she's cute. 

They are transitioning from bottles to sippy cups and P is not handling it well. 

Had to make an emergency trip back to the house, half way into the party, for a bottle because she was having a melt down. Poor girl. 

Then I had to come back home. I always hate leaving them. I go over to see them thinking I will spend some time with them and then visit other friends in the area......usually I end up staying with the girls the whole day. I don't mind.  

 So, there is this lady at church that I have promised a batch of Peanut Brittle to for several months now.....I finally made it!

It's my grandmothers recipe and I love making it because it reminds me of her. 

I was making it so much for a while that I started selling it. This lady at church always buys a batch every Christmas. I may start making it more again, if I can find the peanuts at a decent price...

Want to know how it's made?

I was hoping you'd ask!

First we will add 

3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of hot water, and 1 cup of white corn syrup

to a medium pan. 

You will need a candy thermometer. 

Don't let it touch the bottom of the pan 

(I stick the spoon between it and the pan for a gap)

Lay out the rest of the ingredients because once you start you are stuck by the stove until it's done so you can measure later. 

And since I'm stuck standing here stirring this until it's done I'm watching VBS music motions. I'm teaching music again this year. :D  

Ok, trying to take pictures of this is harder than one would think.....

it kept fogging up my camera!

Finally got a decent picture! 

Eventually the mix will turn clear. 

Bad picture, I know, but it's a lil hard to get a picture, 

not drop my phone, and keep stirring.

Once it reaches "Soft ball" stage on the thermometer we add 

2 Tablespoons of butter and 1 pound of raw peanuts. 

I use unsalted peanuts but you can use salted if you want. 

The original recipe calls for salt but I've never added it.

Ok, I've missed a couple steps somehow. 

After you add the peanuts and butter you bring the temp up to "Hard Crack" stage. 

Take it off the heat and add 3 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

I recommend adding them in that order because as soon as the vanilla hits everything else that stuff foams like crazy and you HAVE to keep stirring or it WILL foam over. 

As you are trying to keep the yummie science experiment from foaming all over the counter, you have to pour it onto a couple cookie sheets.

It will keep foaming for a while.....so now, as you are pouring, you are running the spoon over what you just poured so it doesn't foam over then stirring what's still in the pot so THAT doesn't foam over. It's fun. 

If you want a softer, fluffier brittle don't flatten all the foam, just enough to keep it from foaming over the edge.

Since this was for an order I didn't get to eat any of it, but I did get what stayed on the spoon! 

After the brittle cools you just break it up as small, or as big, as you want it. 

I usually just keep it in plastic bags. 

With that finally done I am now back to finding a lesson for youth group Sunday.  

I think I'm going to start a focus on Apologetics. 

The nice thing about doing a lesson on Apologetics 

is that I learn just as much from the lesson as the Teens do. 

Well, it's Friday, and I am still not done with the lesson. 

I better get started on that. 

Until next time!