Ladybug Bonanza

Well, we had Natalia's 4th birthday party yesterday and I think all the kids had a great time playing. I know my girls had a blast! After the party I grabbed a quick bite to eat for supper and ran out the door to work. I got my shift done and they actually let me go an hour early since it wasn't very busy. We got our first snowfall/storm actually yesterday. It was getting rather miserable out as my shift went on and fewer and fewer people were out in it...so that was good for me, as I a bit sleep deprived, I got to come home and relax! lol :)

This is a pyramid of all the ladybug treat boxes that I made up for all the kids. Sorry for the bad pic, but I took it at about 2 AM in the morning, the day of the party! Yes, I'm a procrastinator! lol :)
These are the four ladybug cakes that I made. They were fun to make and I think everyone got a kick out of them. :) I used two cake pans that are normally used to make two halves of a soccer ball/basket ball etc. cake. But, instead of icing the two flat pieces to make a ball, I just laid the cake with flat side down, iced it and added red crystallized sugar. I took apart ALOT of mini Oreo cookies, removed the white cream layer in them and iced them with my icing so that they would stick to the red sugar. I added the black shoe string licorice for the wings in a figure 8 design and ta-da you have a ladybug body. For the head, I used my Creative Memories Cutting Template and cut out a piece of black cardstock and added the googley eyes. Done! Natalia absolutely loved them, so mission accomplished! :)
This is the Mexican Layered Dip that I made for the adults to snack on. It's so easy to make.
Mexican Layered Dip

8 oz pkg. light cream cheese
2 tbsp. fat-free mayo
3/4 lb. extra lean hamburger
1 500 ml. bottle mild salsa
1/2 sm. head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
250 gr. cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
black olives, seeded and chopped, optional

Cream together softened cream cheese and mayo. Spread on bottom of large dip bowl.
Cook hamburger, cool, layer over top of cream cheese layer.
(I cook my in a Tupperware Microwave Cooker which cooks the beef on a slotted rack and all the fat drips through to the bottom so you get rid of the extra fat. Otherwise, I would fry and rinse and drain the beef.)
Pour salsa over top of hamburger layer.
Chop up lettuce and layer on top of salsa layer.
Shred cheddar cheese and sprinkle over top of lettuce layer.
Sprinkle chopped green onions on top of cheddar cheese.
Finish by sprinkling on black olives, if desired. I normally don't add these for gatherings as I don't know if everyone likes them....although I could eat the whole can, I think! lol :)

Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)