The Best of Peep Week: The Peep Centerpiece

Before there were movies, there were centerpieces. When the kids were very young, we had Easter egg hunts and I would create a peep centerpiece each year to liven up the party. I made the first peep centerpiece in 2003, three years before I started blogging. Each centerpiece was primarily made of peeps but often involved other candy too. And tears. I think I cried almost every time I made one because peeps are sticky and difficult to work with and because they refused to defy the laws of physics as they did in my mind when I created my grand plans. The worst was in 2005 - we had a new baby and wire hangers and a peep rainbow to make. I cried until Luisa finally took over and finished the centerpiece without me. Behind every great woman is another woman who is willing to step in and say, "Give me that hanger and olive oil!"

My favorite centerpiece was made in 2004 and was featured on the blog during the first Peep Week in 2006:

And what kind of parenting blogger would I be if I didn't include Baby's First Centerpiece? In 2007, Miguel insisted on creating his own centerpiece and designed the following:

Such humble beginnings!

Peep Week 2014 - Day 7

My first peep movie debuted on this blog in 2009. I had actually shot the footage in 1998 on a Hi8 camera and it took me 11 years to figure out how to digitize and edit it. It was meant to be a one time thing.

And here we are…5 years later.

2009: JAWS

2010: Peeparazzi

2011: Bunniver's Travels

2012: Peepeii

2013: The Dance of the Peeps

The quality has varied over the years and after 2012, I wanted to retire because I didn't believe I could do any better than Peepeii. I took a year off and let the kids go it alone last year and thought I would quietly phase out the Peep Week movie.

But people expect things and I hate to disappoint.

I realized something though. I need to keep it simple if I'm going to keep doing it. So, that's what I did. We built an imperfect set. The kids served as the only grips, moving the people and objects. I took deep breaths when they moved them too much and let go when the camera got bumped. I shot this on my dining room table using only my iPhone 5c and the Stop Motion Studio app. I edited and layered sounds in iMovie.

When it was all done, Zeca said that I was "a little controlling." She's right - I am. But she forgets sometimes that I am a work in progress and I've come a long way. When I finished editing the movie last night, I watched it all the way through and could see the mistakes and ya know what? I didn't care.

We made a movie and the final scene may just be my favorite scene of any movie I've ever made.

I present to you the Peep Week 2014 movie: Peepnado!

http://youtu.be/X9SIT9MKfkw