Our Easter Tradition

Every year, we like to go to Cero's Candies to get our picture taken with the Easter bunny, and to pick up some handmade chocolates for our baskets.

This year was a real treat, because our good friends - Lathi, Luc & Ian - just happened to stop by at the same time. I think Mr. Ian ate two handfuls of jellybeans from the sample bowl when the Easter bunny wasn't looking. He's a candy-fiend just like me.

On Gus and Bea's first Easters, I bought these panoramic sugar eggs at Cero's, and we display them every year. Occasionally, I catch Bea trying to lick the sugar on her egg or bite off a decoration. It'll be a miracle if it makes it to her adulthood. 

But, can't I keep the cheese grater lady?

The school carnival is next week and my son's class is collecting items for a "Kids Night to Cook" auction basket. While we were out running errands today, I found these two, adorable brands of kitchen utensils called Head Chefs & Dollhouse.

Oh my gastronomic-goodness.... these things are TOO cute. I'm going to have a hard time donating them. Would it be totally crazy of me to bid on the auction basket next Friday? Yes. Yes it would. That, and Eric would kill me.

But look at that funny Mr. Whisk guy? And those tiny, blue suction cup feet on the ice cream scoop? And that cheese grater lady.... she's absolutely precious.

Sigh. Let the bidding begin.

Is this April or August?

The kids and I spent most of the afternoon wearing swimsuits, eating fudgesicles & orange push-ups, and running through the sprinkler. Remind me again what month this is? They begged me to get out the Slip 'N Slide, but it's only the 10th of April for crying out loud. Let's pace ourselves, people.

I have to admit though, that warm sun on my shoulders sure felt nice. I'm a light shade of lobster tonight. (Note to self: SPF 45)

Vincent Van Gus

This week, the creative kuddos go to my kiddos.

Gus' Van Gogh-style sunflower painting was chosen to be on display at the USD 259 Spring Art Show at Century II. We went to the opening reception to take a few pictures, and even got to chat with Gus' art teacher, Mrs. Brown. She seemed like a great lady who's very passionate about sharing her love of art with kids. 

I certainly owe an endless amount of thanks to my art teachers, who's passion helped fuel my creative life: Lamoreaux Fulwider, Cal Mahin, Cathy Gordon & Chaiwat Thumsujarit.

It's a meatball gun, of course.

I had a monster headache tonight, so I went upstairs to chill out after dinner .... successfully ignoring my children for over an hour. 

When I finally emerged, my 4-year-old had a gallery of drawings she'd been working on, spread out on the living room floor. This one was my favorite. When I asked Bea what it was, she said "It's a gun. A meatball gun."

Love it. Maybe I should ignore her more often.

Cubecakes?

 Or Birthday-in-a-Box? 

 

Maybe Cupcakes²?

I'm not sure what to call these silly treats, but I made them for my mom's 74th birthday gathering this weekend in Salina. Ten boxes were filled with layers of white cake, sprinkles and chocolate frosting. And ten more were filled with layers of brownie crumbles, cream cheese topping and strawberries. A bit time consuming to assemble, but they turned out cute and made it easy to transport, that's for sure. If you're ever looking for clear plastic containers like these, I find mine online at Paper Mart.

April Fools' Fun

Gus has been talking about April Fools' Day since January. He definitely likes a good prank.

Last year, he tricked his classmates with packages of Twix Candy Bars that we'd replaced with carrot sticks.

This year, he's taking Tootsie Rolls to school - with Smarties secretly wrapped inside. (I know, we're not very mean with our pranks. We go for the laughs.)

Happy April Fools' Day. May all your tricks be treats, too!

Baking blossoms.

I just love when Mother Nature finally gives us some colorful relief from winter. Here's my dessert-version of the spectacular budding trees in the backyard this week.

Lucky.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at work with some lottery tickets. (And put them in Napoleon Dynomite's hand.)

Joey was the luckiest one in the office. She won $15. Two others won $1.00. Me? Not so lucky. Oh well.

St. Patty Pies

I made some mint chocolate chip whoopie pies for St. Patrick's Day treats. A few for work. A few for Bea to take to daycare. And a few for some friends I'm meeting for lunch. Even Eric was lucky enough to get a few. Although, he admits.... mint chocolate chip is not his favorite flavor. I love it. A little too much. I ate an entire carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream this week. Yikes.

Do the zoo.

I'm pretty sure it's a state law that if the temperature is above 60° on a Saturday in March, you have to go to the zoo. So we did.

And somehow, we managed to take more pictures of our two monkeys than the animals on exhibit. 

These monkeys were as tired as we were. Good thing we got a new membership to the zoo so we can come back again and again and again.