cake pops

As soon as I discovered Bakerella's blog, I was determined to make her cake pops. Easter was on it's way so I went for the chickies. The instructions are here. I've already been dreaming of a Hello Kitty birthday party for Kate just to make these. Or maybe the owls. I can not even stand the Sesame Street pops- they are amazing! Bakerella is so talented that a book is coming out in the Fall with pre-orders taken by Amazon.

Be prepared to spend time and money gathering items to make the pops but you will have extras for the next batch. I made the flower pops a few days later with the extra candy melts. The basic instruction is to bake a cake in a 9"x13" pan, let it cool, mix it with frosting (I recommend only 1/2 of a tub if using prepared.), roll into the ball and chill. Then you add the stick, dip and decorate. I used red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting- all from a mix and tub as a short cut. The chicks were made with a brownie mix and a block of cream cheese. YUM.

The kids were able to help by rolling the balls and sorting the candies for the decorations. When left to decorate on his own, Sean made aliens by dotting the cake pop with Skittles. As far as reactions go, my family was impressed but I didn't see many of them actually eating one. The kids gobbled them up.

Easter egg hunt

It is Easter Egg Hunt season. If you plan smart, you can hit at least 6 different hunts during the 3 weekends before Easter. Lowe's Garden Center, Eagle Creek, Breezewood Gardens, Bainbridge/Howard Hanna, Aurora, Solon, and Chagrin Falls are just a sampling of the event locations. There is even a helicopter drop in Macedonia. The eggs are really dropped from a helicopter! And the bunny waves to the kids from high above! I know this because I attended the first annual helicopter egg drop last year. Both children and parents (ridiculous!) stormed the field like a scene from "Braveheart". Sean was 2 years old and Kate was in the stroller. Needless to say, he did not get one egg. The mayhem was enough to scare me from returning for the second annual. To boot, they are dropping 100,000 eggs this year, an increase of 94,000 eggs compared to last. I must admit, it was a thrill which I do not regret witnessing.

We were going to pass on the public Easter Egg Hunts this year but Saturday was just beautiful and we had no plans. Which one do we pick? I have heard horror stories about parents coaching kids and reaching over boundaries to grab eggs at the local garden centers. The discount coupons inside random eggs are as enticing to parents as chocolate bunnies are to children. So, no hunts sponsored by a local business. I wasn't about to watch Sean get trampled again. We also had to plan around Kate's morning nap so Chagrin Falls Riverside Park was the winner.

Perfect choice. We walked into "Pleasantville". There was a crowd but it was organized and reserved. There were 5 age groups. The children patiently waited for their turn. The parents casually watched as the kids grabbed the eggs. Everybody was happy. Nobody over the age of 12 was in possession of a plastic egg. Every child went home with candy.

eggshelland

My brother, sister and I looked forward to the annual visit to Eggshelland on Easter. We were excited to see the Easter Bunny and to guess what the theme might be. In it's 52nd year, Eggshelland still is amazing and bright and admirable. It's the kind of place where you just can't stop smiling. And- it's all in a family's front yard in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

The Cedar-Lee hosted their documentary last spring. View the trailer here. Should I be embarrassed about shedding tears for some colored eggs?

We took the kids there on Monday. We saw Mr. Manolio arranging some eggs and he explained to us that his wife decided that they would base this year's theme on the lovely birds in the area.

I have got to dig through my storage to find some photos of us back in the 70's and 80's. I just love this place!

dr. martens 50th

Happy 50th birthday Dr. Martens! There are plenty of styles for kids. Do you think 18 months and almost 4 are too young to clomp around in these classics?