Easter

Easter just isn't the same now that the kiddos are older. We went to an annual flashlight egg hunt the Friday before, but this year James was invited to sleep over at a friend's house. He said "Mom, I'm 14! I'm too old for egg hunts".

We used to have our own egg hunts, but it seemed like too much trouble to get out all the plastic eggs and such. Plus, the kittens would have probably rearranged them.


Here are the kids with their baskets. Hannah couldn't find her nice Longaberger basket this year. Last year James couldn't find his. We bought the inexpensive purple one as a back up.

EB used to leave the baskets on the hearth like this. I left them in the basement until after the kids were awake this year. I figured the kittens would have too much fun with them. I don't know if they'll ever be too big for baskets!

We did dye some eggs.

Finished eggs.

Our Easter Sunday was pretty calm. I did make a yummy spinach quiche for breakfast. For most of the day we just hung out at home.

Easter Cake Balls & Cake Pops

Hannah wanted to make some Easter cake pops this week. Of course, after I start making them, she went outside to play with friends!

I made the little chick ones from Bakerella's Cake Pop Book.

I used a lemon cake for the cake pops. Lemon yellow chicks just sounded right. I made cake balls last year, but this was the first time I had ventured into the cake pops. My coating was not as smooth as I would have liked. I will definitely need to work on my technique.

I also had problems finding something for the eyes. We went to a couple of different stores in search of the perfect eyes. I ended up finding an old food marker at home, but it was barely working.

I stuck some styrofoam in the bottom of a basket and added some Easter grass to display the little guys.

I only made a dozen cake pops. There was only so much room on the styrofoam block! I made cake balls with the rest of the lemon cake. These were much easier. I think I may just stick to cake balls in the future.

The lemon was a nice flavor. Last time I made chocolate ones which were good, too. I used a variety of spring sprinkles to decorate the cake balls.

Dying Eggs

As many other families, we dye eggs at Easter. This year the kids chose a Tye Dye egg kit to use.

The instructions for this kit were different that what we usually do. First, we put an egg into a clear plastic bag.


Then we dropped small spoonfuls of the dye into the bag.


After dropping the dye in, you rub the dye on to the egg from the outside of the plastic bag.



Then we set them out to dry. The colors ran together a bit. Our eggs didn't look as pretty as the picture on the box. However, I must remember that the process is what is important, not the product. The kids had fun and that's what counts.

The last few years we've gotten the gimmicky egg dying kits. I think next year we'll skip the fancy kits and just do old-fashioned plain eggs.

Easter

We were invited to Easter dinner at our friends' house. They served a delicious meal of braised veal, mashed potatoes and asparagus. After dinner we had an egg hunt for the kids. I took some pictures at dinner, but they weren't very flattering, so I chose not to post any!


Making the kids pose for a picture before they can start searching for eggs.

A Star Wars Clone Wars egg hiding in a tree.

I love this egg - it's from the Willy Wonka Extreme & Hard to Find Easter Eggs. This isn't the best example of it, but they are so much fun to hide. Below are some of the other extreme & hard to find ones.


After all the eggs were found, it was time to inventory their candy and make trades.


Then it was time for dessert. My friend made these darling cupcakes and we brought the bunny cake that we made yesterday.


The boys (both old and young) decided to pour cherry juice on the bunny cake and "stab" him. Hannah was not amused.


We find ourselves missing our family around the holidays. It's nice to have good friends to share the holidays with.

Happy Easter!!

Easter Baskets

Last night before going to bed, I told the kids that they couldn't come downstairs before 8 am. (I'm such a mean mom!) So at 8:01, we were awakened. The kids were very excited to see what EB left for them. This was the first year that both kids didn't believe in EB. It makes me just a teeny bit sad.





Here are the kids with the baskets. I don't let them get into it until after I take the pictures of them holding their baskets.



Dissecting their Easter baskets.



The mandatory chocolate bunny.



This is something that Chris ordered for Hannah. It's from a website that makes the world's smallest letters. He ordered Hannah one for her birthday a couple of years ago. The Easter card came inside this egg. It comes with a little magnifying glass. See the red wax seal on the envelope? The envelope said "To Hannah on the 2nd Floor with the pink carpet". It's really cute!


James got some new Lego mini figurines. He got the ice skater, mad scientist, and artist to add to his collection.

Easter Bunny Cake

When the kids were younger, we made an Easter Bunny cake around Easter time. For the last couple of years, we haven't gotten around to it, so this year, the kids requested that we make one.


We started with just a plain white cake mix. Baked into 2 round pans. We had some extra cake batter, so we made a few cupcakes, too.



I shaved off the top of the left cake to make it flatter. That is the one I used for the ears. I left the other one rounded for the bunny's face.



I cut 2 ears and then what remained in the center becomes a bow tie.



Then position all the parts on a foil covered cookie sheet.



I covered the entire cake with white canned frosting.



Then I let Hannah cover the bunny head with coconut.



Then she decorated the face.




I let the kids decorate the cupcakes.

Hannah showing her creations.


Finished bunny cake and cupcakes.

Easter Treats

While Easter shopping, I picked up this Wilton candy mold at Michael's. What a great idea! Take an Oreo cookie and cover it in melted white chocolate!



A couple of weeks before Easter, I purchased some melting candies and Oreo cookies for this project. By the time I got around to making these, the Oreos were all gone. It was probably best because they were the Double Stuff ones and I don't think they would have worked.


Less than a week before Easter now and everything is okay. More Oreos have been purchased.
I melted the candies - I chose four different colors. This was the biggest pain -I recommend purchasing 3 or 4 microwave ovens so you don't have to wait on each color!


Here's Hannah painting a bunny image with some of the candy coating.





Child labor laws in Georgia are pretty lax, so I put Hannah and a friend to work.



The important part, putting the Oreo in the mold.



Finished treats.


I was able to eat just one. It reminded me of the White Fudge Oreos. It was a bit too much and this is coming from someone with a very bad sweet tooth! The kids had fun with them and I got stuck cleaning up all the bowls of hardened coating!