April Fools' Day is Almost Here

I have been a teacher now for almost 15 years and every teacher has a love for Dr. Seuss. And long before I was a teacher, I was a child.  And much like every other child in the world, I had a love for Dr. Seuss.  So last year when Kirsten came home asking for Dr. Seuss books to bring to school for Dr. Seuss week, we were so excited to rummage through the thousands of books in our house for all of the Seuss classics.

The Foot Book… Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?...  There’s a Wocket in My Pocket… The Lorax…  Yertle the Turtle….

As the pile reached higher and higher, we looked upon it in awe at how vast our collection had grown.

But what does April Fool’s Day have to do with Dr. Suess… Well I would have answered, “absolutely nothing,” until Dr. Seuss week in Mrs. Dennino’s kindergarten class.  That was the week we were introduced to a new family favorite, Wacky Wednesday.

Wacky Wednesday begins when the main character wakes up to find a shoe on the wall! As the pages of the book progress the number of items gone awry increases.  The best part of the book is the illustrations, which double as picture puzzles needing to be solved.  

What better way to celebrate April Fools' Day than with our very own Wacky Wednesday.  And even though April 1, 2012 was not on a Wednesday (it was a Sunday)… what better way to celebrate than with our own Wacky Sunday, complete with a shoe on the wall!

After composing this letter,

I set out to plant the five things that were wrong.

#1

a personalized placemat with Kirsten’s name spelled wrong 

#2

a personalized placemat which Julia needed to read in the mirror 

#3

the artwork on our corkboard turned upside down 

#4

pink milk (by far their favorite)

#5

our very own shoe on the wall! 

We will wait and see what Wacky Monday will bring this year...

The March Bake Off

It seems like March is the busiest month of the year.  St. Patrick's Day... the Covert Circus... Parent Teacher Conferences... My sister's birthday... My daddy's birthday... Add Easter to this list and you have one fun filled month... and LOTS of baking!  And thanks to Pinterest, it is also time for experimenting!

Last weekend was bundt cake fest! This week was cupcake fest!

The baking began for Julia's Spring Party on Friday this week. For this celebration, I took my own advice, and kept it simple... a box of Funfetti cake mix, a container of frosting, and colorful Peep chicks  to nest on top...
It really doesn't get any cuter than this!

Peeps Marshmallow Chick Cupcakes

Round #2 of baking commenced on Friday night for my sister's and daddy's birthday celebration. Keeping with our Easter theme and the fact that Madelyn is a HUGE fan of both Cadbury Creme Eggs and Cadbury Mini Eggs... we concocted two cadbury creations (say that three times fast).

Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Another super easy treat when you make it with one box vanilla cake mix and Cadbury creme eggs.

One word of advice... only fill the cupcake liners about a third of the way.  Insert egg and then add only a teaspoon or so more batter.  Otherwise, you end up with a big mess.

These cupcakes are SUPER SWEET... frosting really is overkill.

Cadbury Mini Egg Cupcakes

I must admit, I had no idea how these treats would turn out.  So instead of ruining al1 2 dozen cupcakes, I went out on a limb with only 8. With the remaining 16 plain old vanilla cupcakes I added some green frosting grass and some cut Cadbury mini eggs.

Thinking back now, some crushed mini eggs in the batter (like mini chocolate chips) might have made these even more yummy!

I also made another batch of my new obsession, mint cookie truffles... the third batch in only eight days!

So let's recap our March sweetness. To date we have made...

(1) pistachio bundt cake

(1) Irish cream bundt cake

(3 batches) mint cookie truffles

(28) vanilla Peep cupcakes

(8) Cadbury egg cupcakes

(16) vanilla cupcakes with mini Cadbury eggs

And the month is not over yet... Easter goodies are yet to come!

The Luck of the Not-So-Irish

For the most part, being married to an Irishman is probably similar in every way to being married to a man of any other nationality, with two exceptions:

#1 – our children must be Irish twins (to which I technically missed the mark by two months)

#2 – St. Patrick’s Day must be celebrated with corned beef, cabbage, and boiled potatoes

Green attire for the Clarke girls (and this year our Clarke clan) is ready for tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities!  And the desserts are almost ready, too.  You see, even though I am not Irish, I can still contribute to the party... 

One green pistachio bundt cake is out of the oven…

 (just needs some powdered sugar before serving)

one Irish Cream Bundt cake is in the oven…

and one batch of mint cookie truffles (that very well might not make to see St. Patrick’s Day)!

The Irish Cream Bundt cake is my go to St. Patrick's Day dessert. I have made it for the past few years and it is always a crowd pleaser. The cake itself is rich and super moist from the addition of a box of instant vanilla pudding.  And the glaze, well I could just eat it straight out of the pot it is cooked in.  This year I tried a new cake and these AMAZING mint cookie truffles.

Another super easy and super delicious find!  Just a package of Keebler Grasshopper cookies (which are supposedly made in the same factory as everyone's favorite Girl Scout cookie, Thin Mints) and 4 oz. of cream cheese.  Mix it together. Roll into one inch balls and you are good to go. I drizzled mine with glaze made from powdered sugar and a splash of milk and prettied them up with a shake of green sparkle.  

Green bagels will be the breakfast choice of champions and for my two Lucky Charms... well some Lucky Charms!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!