Ruby Slippers, Moms, Cake Pop Fiasco, and Rainbows

You know that spring has sprung when Kate starts requesting her sandals. Spring always means new sandals and these red ones my Mom got for her fit the bill. Sparkly and red!

The kids worked hard on their Mother's day cards for Mimi. Lots of meaningful scribbles.

Kate is starting to write her name all by herself now. She loves the T. Those she can make perfectly. Her teacher at school Ms. Holly works with her a lot. I hear kate saying the instructions to herself when she is writing her name. She is very determined and it is  such a joy to see.

I got this recordable canvas from Hallmark for the kids to paint and record a message for my Mom. They had a great time painting but when it came to recording that was quite the feat. The first 5 takes were of Carson saying "I want to press the button!" over and over. Not exactly the stuff of memories. I was wanting them to sing Happy Birthday (her birthday is May 11th) and then each say they love her and miss her. At the end I was just going for "i love you Mimi" which Kate shouted and Carson said barely above a whisper. Ah.. best laid plans:) I'm pretty sure Mimi will still get a kick out of it.

I really wanted to do something for the kids teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. Cake pops of course were on my mind. Flower cake pops to be exact. I bought this cake pop pan thinking how easy it would be to just bake them and have them turn out perfectly round, dip them and go! Well...............

They definitely turned out round but that was the only good thing about them. I made them with a regular cake mix and it just wasn't dense enough. The next night I tried my friend Robin's pound cake recipe because it is a very dense cake and still no dice. the pops were sliding off the stick! So the bottom line is if you're going to make cake pops do it the old fashioned way. Cake, frosting, roll each one and then dip.Time consuming, but it really is the only way. I am going to try one last time with brownie mix for my cake pop pan. I'm too cheap to never use it again and if all else fails it will turn out perfectly round cake balls:) 

I bought these little tins in the $1 bin at Target and filled them with little candies.

These aren't that great. I used gumdrops for the petals and a skittle for the center. I had cake pop frustration last night:) My kids teachers definitely deserve better for how they take care of and love my kids. Next year I will listen to my teacher sister in law. 2 words.....Gift Cards!

Tonight we had a hard driving hail filled rainstorm that completely wiped out my flowers. :( Back to square one on those. But afterwards there was a rainbow. And not just any rainbow. A full rainbow. And the brightest one I've ever seen. My neighbors were all stepping outside to look at it.

This pic is not retouched. It was that bright!

I got these cute little mini rose bushes from Kroger for a special Mom. It's going to be so pretty in full bloom. There are about 10 ready to pop! I got these free printables from GOOD GRAVY. I love printables. They make everything look so cute.

I've had this great cookie book for about 10 years and made maybe 2 kinds of cookies from it. Tonight I needed a new recipe for a cookie project I am participating in at church. I found these cookies called Ranger Cookies. Let me just say they are wonderful. Coconut, Raisins, Oats, and chocolate chips! So good.

I also received my Mommy's day gift in the mail this week. I ordered a ring off of the NELLE and LIZZY website. I had Kate and Carson's names stamped on it.Up to to 12 characters are allowed on one ring so I lucked out and put them both on one ring. This ring is so extremely special to me right now.  Their jewelry is so beautiful and they are based in Forth Worth so I received it super fast. :)

It's hard to see but this printable also comes from the same Good Gravy site and it says, "you make me Happy when Skies are gray" She has awesome stuff on there and most of it is free. A great site for party inspirations also.