the cupcakes that were (almost) not to be.

first, my sincere apologies for not having a recipe today.  we are currently going psycho celebrating spring break and it's been well...uh...rather chaotic around here, to put it mildly.  and if this is a glimpse at what summer vacation is going to be like, then I think I'll pray for more snow so the kids can spend their entire summer break making up snow days.  so much for gloating about the spring weather a few days ago.  eep. now I want more snow.  *sigh*  maybe you should just put me in a straight jacket and haul me off to the funny farm right now.    

...and what was I suppose to be talking about?  oh yeah.  recipes.  

so, needless to say, dinner around here has kind of fallen by the wayside, leaving the masses to fend for themselves.  my task this week has been to simply keep the peace.

rewind back to monday, when I was still the nice mom and not a raging hormonal pregnant person, I let the girls bake some cupcakes.  they found a recipe in one of my cookbooks and spent some time getting the batter ready, as they were making them from scratch.  and of course, I failed to mention that they should follow the high altitude directions.  big mistake.

just look at these poor, pitiful things.  doesn't it make you want to weep??

I curse you, high altitude!  all you do is make me gasp while exercising, give me headaches, and reduce my baking to these grotesque pieces of nothingness.

as I sat sobbing over my once-again-upside-down kitchen and the labor of love that seemed a waste of time, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  it's Chloe.  "mom, she says, even though they aren't picture perfect, they still taste okay."  and she sets down a plate, with a nicely frosted cupcake, complete with sprinkles, on it. "here, try one."

hmph.  by this point I was feeling forlorn and stubborn and thought, forget it, why bother?

but maybe it did look just a wee bit tempting.  chocolate.  creamy frosting.  okay, FINE.  I'll try it.

oh-la-la!  actually it was quite amazing, I had to admit.

excuse me?  could you make me another one?  or two?  or...?

good thing for happy endings.  although patience is still not my middle name.    

-jessica