In Thanks of Teachers...

My kids prefer to get sick when Tom is out of town.... 

Not sure why that is, or even if it makes a difference, because

 You Know Who gets throw up, eye drops, or blow-the-nose duty anyway....  

Jack woke with the super bleary Pink Eye this morning...  

He would flip out if he knew this  photo was hitting the wide world web, 

 but our job is humiliate our kids, is it not?  

His photo has a mug shot look to it...

Oh God, please let that not be foreshadowing...

Bail Bondsman is not a title I will accept...

Back to reality.... 

So, no school and no work... 

What to do?  

He wasn't sick enough to lie in bed or watch TV all day, although that was his preference... 

We hit the Costco and then the plant store.  

All the good plants are available, perfect with a frost advisory tonight, 

 but I had to get some unusual herbs and flowers before they get picked over this weekend.  

Jack good naturedly helped me get them in the ground 

before he realized he was missing some good vegging in front of the boob tube... 

I was left alone for my next project:  

Operation Thank the Teacher... 

Not sure why Teacher Appreciation Week is so late in the year... 

We should be greasing their palms early in the school year 

in hopes they will have extra patience with our kids... 

Trust me, Jack's teachers are SAINTS....  

He is a one-boy Tasmanian Devil.....in a sweet, whirling dirvish kind of way...

So, what to make for the kids' teachers with items in the pantry... 

2 boxes of devils food cake mix: Check   

3 cans of white frosting: Check   

Sprinkles: Check   

Mason Jars: Check  

Eureka!  Cupcakes in a jar!  

I have seen these little jars of caloric  heaven for sale on Etsy for $6.00 a pop, plus $10.00 for shipping.  

That is one expensive sugar binge....  

So here's how you do it.....  

Submerge your smallish Mason jars, lids, too in a large stockpot and boil for 30 minutes.... 

Just like canning.... I had 7 jars in the pantry.  2 cake mixes could make about 12 jars of cupcakes.  I just had a lot of leftover cupcakes, as if that was a problem.....

Dry all jars and lids on clean cloths.  

Bake your cupcakes like you normally would.  

You can get crazy and make some decadent cake from scratch, but just like "Semi Homemade with Sandra Lee", I went boxed mix.  So much easier...  

Once the cupcakes are cooled, take one and break it up in the bottom of a jar.  

You can spoon the frosting in or pipe it in the jar, like I did.  

Layer on more cake pieces, then more frosting.  

End with a swirl of frosting on top and toss in some pretty sprinkles.  

I found some lovely downloadable labels for canning jars here.....  

I printed them on sticker paper (You can find it at Staples) and cut them out.  

Now how easy is that?! 

My jars were a little on the big side, so each teacher is getting about 2 1/2 cupcakes in each jar.  

I'll not be sharing the calorie count on those little treats......