These cute and clever bird's nest cookies are the perfect treat for Easter. Light and airy coconut-filled meringues really look a lot like birds' nests—you can complete the illusion by adding a few egg-shaped Easter candies. We like the Cadbury mini eggs, but malted milk eggs or even jelly beans will work equally well.

The kids love to help make these, and of course love to eat them. These treats are a great addition to Easter baskets, too. Give them a try, and you'll probably find that they earn a spot in your spring baking repertoire.

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar

Earth Day 2014 takes place on Tuesday, April 22. It’s a great time to celebrate and teach our children the importance of preserving our planet’s resources. There are plenty of ways to observe the occasion here in Marin and the Bay Area, and we've created a list of local events that either celebrate Earth Day or help families learn about nature and the planet.

Fun Events for Earth Day

• Earth Day Celebration 2014
  Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito
  Saturday, April 19, 9 am–5 pm
  Join us on Earth Day to celebrate the natural beauty of our environment. Every day, the museum seeks to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards by encouraging children to immerse themselves in our unique place by the Bay. All activities included with admission unless noted otherwise. See schedule here.
• Earth Day: Come Play for the Planet
  San Francisco Zoo
  Saturday & Sunday, April 19 & 20, 11 am–3 pm
  Head to the zoo for some fresh air and good ol' fashioned fun themed around conservation and caring for the environment. Activities include live entertainment with the Raytones, games, a scavenger hunt, wild recycled crafts with SCRAP, face painting, costumed animal characters, keep talks, a Family BikeAbout, and more. Learn more here.

Old fashioned coconut cake is an Easter favorite. We decided to give this classic treat a kid-sized spin and made a fun mini cupcake version.

These light and sweet little cakes with a marshmallow-like frosting are great for parties, playdates, and get-togethers, and of course as dessert on Easter! Sure, you can use fresh toasted coconut on the outside, but we love the old-school white flaked sweetened coconut from the grocery store's baking aisle.

This recipe makes about three dozen mini cupcakes. You can use it to make regular-size cupcakes, too, but of course you'll need to increase the baking time by a few minutes.

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike.

This recipe makes cooking Thai more simple than you can image. In less than 20 minutes dinner is served and it is sweet, savory and delish! Did I mention it’s also healthy? After you make this, you will wonder why you ever ordered out for Thai food. Serve with brown rice.

Serves: 3–4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless cutlets, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Easter is just a few days away (it's on April 20 this year), so it's time to start planning for egg hunts, breakfast with bunny and other special events. My children love this time of year when the flowers bloom, and the Easter Bunny hops into town. Part of the fun is celebrating spring and the Easter season with a traditional egg hunt, and there are Easter egg hunts scheduled at communities throughout Marin County. Here's our list of fun Easter egg hunts and events taking place in Marin and other locations in the Bay Area. We'll update this list as we find out about additional events. If we've left out your favorite Marin or Bay  Easter egg hunt, please let us know and we'll add it to the roster.

Easter Bunny Photos

While your kids are waiting for the big day, they can visit the Easter Bunny and have their picture taken with him at his whimsical spring house at Northgate in Terra Linda. He'll be at the Macy's wing from April 4–16, 2014, Monday–Saturday from noon–8 pm and Sunday 11 am–6 pm and April 16–19, Wednesday–Saturday, 10 am–9 pm. The Easter Bunny is located in the north mall entrance near Macy's. For more info, visit their website.

Corte Madera

• Easter Egg Hunt
  San Clemente Park in East Corte Madera
  Saturday, April 19, 10 am sharp
  Bring the little ones out for the 3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt at San Clemente Park (east side of Corte Madera).The egg hunt will stat at 10 am start time - don't be late! Over 1000 eggs. Separate areas for under 3 yrs and big kids. Little ones can trade in their empty eggs for a baby/toddler safe stuffed animal and big kids can "recycle" their eggs (after they empty them of their treasure of course!) in exchange for a prize. Free pictures with the Easter Bunny. Bring your own basket. For more info, contact jessicapridemore@gmail.com.

Fairfax

• Fairfax's Annual Easter Egg Hunt
  Bolinas Park
  Saturday, April 19, 10 am (sharp)
  Children 8 and below are welcome to come and participate in the Spring egg hunt. Grab your basket and get ready to hunt for eggs at 10 am sharp in Bolinas Park! There will be facepainting, music by James K, and bubble entertainment for the little ones. This event is sponsored by Park & Rec, and is for ages 8 and below. Following that, there will be an eggstravaganza for the tweens in Peri Park, from 1-4 p.m. The celebration continues into the evening, with a movie at the ball field from 8-10 p.m.! The event for older kids is sponsored by the Youth Commission. and fun. For more information, visit their website.

Marin Mommies presents a sponsored article from the Marin Childcare Council and its Safe Sleep Campaign. For more information, call them at (415) 472-1092 or visit www.mc3.org.

As parents and caregivers, our top priority is the health and safety of the babies we care for. But are we doing everything we can to keep our babies safe in Marin? The Marin Child Care Council’s Safe Sleep Campaign would like us all to consider these facts:

• Last year in Marin, 2 babies died in their sleep!
• Each year in the US, close to 4,000 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly of sleep-related causes (often referred to as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death or SUID).
• Half of these unexpected deaths are due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), defined as the sudden unexplained death of a baby younger than one year of age without a known cause.
• The rest of these infant deaths are largely due to accidental causes such as suffocation and strangulation in bed—and are 100% preventable!
• Research shows that there are concrete steps we can take to reduce the risk of SIDS and prevent most other sleep-related infant deaths.

What are you doing on your week off from school? Here are a few of our picks for fun things to do with the family around Marin, the Bay Area, and Northern California during Spring Break. Enjoy!

• Explore the beach and world-famous Boardwalk in the seaside town of Santa Cruz.
• Make an claymation movie and more at the Children's Creativity Museum in San Francisco.
• Look for wildflowers and wildlife on Ring Mountain.
• See the cherry trees in bloom at the Japanese Tea Garden.

Marin Mommies presents a guest article by Marin mom and financial planner Tanya Steinhofer, CFA,CFP®.

There is an old saying that “Cash is King”. Its origins are unclear, but it has been widely used in reference to the tendency of companies and households to hold excess cash in times of uncertainty or distress to preserve flexibility. In the financial planning world, I prefer to think of the phrase “Cash Flow is King” because understanding and managing one’s cash flow is critical to being able to build wealth and save for important life goals.

The first phase of managing your cash flow is to understand how much income you make each month, net of taxes. This should include your annual bonus or commission income, averaged out over the year. Once you know what your monthly net income is, you can decide how to allocate it.

Lemon bars have to be one of my all time favorite desserts. I usually reserve lemon bars for special occasions, because they are so sweet and rich. They are great for a special treat, party or a school event.

When a friend gave me a big bag of Meyer lemons from her tree and mentioned that they make spectacular lemon bars, I just had to try them out with this recipe. If you're not familiar with Meyer lemons, they're a seasonal citrus fruit that's similar to the regular Eureka lemons that you find in the grocery store, but with a thinner peel and sweeter and more aromatic. The lemon bars they made were truly fantastic, with an amazing citrus flavor that you simply won't get from grocery store lemons. If you don't have a Meyer lemon tree yourself (or have a friend who does), you can find them Trader Joe's or at one of the local farmers markets—while they're in season.

Here is the recipe I used for lemon bars. Yes, it seems like a lot of sugar, but you have to offset the tartness of the lemons. If you don't have Meyer lemons, that's OK. This recipe is still fantastic with regular lemons, too.