easter wrap up and a moldy breakfast

So wow. Thank God Easter is over. Is that sacrilegious? If so, sorry God.

I had such a busy, fun-filled few days, but I was so glad when I woke up and it was Monday. The kids are back to school, the house is quiet and calm again, and I have nothing to do.

Nothing to do is my favorite thing.

I may or may not have slept til 10 am this morning. Don't judge me! I couldn't even help it! My curtains were closed and it was quiet and dark and nobody was home. It was totally an accident. But it was great. Though it is afternoon and I still feel kind of sleepy. I wonder if it has to do with the sleeping in like a teen-ager thing. Either that or the fact that it's a grey, drizzly day where I live. Those cozy days always make me sleepy.

We had my sister and her family here all weekend. We went on a few hikes, we colored eggs, we ate way too much, and I drank way too much. It was great. We sat around and sang duets and danced and played a funny card game. We had a big Easter egg hunt at my house, and a big Sunday dinner at my sister Ali's house. My son was home from college, which I love. I'd say it was a pretty successful holiday weekend. Except the part when I weighed myself this morning, but let's not go there right now.

Speaking of unpleasant things this morning, I ate some moldy bread. I discovered it right after I had eaten the entire piece of toast, including a few misc crumbs that I hoovered off of the plate. So then I felt so grossed out that I googled "what happens if you eat moldy bread," just in case I was about to keel over in a violent spore-filled puff of whatever.

Apparently it's no big deal. 

Good to know.

ANYway,  happy Monday! Here's hoping your bread isn't moldy!

coloring eggs

We all gathered around the table in the kitchen and colored eggs this afternoon. I know I am a grown-up and all, but I actually woke up this morning thinking about coloring eggs, and how I was going to do mine. :) I thought had some good ideas! I remember it being so anticipated when I was little. Of course, my kids were all excited and happy. We started a little earlier than usual, because Kara had to go to work tonight. So I boiled up about two dozen eggs - we had a few crack as they were cooking, so we ate those. Dad got the mugs situated and plopped in the colored tablets and vinegar in the water. The smell of vinegar immediately makes me think of Easter eggs. It's funny that way.

Everyone did 3 or 4 eggs. Brooke finished hers too quickly of course - it's really so hard to be patient when you're three. She just totally loved the whole process. It's actually been so fun with her this year, holidays and all - because she really just gets things now, and she honestly loves to be a part of everything and included. Alex ended up with a few brown eggs because he had to put his in every color - eventually he realized that he was just ending up with dull BROWN. Kara is like me, she took her time and thought it out. She was funny - tried to write something in white, which of course she couldn't see as she was writing. Megan's were thoughtful too. I put some rubber bands around one of mine and made stripes - very cool. Kara thought it was "nautical." I put some stickers on one of the others, so I ended up with a green and yellow (square) polka dotted egg when I removed the stickers after dying it. I also put tape around an egg, both lengthwise and around the middle - that turned out neat too - kind of looked like a cross, so I guess that was fitting for Easter.

It makes me happy because I think the kids really enjoy our traditions - they were definitely looking forward to coloring the eggs all day. When I started boiling the eggs, they were lurking around the kitchen. It's just so hard to wait! They all stuck around pretty closely because nobody wanted to miss anything.
 

I hope Easter will be as fun as coloring the eggs. Looking forward to getting the everything ready later tonight, and of course - the best part - hiding the baskets and eggs!

Hunting for Eggs

Today was Brooke's pre-school Easter Egg Hunt. I have to admit I was dreading it. I particularly get nervous interacting with the other mothers, and I have a real hard time with the field trips. I'm not sure why...

Anyway, Brooke was beyond excited, giggling all the way to school about how fast she was going to run and how many eggs filled with candy she would find. She was very concerned about my letting her eat candy before lunch, as typically, it is against the rules in our house. I assured her that it was a special occasion, so it would be OK. She also decided it would be wise to leave her Nanny (her very worn, shaggy string of a blankie) in the car so it wouldn't get lost.

So the egg hunt was a success - Brooke found a small pile of eggs and was very happy. They set the hunt up at the local park, so the eggs were hidden all in the play equipment - very cool. The playground is big enough so that kids weren't banging into each other - no serious melt-downs - everyone got a fair amount of eggs. Before the big hunt, the kids sang a few little songs with bunny ears on - totally cute. Then, after all the eggs were found, many of the kids stuck around to play. Since it was such a nice day, I was in total agreement and I actually spent most of the time chatting with another parent! woohoo for me! We actually spent an extra HOUR there, which was definitely not in my original plan.

It did make me happy, really.

I know how much Brooke likes to play outside, and I always feel guilty that I don't bring her out enough. She was all pink-cheeks and smiles. What a little sweetie.