Easter Weekend 2012

First of all, apologies on the photo quality. Picasa has made some changes and, consequently my edited photos are not the ones appearing on my blog. I still have SO much to learn!

Regardless, last weekend was Easter.  After Eli's basketball game, Ruby, Eli, and I went to a Maudy Thursday service at our new church.  It was a bit unusual, but the more I thought about it, it was quite amazing.  We began with a huge feast and fellowship time and continued into a quiet reading of what happened to Jesus that night.  It was interesting to go from a celebration to a somber rememberance, but I image it is the same type of range of emotion the apostiles felt that evening.  Ruby really seemed to be understanding to sadness behind Good Friday this year. 

Friday morning we made the drive up to my mom's house for lunch and an egg hunt.  There were SEVEN children this year.  I was amazed at how "in to it" David was at nearly two years old (especially once he found out there was candy inside those eggs!).

Saturday morning we made it to our city's annual egg hunt, although, temperments being what they were, I'm almost sorry we did.

As the hunt began, the fire engine turned on its siren.  At that point, Dave could focus on nothing but finding out what that sound was!  Luckily for David, Eli was too big for the egg hunt this year (tear!) and "helped" him get several eggs and packs of M&Ms.

I love taking photos of their Easter baskets before I hide them.  It helps me remember what they were "in to" from year to year.  As you can see, for David, it was quite the Sesame street Easter!

Getting everyone clean, dressed, and off to church is a challenge on an average Sunday.  On Easter, it's almost a nightmare.  I made have had a mini-meltdown when I discovered that David's only pair of kacki pants had a huge blue stain on them.  In the end, though, everyone left the house looking fantastic and I even had time to shoot a couple photos.

My Grandmother always attends Christmas Eve & Easter services with us.  While Jason was attempting to get her out of the building, I got one more shot of all the kiddos together by the Easter lillies.

For lunch we met up with my aunt, uncle and cousin from Zionsville at a local hotel.  There was a nice buffet and plenty of treats given to my children.  The boys got eyeball balls from Aunt Sharon and David had a great time throwing his eyeball and then "eating" it.  Yep, nothing says Easter like eyeballs!

After all this excitement, the boys headed home for a nap while the girls went to go fly a kite!

The Lazy Parent & the kite

OK, I'll admit it.  Sometimes I can be a lazy parent.  There are just some things that, when the kids ask, I picture how energy-zapping they are going to be and I say, "Maybe some time." (which is, of course, code word for never).  Taking them to fly kites has been one of those things....

Insert Ruby's kindergarten teacher.  Let me start by saying that Ruby has the best teacher on the planet.  Seriously!  Every month she sends home a homework calendar with the whole month's homework on it, which I totally love!  Most of the ideas are academic, but some of them are things that I would call "citizenship" things, like setting the table or cleaning your room (I told you she was the greatest teacher ever!).

And then, April's must anticipated calendar comes home and one of the items is to fly a kite.  And we have to do it.  It's homework! (Have I mentioned I was a teacher in my former life?  Yea, I can get a little it's-the-end-of-the-world-if-you-don't-do-it about homework.)

So, what would any "good" mother do?  I bought her a kite.  For Easter.  And took her to fly it that afternoon.  Let me just say, Ruby is a pretty happy girl, but I can not remember the last time I saw her that happy!  And all I had to do was sit and remind her not to get it tangled in the power lines (and take like 45 pictures!). 

It was SO much fun!  I got Mom of the Year award.  I think I love kites!

I Heart Faces: Happiness

Happiness is St. Patrick's Day hikes!

 

Head on over to I Heart Faces for more pictures of happiness.

What did you do???

So this morning I did something totally crazy (Okay, at least pretend to be a little bit shocked, please?).  I was cleaning off the computer desk and noticed an advertisement for columnists for our local paper's Parent magazine.  It gave a few ground rules and had an email address to send in your columns. 

Before I knew it, I was typing away on a column.  Really, I blame it on my true desire to not finish cleaning off the desk, but there I sat typing.  I read through it a couple of times, spell checked and then, the most crazy thing of all, I sent it in to the editor.  That voice inside me that typically stops me from doing such crazy things must have either started Spring Break early or is currently on mute. 

So I was thinking that maybe it might be lost in cyberworld somewhere, you know wherever those really important emails go when they don't actually make it to the intended recipient.  Then, about an hour ago, I got a confirmation that the editor received my column.

Friends, I didn't even tell you the worst part yet.  Oh yes, you are not going to believe this.  The article I felt so compelled for everyone in my town to read is about.... sex.  Yep.  S-E-X.  Well, actually it's about talking to your kids about sex, but still.  My grandmother reads the paper; she can't see that I'm actually being open and honest with my 10 year old about that!

And then it hits me.  How does that verse go?  You know, that one about being timid.  So, I google it and this is what that verse says:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:17.

OK God.  You win.  I won't hack into that editor's computer and "steal back" my story (or, in actuality, I won't hire a 2nd grader to teach me how to hack into his computer and "steal back" my story).  I wasn't made to be timid; I was made for much more.

{MAIN} Holidays & the curse of Pinterest

(I'm in a bit of an odd mood today. I hope you can hang with me in my rambling state)

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday.   What?  You didn't know that?  Aren't all mommies supposed to know these things?  So I got on Pinterest this morning for some extra servings of green eggs and inspiration when suddenly I started to feel so...... inferior. 

Sure, we celebrated Groundhog's Day this year with groundhog cupcakes

... and shadow tag...

and a footprint craft (because seriously, I can not get enough hand/ footprint crafts!).

And Super Bowl Sunday was filled with healthier, homemade snacks...

along with some commercial viewing...

And Valentine's Day began with a candlelight breakfast full of all things red and heart-shaped...

... and lunch continued much the same way.

What special day would be complete without the customary photo shoot...

even if the kiddos have to be done in two groups because the youngest was wwwwaaaaaayyyy too grumpy that morning to be photographed?

There were games after dinner which included Chubby Puppy-- the Valentine's Edition and Heart Bingo (even though Eli had a basketball game that night).

And even Lead Day, the once every four years holiday that lead us to play leap frog....

and eat frog cupcakes.

Still, after all that manufactured fun, I still feel inferior?  Why????  I'm blaming Pinterest!

So, tonight, we will be eating "boring" old green eggs and ham, Dr. Seuss hat pancakes, and 1 fish, 2 fish, goldfish crackers.  We will be reading the same old Dr. Seuss books and we will play Seuss bingo just like we did last year.  And, at the end of the night, my three kiddos will love me just as much as they would if I spent hundreds of dollars and metric tons of energy to give them a Pintrest-style Dr. Seuss Day.

I Heart Faces: Hugs and Kisses

In watching Ruby and Jason, I have truely learned and daughters and daddies have a very special relationship.  In this photo (taken before the father/ daughter dance) I captured a special "kiss" these two have: they each make the sign for "I love you", they put their I love you signs together (like a kiss), and then say Ka-Boom (as if they're blowing them up).  I hope they always have these special moments!

Head over to I Heart Faces for more hugs and kisses!

I Heart Faces: Hearts

This photo reminds me of the three days Ruby spent in jammies last August while she had Chicken Pox. (To answer your questions, yes, kids do still get chicken pox, but not very often. Yes, she had the vaccine-- twice.)

Heavenly      

Eppervescent

Adventurous  

Ruby             

Timeless     

     Head on over to I Heart Faces to view more photos with heart!