Easter

Although St. Patrick's Day was a bit of a bust, we had hopes that Easter would be a little more enjoyable. Unfortunately, Mama managed to catch the wretched cold that Dad had been suffering from and wasn't feeling in top form. But, we managed to enjoy all of our Easter traditions this year. As usual, Mama felt compelled to buy disgustingly cute clothes for the little ones. And, as usual, Mama went a little overboard and ended up with multiple Easter outfits for Max and Molly. And, once again, we demonstrated that the cuter everyone looked, the harder it was to get a nice picture.

We didn't get around to dying our Easter eggs until the Saturday before Easter. We didn't dye eggs last year, since Max was in a cast and Molly was too little. So, this year, everyone was very enthused about the whole process. After setting up nine tubs of egg dye on the counter, I let Max and Molly pull up chairs and "help" dye eggs with Big Brother and Big Sister. As you might imagine, I was on tenterhooks the entire time, because I really wanted to avoid having egg dye spilled on the carpet. The carpet cleaner and I have already spent too much quality time together over the last few years. Since Max and Molly were nothing if not enthusiastic about the whole venture, I spent a stressful hour trying to keep little hands in check. Both Max and Molly thought dyeing eggs was a whole lot of fun. It was a good thing I made a few extra eggs, because they each cracked a couple of eggs before they figured out what they were supposed to do with them (I suppose eggs do look a lot like bouncy balls ...). There were a few close calls, but we managed to avoid overturning any cups of dye (hooray!).

The Easter Bunny dutifully made his yearly visit and filled some small Easter baskets. Everyone got a small assortment of candy and a few sugar-free "treats" (books for the little kids, a DVD and Naruto cards for the big kids). Molly was the first one up and she was delighted when she discovered her goodies. She checked everything out and oohed and ahhed over the contents of her basket. Max got up shortly thereafter and was also happy to find his basket. Unlike Molly, Max immediately set to unwrapping and eating some of his candy (a lesson he apparently learned from the Easter egg hunt the previous week). When the big kids woke up, they took the little kids upstairs while the "Easter Bunny" hid the Easter eggs around the house. Max and Molly got more into the hunt and found more eggs than I expected. They had a great time searching out the eggs and carrying them back and putting them in the carton. We hid eggs in easy places for the little kids and harder spots for the big kids – this might have been the first year Dad and I didn't have to pick our brains to remember where he'd hidden the last, few missing eggs.

We made the traditional egg salad for lunch, although since Easter was so early this year, we had to use scallions in place of the fresh chives that we usually use. The chives in the backyard "garden" haven't even sprouted yet. Max seemed to like egg salad fairly well, but not as much as his beloved "peanut butter jelly white" (a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, on white bread). Molly, however, took one bite and then scraped the egg salad off of her tongue in disgust.

After unsuccessful nap attempts, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter dinner. The kids were treated to another egg hunt (this time for plastic eggs filled with goodies). Molly loved finding the eggs so much that after the hunt was over, she'd take her eggs, go hide them herself, and then "find" them ("I find it!! I find it!!"). It was really funny. Max quickly discovered that Grandma and Grandpa's computer could also access the PBS Kids website and we pretty much had to pry him away from it (which was almost a nice change from him turning the house upside down, like he usually does ;).

When all was said and done, the kids had consumed too much sugar, the adults had eaten too much food, and everyone had enjoyed a nice (although exhausting) day. Now we just have to figure out how to use up three dozen hard-boiled eggs before they spoil!