Easter Eggs: Round One

I'm not the craft-iest crayon in the box. I'll fully admit that. Buuuttttttt, for whatever reason, I feel the need to get my craft on during the Easter egg making process. I find this funny since companies have gone out of their way to make it easier and easier to dye eggs. All the while, I continued to find harder and harder methods to make a huge mess.

Not this year! I had a brief moment of clarity and realized that we'd all have a better Easter egg time if I stuck with KISS theory. I planned on keeping it as simple as motherly possibly. I know, I know. I just laughed writing that, but I was still going in for the win!

Easter is about miracles, well, one particular important one, but I'll chalk this adventure up to one as well. I totally credit planning on Nana's and my part in addition to some very low expectations. You know the saying...expect the worse, hope for the best. We set the bar at dying eggs only. No stickers, no egg wraps, no extra....well, except for the wax crayon. Duders was all about the wax crayon.

We covered the table with cut paper bags, prepped the dye cups, put on our old shirts to get messy, and went to work.

Nana gave the first demonstration and all systems were go from there!

 

I even got to dye an egg or two. But no more. With only two dozen, they were a hot commodity and dibs'd by the boys early.

Happily dyed eggs makes for awesomely dyed fingers. (The octagonal egg holder was used to put the eggs in, but Duders found it much easier to pull the eggs out using what the good Lord gave him.)

Duders showing off a yellow egg. His favorite color of late. And green fingers. His mark of hard work.

We only had two casualties out of the 24 eggs we set-out to dye. Not too shabby, especially since Brub wanted nothing more than to dye-n-smash the eggs.

Next year we're going to have make sure we have more than two dozen eggs on hand. There was hardly any mess and both boys were a little disappointed when we were finished. I take that as a sign to expand! Once again, another win with the KISS theory of simplicity.


What egg-dying tradition does your family participate in at Easter? Do you go all out with blowing the egg yolk out or silk-tie dying? Do you keep it KISS, too? I have to admit, this year was much more fun than years past!

Lessons From The Disappearing Morning {Tea}

Life as I know it is about to change forever. Well, honestly, it's about to change for Us and Them as we all know it. But for Them, in their eyes, life is about embark on a grand adventure. For Adam, in his eyes, life is about to get slightly less complicated...at least in the morning if nothing else. For me, it will be a total change of person, identity, day-to-day, and career.

I've never not worked. Since I was 15 I have held a job. That's half of my life. And I should qualify the word job to mean place of employment outside the home that society values as contributing. And I'm not saying I agree with that assessment, but just that it is.

And I remember the tail-spin I went into when I had Duders 4 weeks early and was thrown into maternity leave early. First-time mom meets work-place gal without her ducks in a row. Add exhaustion and lack of knowledge with a complete void of confidence. Did I mention that we were stuck inside because of Duders being a preemie and because of a snow squall called Snowmageddon? Luckily life got a sense of normalcy over the course of the weeks and we fell into a routine.

The maternity leave I spent with Brub was akin to Heaven rather than Hell and not only did I cherish it completely, I found memories of Duders time at home that I loved. I feel they both deserve memories and spaces in my heart and mind that I love going back to. Places reserved just for them and wrapped with nothing but Us.

I'm scared that my new career as home-maker, SAHM, personal chef, personal taxi, and puzzle-putter-together extraordinaire will consume me with the complete and utter overwhelming feeling I had with Duders. It's change. It's unknown. I'm scared.

Mostly, I'm scared to fail and let Them down. Let Adam down. Let myself down.

:::::

This past weekend I noticed how my tea cup looked while sitting on the window sill. Half disappeared and faded into the light. It was there to keep little fingers from finding it. It was there so I could drink it before it got spilled on the carpet. It was there so I could drink it before it got cold.

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It got cold. I got upset. It always gets cold. Always. And I didn't have time to reheat it because the morning was fading and we had places to go. Then I felt guilty for getting upset.

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And then I remembered that in a couple of weeks, after we transition from me working to staying home with the boys, that I'll be able to enjoy the cup of tea. I'm sure I'll have to reheat it. Probably several times. But I want to keep thinking that I'll be happy to do so and actually won't mind letting the morning disappear and fade away. I won't feel like I have to rush to accomplish in Saturday everything I couldn't the previous week. I won't mind staying in jammies until 11 AM. Won't be rushing around. Constantly. I won't mind my tea growing cold or me finding it two hours later.

I know we'll do some of the crazy time-crunching when I become a SAHM and I know that there will be times when I'm more angry than not. But I hope I take time to remember the gift that I'm being given and that there is nothing more in this world that Duders and Brub want than me. And take time to cherish the notion that all they want is to let the morning fade into the afternoon beside each other and with Mom. With or without her tea.

And it's with that love that I walk into the kitchen, freshen up my tea, and then and go have a boogie-down session to Wheels On The Bus.

Nights Are Anyone's Guess

You might say I'm a person of routine. {I can hear good friends and family from all over going ya think!?} I like the calm it brings. I like the knowing of what's coming next.

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I'm still waiting for our routine to go back to "normal," especially in the evenings. It's been 15 months of waiting for the old to fall back into place. Since November 30th to be exact. Brub's fantastically quick arrival to this blessed world. There hasn't been "normal" as I remember it in our house since that night.

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I was cooking throwing something edible together for the family when I kept hearing laughing, giggling, vacuuming, more laughing. While I'm happy to say that the laughing and giggling are part of our new, very non-routine routine, this much frolicking gave me pause. I had to go explore.

 

Oh boy. No pants. Already a good time. Note: no-pants is not part of the new non-routine routine. Happy to report that the work goggles are, though, very much part of every routine in this house. He can't get enough of them. Safety first!

 



All the while Brub was enjoying some Brub-time...quietly.

 



But it didn't last long once he realized what Duders was up to.....whatever that was. No pants on Brub either. Clearly he was having a good time as well.

And just as quickly as it started, it was over.

He was ready to move onto another fanciful storyline. To be honest, I have no idea what this battle/story was about. I didn't want to interrupt the battle and the food was burning. I put the camera down, grumbled about the bad lighting, and enjoyed our time at the table while eating dinner.

We're waist-deep in the non-routine routine of Everyday, but thankfully there are some high points to the evening that share Everyday. Dinner together. A skosh of playtime. Bath and bed routine. For all the minutes that fill in between those high points, it truly is anyone's guess as to what can evolve with two little boys bebopping around. And I plan on enjoying them for as long as I can.

How have your nights changed since starting a new chapter in your life? Kids or not. Perhaps the kids have left the nest? Perhaps you have new puppies or have picked up a new hobby? Do you sometimes long for the old "normal"? Do you sometimes just go pants-less and wear goggles for fun?!? ;)

For The Love Of Books

Our home is becoming overrun with books. We have books in almost every room of the house. Exceptions: kitchen and bathroom. All the cookbooks are on the bookshelves in the dining room and any and all books in the bathroom would end up in the toilet or the tub. Brub is totally into that game right now.

While playing in the toilet is a game I'd like to pass to on, I'm all for him being entranced by books right now. Adam and I try extremely hard to cultivate a deep passion and love for reading. We've been reading to Duders since he was barely able to open his eyes and we've never stopped. When Brub came along, we just added him to the action.

Thanks be to the reading gods because the Book Worm bit and both Duders and Brub love to read. LOVE. We try to encourage the most age-appropriate books, but let's face it, if someone's nose is in a book I'm happy. Duders doesn't always read stories with plots and sometimes Brub pages through those very same books and simply points out all the "go-go's" (cars). Book are open. Kids are occupied. I am happy.

We have book nooks that are nice and tidy. We have book nooks that are decidedly unkept, but convenient for bedtime routines. We have areas that are merely resting places for today's smattering of grand literature. Mostly those resting places are because I'm lazy and just want the book up and off the floor.

Of course we have our favorites. Go Dog, Go. We have the gold standards that every household with a child owns. Probably multiple copies. Goodnight Moon. The Hungry Caterpillar. Guess How Much I Love You. We have books by authors we were introduced to when we had our own kids. Hello Sandra Boynton, anyone? And then we usually have our three library books.

::steps on soap box::

Because in this house, a love of books shall come with a love of the library. I never want my children to automatically turn to Amazon for a book. Well, maybe when they're older. But first I want them to love the library. To know the smell of a new book. To hear its spine open.

::steps off soap box::

My heart sings when I find Brub looking through his books I gave him in his crib. I have to admit that my heart sings a bit less when he won't put the books down when I'm trying to get a picture of him.....but a good problem to have, no?

And yeah....my kid does wear other things than just pajamas. I swear. Mostly.



What are some traditions that you hope are learned in your house? Do you have some favorite books or authors for the Little Ones? Do you dress your kids in clothes other than jammies? ;)

Longer Days Just In Time

I try not to complain too much about the weather. Scratch that. I try not to complain too much about the cold weather...in winter. (The older I get, the more I hate the hot and humid weather. I actually blame it on my pregnancies, but I digress...) I've always lived in Pennsylvania, so the winters are suppose to be cold. I mean cold, PA style cold. Not Alaska cold. That's too cold for these bones.

Even though I try to keep an upbeat spirit about the cold and dreary weather of winter, I try to remember that it'll only be a couple more days until the sun is shining and it'll be in the high 30s again. Which, to me, is where I like it in the winter. Perfect running weather. Perfect get-the-boys-outside-and-tire-them-out weather.

Another rite-of-passage that happens this time of year is the dreaded cabin fever. I start to run out of things to do with the boys in the house. The mall is too crowded with other small wee ones. My wallet refuses to set foot inside Target.  We needed a break in the weather and fast. Road runner fast.

Thank the weather gods because it happened last week. And just in time because They were teaming up with cabin fever and killing Us a slow death of weather-itis. God granted us some unseasonably warm weather, so we took full advantage of it and set out to walk, ride, and pedal our way around the block.

 

Cow even got to take in some of the outdoor action. Our lovely neighbor gave Duders this incredible Harley Davidson trike. Puuurrrfffeectt size for him. Complete with sounds, turn signals, and all things preschoolers love. Now only if he'd pedal constantly and the wheels wouldn't slip.

 

Riding in the BOB lasted all of five minutes. If that.

Not pedaling works great going downhill. Some might say fun even.

Not sooooo much up the slightest of inclines. There was no Yabba-Dabba-Do-ing going on here. Much more of the whining variety.

He might be the perfect-est dad ever?!?!

This trip around the block was his first big-boy walk. We're pretty sure he loved it.

I mean, what's not to love?

Rare pic of mom and Brub. Again, Brub needed down rightafterthispicture.



Seriously Mom, I've got this.

Simply nothing better than out and about when the weather breaks. No money involved. Just precious time. And more giggles and smiles than any one heart can hold!


What are some ways you get out and about with your Little Ones? Have you been gifted an exceptional toy from a friend, neighbor, or relative that is loved on constantly?