Easter 2010

What a great way to start the morning! I think I would like to wake up every morning to a little basket filled with candy just for me. Too bad I am not 6. My girls were lucky enough to wake up this morning and find this waiting for them. In there typical fashion they were up at 5:45 am. I could hear them in the baby monitor whispering to each other. So I knew my formal wake-up from them was coming soon.

What the picture tells you:

• We like candy; especially if it says Reese's on it.
• We left strawberries out for the Easter Bunny.
• My kids were thrilled to get The Chipmunks movie and the sing-along DVD with it. Every family with girls needs this. I mean who wouldn't want their daughters going around singing "Single Ladies" all the time?
• Yes, the Easter Bunny left money and a lengthy note.

What the picture doesn't tell you:

• All of the girls slept in the same room last night. You would have thought it was Christmas Eve. Actually they were calling it Easter Eve all day. Whatever. Back to why they were all in the same room... Taylor and Payton are now sharing a room because they have been having a little difficulty getting along. I don't know if having them share a room is the best solution to this problem but I figured it was worth a try. So we now have a "guest" room. Fancy, huh? Hayden didn't want to sleep in her room because she was afraid the Easter Bunny was going to get her. Again, whatever. So she hauled her portable mattress, also known as Beary, to T&P's room and slept on the floor. When they woke up and came down stairs, they were very sure to let me know that none of them woke any of the others up. (They get in trouble for that.)
• We left strawberries out for the Easter Bunny because we didn't have any carrots or celery in the fridge. I didn't even think about it. The kids reminded me that we needed something as they were going to bed. Thankfully I had just been to Wal-mart and spent a small fortune to buy groceries for my ravenous family this month. By the way, don't go to the Tillman's Corner Wal-mart. There is nothing left now.
• The Easter Bunny left money because he is NICE. Right before bed, Hayden and Payton decided to write EB a letter requesting specific things. Hayden asked for a basketball and Payton asked for the next book in the "My Sister the Vampire" series. I tried to explain to them that EB is not like Santa Claus. But they thought he knew how bad they wanted those things so he would bring them. Taylor just opted to draw a picture and leave it for him. The Easter Bunny's note said he didn't have those things in his basket so he left them some money to go buy them later.
• The picture is taken at an akward angle so you can't see the dishes in the sink.

We dyed eggs this afternoon. The kids don't like hard-boiled eggs, egg salad, or deviled eggs. Yet, we still dye eggs every year just for fun. I didn't want to waste a bunch of eggs so I boiled just enough for us to have the experience. I am glad we did it.
We did have to remind Payton that if you stick your fingers in they dye, they will get stained. What the picture doesn't tell you: I let Payton fix her hair all by herself. I was pretty impressed with her and I fought the urge to redo it and add some hairspray and a bow.

You can't see Hayden's jeans, but she has them on. If they are clean, she is wearing them. She loves jeans. I knew we would be taking a few pictures today and I tried helping her pick out a cute outfit. She wanted her jeans though and tried wearing her old soccer jersey. I vetoed that so we agreed on this shirt. I figure since she has to wear a uniform every day to school, it is not worth it for me to be uptight about her clothes all the time.

I am glad that Taylor is still excited about all the Easter fun. I worry that I am going to wake up one day and my little girl will be gone and young woman will have taken her place. I am not ready for that.

Over the past week, several people have asked me if we had any plans for Easter. My answer was usually "Nothing special" or "It is just going to be us." Then I remembered that my family is something special and they are worth my time and effort to make it a memorable Easter. We don't have to have people over for me to make it nice. So, I asked the girls if they wanted Easter dinner or brunch. They all voted for brunch. The menu included: fruit salad, cream puffs, pigs in a blanket, a sausage skillet thing, and breakfast punch. Bryan had chocolate milk, by request and we even had whipped cream for the fruit salad. I busted out my 3-tiered plate stand (a $1 yard sale find) and my newest kitchen accessory. Do you see it....the beverage dispenser? After visiting Lynne at Christmas and seeing hers, I knew I had to have one. Sam's put these out a couple of months ago and I have been eyeing them ever since. This one joined our family yesterday and it will be invited to all parties from now on. Maybe I should name it.