Otherwise known as the post with 1,486 obnoxious pictures of my kids.
The blog serves the purpose of keeping family and grandparents in the loop too, so you’ll have to just humor me on this one, okay?
Our Easter festivities got off to a late start. First, there was church, and then lunch, and then naps.
By the time we got to the egg hunting part, it was after 2:00 in the afternoon.
I liked taking the day slow though.
We finally had to wake Lu up from her nap…the other two were getting restless and patience was wearing thin on waiting any longer.
As you can see, we wanted to avoid waking Miss Thang up…she has a bit of attitude when aroused from her precious slumber.
There was a big family debate about which eggs to hide.
Andy grew up hiding the real eggs they had dyed earlier in the week…I, on the other hand, consider that unsanitary and anti-climactic…what kid wants to find a hard boiled egg????
The first order of business was to find their baskets…and manage to ignore the brightly colored eggs they could see.
Jilly found her basket right away, and knew exactly what to do.
Luckily, it was being guarded by Abbie…but I think she was just waiting to see if she could eat the chalk.
(Do your dogs eat your kids’ sidewalk chalk? Mine do. And their poop is rainbow hued and fancy when they get away with it. Super gross, but kinda funny too.)
She found her basket and immediately started signing for “more”.
Greedy little kid.
“My basket is stuck! There’s pokies!!!”
Pokies being what my kids call thorns.
Nice hiding place. Way to go Dad.
Finally, we were onto the egg hunting part.
Which brightened Lucy’s spirits. A little.
Can I tell you how proud I am of this kid?
As he ran around collecting eggs, I simply said “Hey Buddy? Can you leave that one for Jilly to find?”
“Good idea Mom.”
” Can I get this one, or should I save it for Sister?”
“Go ahead, that’s fine. Just leave a few so she can get them too.”
No whining. No complaining. Immediate understanding and love for his littlest sibling.
Jilly was distracted by the flowers at first.
But who can blame her?
God is so good to us, it can be overwhelming…and totally better than some plastic eggs.
With some coaxing, she found her first (hard boiled) egg.
And immediately wanted to eat it. So gross.
And magically another egg appeared! (Or it got tossed near her…)
Since we had just been to Henry’s preschool egg hunt, she knew exactly what was inside…and demanded we help her.
NOW.
I made the mistake of checking Facebook early that morning…to see photos of Easter baskets others had put together for their kids. Elaborate bins of candy and toys, all wrapped in cellophane and topped with a giant bow. Some had so much stuff, that it didn’t even fit in the basket, and instead was displayed on the table surrounding it. It was like a personal Christmas tree…only with pastels instead of green and red. And then I went downstairs to put together the baskets for my kids, I felt a very real pang of mama guilt. Their baskets were simple. Inexpensive. Barely half filled. Silly plastic trinkets and only a small handful of candies. Nothing overly exciting, and certainly not elaborate. This was intentional as I shopped…but in that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe WalMart was open and I could squeeze in a quick trip while everyone was still asleep and redeem myself as a mother…
The “big” items in each bucket: a $5 Fishing Game for Henry, a $3 velcro catching mitt set for Lucy, and a $5 board book for Jill.
The Mama Failure Guilt was thick.
But it vanished quickly.
Because that silly plastic fishing game I found on clearance was a HIT.
They played together in the cool Spring breeze for HOURS with that thing.
Lucy would take breaks from fishing and push her baby around in a stroller…while sp0rting some serious bling.
8 plastic bedazzled rings for $1? Happiness.
And these two.
Be still my heart.
They were so sweet together.
This is what they did for the LONGEST time.
She would sit patiently and watch…and Henry would pass his fish along to his sister.
I sat on the grass and watched in awe.
“Here Jilly. Put it in.”
And she would take the fish and put it into a little bucket he had gotten for her.
“Good girl Jilly! Okay, now wait…I’ll get you another one.”
But what you can’t hear as you read this, is his tone. How he spoke slowly and clearly. “Put….It…In.” Just like she is told during speech therapy. The same diction. The same emphasis on sounds. The same deliberate speed.
Dad played catch. My dog turned into Cujo. The usual.
We’re beginning to believe that Henry is ambidextrous (my grandpa was)…which excites Dad to no end. Visions of switch pitching dance in his head.
Finally, it was time to get some more formal Easter pictures.
Don’t look too excited kids.
Lucy. Seriously?! Can that not wait???!!!
Really? This is not smiling.
Oh for Pete’s sake…
Lest you think that my family is this Cleaver-esque little brood of love and kindness…Lucy randomly turned around and punched her brother.
“LET’S PLAY TACKLE!!!!!”
That’s my girl.
And that’s my goofy little family.
Walter better be preparing himself in there. He’s got some serious personalities to contend with.
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sweetness!
simple things, like that cute fishing game, really are just perfect.
love the photos:)
xo
hannah singer´s last blog post ..easter thoughts
Adorable!! I love the great big photo dump! Your kids are absolutely precious. Don’t feel that guilt anymore, they don’t care how much we spend.. they’re just happy with new stuff. Hope you have a great week friend!
Alyson @EisleyRae´s last blog post ..Oh, hello Monday!
We have that fishing game, too! Love it! :)
I’m glad my kids aren’t the only ones that don’t sit still & look pretty for a picture. I’m looking if I catch them both looking at the camera at the same time. But, those are the cute ones, right?
Looks like all had fun.. that’s the important part!!
Tammy @ Don’t Blink´s last blog post ..Wordish Wednesday: Egg Hunt
I’m glad to see your stuff wasn’t over the top! We got those straws that are also glasses so the water zooms up the straw, around one ear, zips around your eyes then around the other ear and into your mouth. $1 each and they have provided hours of fun. I was feeling the mom guilt too until I saw how much fun they had with their cheap little toys.
Janice´s last blog post ..Highs and Lows – Road trip to the beach
If it makes you feel any better – the most expensive thing in Adam’s basket was a $3 bubble machine. I don’t believe it going over the top on stuff like that. Mommy guilt is always there no matter what!
LLLLOOOOOVEEEE the pics – your kids crack me up. So much better then formal and posed pictures – I like the real deal!
Kirsten´s last blog post ..Meant to be
I can’t imagine how sweet it was to watch your son. I seriously got teary-eyed just reading about it. Thanks for sharing that kids can be kind and helpful.
Seriously adorable!!! Love how sweet big brother is! :) I think the most simplest toys make the best gifts, including that crazy fishing game. But away that mom guilt–you rocked it!
Mindi´s last blog post ..Mommy Minute Monday: 5 Ways to Get Your Child to Rock the Straw
love reading your blog! you always make me laugh!
This post totally made me cry. Your son is just so sweet. And we don’t go over the top either on baskets. Or Christmas for that matter. Holidays aren’t about how much stuff we can pack into our kids’ lives. It’s about family and love and Jesus and compassion. Sounds like your kids celebrated all of that this Easter. the extra toys and candy are just a cherry on top of the cake. They were happy with what you got them, no matter the cost, because you taught them well. :)
So cute – SO CUTE!
I always did Easter baskets the same way – not that my 2 or 12 and almost 14 – i do things I would need to get them ANYWAY so its a win win — and the candy has been upgraded to See’s; they are picky now. I still keep it simple for thier “basket” (often times its a useful container). But this post brought back to me sweet memories of when my 2 were 3; 4 and so on and we did this in the afternoon after naps – just us! So sweet!
xoTiffany
tiffany day´s last blog post ..Hello {Multitude} Monday
Oh, I forgot to add: am I weird or is it ok to love a kid I dont know!
I think your Henry and my son Travis who is almost 14 are very similar – at least I feel about him how you feel about Henry. Travis is always doing or saying something that just melts me. So be prepared Jeanette – its gets better and better and sweeter and sweeter. And don’t believe poeple who tell you once he is a teenager he wont want to have anything to do with you.
I have found that if I give Travis enough space to he his own person he respects me and will ALWAYS say hi – walk over to me and give me a kiss on the cheeck (this happened this weekend while we were at a church event) and he always asks me how my days was!
Anyway – love that you have such a wonderful son – its the best and soon you will have 2 – lucky duck :)
Tiffany
tiffany day´s last blog post ..Hello {Multitude} Monday
Those pics are sooo sweet! Love a good egg hunt- it looks like the kids had a wonderful Easter.
Pam´s last blog post ..Hello Monday!
Tears in my eyes. Your kids are AMAZING. What a wonderful little man Henry is. My son’s Easter “basket” was actually a gift bag (that cost $1) with a summer outfit (that he desperately needs) and a lego truck. That was it. Oh, and a bag of M&M’s. Nothing fancy. Nothing elaborate. A little expensive (Legos cost a darn fortune!! And the outfit was 16 bucks) but he was over the moon and that’s all that matters. You set such an example. Thank you for sharing. Beautiful pictures by the way!
Your children are so beautiful! I love them.
Kate Eschbach´s last blog post ..Cooper {Songs Kate Sang Photography}
That looks like the most perfect day ever. I’ve started a tradition that for holidays we all need to make each other a small gift. Too. Much.Stuff. You gave your children many many many gifts that day…and you have the pictures to prove it!!!
Michelle (Mama Said…)´s last blog post ..Baby Love
So sweet! Don’t worry about the mommy guilt thing, this should make you feel better all my kids got was a bag of chocolate eggs and a small Easter Bunny placed at where they normally sit at the table for breakfast, that was that! My husband refuses to let me buy more!
Victoria @ Snail Pace Transformations´s last blog post ..Less Words Wednesday: College Survival Training
cute! Actually I’m still editing the pics in which I too, share 1,468 pics on my blog of my kids on Easter. =)
grace´s last blog post ..What I Wore Wednesday- Easter + WTBWW (what the boys wore wednesday =)
That Momma guilt is a killer! What a fun day!
I too was feeling the need for a Saturday night dash to Target’s dollar bins…until I realized that my kiddos still hadn’t worked their way through the BOX of Easter stuff my MIL shipped them over a week ago! That woman has saved me more money on buying junk than I would have ever imagined!
I’m afraid my Easter pics turned out more ridiculous than yours, thanks to my 2 year old photobomber. The only decent pic is an action shot of her and sister holding hands & running through the yard. Very cute, but I could have used a family pic without her making a fish face…
:)
kodie´s last blog post ..A Long Week…