Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Easter Treats



Easter is not usually a big holiday for me. I suppose it was when I was a kid, though- wearing a new Easter dress, hunting for hidden eggs to place in my pretty spring basket, sifting through all the goodies the bunny brought with my sister and cousins...

That's what it's like for Lily now, and in Davidson County, where we live in NC, Easter is kind of a big deal.

For starters, Lily went to five Easter Egg hunt events this year. FIVE. We have so many plastic eggs, we could run our own county-wide hunt next year. So many jelly beans and Tootsie rolls and other junk candy resides in my house at this moment. Much will be thrown out, but not before enough is eaten to keep our dentist in business.

I think she also received about eight chocolate bunnies. EIGHT. Stop the madness!

When I stuff her eggs for the ones she finds at home on Easter morning, I do a 50-50 candy to small toy ratio. This year she got a few Shopkins, a few new collectible Lego figures, and a bunch of Jelly Bellies, the latter of which I have already eaten a good percentage of...

...Did I tell you I was pregnant? Did I tell you this little bean sprout growing inside of me has a taste for sweets and grease? Can I tell you I now understand why people have personal dietitians and life coaches???

I digress...we had a very nice Easter. Here's how it went...


Ready for the egg hunt

Bounding off the big bouncy slide

Thank goodness for cookie decorating, or mommy would've starved!

We kicked off Easter week with an egg hunt extravaganza at another local elementary school, hosted by our neighbors' church. They had bouncy rides, games to play, crafts, face-painting, and, of course, a HUGE egg hunt at the end. No food though, which left me feeling a bit disappointed...however they did have cookie decorating...

Waiting patiently at the egg hunt gates

And they're off!

Returning with her haul

So many eggs!...So many cavities!

Needless to say, Lily had a fantastic time at the Egg Hunt Extravaganza. And I was officially pooped by the end of it. The weather was gorgeous and Lily was happy, so I was happy.

During the week we (me, Grandma, and Lily, while Paul held down the fort) drove up to visit family in Virginia. My cousin and his wife had a second baby in March, so we got to meet the little nugget! Out of respect for their privacy, I won't post any pictures, but we had a lovely, drama-free time, which included lunch in town with my aunt, hiking on all the wilderness surrounding my uncle's estate, shopping for baby with Grandma, dinner and family time at my cousin's, and fun lunch and ice cream on the journey home. 

My aunt's dog, Cinnamon, ready for action


Ready for our morning hike

Old horse trailer

Loving the new kitty purse Great Grannie gifted her

"Let's go, Cinnamon!"



Easter weekend arrived and on Saturday we went to Grannie's church for another egg hunt (the two others were held at Girl Scouts and at Lily's school), along with a fun suncatcher craft, Jello treats, activities, and Bible study. We are not particularly religious, but I am fine with exposing Lily to all walks of life, spiritual paths included. She had plenty of questions about Jesus' resurrection, and I'm sure is still a little confused, and maybe now thinks that Jesus is a zombie.

Thinking about Jesus eating brains (God forgive me)

After returning from Grandma's church, we got down to our own Easter crafts and baking. We saw this cute little video for making egg spirit animals and that is all Lily wanted to do. I did not get any pics of her making them, but they are pictured below with all of our completed Easter treats. I also came across a video for Springtime Rice Krispie Nests- SUPER CUTE! -so we made those, too, along with dying our eggs this year the old-fashioned way: with food coloring, vinegar, bowls, and spoons, and not buying a kit! I also made an Orange Zest Bunny Bundt cake of my own creation, the particular kind of cake being requested by my neighbor who was hosting Easter dinner. It was a busy, fun-filled day.



Stirring the marshmallows and butter for the nests

Our baking creations and our spirit animal eggs!

Cute and tasty!

But the cake was the big hit!

It wasn't easy getting Lily to bed that night so I had to wait until way after 10 to set up her basket and for Paul to hide the eggs. I, for one, had no trouble falling asleep that night.

Lily was up with the sun Easter morning, babbling about a few of the hidden animal eggs she'd already uncovered filled with Shopkins. I was promptly dragged out of bed; Daddy, that clever bastard, went to sleep in the basement family room, so he could not be attacked first thing in the morning..!

That hair...


Ready to find some eggs...again


Jellybeans!

That sneaky daddy, I mean, Bunny hid an egg across the creek

The proud huntress with her catch

Lily was happy with her basket (pics don't lie). We got right to the egg hunt after she went through it (we got Daddy up), and then I made breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, and fruit. Then it was time for church. Like I said before, we are not religious, but we knew it would make Grandna happy if we joined her at Easter service on one of the Christians' most momentous days. And the service was lovely. Good vibes were felt by all...until Grandma had a fainting spell when we went outside to continue prayer service in the sun. Luckily, an EMT was present and he helped her come back to her wits well enough that we could just take her home and not to the hospital (this time). So, the remainder of Easter was spent in bed for poor Grannie.

As soon as we got home, after getting my Grandma settled, I got to finish decorating the bunny bundt cake and putting the rice krispie nest platter together, then we went over to our neighbors' house, where their extensive family already was arriving. Easter dinner was a feast of ham, corn, broccoli salad, spring mix salad, green bean casserole, pistachio salad, and warm rolls. Lily cleaned her plate then she and all the kids dove into the bunny cake, shortly after scampering off outside to burn off all the sugar (and get covered in dirt, but whatevs).

Adding a flower to the Easter cross at church

My pretty girl

Despite Grandma not feeling too well, it was a good day. A good week. We are so grateful to be here and be able to spend it with good friends and family, even though we left so many in NJ, PA, and NY. BUT, guess what!- my mom will be here later today, so yay! Life is good...



Happy spring, ya'll!


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