On Saturday morning we went to the Home Depot kids workshop. Lots of friends had gone and said they had a great time. So (enter martyr voice here) I sacrificed my Saturday morning of pajamas and coffee, and took the kids to Home Depot. So I made the assumption that since it was for "kids" that it would be easy and there would be plenty of Home Depot experts helping.....not so much. Arriving at the designated area, we were handed a kit for a wheelbarrow planter and told "have fun!" Um, ok, what now? So the instructions seemed easy at first glance, but as the building began, it was quickly becoming clear that one did in fact need a moderate amount of pre-acquired carpentry skills, because the instructions were not exactly clear. Maezie is now laying on the floor in sawdust, Graeson is pounding anything he can find with the hammer, and Kaela is getting mighty testy that hers is not turning out right. So Kaela got another kit and started over, I ended up making Maezie's and Graeson's entirely--with little teeny nails that are impossible to hold and hammer at the same time--and I was ready to scream by the time we were finally finished enough that it held together (sort of). But....the kids thought their wheelbarrow planters were great and were very excited, so I guess that's what counts!
Next we went to have haircuts for Mommy and Kaela (her first EVER haircut). So after waiting almost 30 minutes in the waiting area (yes, we had an appointment), trying to keep the kids entertained with Playhouse Disney on my phone, our hair dresser was finally ready. So during my own haircut, of course the kids are running wild because they had already used up their quota of quiet during the 30 minutes we had to wait! And for reasons I still don't understand, my haircut took almost an hour. So by this point, I'm ready to scream (again), Graeson is now in a permanent time out, and Maezie is screaming at Kaela to get out of her chair. But since I had really psyched Kaela up for her first haircut, I couldn't just reschedule. So Kaela got her long hair trimmed, and she felt very special with soft, shiny hair, so I guess that's what counts!
Then it was on to GG's house for dyeing Easter eggs. Upon arrival, my sister (I love her to death!) had dropped off all four of her kids and left. So I was now wrangling seven kids to try and color eggs. One has a 13 year old attitude that could freeze the sun, one has a 2 year old attitude that could pierce your eardrums, and a range of antsy kids in between. But, we got three dozen eggs colored, only one that cracked, plus four of the older kids got to hand paint large goose eggs. And there weren't even any spills or major catastrophes! The kids had fun, so I guess that's what counts!
Then, we had to make a quick trip to the grocery store to get critical ingredients for the planned Easter meal. Wow. Every single man, woman, and child goes to the grocery store on the day before a holiday! So we quickly made our way to the necessary aisles, found the closest register--they were actually ALL open!--and began our wait. Eventually I broke open the box of ice cream bars from the cart, at which point Kaela became very anxious and said, "Mommy we haven't paid for those!" I reassured her that I would be paying for them, and I'm sure the cashier would understand why it was sheer necessity to feed the children while waiting in the pre-holiday line. Eventually, it became necessary that Mommy have an ice cream bar too....
Later that evening, as is Easter tradition in our house, we made "Easter Story Cookies". This is a special recipe which involves telling the Easter story with each ingredient. First each child beats the nuts with a wooden spoon, just like the soldiers beat Jesus. Then they taste a small amount of vinegar, just like Jesus was given vinegar when he was thirsty. There are several steps including salt, sugar, and egg whites. Eventually, the cookies are placed in the oven, the oven is then turned off, the kids "seal the tomb" with tape, and then can't see the finished product until morning. In the morning, the cookies are hollow just like the tomb was empty on Easter morning. So I let them have cookies for breakfast, and they were in heaven! So I guess that's what counts!
Sunday we went to church and had a great Easter service with poignant personal testimonies. Then back to GG's house for Easter dinner with the extended Sharp family. After dinner, it was time to hide the eggs. Now this year, as is very typical of this part of the country, the weather was somewhere around 35 degrees with a rip roaring wind and traces of snow still found in places. So Bryan and I hid the eggs ONCE, snapped some quick pictures, and we were done! But the kids don't seem to have any cold-receptors, so they kept hiding the eggs for each other and stayed outside another hour! They had fun, so....I guess that's what counts!
I laughed as I read those not-so-fun scenarios, though I TOTALLY understand that they are NOT fun when you're in the middle of them! I love the cookie idea and was actually going to do those this year, but didn't. There's always next year :)
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