Easter Traditions: Dying Easter Eggs

Our Eater Egg Dying Day

Emma and Analiese are all smiles

Abigail with a rare smile

Abigail and Rob having fun together

Emma pouring carefully

Our Left over dye

Our finished product!

I love Easter eggs.  They are a sure sign that Easter is closer then we think.  The kids had a blast.  Everyone was smiling and getting along and for the first time ever we had a lot of fun doing it.  We used two different dying kits and I would have to say that the PAAS brand really does work the best.  The other brand did not fully dissolve and I was not as pleased with the colors.  Either way we have some great looking eggs this year.  We used the clear wax crayon and made polka dots and designs.  Daddy even made an egg that says Eat Me.  I hope that you all have a great time dying Easter eggs this year.  I would love to see some pictures.

I had wanted to make the Easter eggs from an earlier post but it was a little too hard this time.  The kids just wanted to dig in.  I am not sure that I really want them to attempt the leaf ones.  I would try on my own but how many hard boiled eggs does one family need?  I think that 18 is more then enough for this family.  I hate hard boiled eggs as does Rob.  Emma will only eat the middle and Analiese just makes a mess with them..  I do not want Abigail eating them all on her own!

Becca

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National Craft Month

I had not idea that in addition to national disability awareness month it was also national craft month.  I am really starting to think that there is a month for EVERYTHING.  While I do feel that some of these months are important such as Breast Cancer Awareness month and National Disability Awareness Month.  I just think that some just feel silly.  It would seem to me that the craft stores are the ones that began this national craft month!   Who else would have felt that crafts should have their own month?

While I do think that it is silly to have national craft month I am excited about the coupon that JoAnn Fabrics sent to my email!  Crafts  a great way for children and adults to express themselves.  It is a way to learn and have fun.  Crafts are fun and enjoyable.  As so many of you know I love crafts!  I am just not sure that they need their own month!

Either way I am going to take my 30% coupon and stock up on supplies.  Letting them go to waste would be a complete shame.  I am not one to let a bargin get away!

Becca

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Easter Traditions

Each year I feel as if Easter sneaks up on me.  I am never prepared.  I am always shopping for things on Easter Eve at 12 am with all of the other people who were clueless as to the date of Easter.  It is a tricky holiday that moves around more then migrant birds.  Each year I forget to check when it is coming.  Often times I realize that it is coming quicker then I think.  So what is the point Rebecca?  Well the point is that I looked on a calender yesterday for the first time.  What sparked me to do such a thing?  I have been reading all about it and everyone is off to Spring break.  When I looked I was shocked!  This holiday has snuck up on me yet again!  I think that forgetting about Easter is my biggest tradition at this point.

There are some other traditions we have as well.  Because I am often clueless as to when Easter is from year to year we do not always have time to fit in all of these traditions.

1. Dying Easter eggs.  I know this is not all that traditional but the kids LOVE it.  I have to admit that I think it is a lot of fun too!
2. Easter egg hunts.   Our town has one, our church has one and my grandmother has one.  It is a fun time to watch the kids on a hunt.  I remember a year or two ago Abigail was actually sweet enough to make sure that Emma had a full basket as well.  It melted my heart and made me think that they really do listen all of those times I lecture about helping others!
3. Asparagus… yes I know but it really is a tradition.  There is never a year that we do not have asparagus with our Easter dinner.  In fact I will go as far as to say it would not be Easter without this odd looking veggie!
4. Egg fights.  This tradition is courticy of my Aunt Pat.  Each person picked a hard boiled egg that looks good to them.  The tap the tops together in a “fight”.  The person who has a cracked egg has to eat it and the other person goes on to “fight” with someone else.  I think that this was her way to get us to eat the eggs as kids but you know what?  IT WORKED!
5. Family is another tradition although it always ends up that my in laws are mad.  We go to my grandmothers each year.  There are not a ton of holiday we spend together so for Thanksgiving and Easter I like to assure that we are with my grandparents.  Some of the family gets upset but I feel as if it is where I need to be at this point in not only my life but my grandparents lives.  Either way we always will spend Easter with family!

So these are some traditions that we have.  What traditions does your family have?  I am so interesting in hearing some of the interesting things that you all do.

Becca

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Stomach Bug

Let me start out by saying that I completely do not understand why it is called a stomach bug.  Is it because it bugs you?  Is it because it comes and flies away quickly?  Is it because someone thought bugs were gross and disgusting and therefore so was a stomach “bug”?   just do not understand how it could have gotten such a name!  Either way I hate it!

Last night (some would call 1am morning) as I was finally off to bed I went in to check on Emma and Analiese before I was to head down the hall to check on Abigail.  When I opened the door Analiese sprang up out of bed as if I scared her.  I laid her back down sang a song and was ready to move on down the hall.  All of a sudden, as I was kissing Emma, Analiese sounded like she was choking.  It was then that I realized what was happening.  I called for Rob who actually came right away.  She was l throwing up now and all I could do was tell her it was alright.  All of this as it hit the floor, her crib sheet her blanket and the stuffed toys on the floor waiting to be put away.

She then started again and thought that it was a great idea to catch it in her hands.  As I was pulling her hand out of the way I was slimmed!  I have to say that I hate throw up.  Did I forget to mention that part.  I am not sure that I have ever met anyone who likes it but let it be known that I HATE it!  I asked Rob to start the bath and he was confused.  He did not think that she needed a bath?  It was everywhere why would I not give her a bath?  Either way he was nice enough to finish cleaning up her bed, the floor and all of the animals.  I was so happy to be the one giving the bath although that was no picnic either.

So now I am sitting here thinking if I get sick I will be so mad.  Every time I get a stomach “bug” as we call it I flash back.  Not to my fun college years but to my many pregnant years.  Throwing up was what I did.  With the first two girls I had to go into the hospital and be re hydrated.  The flash back of the memories is sometimes just too much.  I am not quite over it.

So now I am just praying that I do not catch this bug.  I want to squash it.  I want to fight it and win.  I so do not want to be sick.  As a side note I would like to thank my sister in law for bring  the stomach bug into our house.  If I find the bug I am going to pack it up and send it right back to your house!

Becca

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Spring Family Fun

Spring is a time to awaken again.  Just as the trees are budding and the flowers are sprouting it is a time for us to be active again.  I tend to stay home in the Winter and am very under motivated.  Now that it is Spring I have been thinking a lot about all of the fun things we do as a family in the Spring months.

• Hiking:  Typically we start hiking in the Spring.  It is a great time to go out and hit the trails with the kids.  I love showing them all of the new life sprouting all around us.  The kids love hiking as well.  It is so fun and exciting and it is good for them.
• Letterboxing: Letterboxing is a fun adventure that the entire family can enjoy.  We went a few times last Summer and the kids LOVED it.  It was like a treasure hunt.  I know that there are many different letterboxes all over the world.  We visit letterboxing.org for box locations.
• Gardening:  Last spring was the first time that we had a garden and the kids were really into it.  They loved watching all of our plants grow into veggies.  It was something that we could spend about 15 minutes an evening.  It was a nice time that we had with the kids weeding and watering the garden.  The kids each had a basket to place their ripe treasures.
• Spring Clean Up:  This is the best.  It is when we rake all of the dead grass away, much the garden and prepare for the summer months.  We get all of our Spring out.  It should be fun!

I would love to hear all of the fun things that you do with your families in the Spring.  I think that this year it is important that our family keep Spring family fun lo in cost.  I know that with the economy we have tightened our belts some.  I also know that we are not alone!

Becca

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T -1 Day and Counting

Tomorrow is the big move.  I feel like it has come so much quicker then I wanted.  I have to agree that I have seriously procrastinated these past three weeks and now that the time has come I am STRESSED.  I have packed a lot but I am sorry to admit that there is still a lot to do today!  I am over motivated today and just hoping that I can get it done in time.

If I cannot get it done by tomorrow I just have to remember that we have both houses until the third.  Here are a few things that I have discovered the past three weeks…

1. While I love my husband and children they are utterly useless int he moving process.  The worst one is Analiese who has unpacked most things that I pack.  As I turn around she is right there removing things.  It all makes me want to scream.
2. We own too much stuff!  I knew this before but now that I have had to pack I really know it.  My garbage bag count is up to 10 and still counting.  This does not include the things that were too big for a garbage bag.
3. Moving companies ROCK.  Yes I said something rocks and I mean it.  The last two times we moved someone else came to our home, packed up all of our things, carried them to the truck, carried them off of the truck, placed them in the rooms they were to be placed in, set up our beds and moved it all around until I was happy.  Oh and they didn’t break anything either!
4. I am not moving again until I have to.  I will be in this house for as long as I can.  I do not want to move again until all of the kids are old enough to pack up their own stuff!!!

Alright here I am procrastinating again!  I am off to accomplish the impossible.  Wish me luck and pray for me.  I will let you all know how the move is going tomorrow.

Becca

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Is My Baby Blind??? Part V

So the appointment was made for a week later to go and see the neuro-opthomologist.  My mother in law was taking me this time.  Again my mind was much too blurred to actually drive in a lot of traffic.  I had a little shred of light lit in my heart and was feeling just a tiny bit better.  I was trying so hard to remain optimistic!  I had to for my sake.  If I let all of these things get me down I would have quit a long time ago!

On a little side note I have to tell you that it is no joke going to a neuro-opthomologist.  They are VERY specialized.  When the other doctor’s office was making the appointment, they warned me to check that my insurance would cover it.  When I called my insurance company they told me there were only 2 doctor’s within 200 miles of my house in this specialty.   It was the doctor whom they had already made an appointment with or one in New York City.    I live within and hour of  “the city” so this is BIG!

So anyway, we are off to this appointment and arrive a little early which is what I like to do when I am stressed.  I think that every ten minutes this doctor was scheduled to see about 4 people.  He was running very behind as anyone would with this type of schedule.  I was so anxious sitting there in a cold and uninviting office.  There was no rug on the floors.  The chair was not comfortable.  No matter how nice you were to the staff they were down right nasty!  I felt like yelling at them.  I felt like saying, “don’t you know that I am here because my 4 month old baby cannot see?  Where is your compassion?”  I did not yell though.  It is not what I do.  I seethe inside instead!

After about an hour and a half we were called in.  At this point I had convinced myself that the baby was seeing a little more now.  I felt silly being there.  Trust me there was still something going on.  I was holding onto my mom dreams again.  I know we all have them!  We have to to make it through most days!

After he examined her he had said that Analiese had a visual maturation delay.  I looked at him like he had 6 heads.  I had no idea what this meant.  I was lost!  I guess he could tell because he went on to describe it to me.  The mylon sheathing on her optic nerve had not developed fully.  Over the next few months it should continue to develop.  Right there I was thinking, “is he saying what I think he is?  Will she be able to see?”  I was jumping out of my skin trying so hard to listen and calm my thoughts.  He then went on to tell me that by six months her vision should come in.  He said we did not need to go back unless it doesn’t happen.

After this rather quick diagnosis my mother in law started asking questions.  The most profound one was how common is this.  His words are words that I will never forget.  He told her, “We see three or four of these a year so it is pretty common!”  Was he kidding?  He is the only doctor in this specialty in the entire 200 mile radius and this is common?  His idea of common were jaded!

In the end Analiese’s vision came in slowly.  Now at almost two she can see wonderfully!  I thank God each and every day for this!  I am not sure that I could have handled another disability in my life at the time.   Especially not one that would have been so life changing for all of us!

Becca

Is My Baby Blind?? Part III

So there I was at home that afternoon.  Abigail and Emma were still in school.  This meant that I could look online and learn all that I could about blindness in infants.  I know that babies are not able to see well the first few days of life.  I read and read all afternoon.  I did not see anything good.  I saw ways to help your blind child, I saw ways to tell if your child is blind and a million other things.  I kept doing the experiments suggested in hope that she would see something and I could end all of this.

So I shined a light in her eyes, I pointed her to the window to see if she would look out it.  I did everything that every web site had said to do and still nothing.  I cried for about 5 minutes and then picked myself up!  I said, “OK so she is blind.  There are worse things.  She is healthy other then that!  You can do this.”   And there it was.  Just like with the Mastocytosis (which can become cancerous), just like the cerebral palsy I could do this.  It was all going to be alright.  I said it again and again and again until I believed it.  I started to read about what to do with children who are blind.  I read all about ways to stimulate blind babies.  If I could not change it then by God I would educate myself about it.

As I called my husband and told him he had the same response that his mother had.  I told him all the things I had been looking at and was, by this point, even cracking jokes.  I told him that we could get another dog now because Analiese would need a seeing eye dog.  He even started cracking jokes about it which are worse then my dog one so I will leave it out.  We were ready for whatever was to come.  I guess it is the kind of thing we had been faced with before.  We learned early on to accept it, deal with it and move on!  Now I was in the moving on stages by the afternoon.  That is until my in laws all got together and sent a huge margarita glass filled with flowers.  I cannot tell you what the card said but there I was crying again.  Partly because it was all too much and partly because it is always nice to know that you are loved!  Love was what I needed right now and they knew it.  That is why they are so great!

All day I helped Analiese and tried to get her to track things.  My father was convinced she was following a rattle.  I had explained to him that she was following the noise and after about 30 minutes of trying other things he gave me a great big bear hug.  This is what my daddy is best at.  It was his way of saying it is not fair.  You have too much.  It was his way of loving me.  It was his way of saying it would all be OK.  Just like daddy always does!

Becca

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Is My Baby Blind? Part II

From here I could tell that the Dr. was worried too.  He was trying not to let me know.  As he set down the flashlight that he had been shining into Analiese’s eyes he picked up a great big bright toy!  I thought that she would for sure watch this.  He moved it slowly back and forth in front of her.  She just stared into space as if there was noting there.   The Dr. then went to his tie that he was wearing, which was also bright, and waved it back and forth slowly and yet again nothing.

By this point I was standing there watching this thinking, “you have to be kidding me!”  I had told the Dr. about my concern, but Analiese  should have come into the office and looked at him and track things and show that I am a worry wart.  She was supposed to prove me wrong.  By this point I was FLIPPING out inside.  All of a sudden he stopped moving his tie and accepted defeat.  I was right!

At this moment he said he was sending her to a pediatric opthomolgist.  He had given me a name of one and he was even nice enough to schedule the appointment.  I know from my other children and all of their issues that this is not a good thing!  It is actually a really bad thing when your Dr. feels that he needs to sit down and call another Dr.  Now I was again FLIPPING out inside.

On the way home I called my mother-in-law.  She is like my best friend.  She is the one I always call first.  Tears were welling in my eyes and I told her how the appointment had gone.  She was silent!  This is never good.  She usuaully has so much to say.  She tells you that it is all fine and she tells you that it is just a precaution.  She helps you figure out how to fix it.  This itme though she was silent.

I felt like it was 10 minutes before she said anything.  I am sure it was more like 1 minute but to me it felt like an eternity.  Here I was looking for infinate wisdom and all I got was silence!  Then she spoke and she was alomst yelling, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!”  I said,  “well no I am not.”  This was me stalling while still waiting for her to reassure me!  Then she said, “I am speachless.  How much crap can be put on your plate?  I just cannot believe this!”

It was then that I cried.  She was right.  I already had a child with Mastocytosis, undiagnosed bipolar and another child with Cerebral Palsy.  When would God think that enough was enough?  Why me is all I kept saying.  I am a good person.  I have always been overly kind even to nasty people.  I went to church on an almost regular basis.  Why was God doing this to me?  All I had ever wanted out of life was to be a mother and have the “perfect” family.  This mess was anything from perfect!

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My 100th Post!!

I cannot believe it.  This is my 100th post.  I am excited and amazed.  I started blogging so that I could write and express myself.  I am beginning to get to know some of you now and feel great about it all. 

I am amazed that I have had 100 things to write about.   You see I love to write and was encouraged to do this by my mother in law.  She feels that writing is something that I excel at and this gives me the chance to do it and work on it while I am home with my babies.  She has always told me to, “write about what you know”.  I think that I have taken these words to heart.  At this stage what I know is my kids.

I certainly do not sit here and claim to know all kids.  You see all children are different.  All children react in different ways!  From this 100th post I hope to bloom and do 1000 more!  I hope to uplift people, help them understand that no life is perfect, help people see that differences are not a bad thing and perhaps even make some friends along the way.

I would also like to say THANK YOU to all of you who have become regular readers.  It makes me so happy when people comment and add to the topic.  Without this no blog would be complete!

Becca

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