Easter Pictures: Spring Break Survival

Sears Auto 35 TL
Image by UberJ via Flickr

OK so as I mentioned I am having a hard time with this entire Spring Break thing!  So today my mother and I dressed all of the kids in their Easter outfits and threw them into the car and were off to Sears.  Now I know what you are thinking… why did you head to Sears.  We were off to Sears for Easter pictures.  We have not had pictures in YEARS.  The last time was when the baby was a month old.  For those of you who do not know she will be 2 in a month!  So needless to say it has been a while.

We have never been to Sears so I was a little bit aprehansive.  It was great though.  They had a kid friendly waiting area which I did not have to wait in because they were ready for us when we got there.  The girls did great although it is difficult to make them all smile at once.  Abigail kept trying to make the baby smile and Emma had the fakest smile.  Even with all of these obsticales we were able to come out of the seccion with a few really nice shots.

So day two of Spring Break has been a success.  We did the pictures, went to lunch, had a play date and now we are getting ready for bed.   I am so happy that it is all working out.  I would say that going and having pictures done is a great way to survive Spring Break!  You should give it a try!  I found that it really occupied a lot of time, the kids had fun and we were out of the house.  We will not discuss how much Grandma spent though!  We will keep that part to ourselves!  Either way day two survived.  Nine days to go!

Becca

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Spring Break Survival

Oh my… I woke up this morning and remembered something.  IT IS SPRING BREAK.  Now, the words that are to follow are meant with the most love and affection.   I hate Spring Break.  It is not like Winter Break where we all get involved in Christmas.  This Spring Break thing stinks unless you are going away which we of course are not this year!  I remember back in high school and college when I went away with friends.  We had a blast.  One year was Ocean City another year was Disney.  Now I am home with restless kids, a house to unpack and no plan!  So what is a stay at home mom to do with three kids for eleven days?  I am compiling a survival guide in order to make it though.  I need you help though.  Here are a few questions to get started with:

  1. What is there to do that is free?
  2. What can I do with no car?
  3. Is there any activity that you can think of that a 1 year old, a 5 year old, and an 8 year old?  I am drawing a blank!
  4. Is there a magic potion to give children that makes them not whine?
  5. How much is it a mother can drink without it being a problem?
  6. How can I avoid hearing, “I am bored there is nothing to do.”
  7. What fun things can you think of to make the kids tired enough to still go to bed on time?  Oh and I have to be able to do it with my not healed correctly broken foot!

I will spend the day developing a survival guide.  I hope that it works!  Today, I am just going to wing it.  So far we have had 5 fights, Abigail has bitten Emma, Emma has scratched Abigail and the baby is a whining mess!  HELP!

Becca

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Easter Traditions: Dying Easter Eggs

Our Eater Egg Dying Day

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Emma and Analiese are all smiles

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Abigail with a rare smile

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Abigail and Rob having fun together

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Emma pouring carefully

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Our Left over dye

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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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Family Easter Traditions

Calgary Zoo Easter Bunny 2
Image by thivierr via Flickr

I became so interested in Easter traditions this week because so many people visited. It is a shame that more people did not leave their family Easter Traditions in the comments section. I was really hoping to post all of the great ones that I hear this week. I know that one that was mentioned time and time again is dying Easter eggs. Today is our big Easter egg dying day and I am so excited! I think that we are going to have a blast. I know that the smell of vinegar can turn some off the the entire thing but I think that it is important for people to give it a try!

Another tradition that people mentioned is spending time with family. This is what the holidays are all about. Being in a room with the people who share your gene pool. I know that for a lot of people this can be the down side to a holiday but I think that without the mother who wants to know when you are going to have another baby, the stinky grandparent and the kid who is eating dirt there are no memories. These are the people who have formed us into the person we are today. They really are the fabric of our lives. If we love ourselves then we have to love them. It is a guilt by association thing.

The Easter bunny is a tradition that I had forgotten to mention. I cannot believe that I left him out! Here is a little bit of Easter Bunny History! It is said that the Easter Bunny has been around before Easter. I know this is hard to believe! He is said to have originated in Germany in the 1600s. The Easter bunny can either just leave a basket out in plain site or he can hide it. In our house he is always hiding it here and there. The kids have a blast trying to find it and figure out whose is whose. I wish he had more time to write a name or two down.

There is one more tradition that I forgot to mention. The Easter Bonnet has always been my love of Easter. There are not many times in this day in age that a lady can wear a hat without people looking at her funny. I think that the hats and the white gloves just make Easter what everyday used to be. I wish that we all still dressed to the nines like this for church. I think that it is sad that it is now acceptable to wear jeans and a tee to Church. You should be in your Sunday best. That used to mean a hat and Gloves. Now it means jeans? What are we thinking people? Either way, Easter is a time when we can dust the hat off and slip the gloves on and walk a little taller!  Oh and do not forget to play the song Easter Parade when you are walking down the street in your bonnet and gloves!

Becca

I would still love to learn some more about what Easter traditions your family has.  Please let me know in the comment section.  I think it adds to the fun!


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Easter Kids Crafts

Hanácké kraslice, a traditional way of decorat...
Image via Wikipedia

It is Easter time and with Easter comes Spring break.  Spring break means that the kids are home and need something to do.  I have been researching crafts all day to find just the right ones.  I have compiled a list with the links of crafts we are intending to try.

  1. Fancy Feathered Friends: These are little chicks made out of egg cartons and eggs.  They are super cute.   They will act as super cute decorations on Easter around the house.
  2. Nesting Instinct:  This is a cute birds nest which seems like it will be super easy to make.  All you need is clay and some sticks.
  3. Easter Pins:  These will be really cute for grandmas on E$aster morning!
  4. Leaf Print Eggs: These are so interesting and look so professional.  I cannot wait to give them a try!

These should occupy the first few days of our very long Spring break!  I hope that these look as good to the kids as they did to me.   I would love to hear and see what crafts you all have in mind for the Easter holiday.  I think that it will be a fun way to avoid the boredom bug!

Becca

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Easter Traditions

Easter eggs
Image by jmurawski via Flickr

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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