I have to say that I was amazed at all the free time I had last week when I took my little blog vacation. I had time to organize my recipes, alphabetize my spice rack, learn how to crochet and paint the doorway of our master bathroom that’s needed to be painted since we moved back in our house after the renovation five years ago. Not that I actually did any of those things, but I could have.
Instead I spent my time watching old episodes of “Friday Night Lights” and deciding what color I should paint my toenails for Easter. Oh, and I was also witness to a miracle that I’ll have to tell you about later this week. It wasn’t anything akin to the parting of the Red Sea or a pair of jeans that fit great for less than $39.99, but it was a miracle nonetheless.
This is the problem with not blogging for a week, I don’t know where to begin. My life has become a series of Post-it notes with random scribblings of things I would normally write about, but instead had to remember for another week. Now I’m looking at them five days later and they say things like “Nightcream? MaMaw?” and “Water bottles-cheap”, and I have no idea what my original thought process entailed.
I also found a page torn out of my journal that read, “Milk, whipped cream, butter, half & half, bacon, one pound cheese” and was relieved when I realized it was just a grocery list and not the idea for a post entitled “How to Make Sure Your Cardiologist is Your New Best Friend”.
So since I don’t know where to start, I’m going to start with Easter. Everything else can wait a few days but if I wait a week to talk about Easter, then it kind of becomes pointless.
Much like this entire post so far.
This has been one of those weekends that I hate to see end. As Caroline looked through her Easter basket this morning, I got big tears in my eyes when I realized we probably don’t have too many Easters left where she thinks a bunny sneaks into our house in the middle of the night to eat carrots and leave a basketful of cheap gifts.
She asked me yesterday how the Easter bunny gets in and I mumbled some lame answer about magic, while P interrupted me to tell her that a rabbit is like a mouse or a rat and can make itself small enough to squeeze through any kind of hole to get in the house. Except I believe he actually said, “The Easter bunny is like a rodent…”
That’s exactly the type of tender childhood memory I’m always looking to instill.
Anyway, we had a busy weekend. Caroline spent the night with Mimi and Bops on Friday night, so P and I opted for an exciting night at home complete with pizza delivery. After we ate our pizza, he went out to the backhouse to admire all his weaponry and I watched “Friday Night Lights”. Twice.
It’s hard to sustain this level of glamour and glitz, but we manage somehow.
On Saturday, we helped our church get set up for the Easter service and then spent the rest of the afternoon engaged in various egg trivia and relays with relatives. Relatives that we actually had to introduce ourselves to using our first and last name.
Did you know there was such a thing as egg trivia? Neither did I.
When we were on the way home from the egg trivia, Caroline piped up from the backseat and said, “Mama, I’m carsick.”
“What? You’re carsick?! Are you going to throw up?!”
I was totally prepared to tell P to pull the car over or to use the Easter basket as a receptacle. Desperate times.
“No, I’m just sick of being in the car. Carsick.”
We need to work on our semantics.
Here’s the snack Caroline left out for the rodent who was going to crawl through a small hole to get in our house.
Please note the perfect formation of the carrots. She informed me that it was a “tally formation”. I do believe we have gotten our money’s worth out of Kindergarten.
Normally I only let her have one chocolate candy bar for breakfast, but yesterday she stuffed about three Reeses eggs in her mouth before I knew what happened.
And, in what may have been the highlight of my day, check out the pigtails and bows.
She totally shot down any mention of wearing white sandals, but those bows were my Everest.
After a great church service, we came back to the house for Easter brunch with my family. The highlight, other than my baked french toast casserole, was a plastic wind-up chicken that poops Hubba Bubba bubblegum. Because we are a sophisticated group of people.
Speaking of sophisticated and refined, P spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning out the backhouse while Caroline claimed any item that was headed for the giveaway/trash bin.
Here she is with a sweet new hat, a nasty old mop, a chalkboard, a rusty rainbow chair and assorted cardboard boxes.
At some point I couldn’t bear to watch so I went inside to make deviled eggs out of all the superfluous hard-boiled eggs we had on hand. When I looked outside about thirty minutes later, this is what I saw.
She made this all by herself and put the whole thing together with Scotch tape.
With this type of skill she may be well on her way to becoming an architect. Or perhaps a shrimp boat away from being completely equipped to live on a beach along the Texas coast.
I’m not sure which.
Let’s go with architect.
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Lovely to see you back.
I am not blogging for a whole 3 days, and I really miss it! (am I sad?))
Love that tally formation. Easter Bunny visiting etc does not happen in UK/Ireland.
Maybe the bunnies don’t like crossing the Atlantic Ocean? But we still have chocolate eggs – given by relatives, we roll decorated hard boiled eggs down hills (not sure why!)and did our first ever organized Easter Egg hunt yesterday.
So glad you’re back! I look forward to reading your blog every morning while I drink coffee and procrastinate about getting ready to go to work
Definitely a little girl. A little boy would have used duct tape to hold the house together!
Watch out! She may become a pack-rodent!
Missed ya!
Being a Yankee, I will confess that I have no idea what a backhouse is. It certainly looks nicer than a shed… can you elaborate?
Thanks!
Just so you know, the fun doesn’t have to end as she gets older. My kids still get a basket each Easter and no matter how much they groan about it, they LOVE all the candy. Oh and this year, they too got the chicken that poops gum, and to my amazement it was my girls who loved them and declared they would be the hit of the dorm rooms. I was proud.
Welcome back! Sounds like you had a lovely Easter. You are too funny, girl. Although, I’m slow at commenting, I also enjoyed your BooCast. You and Boomama crack me up! Friends who “get” you…friends you can laugh with…such a great gift. Love the pics…
don’t worry too much…my boys are 11 and 13 and still love the easter bunny fun…also, never clean out while the children are home…that is what school days are for, they never know what is missing
Hey! I missed you last week. I think Caroline’s project could be some sort of hunting blind!!
We are getting ready for turkey season up here in WI. Hunting on the brain!
It reminds me of those shantytowns we used to build on campus in the 80′s to protest apartheid in South Africa.
Please ask P how the bunny makes the big basket and the items inside small enough to squeeze thru any opening….I’m truly curious…..
Ok…now, that was cute. She’s a crafty little soul isn’t she?? I’m glad you got the break, too. However, whenever my kids are gone I also come up with grand ideas of things being accomplished and I end up watching Bravo tv for 24 hrs straight.
You crack me up! Welcome back! It is nice to read a blog that makes me cry from laughter rather than sadness! I think it is better for the soul too.
My youngest son, age 22, still lives at home and he still helps me dye the eggs.
For his daughter, age 2 1/2. And said child has learned to steal and hide. On Easter Sunday, mind you. I had told her no more candy and a little later left the room. I walked back in and she had “lifted” another jelly bean and was hiding to eat it.
I SOOO bought the gum pooping chicken! My husband shook his head in shame that I spent money on something like that. I laughed my head off!
Too funny–I don’t even know where to begin with a comment. Let me just say I’m glad you’re back. Withdrawl was painful.
So glad you’re back. Um…french toast casserole?? YUM. Recipe please??
When children mature to “a certain age” Scotch tape can be a mom’s best friend. As the children mature, they then discover duct tape, which is not so forgiving, but happily, the dexterity is even better. then duct tape purses and skirts will appear. I don’t know what it is about tape and kids, but it provides their main outlet of creativity. Unless maybe you live outside Indiana.
When children mature to “a certain age” Scotch tape can be a mom’s best friend. As the children mature, they then discover duct tape, which is not so forgiving, but happily, the dexterity is even better. then duct tape purses and skirts will appear. I don’t know what it is about tape and kids, but it provides their main outlet of creativity. Unless maybe you live outside Indiana.
Glad you had a great Easter! That Caroline is so very talented!!
I lived on the gulf coast for a total of 9 years and that looks better than any shrimp boat I’ve seen.
Great bows! As moms, we have to take what we can get sometimes. I am jealous that you could be outdoors. Still cold here in Maryland.
Glad you’re back!!
Yeah your back!!!!
Don’t you just love friday night lights!! This last one had me in tears.
And don’t worry you could still have four years of the easter bunny stealing your thunder. My boy is 9 and either he still believes or he is gifted in the art of securing extra presents…
Even after I was out of college and living hundreds of miles away from my parents, my mom STILL sent me an Easter basket. Now, my kids get the baskets from her. I claim the solid chocolate bunny, though.
glad you are back! just have to ask where is caroline’s cute little top from in the last few pictures? is it Matilda Jane?
The Easter dress and pigtails….precious!!!
The hubba bubba pooping chicken was the highlight at our house, too!
Welcome back!
Seriously…you crack me up! You have such a talent! I would love to have your french toast casserole recipe…sounds delish!
I started reading around the time the painting of the backhouse concluded. May I ask for a little 411 of what its purpose is? Besides the basic necessities to construct shrimp boats… ha! Love the pics of Caroline. Too precious.
We are also a very refined family – my FIL sent my kids the gum pooping rabbits last year so I was anxious (dreading) about what would arrive this year – I was so thankful it was a normal assortment of Easter goodies including chocolate bunnies which worked out great as I forgot to buy those for their baskets. One trip to the grocery store on the day before Easter avoided!
Don’t leave us hanging. I’m dying to know about the jeans!
Welcome back, we missed you!
You never disappoint, Big Mama! I am praying architect, too! ;0)
Mrs. Nurse Boy
Glad you are back!
Glad you are back. Enjoyed the old post too but glad to have you back.
I was afraid at first when I read the first paragraph that it you had done all that you would never want to blog again.
Caroline is precious as always.
She looks simply beautiful!
Did you buy the maxi dress at Macy’s? A picture of you wearing it would be lov-er-ly!
The Easter Bunny is a rodent…P cracks me up.
We have 2 of those Hubba Bubba pooping chickens at our house! We’re doubly sophisticated!
My 6 yo son is asking me some of those same questions! I can only dodge them and change the subject so many times! It’s sad, I tell ya. Sad.
I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to withdraw from blogging for any period of time . . . not even for lent . . . thanks for the lovely post. Carsick! Ha!
Haha this cracked me up. As usual, thanks for the morning giggle. Caroline is such a trip – a cute one though!
The blue bows are the best and the dress is adorable.
Glad you had a Happy Easter.
-FringeGirl
Yeah! You’re back- so glad your vacation was nice. I love Caroline’s dress- I just ordered it from Gap on sale! $12.99- hopefully that’s what you got it for. Happy Monday.
quick! you mentioned french toast casserole. I am preparing breakfast casseroles for Bunco tomorrow night. That is unless you share your recipe and it’s easy and not to mention I haven’t already started the other process.
I love Caroline’s Easter dress! The pigtails and bows make the look complete.
I missed you last week!
Happy Easter
Good to have you back! Love the pictures. And now I really, really want a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg.
The carrots are hilarious!!
As soon as I saw those carrots I knew they were tally marks. As a K teacher I’m not sure why we teach those, but we DRIVE them home! When I saw her rainbow chair work I thought, WHOA creation station center time? My kids love playing with nothing but cardboard, markers and masking tape. Love the Easter picture of Caroline pigtails, bows and all.
I love the bows. They totally make the outfit.
I am so glad you too got to see the wonders of the plastic chicken who poops. My little sister got the same gift from the Easter rodent and delighted in showing it off to my husband and me. Oh the joys of family at Easter!
Carsick! We had a very similar semantics problem at our house, too. One day before church, my little boy said, “I hope they don’t pray a long time today. It makes me churchsick.” When I asked him what exactly churchsick meant, he said, “You know when you’re in the car a long time you get carsick? Well, when they pray forever it makes me churchsick.” I wanted to say, “Me too!” but I think I managed something a little more motherly…I hope.
Glad you’re back from your hiatus!
P & my husband would so get along. Late Saturday night I was getting our son’s Easter basket together and I had bought a set of sports-themed plastic eggs to put candy in. As I was doing this, my husband says “What in the world would a bunny be doing with eggs anyway? Does he rob the plastic hen-house before making his rounds on Easter morning? I mean kids just need to think about this.”
I just shook my head. Evidently he was deprived as a child.
Love the tally mark carrots. I am a teacher and that warms my heart to see such skills transfer so nicely into real life:)
Don’t worry about the age of your child. My children both got Easter baskets yesterday. They are 40 and 41. As a matter of fact so did Papa G and me and we are even older.
Lol; I’d go with architect too!
the Easter bunny gave my daughter that same chicken (with the gum eggs)… but i didn’t realize the chicken was pooping! i thought it was just laying eggs !
Please allow me to address your anxiety regarding Caroline outgrowing Easter. My Easter with the Peacocks this weekend should allay all fears. I stood with my Easter egg hunt bag empty while I marveled at 5 adults (four of which are parents with napping babies) nearly beat down the door while demanding to hear the rules before beginning their egg hunt. Elbows were thrown, smack was talked, vendettas were formed. These people take their egg hunts seriously. I can’t wait to see how they’ll interact when their children are old enough to hunt with them. It was hilarious. Of course, now, having observed the whole scene, I know the various hiding spots for next year. Peacocks, watch out!
She was so sweet. loved the pig tailes.She sure did a good job own makeing what she made.God bless love siste in Christ Victoria from Reidsville NC
I was thinking this weekend that this is probably our last year too of the magic of the Easter bunny… when she found an egg I thought I had hidden REALLY well, I said, “You found my tricky egg!” She caught me and I said, “Yeah…you know…the one I thought the EB hid really well and I thought you’d never find!” *ahem*
Nothing like a wind up candy pooping toy says Easter.
My 16 year old introduced me to a pooping penguin last Christmas.
My life is complete.
It kills me that Caroline is wearing shorts. We just had more snow here this morning IN APRIL!!!!!! UGGHH!!!
omg…rena where do you find apooping penguin??? i have a son who collects penguins that would make his day
that said the EB left him a penguin egg and his brother a shark egg….
they seem totally annoyed that they didnt get one of thsoe skimpy cheap easter baskets with the toys that will fall apart…oh well their EB wanted to be more personal…lol
steff
I’m glad you’re back! I lurked this morning and didn’t leave a comment, but I had to come back after dinner because I made the creamy pork tenderloin recipe you posted a couple of weeks ago, and it was delicious! Thanks so much. I am going to be adding it to the rotation =).
I kinda like the jacked up on sugar look she had going on. The glee in her eyes was priceless. At least I hope that was glee.
Too cute!! Loved the pics and so glad you had a wonderful bloggy break and great Easter. It is amazing how much free time you have on your hands when you take blogging out of the equation, huh?? haha!
Oh my – I think we dropped some pounds in the London Tube station in front of a cardboard ensemble vaguely similar!!! Naw!! those guys were playing the guitar and flute.
We love cardboard and tape and markers – best toys ever. Until you need a box to ship something in.
FUNNY! Loved the bows and such a pretty dress!!! Sounds like your P and my T would have a great time chatting about weaponry. My T has become a bit preoccupied with his weaponry as of late. He thinks a big ban is coming, so that is his justification for spending lots of money. Sigh.
Caroline is TOO precious for words!
And WHERE is this French toast recipe????
I might actually be offended by the “living on the Texas coast” comment. Is there something wrong with living on the Texas coast? Just kidding. When are y’all going to come visit? It’s been awhile since y’all were here!
Seriously, do you ever re-read your posts and say “my gosh, I am a very funny girl?”
I never read a post that I don’t laugh out loud!
Hi Melanie,
It was great to meet you and Caroline on Saturday. Thanks for all your help with the exciting job of wiring fabric to flower pots!:) LOVE reading your blog!:)
Jennifer
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