A Very Poorly Documented Easter Egg Hunt

. . . and that’s it. Those are all the pictures I took. Studio Grandpa will surely scold me.

When the hunt started, Phaedra went one way, and Eleanor went the other. By the time Phae and I made it back around to find Eleanor, she was done hunting for eggs. Apparently, Eleanor went into one garden practically by herself, filled her basket, and declared herself finished. I wish I could have gotten some pictures of Eleanor grabbing eggs.

Studio Grandma really outdid herself on the Easter party this year. She invited all the grandkids plus some families from her ward. They did little crafts. Eleanor made an Easter lily out of her handprint, and Phaedra made a face with some jewels on it. They colored eggs. Then they had the Easter egg hunt which started with the little kids, 5 and under, while the big kids did a scavenger hunt with clues. The big kids hunted for eggs once they finished the scavenger hunt, which gave the little kids plenty of time to have a chance at some of the easy eggs.

The Easter eggs not only had candy. They also had “bunny money” inside to be used at the bunny store. Remember the candy shop on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? It was much like that except there were also toys the kids could choose if they didn’t want more candy.

But the fun wasn’t only for the kids. There was tons of food for the adults. We had rolls and ham, vegetables, potato salad, fruits, and plenty of sweets.

Eleanor always tickles me with her character. Several days before the event, she would talk to me about the Easter egg hunt. She was just sure there would be eggs with her name on them. I had to work to convince her that they would probably just be eggs with no names, and kids would just have to grab as many as they could. Once I got that into her head, she would say, “Maybe I will get lots and lots of eggs, and the other kids will only get one!” I told her that if that happened, I would hope she might share some of her eggs so the other kids wouldn’t be sad. So she assumed the reverse. “And maybe if the other kids get lots and lots of eggs and I only get one, they will share their eggs with me!” This made me a little hesitant. I obviously couldn’t make any promises, so I told her we would hope that would happen but she shouldn’t count on it.

And then to hear that she filled her basket and didn’t keep hunting! She just walked away, satisfied. That just cracked me up.

She went to the bunny store once and proudly showed me all her spoils. Then she showed me the money she had left over. I told her she needed to spend all the money because the store was only open one day. So I took her back to the store and helped her choose some more stuff. After that, we were sitting down, and she told me she had the bunny money she was saving in her eggs (eye roll). I opened up her eggs, and sure enough, she had more bunny money. How do you explain to a 5-year-old that normally, saving money is a good thing, but this money will be worthless after today? So I made Grant take her back to the store for a third time. Silly girl!

I don’t know why I didn’t get many pictures. Other people were taking pictures, and I think I back away from pulling out my camera when there are a lot of shutters flying. I don’t want to get in the way. I also just got involved with helping the kids with their projects, and by the time the Easter egg hunt was over, I was trying to sit down and eat. But I wish I had more pictures to show for it.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter. Grant and I took one look at the loot the kids got at the Easter egg hunt and decided the Easter bunny didn’t need to bring any candy this year. The kids just got a few outside toys, like bubbles, sand buckets, and sidewalk chalk. They didn’t even notice the lack of candy. I think next year, we’ll do away with the Easter bunny entirely and just tell the kids they are gifts from Mommy and Daddy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the point of having the Easter bunny.

Diseased

That sounds awful, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds. We’re pretty sure Phaedra has Fifth Disease. She had sniffles last week, and possibly a slight fever. Eleanor had gotten the sniffles a few days before, but it never turned into anything besides that. I figured Phae had the same thing, so we didn’t keep them home from the Easter egg hunt at Studio Grandma’s house. By Saturday evening, their noses were thicker, and they both looked slightly miserable. We decided to keep them home from church just to avoid sharing it with other kids.

I went to church to help out in the nursery (a whopping 4 kids showed up—it felt like a vacation). That’s when I heard Fifth Disease had gone through a family in our ward. I hadn’t seen them in several weeks, so I wasn’t worried. We still went back to Grandma’s house for dinner that evening. That’s when I noticed some pinkness on one of Phaedra’s cheeks as if she had bonked into something. When I looked closer, there were 2 little bumps as if she might have been bitten by a bug. We looked up the symptoms of Fifth Disease, and I was still convinced she didn’t have it. Her cheeks weren’t that red, and it was only one cheek. Plus, it faded by the end of the evening.

Yesterday morning, she had more pinkness and bumps around one of her ankles, and just a couple on the back of her thigh in the afternoon. Then last night, during stories, I looked down at her and saw this:

I took pictures because Grant wasn’t home, and I wanted him to see what I saw. it still only covered the one cheek. Her other side was totally normal. It looks awful, but Phae was happy as ever. She was cooperative when I took pictures of her and in good spirits all evening. She said it didn’t hurt or itch when I asked her. It was as if she didn’t even know something was there. Today, the rash on her face is gone. So far, I have only seen 1 little bump on her leg. I’m hoping she doesn’t get the full body rash like I have seen pictures of on the internet, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering her.

I called my mother-in-law and apologized. I try so hard not to share nasty bugs with the family. She laughed and said we were all exposed to Strep Throat at the Easter egg hunt, so hopefully no one will get both at once. What can you do, right?

Farewell to “the dub-yuh”

We said goodbye to our VW this week. It won’t be able to hold our soon-to-be #3, so we need a larger vehicle. We were going to trade in the Jetta, but since we had a few weeks to wait for our Odyssey (yes, we’re joining the minivan gang, but at least it will by a stylish one), Grant decided to see if he could sell it for more than the trade-in value. He put it on Craigslist, and we immediately had people interested. That car has been in high demand since 2005 when we bought it; everyone wants the diesel engine!

After one buyer fell through at the last minute because they got laid off, we had a lady fly from L.A. to come buy the car. The whole deal seemed so abrupt. The girls and I picked her up from the shuttle, and we all met Grant at the bank. We made sure her check was good, she looked the car over, and next thing we knew, she was driving away with it.

As we drove away from the deal, I was on the verge of holding it together when Eleanor started bawling. She said she missed the Jetta, and we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere if Mommy didn’t have a car and Daddy goes to work. Once that started, I tried to cry quietly in the front seat while Grant consoled Eleanor. I think she’s going to be even more sentimental than me.

We used to always listen to music on the iPod Nano in the Jetta, using a tape adapter. We couldn’t use the adapter in Grant’s car because the tape deck is behind the stereo face, and you can’t shut the face with the cord sticking out. So our choices of songs in Grant’s car are quite limited. One of Eleanor’s favorite songs that has been her favorite probably since she was 18 months old, “Lullaby” by Jack Johnson, has been on the iPod all that time because she requests it anytime she’s tired, sad, or just in the mood.

As we drove away from the Jetta, she cried that she lost her car that had the Lullaby song and she would never ever have a car that had the Lullaby song again. We explained to her that we could put the Lullaby song in the new car, but still it was so sweet and sad. I knew just how she felt.

For me, it wasn’t so much missing the car as it was the memories that seemed to drive away with it. The day we drove our first baby home from the hospital. The day we drove our second baby home from the hospital. Trips to the beach, to Utah, to Daddy’s work to visit him on long days. The seat heaters that I cranked up to help me through contractions on the way to the hospital the first time I was in labor. Reaching back while driving to try to comfort a crying baby. Kids in the backseat wearing adorable sunglasses. Both girls insisting on having a “car cozy” during the winter. Hollering at gas station attendants when they almost put unleaded in the tank. Hearing my daughters holler at every subsequent gas station attendant as a result: “Deeeee-so!!”

You can see dirt on the back of the front passenger seat where Phaedra always liked to put her muddy shoes against my seat. I don’t know how many times I had to ask her not to kick my seat. (Sorry, new owner)

Chicks

It’s that time of year again. My mother has new chicks at her house. Not because her current chickens hatched eggs. My mother bought these at the feed store; I guess she just can’t resist having baby chicks each year. Eleanor and Phaedra enjoyed paying them a visit last week.

The most memorable part for the girls (which will probably never be forgotten) was when the chick pooped while Eleanor was holding it. Luckily, it all landed on the floor (probably because Eleanor was mostly grasping the poor thing by the neck). Phaedra was quite hesitant to hold that chick after seeing what happened, but we convinced her that the chick was all done pooping.

Then Eleanor held it one more time and was so happy that it seemed to snuggle up to her a bit.

The whole experience sure has left the girls with some stories to tell!

When the Sun Shines

We’ve had sporadic sunshine around here lately. The other day, I was so tempted to get the kids out into the sunshine, but my house was such a wreck I felt like I couldn’t go play when I needed to try to make a dent in all that mess. So when the sun finally came back last Tuesday, I couldn’t let another chance go by.

My girls didn’t seem tempted in the least. As soon as breakfast was over, instead of asking to go outside, they put their princess dresses on top of their jammies and had a little read-a-thon on the living room couch. I guess they’ve gotten pretty used to indoor life with all the rain we’ve had. Phaedra only wanted to suck her thumb for the camera, but I promise she was reading books to herself just before I had the lens pointed at her.

When I suggested we go to the park, they were quickly done reading. By the time we had everyone dressed, a picnic lunch packed, and had met up with friends, it started raining. That will teach me to be spontaneous and not check the weather!

We made the best of it. We had an indoor play date and a picnic on a blanket on the floor. Eleanor started to cry when I said we couldn’t go to the park because of the rain, but she did her best to perk up and be a trooper so she could enjoy her play date instead of going home. I will have to get them to the park as soon as there is a sunny day we can trust.

At least they got their outside fix on Saturday at Grandma’s house. They stayed there for a while so Grant and I could go to the car dealership. We’re looking at minivans. Disgusting, I know, but we’re resigned to it. Phaedra was so funny at Grandma’s house, inching slowly into the sandbox without taking her eyes off my face. So many times have I told her to stay out over the winter because it was too muddy. She was expecting me to protest at any moment. She played in there until dinner time, happy as a clam!