Happy Easter!

We haven't had dinner but the rest of the holiday fun has happened! Last night, luckily, KC fell asleep early and we were able to easily hide the eggs with the kids clues to help them find their Easter basket. Or rather, K hid the eggs with clues and I made dum dum lollipops into flowers. (note to self: children do not really appreciate the ascethic beauty of spring blooms made from lollipops.) Further note to self: it was fun anyway! KC made a picture for the Easter Bunny before he fell asleep so the Easter Bunny, thoughtful rodent that he is, left him a thank you note. KC has this now on the headboard of his bed. Small things truly have great meaning to this child. If not the beauty of dum dum flowers! LOL

Everyone was up at 6:30 and the hunt commenced. Lissa did really well puzzling through her 3 picture clues to find her basket and bunny. KC has the drill down cold and did great. The older boys are old pros but a couple clues made them puzzle a while as well. (kudos to Kirsty clue writer for stumping them!!) While that took place the blueberry white chocolate scones were baking. Stop drooling, only children with a vast capacity for the sweet and gooey would like these things. Well, truthfully, I like a BITE of them,but only a bite. More than that truly just gaks me out. But they were engulfed in a sugary orgy and we then got ready for church. We have to be at church by 9 which really means being there about 8:45 as this gives time for everyone to hang coats and get settled. Parenting Chet taught me that he couldn't handle rush so we move along briskly and make sure he has time to settle after transitioning from car to church. Gives me time to review behavioral parameters as well. It doesn't hurt the other kids to parent them in the same fashion. They may not have the same developmental need but they do respond positively to it, so I don't sweat it.

We had time to take the above picture and about 5 others. In all of them some of the children are smiling and looking at the camera. In no picture are they ALL looking at the camera and smiling. This is a fact of taking pictures of large groups of children, in my experience. As long as none of them are bawling or dribbling body fluids in the shot, I typically consider any of them keepers. Lissa laughed and smiled after each shot was taken but refused to smile when they were taken.

Church was great. On this Sunday the kids stay in service for only part of the morning. Normally I am a big proponent on kids remaining in the sanctuary on occasion. I feel it teaches them the rhythm of a service and the way to handle a worshipful community. Also as we are Unitarian Universalists there is a bit more elasticity in the expectations of children at service. It is not considered rude or inappropriate that I bring crayons and paper for them, or that they cuddle up and nap if they are tired. However, on a sugary Easter rush, I found I don't mind a bit that they exit stage right part way through the service. By then, Elisabeth had escaped from Kirsty once and run down the entire length of the sanctuary bellowing "CHET" at the top of her lungs. When she got to him she gave him a huge hug. Thankfully it wasn't during the pastoral prayer or something! Our minister had told a wonderful childrens story on the origin of typical Easter symbols like the hare and the egg. These have pagan origins and as I am a UU pagan I was glad that he shared the story in his typical kid friendly story telling manner. At the end he asked the children what the hare's name might have become. KC put his hand up and proudly announced "Rocket!" Never missing a beat, "Rocket" was somehow incorporated into the morning.

Meanwhile Rob had whispered early in the service that he needed to use the bathroom. 20 minutes later and he wasn't back yet. KC was freaking out. I was reasonably sure he was finding something to occupy himself so that he didn't return to the sanctuary, but there was the possibility that he might have been ill or something. So when the kids were dismissed (the aforementioned stage right) to hunt for eggs, I left with them to find Robbie.

Not to worry, he was in the kitchen helping a friend frost cupcakes for fellowship. While I applauded his culinary leanings, I sent him to the sanctuary with a reminder that he is to check with K or I before deciding to do something differently. He actually seemed a little happy that we could have been worried about him; I noticed he actually smiled when I said I didn't know if he was puking copious quantities of Easter candy when he didn't come back to the pew. (and yes, saldy enough that is what I really said. I am the parent of 3 boys; I have nearly forgotten how to speak politely!)

So aside from dinner which hasn't happened yet, the day has been a success. I don't know what we will eat, but we will decorate the table with the little white chocolate and chow mein noodle birds nests the kids and I made yesterday and a cake will be dessert. Other than that, the menu is TBD.