So many things change for you once you become a parent. Holidays are a perfect example. Mike and I have already spent a few late night Christmas Eves cursing under our breath as we put together the perfect play kitchen, or brand new bikes from Santa Claus. My advice now is to always pay the extra for assembly if possible. This year, my Sister in law sent us the little people version of the nativity set. For the first time, I felt like the kids were old enough that we could cover some of the basics of the holiday. The real reason for the season, shall we say. I discussed "baby Jesus" and his "mommy and daddy." And I gave a very brief explanation of the wise men and the animals. Colin and Molly smiled and nodded, and began to play with the nativity set. Mike stood over my shoulder, and started to correct my abbreviated version of the Christmas Story. I shushed him, and said "If you think you can do better, give it a shot. But I am going with the simple version for right now." As the Easter holiday approached this year, I began to wonder how I was going to explain everything. Jesus dying for the sins of the world seems like so much for a tiny person to take in, not to mention the fact that he doesn't stay dead. And just where in the world does the bunny with eggs really fit in? As a parent, you are left wondering, how much is too much?? And how do I incorporate the religious with the secular parts of the holidays?? There was the man, beaten, dying on the cross for all of us, but don't worry, the Easter bunny will bring lots of chocolate and toys to make it better....So here is how the Bryan Easter weekend actually went down.
Saturday was the actual Easter egg hunt at the church. We met up with some of our friends, and the kids had a blast. We had hotdogs, chips, and candy on the church lawn. I am very glad that we went, even though it was tempting to skip due to my work schedule on the weekends. The kids played together, and even hijacked the church golf cart.
Colin has been asking for a Green Angry Bird for a few weeks now, and I was able to pass it off as a task for the Easter bunny. I assured him, he would get a green bird from the bunny. Little did I know this was the Holy Grail of the Angry Birds. If I had known, I would have ordered it online, and had the stupid thing shipped. I visited at least 10 stores total on the wild goose chase of locating this bird. I finally threw in the towel, and picked out two angry space birds(not the birds he wanted, and I am sure he will be happy to tell me they are the wrong birds) but I was at a loss, and it was too close to Easter to get one shipped to the house. I had found cute, coordinated outfits a few weeks ago. For the children that is. I certainly hadn't thought of anything for myself. Easter outfits, check, angry bird, check(kind of), way too much candy, check, plenty of play dates to entertain the kids, check, and finally, work all weekend, check...After a long shift at the hospital on Saturday night, I came home at midnight, and started to play Easter bunny. I made up the baskets, stuffed and hid the eggs, and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible. The kids woke up early, came into the room to see us, and Molly spotted her first egg. "ohhhhh, egg mommy! " Egg opening sounds "ohhhhh, chocolate mommy." Molly is now on a mission to find more of these wonderful eggs. I get out of bed, only to realize the dog has opened some of the eggs, and stolen the candy for herself. I restuff the eggs, and get the children their morning milk. Molly has decided the best part is unwrapping every chocolate she can find, and tasting it, and then unwrapping yet another candy. The birds are a big hit, even though the green bird is not present. I start to get both children ready for church. After the normal negotiations and wrestling, both children are ready for church. Mike is in the shower, and we are cutting it close on time. I hop in the shower next, praying I have enough time to wash my hair and shave my legs. I have to use Elmo colored foam soap to shave, and I only have a few drops of shampoo left after a shower incident with Molly. But I make the best of what I have, like a good former Girl Scout, and I am out of the shower in just a few minutes. I search through the closet for something that might fit, and actually look decent. I grab a skirt and blouse, slip on a cardigan, and leap into a pair of flats while racing around and herding the kids out the door. Mike has of course been ready for 10 minutes. My hair is wet. I pull it back with a head band, and then into a ponytail. Fabulous...true mommy chic. The outfit was complete when I realized one of the children had wiped their nose on my shoulder. I grabbed a few wipes, and attempted to remove the mucus from my sweater. We all load into the car, and head to church. The kids are on a sugar high, and I have a horrible headache due to a lack of Zyrtec D in my medicine cabinet, but we made it out of the house alive and dressed. The church service was lovely. Colin and Molly had fun in children's church. Colin introduced himself to the minister very loudly during the children's sermon. It was priceless. We stopped at a restaurant on our way home, grabbed some lunch on the deck, and headed home so that I could leave for work.
I am sure there was a time in my life when I actually took the time to dry my hair before I left my house, and that I always had shaving cream for my legs. Especially on Easter Sunday. That time is just a vague memory for me now. I know that I have actually purchased new dresses for myself in the past, and probably new shoes to match. Right now, I am just proud that we all made it to church, on time, and the children looked adorable. I am happy that the kids loved their baskets, but that we seemed to include both the bunny and church in our busy day. I am happy that every time I clock in at the hospital, I get to experience new life and birth, and be reminded of the miracles that happen every day. I wish we had made time for a quick family photo, but I have to confess, it slipped my mind with all of the other chaos going on during the day. I suppose we could all get dressed up again, and we can stage a photo shoot at another time. For now, I am off to bed. Back to the preschool car pool line in the morning, and back to the gym to burn off some of this candy. Why did I buy so much candy??? And maybe I should stop by the store for some shaving cream and shampoo...although, the Elmo soap worked pretty well :)
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