Little & Big

Easter outside

and even here...

Silly Easter Bunny. 

All in all there were at least 5 dozen eggs out there, almost all cascarones (confetti eggs).

And you know what happens with cascarones, don't you?

Serious Easter egg battle.  Working-out-all-that-sugar fun.  Perfect.

(The only casualty is the eggs.)

Easter inside

(and the before pic:

just as an FYI. and because I love the Easter Bunny.  and because the kids do too.)

Oh the goodies that come with Easter!  Chocolates chocolates and more chocolates!  Decoupage eggs with chocolate hens to accompany. The Easter bunny even tossed in a "raw" chocolate coconut bar and some chocolate nibs -- that Bunny knows us so well!

There was much deliberation over what to eat for brunch.  I got some great ideas from Facebook (THANKS FRIENDS), but then I hopped onto Martha Stewart.  And oh!  The family voted for salmon, I wanted vegetables and more vegetables, and she had all I needed.  Arugula Salad with Strawberries, Salmon with Cucumber-Radish Relish, Steamed Artichokes with Tarragon Mayonnaise, and I added roasted asparagus & potatoes.   And I almost spend more time taking pictures of that gorgeous food than preparing it.  (I'm exaggerating of course.)  Delicious.   Little brother discovered a passion for artichokes, and big brother nearly licked his plate.  The Daddy did a lot of pausing and smiling.  Makes a mother happy.

So 'twas a sweet Easter.  Artichokes, egg-battles, chocolate nibs and all.

more egg experiments (never enough Easter eggs)

        three dots of food coloring: green, yellow & blue

rolling & rubbing in food coloring + dye bath (+ a little more rubbing with a paper towel) = lovely lovely eggs. 

little brother gets full credit.  it was all his idea.

Easter week

but our Easter grass!  I started it on Saturday....

will it make it? 

                                                    (today's status.)

Come on little grass fairies!  Help this Easter grass grow!

(We want something like this!)

Of course, I'm not doing this for the boys anymore.  I have to be straight about it.  At 7 and 10 they still love Easter, can't wait to see what the Easter bunny brings, delight in thinking about all that chocolate.  But real Easter grass versus store-bought? 

That's for me.

Easter egg experiments

 dye+tape+leaves+wax+glue+eggs= beauty x fun

Could it be? Leprechauns?

We came to learn that St. Patrick's Day is a busy day in many of our friend's homes.  Apparently the Leprechauns visit, and sometimes they leave good things and sometimes they wreak havoc. 

Not ones to be left out of an opportunity for fairy fun, we decided to leave notes out for them -- outside the house, just in case they felt inclined to make some mischief.   Our notes reflected wishes, and we placed them around the yard.

the Daddy's:

Mine:

And little brother's:

                    right on the edge of our muddy pond

(Little brother knows that fairy magic lives most strongly in places where two things meet, like the edge of water and land.)

And wouldn't you know, on the morning of St. Paddy's day:

The boys ended up with fistfulls of gold (chocolate) coins.

There were even some at the edge of our muddy little pond.

spring: outside and in

first blooms

Today.  Incredible.  (And one month early.)

mardi gras!

today at school

here's little brother:

and big brother:

Look at those boys dance!  Yee-ha!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love from our house to yours!