smith smattering: April 2011

A few things we did to get us in the Easter spirit...

First of all, I found this book at one of the Rhea Lana consignment sales. It's been a great way for me to start explaining the Easter story to Annette. I've been reading it to Charlie too, but he's up and running around after the first couple of pages:)

Dying Eggs
One day early this week we dyed some boiled eggs. I bought a kit at Target for less than 2 bucks. Annette loved watching the color disc dissolve and turn the water different colors. Next year, I will use clear cups instead of the colored cups, so she can see how the water changes more clearly.

She is shirtless and pantless because I already have a pile of clothes on top of the washer that are being pre-treated with dish soap or Shout.

Notice in the next picture I have added paper under the cups. Should have done that first. Luckily, I had paper towels handy for the inevitable spill.

Charlie wanted to get involved. I gave him a bowl with water and let him stir with a plastic spoon. Messy, but it worked out well.

Daddy came home as we were finishing up. They run to the door when they hear his car pull into the carport.

We got out some paint and a paintbrush and 'painted' some of the eggs too. This is because I told Annette we were going to 'paint' eggs on Monday morning before we went to the store to get the kit. I didn't use the word 'dye' because I knew she wouldn't know what I was talking about. But, once we had dyed the eggs and we were putting things away, she said, "Mommy! You said we were going to paint the eggs!" So, true to my word, we got the paintbrush out and literally 'painted' some of them:)

Eggshell Mosaic Cross
On Sunday evening, we used our painted/dyed egg shells to create a mosaic cross. I got this idea from this blog, http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2009/03/easter-mosaic-cross.html

Annette shook the eggs in a pan to get them to start peeling. That was probably her favorite part. Then, I did most of the peeling so I could minimize the amount of actual egg that went into this art project:) The shells sat on my counter until last night, when my sisters came over and helped us get the shells glued down.

Ta-da!

Pretty mosaic cross. Hopefully it won't start to stink of rotten eggs. But, if it does, I'll chunk the actual cross and have this picture to treasure and keep forever and always:)

Handy Dandy Daffodils

Paper Plate Chick

One last craft. I made this chick as an example for our playgroup, but wee were too busy eating and playing to actually get to crafting.

Later at home, I let Annette try to make her own chick. The one on the left is what she came up with. When I asked her which chick was hers, she pointed to mine! When I corrected her, she said, "We can switch chicks." :)

Friday

Our playgroup had an Easter egg hunt at First Baptist Church. Thanks to our unofficial playgroup president Mandy, the morning was a huge hit with the kids and ME.

Rainy weather= Plan B Indoor Egg Hunt

Since Charlie started running around like crazy a few months ago, my life is so much easier when we are contained in one area. I'd heard other moms say this, but until now never fully understood what they meant. It is almost impossible for me to keep up with my two wild toddlers when they are running in two diffrrent directions. Add cars and water features to an ungated environment..... it's just an accident waiting to happen. Charlie has no fear of water. He will jump into a pool, pond, or puddle. Our nearest and dearest Baker Park has a little water feature, and now my one year old wants to spend the majority of our time there trying to find a way to fall in. Which leaves Annette trying to push herself on the swing and way more than an arms length away. This is a semi-new problem. And a big problem since they are just 14 months and 1 day apart in age. This one and two year old thing can be a little exhausting. We were great before Charlie was super mobile and would sit in his carrier or a stroller while Annette and I played. But he grew. And he learned how to walk, run, and climb. Hopefully we will be fine again in a few months when Charlie has learned his boundaries. I will think positively and will NOT tell myself that this could take a while. But until then, I will be so grateful when we get to play in places like we did on Friday---where I actually got to chat and snack and enjoy a morning with friends. Thank you, Mandy. And her sis in law who booked us First Baptist.

Friday Night
Isaac and I had a date night on Friday night. We try to squeeze one in each week. I crave the adult conversation and it gives us both something fun to look forward to doing together. Plus, we have been told by many a wise couple that a weekly date night is a smart thing to do for a marriage. We happily agree:) Wish I had taken a picture, beacuse it's just about the only time my hair is washed and fixed and I don't have snot, food, or other dirt on my clothes. Plus, I want to document the fun stuff Isaac and I do too... not just what our two cute kids are up to. It reminds me of when I watch old family videos at Isaac's parents or my parent's house. It's fun to watch the cute things all the kids were doing, but when the camera is turned on the adults for a wee second and we catch a glimpse of my mom's hilarious 80's bangs or my dad with a mustache, we all point and laugh. Those glimpses are too rare in my opinion. I was talking about this with someone the other day (can't remember which of you friends told me this) and they said that someone once gave them this funny advice, "Why don't you want to be in that picture? You think you are going to start looking younger or thinner with age? It's just going to go downhill from here!" I thought that was pretty funny. And true! So, one of my goals when taking pictures and videos is to do a decent job of including Isaac and me so that our kids can laugh at my skinny jeans and isaac's aviator sunglasses one far away day.

Anyways, we went to Sushi Cafe, our favorite place to eat. A little girl I used to babysit, Callie, came over and watched Charlie. It's neat that this little 3 year old I took care of in junior high and high school is now babysitting MY children. Her older sister, Carrie, babysits for us too, but she is up in Fayetteville so we don't get to see her much anymore:( We have lots of family babysitters in town, thankfully.... but we have a list of wonderful friend babysitters too, for which we are super duper grateful.

While we went out to eat and Charlie was at home with Callie, Annette got to see the Princesses on Ice with my mom, Aunt Lauren, and my neice Bailey. She loved it. So much so, that they said she grabbed onto the arm rests and said she was not leaving when it was all over. Ha! Wish I could have seen that. Here are some pictures of their special girls night.

We are so BLESSED to have such wonderful, wonderful family in town.

Thanks Mom, Lauren, and Bailey for taking Annette! I know she loved it.

Saturday Morning
Saturday morning, we went to our friend Gabriella's party. We met them through another friend, and then learned we are actually neighbors. We've had fun getting to know their sweet family this year. This was SUCH a cute party. It was at Burn's Park Funland. I remember going there when I was young, but had not been back. Not much has changed. At all. The rides are vintage looking and perfect for a little girl's Carousel themed party. Annette loved the rides and cake and fun with friends. Ike and I took turns chasing Charlie around the place. He got to go on a couple of rides, too. I wondered if he would get scared, but true to his personality, he loved it all. We are planning to go again soon. It's a perfect place for toddlers who like to brave rides.

not quite tall enough for this one:) yet

he couldn't stand the wrist band

family train ride

Birthday girl is on the far right in the yellow tutu skirt.

eating hot dogs and cake

Gabby's little brother, Gavin, and Charlie are buds, too:)

Just a bit worn out.

Saturday Afteroon

After a quick nap time and a change of clothes (they had chocolate cake all over them), we headed to another friend's party. We had fun hunting eggs, catching up with friends, and celebrating Emma's 3rd Birthday.

On Saturday we celebrated Easter with Isaac's family. Unfortunately, I only remembered to take this one picture. Sad. I guess I was too pooped by the big day to try to multi task any longer. We had so much fun with Doc, Nonnie, Aunt Amber, Aunt Rachael, and Cruz... and I promise to take more pictures next Easter:)

Easter Sunday

Annette and Charlie each got a few goodies in their baskets before we went to church.

Charlie got a little blue baby Bible.

Snapped this in the church parking lot. Realized this might be the only chance to get a picture of the kids with no spills or stains. We should have asked someone to take a picture of all of us, but of course, we had no time to spare. Isaac looks thrilled to stop and smile. :)

After two wonderful church services:)

Here is a picture of our family Easter picture last year.....

And this year's!

After church we drove out to my cousin Sydney's house for my Dad's side of the family's Easter celebration. My dad's three siblings+spouses were all there, and 7 of their kids and 11 of their grandchildren were all there. Full and FUN house:)