Easter Fun

I love holidays - every single one of them is a big deal as far as I'm concerned.  The house gets decorated and I try to find fun things to do with the kids.  Egg-dying is a must of course so Saturday we set out to do that.  It's so funny to watch these kids' personalities shine through on even the smallest activities.  Mason did the typical boy thing of dipping an egg in every single color.  (Surprisingly, it ended up a dark blueish purple instead of the brown I was anticipating.)  Mya tended toward the pink and purple and reds, and bedazzled them with stickers after they were dry.  Mason was so distraught when he caught me peeling the eggs to make deviled eggs.  Even though I'd taken a picture of them with their eggs, he'd still wanted to show grandma his handy work in person. 

After egg-dying, Adam and I decided to give them our Easter presents.  We normally don't give them gifts, but since we're not taking a vacation this year while Adam heals, we decided to get them little scooters.  We have a lot of outdoor toys, but they always seem to fight over who plays with what.  We figured two scooters would lead to peace and harmony on the driveway - and we were right!  Mason picked up on what to do right away, but Mya struggled.  Big brother stepped in right away to teach her his "step, step, glide" technique.  Peace and harmony!

Later that night we set out a plate of carrots and treats for the Easter bunny.  This was all Mason's idea - after all, if we leave a treat for Santa, why wouldn't we leave something for the Easter bunny?  He was excited to see the treats and carrots were gone the next morning, and they both had fun scurrying around the house looking for their baskets.  Somehow I didn't get a picture of that action - but they both received perfect little gifts from the Easter bunny.  Mya found a Disney princess Duplo set (that she can play with while Mason plays with his Legos - he does not like her near him when he plays with them).  And Mason found a Disney Cars track for his dozens of Cars.  (Seriously, how did Disney not think to make the Story Sets sooner?  The poor kid has been pushing these things around on the ground for years!)

Normally I'd now tell you about the quirky thing the kids did in church, but we skipped Easter mass this year with Adam recovering from surgery.  It definitely felt strange, but the kids and I sat on the couch in our fancy Easter clothes and read children's Bible stories instead.  The thing is, I'm sure they learned more listening to the stories than they would've not paying attention in church.

Shortly after Adam's parents arrived and the Easter feasting began.  I have to brag a moment about the food I had ready for snacking - brie & blackberry tarts and a root vegetable tray (in honor of Petter Rabbit), prosciutto-wrapped mangoes/pears and arugula (how Springy!), cheese and crackers and of course deviled eggs.  The only thing Adam helped with was cutting the cheese and prosciutto wrapping.  If you've ever been in my kitchen, you know that I'm never in it so this was quite an amazing feat for me.  I hope Adam doesn't start thinking I can handle these things.  ;)

My goal with all these holiday celebrations is to make it fun for the kids - no matter whose house we end up at or how big or small the holiday.  Maybe someday they'll be passing on the same traditions to their little ones. 

The Elephant in the Room

I was on such a good streak with posting, then all of a sudden it came to a stop.  You could blame it on the cold and boring winter, but you know I've always got something to say about my kiddos.  No, that's not it at all - the reason I haven't been posting recently is that I haven't wanted to address the elephant in the room.

It's been a strange few months since my last post.  Life was suddenly flipped upside down when we found out Adam needed surgery on his hip (scheduled finally for next week).  He's been unable to work during this whole time, and it's taken some getting used to. 

The kids have had to get used to not wrestling around with their daddy - after dinner tickle time was always one of their favorite things.  But other than that, it's hopefully been transparent to them.  In fact they've probably really enjoyed Adam being here in the evenings and awake on the weekends. 

Adam and I are the ones who have had to adjust the most.  I almost feel bad saying that I've had to take on different roles around the house, doing things that Adam's always done.  I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining when I say that shoveling and yard work have been added to my honey-do list.  After all, Adam's the one in pain. 

And it's not just the pain that has been hard for him.  It's the adjusting to letting me do things for him that he feels like he should be able to do for himself that's probably been the most difficult.  I have to remind him that I don't mind.  You know this is the "in sickness and in health" part of marriage that we signed up for.  The next few months of healing for Adam and extra work for me aren't going to be easy, but we will get through it.  And I have a feeling we will come out stronger because of it.

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Now for a few kiddo nuggets I've been wanting to share.  This picture is my new favorite of the kids.  Now you know this is not their usual demeanor when they're this close together.  Normally they'd be arguing or shoving each other away from one another.  We had one perfect moment, thankfully I was able to catch it, where they were just snuggled up together.  Melt my heart. 

A few weeks after this they were sitting next to each other at the kitchen counter and Mya nonchalantly asked Mason if he'd be her best friend.  I held my breath and stared at Mason, waiting for his answer.  It seemed to take forever but he finally said "yeah, sure" just as casually as she'd asked. 

Before we knew it, they were off doing their own things again.  These two moments were just that - a fleeting few seconds.  But they're moments to cherish, and we certainly do. 

Mason Bear & Posey Kitty

A couple Christmas' ago, Mason received Mason bear, an interactive toy from Hallmark that responds when you read him his stories.  It's a super cute toy that Mya always wanted to play with too.  Mason (the boy) was not very good at sharing Mason (the bear) so for Christmas this year Mya received Posey kitty.  All is now right with the world and the kids love reading with Mason and Posey. 

Earlier this week, Mason (the boy) decided that Mason and Posey should get married so they could sleep together.  Let me explain.  Ever since he was little, he's wanted someone to sleep with him because he was lonely at night.  After all, if mama and daddy can share a bed, why can't he share a bed?  So we've always told him that mama and daddy get to share a bed because we're married.  He must have decided that Mason (the bear) and Posey were lonely at night too, and if they got married they could share a bed. 

So today we decided to have a wedding for them.  I may have gone a little overboard setting it all up, but the kids had fun so it was worth it.

First Mya and I got ready in our fancy dresses - Mya in her Elsa dress and I in my bridesmaid dress from Auntie MeMe's wedding.  (It still fit! Though I guess I was 6 months pregnant with Mason when I wore it, so it should fit!)  We put Posey kitty in Mya's baptism dress and gave her a tiara and bouquet. The bride and her maid of honor took a nice picture together.  When it was time to get the boys ready, Mason (the boy) declared that the boys did not need to dress up.  Adam was thrilled that he could show up in his hoodie.  We did put a bow tie on Mason bear to spruce him up a bit, and took a picture of the groom and best man.

The ceremony was just lovely, all the best friends were there.  On the groom's side we had Chubbs, Spunky, Gary, Puppy and Bullseye.  On the bride's side we had Puppy (another one), Pink Bunny, Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Val.  Mya and Posey even walked down the aisle.  And yes, they said their vows and Mason bear kissed the bride.

 

We had a reception for the newlyweds, with wedding cake and gifts.  Mason's gift was bouncy balls for his backback (you'd have to read one of his stories to understand this one).  Posey's gift was a new Posey book.  After the party, the happy couple headed off to their honeymoon in a tent we have set up in the basement, where they could finally share a bed.  

Holidays Come and Gone

I'm not sure if it was the late Thanksgiving this year or not having snow until long after Christmas, but the holiday season seemed to be gone before it started.  I hope we took enough time to sit back and enjoy each other.  That it's not just the gifts the kids remember, but the time spent with family.

We began our Christmas celebration with the fun, old-fashioned Mattens Family Christmas over in Plainwell.  It must be noted that Adam won the annual Euchre tournament this year.  We followed that up with Christmas Eve in Bridgeport, celebrating with my family.

Then it was back home to wake up for Christmas morning with the kids.  I'm not sure who was more excited that morning, the kids to open their gifts, or the grownups to watch the kids open their gifts.  Santa picked out the perfect gifts for them this year - a remote control robot for Mason and Snow-Glow Elsa for Mya.  We had Adam's parents over that afternoon and tried to get a picture of the kids with Nana & Papa, but they were too full of the Christmas spirit to sit still for long.  At least everyone's smiling in this one...

After that the Ohio family came to town for the Hooker Family Christmas.  We might not get to see each other often, but we pack as much activity into the weekend with them as possible.  We hosted a welcome to Michigan dinner, then Adam's parents hosted Christmas.  We added to the fun this year by mixing couples and playing the Newlywed Game.  Adam and his Aunt Susan won that - it was a good year for Adam with games!  Their last full day here was spent swimming at their hotel pool, having lunch and visiting the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.  Like I said, we pack it in.

Our sweet nieces were even in town from Seattle with their dad for this part of the festivities.  We again tried to get a nice picture of the cousins, and with so many people taking pictures it was hard to know which camera to look at.  My camera phone did not do these beautiful children justice. 

Next up was New Year's Eve, which ended up being very different from years past.  I had to work and Adam had the stomach flu so we didn't go to the cousins NYE party in Plainwell as usual.  We did make up for it by getting together a few nights later - otherwise I don't think we'd officially be able to call it 2015.

Last, but certainly not least, we finished up all the celebrating with Julia's 4th birthday party.  My sister planned a Tinker Bell party straight out of Pinterest - and the kids had a blast. The little girls looked adorable in their wings and tutus.  I don't think they could be any more different, but they have so much fun together.

The cherry on top of all the party-going was when my mom and I were working on puzzles with the girls.  Julia looked over at me and said, "Aunt Erin, I like you."  It just melted my heart.  Since Jackson was born, I'd been talking to her a lot about being a big sister.  In the process I think I made a new little friend.

And just like that, the holidays were officially done.  It's always a whirlwind of activity, but so worth it when you finally get a moment to reflect on it all.   

Year Two with Thomas Elf

We had our first experience with Elf on the Shelf last year, so when our very own Thomas Elf reappeared this year, it was a very exciting event.  We returned home from Thanksgiving at my parents' house to find Thomas waiting for us.  He brought three Christmas ornaments: one for Mason, one for Mya and one for Adam and I.

He also brought us a letter from Santa!  Santa reminded the kids how to make it to his nice list and explained the significance of each ornament.  We had a busy year, what with the move and our family vacation to Disneyland, plus Mason played soccer in the spring and fall.  So each of the ornaments was to remind us of this exciting year.  Mason received a soccer ball, Mya received a Minnie, and Adam and I received a "New Home" ornament.  What a creative way for Santa to encapsulate the year! ;)

A few nights after Thomas' return, the kids were having a particularly difficult evening.  Adam supposed that if they were naughty enough, Thomas Elf might not even come back because they might have made it to the naughty list.  They straightened up a little after that.  Little did we know this comment really impacted Mya.  At bedtime she started crying [somewhat hysterically] about Thomas Elf not coming back.  It took a lot of convincing from both of us that Thomas would be back. 

Our Thomas Elf has come and gone each night as expected.  He's not gone too crazy - mostly just repositioned himself around the house.  Even without being a silly elf, he still makes each morning exciting.  Pretty soon though, he'll be gone again until next year.  Hopefully the kids will be so preoccupied with their Christmas gifts that they aren't too sad he's gone.

The Joy of Baking Christmas Cookies

For the past week I'd been talking to the kids about making Christmas cookies on Saturday.  We'd need some for Santa as well as after Christmas when we'll have some family in town.  I'd picked up all the ingredients we'd need and gathered the kids to get down to business.  As with most endeavors with kids, it would've been much easier to get this done without them.  But I loved making Christmas cookies with my mom as a kid and I want my kids to love this tradition too. 

The problem is, I don't have near the patience of my mom.  Or the ability to bake anything.  My butter wasn't softened.  I didn't have gluten-free flour to use to roll out my gluten-free sugar cookie mix.  And while I was scurrying around to get everything in place, the kids fought over every piece of equipment I sat out.  Sigh.... so much for the idyllic Christmas tradition.

In spite of my frustrations and overall ineptitude in the kitchen, a few of our sugar cookies made it through to the icing stages.  (Most did not.)  We were not in the clear yet, as Mya promptly dumped green sprinkles all over her first cookie, and between the two of them icing and sprinkles went everywhere.  Even though they probably taste terrible, the kids are awfully proud of their cookies! 

Kids Say the Darnedest Things, Part 6

It's time for another installment of one of my favorite recurring posts.  Actually, it's my only recurring post.  It's the little things these kids say that I know I'm most likely to forget as time goes by, so that's why I like putting the highlights in print.

Somehow we ended up on the mailing list for American Girl and Thomas Wooden Railway catalogs.  To this point, I've been calling them magazines, lest the kids know there are things that can be purchased in them.  They both poured over these catalogs when they arrived, but Mason had the best comment when looking through his.  He cried out, "Mama, I can't believe my eyes!  I think I need glasses!"  The kid is full of these types of comments - he's a class clown in the making I'm afraid. 

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I post a lot of recaps of our happy times on this blog.  Well life isn't always like that.  In this social media crazed world, all we tend to see are the highlights of people's lives.  But bad days definitely happen and I've had my share of not-so-proud mommy moments.  I had one of those bad days this weekend.  A bunch of little things kept building, plus the kids were not on their best behavior.  I snapped at them (in public) and broke down and cried in front of the kids (in the car) because I was so frustrated with everything. 

It didn't necessarily improve their behavior, but I did get some really sweet comments out of them afterward.  A couple hours after the breakdown, I had to take the kids to a birthday party that Mason was invited to.  On the way, Mya was asking why we blow out candles on our cakes.  So I explained about making a wish, then blowing out the candles so the wish will come true.  She says to me, "My wish is to be best buddies forever."  She often tells me (and Adam) that we're her best buddies, but after the morning I'd had it was like she'd said it for the first time.

On the way home from the party, during which over-excitement had led to a few more bad behavior choices, Mason had been talking about the presents his friend had received.  When we got home, he asks, "Mama, you know what my favorite present is?" I'm waiting for him to tell me about the super hero Legos or the ninja turtle play set.  But instead he says, "My favorite present is you as my mama."  I broke down again, but this time with happy tears.