Hallelujah!

He is risen! May Easter blessings fall upon you today!

Easter is my second-most favorite holiday. Nothing will ever top Christmas, but Easter is close. Beautiful choir music. Chocolate rabbits. The sounds of spring. A day of family and fun. No presents necessary. Need I say more?
My girls decorate cookies with lewd frosting costumes. You haven't had cookies until you've eaten a buttercream-bikini clad bunny. These are not the cookies we serve the preacher.

and then sugar addicts that they are, the girls go straight to fighting for a hit of the frosting to see who can OD first.

Perhaps you celebrate with a huge ham, a bountiful brunch, or a sunrise service with your church. And then a nap.

Which isn't really a nap at all, but a chance to nibble your sister until she screams, and your mother threatens to smother you both with a pillow. Most holidays at my house involve threats of bodily harm.

 
Sniff.. Easter memories make me all sappy. Pardon me while I get a tissue.

Easter is egg hunts. Oh dear. That ponytail. My little chicky. Pardon me while I get a whole box of tissues.


Easter is barefoot and bunny ears, and your baby getting bigger.

And your baby getting big enough to reach the eggs in scary places...

Easter is watching your girls run all over your tiny town in an Easter Basket scavenger hunt, and realizing the little one is almost as tall as the big one

WAAHHHHH!!!

I'm not sure I'll be able to survive another Easter. My little chicks have hatched into big girls. I just won't take pictures. If I can't see it, it doesn't exist. I'm going to go eat another tackily dressed cookie and hide under the covers.

And then when they're asleep I'm going to eat all their chocolate bunnies and marshmallow eggs.

The Whee in Winter

The Whee. The child that caused me discomfort for nine months of pregnancy, who dealt me intense pain for 20-something hours of labor, and made me cry every day for the first two years of her life because she had constant colic. The Terrible Two's were an improvement over the exorcist infant.

But we all survived her infancy from hell, and toddlerhood of paybacks-for-every-awful-thing-I've-ever-done, and she bloomed into the light of my life. When she was a baby, I thought if she had been born first, there NEVER would have been more children. If I had known a child could be this much fun, I would have had a litter. Fortunately I didn't figure that out until it was too late to be an option.

The Whee is especially wonderful in winter.
Me: Unh-huh- no you don't. Momma has a camera. Snow is bad for cameras.
Whee: SO? Put it down, you weenie!
She thrives no matter the temperature, and finds adventure in the most mundane things. Her imagination never ceases to amaze me.

Awww, Prancer, here's a sugar cube. I'm sorry they tied you up to the electric shock leash.



Aww, Santa you shouldn't have. But since you did...thanks!

           Happy Trails, and may your adventures never leave you cold!

They sleigh me

Once upon a time, before I had children, I slept through the night. I ate sushi. My house was clean. I had hobbies that included power tools. I might have been bored.

One cold, pre-child Christmas season, I was sitting by the fire looking at the stack of building materials left over from building our house. I got the bright idea of doing some woodworking. In the middle of the living room. It's ok, there wasn't any carpet yet.

So I made a couple of reindeer that held potted plants. A book rack shaped like Christmas trees. And some ornaments. Hmm, big stack of wood left. Time to make like an elf. So I made a sleigh. I was very proud of that sleigh. Freehand design, free hand cuts with the saw. I used it to hold gifts by the front door. Very Martha.

The next year I found something even better to put in the sleigh- Daughter #1. And thus was born (pardon the pun) a new Christmas tradition. Daughters in sleigh. I love seeing how they've grown through the years. No, really I don't enjoy that at all. I'd rather they stay my babies.

If I were a really motivated mother, I would go into the cold garage, dig through the piles of tubs till I found the one with the old photo albums, carefully remove the Christmas pictures made in the good ol' days of film, scan them into my computer, and show them to you. It ain't happening.  Not this week, anyway.

But I will show you the ones that have been made since I switched to digital. Ugh, I can't believe those words just came out of my mouth.

2005-The Whee. She doesn't really fit in it anymore. Oh my goodness, look how blond her hair was then.  And that sweet little chubby cherub face. And the blue splotches from the food coloring in the cookie icing.








2006-Not sure where the sleigh is!!!  That's ok, I could look at these cuties all day without a sleigh.

2007-You will notice that the Whee's ear have sprouted wiring. The wires have since become another appendage, and must be surgically removed from time to time. Hmm, still no sleigh. They look so angelic and innocent, don't they?  No hint of the nefarious present-snooping that I KNOW they were doing. What? Momma!  How can you say that?!  We never, never, look under your bed, in the closet, and in the car for presents!

2008- Finally, both of them together! Hey you guys, stop making funny faces. This is serious!  I might want to write a blog someday and put you in it! Momma, these aren't funny faces. This is what you look like behind the camera. Oh really?  Keep it up, I have a hot line to Santa.

Oh dear. Do you see the evil expression on Daughter #1's face? Guess where the Small Daughter learns all the bad stuff. The Whee is just an innocent victim.

Unh-huh- I knew it. Stop that D#1, you're scaring Santa and grossing me out! The Whee is thinking: oohhh, new way to irritate Momma!!!  Cool!!

Aww, my little angels. OK, I'll tell Santa you've been good. Kind of. If you bring Momma some hot chocolate and rub my feet.

2009-I know that dang sleigh is buried under that pile of presents. My lordy, can you say excess?!

Oh well, watching Daughter #1 make snow angels is funnier anyway.

HA!  2010. There will be more of these, as soon as I convince Daughter #1 to come over and pose.  I think the sleigh is shrinking...

Oh, my little elves, how quickly the years have flown. And you're both still the best presents I ever got.