Happy (Almost) Easter!!

The sun FINALLY came out here this week - Hooray for Spring!  The kids were so glad to see the sunshine again and it really put us in the mood for Spring and all things Easter.  We've been doing Easter themed worksheets in school.  Little Mark's new favorite thing is "Easter math," which is adding and subtracting things like Easter eggs, rabbits, and flowers.  Little Princess has been coloring pages of flowers and painting everything in sight, including her own lips and toes...  I have been thinking about spring cleaning, but not actually doing it and Mark is just ready to go outside without his coat on!  Anyway, Mark and I have decided to try some new things for Easter this year.  We scaled back on "gifts" or treats for their Easter baskets this year and went with one bag each of their favorite candy and a "big" gift for each of them (a solar system floor puzzle for LMark and two new board books, Madeline and a silly book about Lambs for LPrincess).  Anyway, Mark tells me I give way too much credit to the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, etc. for all the things they bring.  I can understand, especially when we go to the trouble of picking out multiple toys, snacks, books, candy, etc. to fill an Easter basket (or Christmas stocking) that is torn apart in less than 2.5 minutes and then there's that horrible whine... "Is that all??"  Oh yes, our kids are guilty.  Well, LPrincess isn't so much, but that's only because she can't say those words yet!  Suffice it to say, it kind of starts the holiday off on a bad foot if Mommy and Daddy are irritated and the kiddos disappointed before anyone has even brushed their teeth...  So this year, we were trying to think of ways to prolong the excitement of "getting" something while spending less money and paring down on the "junk" that seems to work its way into every gift-giving holiday (how many $1 slinkies does one child REALLY need!?).  I saw an article in a magazine about one family and how they did a hunt for their Easter gifts, not just for eggs.  This gave me the idea for a scavenger hunt.  Here's an example of one of the clues:

Great job!  You found your bag on the table!

Now for your next prize you must look high and low.

It could be anywhere, you just never know.      …

It might be in a place where Rosie likes to go!

I had some little cloth sachet type bags laying around (don't ask me why) and decided to decorate them with craft paint and stamps and divide the big bags of candy into them.  After splitting up the candy, they ended up with three bags each. I created clues as to where the next treat would be and stuck a clue in each bag.  The last treat to find is their 'big' surprise (for LM, his puzzle, for LP, her books).  We're hoping it works.  Our thinking/hoping is that the kids will enjoy the game of it and still get treats from the Easter Bunny, minus the whiny disappointment and tears to come later because ANOTHER $1 slinky bit the dust...  Let's hope it works. 

I've also been searching for new ways to dye Easter eggs. (The picture above is one of our eggs from a couple of years ago.)  The kids LOVE LOVE LOVE dying eggs.  I do too, but my mom and I decided to branch out this year and try some new ways to do it.  We usually decorate them by coloring or drawing on the eggs with crayons, then dying them with vinegar and food coloring.  It works great, but we're the adventurous type and looking to try something new and exciting.  I shall date myself here, but I remember when it was the latest and coolest thing to shrink wrap your eggs, which we did several times when I was growing up (pretty daring right?)!  So here are some new things we're considering this year:  dying eggs with Cool Whip (seriously, it looks awesome), tie dying eggs (I've seen two different ways to do this and they both had different results), and I'd really like to try glitter eggs (if mom doesn't ban me from her kitchen for even suggesting such a thing!).  We will probably still do the old-fashioned vinegar eggs too.  C'mon, they're classic and where would be without TRADITION?? (That was said in my best Fiddler on the Roof voice.)  The kids have their Easter outfits ready to go and I will try to take and send out pictures of them wearing them before they go out to hunt eggs and become unrecognizably filthy!  Anyway, I am going to leave you with these throwback pictures of the kids from last Easter, wearing the ears the Easter Bunny brought...