Welcome to the Special Holiday Edition of Blended! That means 4 posts in 4 days! Two regular posts: Wednesday and Saturday, and two special holiday posts: Easter today, and Passover tomorrow. Clearly, soccer season hasn't started yet. Happy Reading...
*Facebook 4/13/11 - In our house, the Easter Bunny comes a week early and brunch is at 9am.
We are not above moving holidays to suit our schedule. Last year we had Thanksgiving on the second Thursday instead of the third. We often celebrate birthdays early, late, several times…whatever works for us. First we find a weekend when all six kids will be home. Then we pick a day that doesn’t have any baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, archery or Girl Scout events. Then we wait to see if everyone is healthy with all bones intact. Then we check the weather to be sure that no snow storms, hail or flooding would impede our festivities. At that point, when we feel fairly certain that a day will work, we make sure it is within 6 weeks of the actual event we’re trying to celebrate and then write it on the calendar. In pencil.
When we realized that we had all six kids and no sporting events the weekend before Easter this year, we figured we had a good chance of success. As the date approached, we had no broken limbs and only one kid had strep. (Why do we always have strep?) The impending snowstorm that was forecast would move our egg hunt indoors, but it seemed that we would be looking at snow until July, so that didn’t sway us. The biggest selling point: celebrating Easter a week early meant not having to search for Kosher-for-Passover Easter Candy. Done.
Bill and I bought most of the Easter section at the store. The customer behind us in line questioned whether we were running a daycare or some sort of event. This was not the first time I’ve been asked this question in line at the grocery store, so I replied, “No, we just REALLY like jelly beans.”
After arriving home the day before our Easter and sneaking the Easter Bunny-loot upstairs, I sent Bill to the store to buy the egg-coloring supplies we had forgotten. As a non-egg-coloring-Jew, I was new to this activity and couldn’t understand why he had come home with a huge tarp-like plastic tablecloth in addition to the dye, egg dippers and cups. I learned quickly.
I read the directions for egg-coloring:
1. Fill the plastic cup with water and vinegar.
2. Add the dye tab and stir.
3. Gently dip your hard-boiled egg into the water using the egg dipper.
4. Wait patiently.
5. Gently lift the egg out and carefully place it someplace safe to dry.
Dye? Gently? Patiently? I felt concerned.
Brianna, the egg-coloring expert was excited to initiate my children into the egg-coloring club. Together, they dipped and dyed and even managed to create some multi-colored eggs. They were gentle, patient and careful. Bill worked with Levi and managed to keep things fairly neat and create some fun looking eggs. I was in charge of Gabby. Who dyes eggs with her hands. And spills. And doesn’t understand “patient” or “gentle.”
Thanks for the tarp, Bill.
Coloring eggs. Yup, those are Shabbat candles in the background
Immediately following the egg-coloring came the egg-eating portion of our holiday. My kids had never loved hard-boiled eggs before, but somehow the fact that they were decorated made them exciting. They were very disappointed, however, to discover that inside the fancy colored shell, there was a plain old boring white egg. They devoured eggs until I cut them off for fear of stomach aches. Our table was covered with shells and also yolks, (collectively deemed disgusting and uneatable).
Egg heads Gabby fighting with the egg shell Leftovers
That night, we stayed up late filling baskets. Actually, I separated, divided and loaded baskets with candy-filled eggs, stuffed bunnies and treats. Bill ate jelly beans and cheered me on. “Looks great, Babe.”
In the morning, the kids engaged their traditional Holiday Morning Routine: waking each other up at 6am and then screaming and running around the house until we stumble out of bed.
I I don’t wanna hear another peep outta you.
By the time we got downstairs, the kids were halfway through their candy-filled Easter baskets, and were joyfully watching the dogs find (and eat) all of the plastic Easter eggs we had hidden throughout the house. We kenneled the dogs, and sent the kids running through the house to find what was left of the hidden eggs.
As the kids worked off their sugar-highs by jumping on the beds, we made brunch. If you wake up at 6 am, then 9am really IS halfway between breakfast and lunch, so we just rolled with it. Since it was our first Easter together we decided we could invent our own traditional feast. So, we ate mini pigs in blankets, deviled eggs (called double eggs by everyone under 10 in this house and served on my grandmother’s special egg plate), popcorn chicken, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls…and bagels with cream cheese. I know, I know, we are celebrating Easter here, but for the Jewish people, in my family anyway, brunch = bagels. Besides, around here we just make what we think they will eat.
So our first family Easter was a success. Here’s to flexibility, the dogs’ stomachs tolerating all the candy, starting new traditions, Spring (someday soon we hope) and a husband who understands the appropriate time and place for tarp-like table coverings.
© Jody Hoffman 2011
LOVE reading your blog! And I think your kids (and your hubby) are pretty darned cool. Keep 'em coming!
Posted by: Trina Wheeler | 04/28/2011 at 05:26 PM
Congratulations to you! You have received the Versatile Blogger Award! Please check my post for more info.
http://spilledmilkshake.com/blog/2011/04/28/versitle-blogger-award/
Congrats again!
Christina
Posted by: Christina | 04/28/2011 at 01:31 PM
great images!
Posted by: Pat | 04/28/2011 at 06:37 AM