Easter Basket Tips

My sister did the smartest thing with her kids' Easter baskets last year. They did them on Saturday instead of Easter Sunday. I thought this was brilliant because chocolate candy and your Easter best do not go together.

So we are totally doing the Saturday thing this year.

A couple of other thoughts and ideas....

I don't go crazy with candy. One or two special treats is more than plenty. Each of my children will be receiving one chocolate bunny. This was a revelation to me after a few years of everybody getting their own big bag of candy.

I also like to think summer when doing Easter baskets. Traditionally I give bathing suits. This year is an exception because we are good in the swimwear department. Sunglasses, sidewalk chalk, beach towels, goggles, pool rings (as pictured above) make for fun, useful gifts.

My friend, James, said he always got little packets Zinnia seeds tucked his basket. I think this is the most charming idea since after Easter is the appropriate time to plant Zinnias.

Debt Free Dana shared the idea of recycling and rounding up all your stuffed animal bunnies (and there are many in our house!) and putting them out with the Easter baskets. It makes of a great presentation and you are using something you already have. My kids would love this.

Debt Kickin Mom shared in her Insta-stories recently that she is putting a hand-me-down bathing suit in her younger daughter's basket. I totally stole this idea and I'm putting some cool hand-me-downs in George's basket this year.

Everything does not have to be new! I love this idea. We can save money and really squeeze the value out of things we already have with a little re-packaging.

So what tips do you have about Easter baskets? Please share!

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Also, this post. They were so little.

Easter

I love Easter. I found myself especially thankful this year for my church, for my family, and for friends who have become like family.

We've lived in Montgomery, Alabama for 7 years. I have grown to love this town and I feel a deep connection to this place we call home. It is home.

Recently, I heard that it takes 7 years before you adapt to a culture and call it your own. I have found this to be so true. In this 7th year of living here, without question I bought my children coordinating Easter outfits. Each are white with a hint of blue, and Laurie's dress has some gorgeous ivory lace. This is so Montgomery! In the past I've just pieced together hand me downs or pulled out our Sunday best. But this year I went all out, well, mostly - the boys' outfits did not have lace.

I loved it, they loved it! Of course they did, they are Montgomery kids, born and raised.

 

I justified the expense knowing that George could one day wear Stephen's outfit. Also, we don't wear dress shoes in this town. It's an old tradition. It is perfectly acceptable for children up to the 4th grade to go barefooted to church. I have never bought dress shoes for any of my kids!

Many of these traditions intimidated me at first, but the longer I live here, I have grown to accept and even embrace fancy children's clothes. Financially, I've learned to partake when I can and enjoy it, but to not feel insecure in our Wal-mart/Old Navy/Target attire that we wear most of the time.

I got a kick out of this article that circulated Facebook last week about how the royals dress their children like southerners (or maybe it is the other way around, southerners dress like royalty). 

 *****
This quote below was printed in the top of our church bulletin on Sunday.

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”
― Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Our choir sang this gorgeous piece of music on the night of Palm Sunday. AMAZING!  

Farewell, 2022

I'd like to take a moment to ponder 2022.

For me, it started with a dry January, which quickly devolved into "damp" January. My friend renamed our challenge as we agreed that skipping the booze at restaurants was too high of a standard.

Also, we all had Covid...again.

By February, I was aggressively working my way out of our homeschooling situation. George and I had the sweetest semester, though we slugged through some really challenging days. Ultimately, with lots of prayer and hot chocolate from the Vintage Cafe, we prevailed! 

On Valentine's Day, I discovered I was pregnant with baby #5. And there began my love affair with breakfast sandwiches, which lasted the entire pregnancy. 

Early March, Stephen finished constructing what we now call the "middle room," a cozy office/sitting room. We painted it green and put a giant TV over that fireplace. I love it so much.

By Easter we knew that our bonus baby was a GIRL. This was thrilling news, even to the brothers. 

We surprised them by filling up a 5th Easter basket with PINK everything. 

In April, we officially gained a teenager! 13

Around this time I started showing. I'm 16 weeks along in this picture.

And speaking of 16, in May  - we celebrated our 16th anniversary. 

As soon as school let out, we ventured to Cape San Blas for a few days, stopping on our way to visit Stephen's grandmother. The kids loved seeing Muh and begged us to stop again on our way home.

We made this an activities trip, boating and fishing, lots of restaurants, etc, knowing that next year we would have an eight month old. 

In June, our 3 oldest went to camp for 3 1/2 weeks. While they were away Caroline spent time with both sets of grandparents. This was a glorious sabbatical for me. I was able to nest like my hair was on fire. I sorted, organized, cleaned, and rested. 

Late July, we began our back to school preparations. In a wave of frugality, I sharpened the used colored pencils instead of buying new ones. I also rounded up all the binders we already had. 

Early August was back to school. The first day felt monumental. I had officially hung up my homeschooling hat and bridged the gap between quitting school and restarting. I'm so proud of them.

And I'm pretty proud of myself, too.

Fall semester was packed with the end of pregnancy, lunches, snacks, after school activities, sports, homework, etc. 

Stephen and Laurie ran cross country and George played Y football. 

Here is my standard sports fan "uniform."

Very European chic in my dress and sneakers, don't you think? 

Remember, pregnant ladies wear dresses. 

I treasure this picture of Stephen and Laurie. They are so different, but share the same circles. It is sweet to see them together. Also, it makes me laugh because Stephen despises tank tops. 

George made a whole new group of friends on the football field, which now has turned into a neighborhood gang. The other day he informed me "the parents have no idea where we are or what we are doing." Ha.

In September my sister and best friends threw me the loveliest baby shower. It truly warmed my heart and encouraged me. They treated me like this was my first baby, reminding me that every baby is a miracle, a gift, and worthy of celebrating BIG. 

Early October Stephen "convinced" me to hire some cleaning ladies. Physically, I couldn't anymore. These women are angels on earth. They make toilet paper bows and arrange the kids' stuffed animals in cute and surprising ways. 

With a clean house, 4 kids in school, cross country and football season wrapping up, it was time for 

D-day. 

Look at that BABY!

Jill is like my grandchild, not that I'm too old to be her mom. It's a perspective change, the notion that she is not of any inconvenience. She is pure love and joy. With every feed, every diaper change, I think what a privilege. I have so much more patience and grace for myself than 26 year old new-mom-me.

Halloween rolled around so of course we took our traditional picture with mums and our newest pumpkin. 

November launched the holiday season with lots of good food, time with family, school performances, and parties.

For Thanksgiving we spent 4 days with Stephen's family. 

We went the park, watched football, made gingerbread houses, and had lots of conversations over coffee.

We came home and busted out our Christmas pj's, got our tree, and put on our game face for December, which was totally crazy as always.

Laurie + cousins in the school play. 

As December progressed and each activity fell off the calendar, things eventually got quieter. 

We road tripped to Jackson to visit family and see the Sound of Music at a local theatre. 

Caroline has not stopped singing Sound of Music songs since. She's a sucker for a musical. 

Finally, Christmas morning came and went. That afternoon I put on a movie and slept through the entire thing, relieved that I had actually survived -- the day and the season and the year.

2022,  like any other year, had its disappointments, temper tantrums, terrible days, and wasted time. But overall, we made progress. We grew literally as a family, but also in maturity and depth as people. We added more layers to our stories.

Earlier this week I pulled out a stack of old journals that spanned more than a decade. I couldn't believe how God had answered so many prayers. There were times we were stressed about money and career, babies, illnesses, interpersonal conflicts. It was amazing to see how many of our concerns were resolved and how we had changed in the process. I was reminded that there is a God and he hears our prayers! 

Cheers to 2023! I have 2 resolutions: 12 dates, 12 books.

I want to go on 12 dates with my husband and I want listen to 12 audiobooks, the only way I can read successfully these days.

What about you? How was '22? What ya got going for 2023?

Zinnias and "Gardening" with Kids

Zinnias are my favorite! Every summer I get so excited about planting a little Zinnia garden and having fresh cut flowers. No years have I been successful until this summer.

Here's what I've learned. You need good dirt, full sun (close to 6 hours a day), moderate water, and well drained soil. Seriously, they need the sun. I've learned the hard way.

My expert gardener friend, James, says you can plant them as early as Easter weekend and recommends planting a few batches of seeds in two to three week intervals so they just keep blooming and blooming.

I forgot to do this, but its not too late. Since it stays so warm well into September in the South, I've still got plenty of time to get a couple more rounds of seeds in the ground.

One thing I've learned over the years about "gardening" with kids is to focus on one or two plants or herbs per year. There's a temptation to put tons of stuff in the ground, and then it becomes so overwhelming to maintain it all with children underfoot. Unless gardening is really your thing, it's best to go small and celebrate the little victories.

 

I like becoming proficient with a new flower or herb each year and slowly adding to my repertoire that way.

My kids have loved on our little Zinnia garden. For weeks they would check on it every day. You can imagine how excited we all were when we finally saw the first bloom!

What advice do you have regarding saving clothes for future children?

Yesterday, I posted about decluttering kids clothes. Can I get a whoop whoop?! How much fun is it to put away clean laundry in a tidy drawer that is not overflowing with too small, faded leggings and bathing suits?!

On yesterday's post a reader asked a great question, and I thought I would address it in post-form. What advice do you have regarding saving clothes for future children?

My straight forward answer is....define a space, whether it is a box or two boxes or three (your choice), and only keep what you can store in that space. I always kept one big box of boy clothes and one big box of girl clothes. If a box started to overflow, it was time to make a decision and take something out.

When you are putting away clothes for the "next" baby, shop your own stuff. Ask yourself "If I was having a baby boy/girl next week, what would I buy again?" This way, you are picking your favorites. Likely you got some gifts or hand-me-downs last time around that weren't exactly your taste or had an annoying collar or too many buttons. I think it is perfectly okay to want to love your baby's clothes, and even if you get rid of some things in good condition, that's okay!

If it's stained, throw it away. If it is a nicer, more expensive item, like an Easter dress, keep it. If it's not your style, give it away or sell it.

When they are little, they grow at lightening speed. Caroline didn't even get a chance to wear some of the specials that I had saved for her from Laurie. One- because she got a few new, darling gifts of her very own, and two- after having a baby there is pain and recovery and nursing and other stressors and I just didn't have time to play dress up!

This topic is highly subjective.

Covid

How did you all fair during the pandemic/lockdown/Covid-19? Was it wild or what? Is it still going? 

I remember feeling nervous in early March last year. 

Church was the first thing officially canceled. Then schools said don't come back after spring break. One by one, things fell off the calendar. 

Next, 15 days to slow the spread. 

We started zooming. Zoom Sunday school. Zoom ballet. Zoom speech therapy. I hate zoom.

We began sneaking around with friends, having drinks in dark yards. Was this really happening?

My brother's wedding was scheduled for early May. He and his fiancé moved it up to early April because better to go ahead and get married in quarantine than wait this thing out. Turns out it was the right decision.

homemade alcohol wipes, let me know if you want the recipe

Funnily enough, that weekend was the absolute peak of the pandemic hysteria. Both governors of our states issued lockdowns and travel restrictions. 

But this is AMERICA! Forgive us, we did not stay home and save lives that weekend. We loaded up the fam in our SUV and with wind blowing in our hair -- we crossed the state line without incident. 

rehearsal dinner

It's fun to tell the tale now, but there was heightened anxiety. We had never done this before, defied the government during a lockdown. My fear was getting in trouble with the authorities and being fined some arbitrary amount -- or worse, carted off to jail!

Side story: we left all the kids' wedding clothes at home on our bed. And by we, I mean Stephen. As soon as we realized it, without hesitation he said he would drive 4 hours back home and get them. Of course, I told him absolutely no, but his willingness to drive a total of 12 hours to Jackson to Montgomery to Jackson is proof that he has a heart of gold. 

We made do...without proper clothes. The wedding was beautiful in their backyard, perfect weather, immediate family, a preacher, and a photographer. Some things you just can't miss, and your only baby brother getting married is one of them! Pandemics be damned.

Then there was the worst Easter ever. The weather was hot, humid, and cloudy. No church. 

And that's when we snapped. We were DONE with Covid. 

We formed our Covid family. Us and a few others broke quarantine (again). We went to the lake, the beach, the pool, we had pizzas on Sunday nights, gathered on the 4th of July. We had a blast, quite frankly. No one got Covid. These are the people I want to be with when the world ends.

Summer camps were canceled. Everything was canceled. Masks mandates were in full force. By early fall 2020, things were back but not normal. 

Hop forward to November. People actually started getting Covid, people we knew. We had lots of exposures. Our family Thanksgiving plans were canceled. It got real. 

In December, Stephen tested positive. Somehow I did not get it. Crazy, right?

In January, I got it -- the VIRUS-- from a totally different exposure. Three of our kids got it as well. I was thrilled to have natural immunity. 

Early on during this whole ordeal, my mom mailed me a copy of this essay by C.S. Lewis, On Living in an Atomic Age. It's a good read. Probably need to keep it on file.