Easter

Gianna dressed up in her Easter dress (A dress gifted by her Nana over a year ago. It's been a loooong wait on that dress for Gianna!).  Bode rolled out of bed and put on his favorite Earth shirt and leggings.  Everybody wore Easter Bunny ears.  And everybody (except Nico) immediately started eating the candy out of their baskets. The Easter Bunny left jelly beans,  chocolate bunnies, and 2 Peeps in Bode and Gianna's baskets, along with a jump rope.  Nico got a basket with a ball (that had an Easter Bunny on it). 

While the children were looking through their baskets, RWF was outside hiding eggs. At one point, Bode looked out the window and yelled, "Hi, Daddy!" and I quickly told him to sit down and "count your candy!" or something silly like that.  I don't think he knew what RWF was doing, but I didn't want him to catch on...because it's supposed to be an Easter Bunny thing, not a Daddy thing.

Bode and Gianna were so polite to each other during the Easter Egg hunt. They turned into acquaintances before our eyes, saying, "Here, you go first..." and each of them deciding that a blue one was meant for Bode, and a pink egg was meant for Gianna. "Here, Gianna, I found a pink one for you!" I don't know where they got that but it was so funny. And they would give each other eggs so easily...not worrying about how much each one had.  Well, except at the end, when Bode announced, "Mommy, I have MORE eggs than Gianna, right?" (He didn't but we all eventually agreed to agree that everyone had the right amount of eggs.)   

I made a simple Easter dinner (late lunch) of ham, roasted potatoes and green beans. Nobody wanted deviled eggs and so I left those off, too.  I thought a lot of my mom while I was cooking.  I really miss her every day, but a lot more during holidays. For his first real Easter meal, Nico ate everything except the ham. He had nothing on his tray except for the tiny bites of ham I had put there. He kept screeching at the table.  I kept offering things but he  would answer "No," and then screech again. Exasperated, I said, "I don't know what you want!"  Finally, RWF took a slice of ham and gave it to Nico.   Nico immediately started eating it, caveman style. He then demanded another piece once he had finished his first slice of ham.  

It was interesting to watch our children morph from mild-mannered, cheerful beings into screechy, whiney monsters! (Not judging anyone but this is why I do not give my children candy! It was actually painful as the day wore on and RWF & I swore again and again, "no more candy!") The plastic eggs containing candy were not opened until the 2nd day. It was Gianna who discovered that opening the eggs revealed - surprise! - more candy. (we certainly weren't going to tell them!)

Gianna ate much more candy on the sly (no surprise there) whereas Bode hoarded his candy and did not eat much (no surprise there, either).  I think Gianna had 3 jelly beans left, and Bode's basket was still filled with all kinds of candy. 

We let them eat and keep their candy for 2 days.  And then, it magically disappeared (into the trash).  Monday night, I went around the house and gathered all Easter items and stored or threw them away. The next morning, I was bracing myself for whining and questions, but nothing happened. It was almost as if they were 'done' with Easter, too.

RWF and I both really, really missed family this year.  We talked a lot about our New York Easters and decided that we needed to invite family over for a visit every year.  You're invited! Make your plans now!

Happy Easter & happy Spring!

xo

08/52

A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014. Linking up with Jodi and her 52 project.

Bode - "suddenly" fearful of dogs. He does not like walking at this particular place anymore because of dogs. 

Gianna - so tired after our walk. I forget that she is only 3.

Nico - loves riding in the red car. He walks over to it as soon as we enter the garage, and demands, in his baby language, to be taken out for a ride.

Snowmageddon 2014

Ai yi yi!  The snow here is unbelievable!  It is so beautiful outside, with the snow falling steadily and the wind (!) blowing it around our house.  I'm so glad that I don't have to be out there...though really, the city has shut-down completely. Everything has been canceled and everyone is asked to stay off the roads during this winter storm. Thursday night, RWF sat in his office forever (even though everyone  else left at Noon!) because he wanted to avoid all the traffic.  Late that night, after he had been home for a couple of hours, he got a couple of texts from colleagues, stating that their trip home from the office had taken over 4 hours!  That is some crazy drive time.  

Portland is not set up for this kind of weather, so everything has been pretty much shut down since Thursday.  RWF worked from home on Friday (as I'm sure most of Nike, Intel, and other businesses did).  Access to the main road from our neighborhood has been barricaded (because it's on a hill).  I had to run out to the store yesterday for milk & other essentials (I had taken a longer route around and gone to a store I normally don't shop at).  There were very few cars out and even those were creeping along so slowly. We still have snow tires on our 4 wheel drive car, so I felt comfortable driving (but was still safe, and I refused Bode's request to come with me, for safety reasons). The store had been ransacked, and had very little milk (!) and no bananas.  It just seems crazy.  (When I talk about this shut-down like, "I just can't believe how everything's shut-down, it's just a little snow...." RWF laughs at my know-it-all, "been-there, done that" attitude. Ha ha)

We are having fun though.  We have a steep hill in our backyard (it's actually a roadway/drive to the last house behind us) and we've broken out the sleds!  It has been so much fun sledding down the hill, over and over, with Bode and Gianna.  RWF and I both have taken turns going out with them.  Nico doesn't have any proper footwear, so he can't go out. I also don't want Nico out in the cold, It's not anything that he needs to be out in right now. 

Last night, I made chicken enchiladas, black beans (in the slow cooker), and rice for dinner.  We sat at the dining table in front of our big window with candles lit, enjoying the snow scene, each other's company and food, in our warm house. It was a very nice evening.

These pics were taken when it first started snowing. Bode was so excited and could not wait to go outside.  Priscilla was a very happy, bouncy dog, running around and enjoying the cool temps, too!

These photos were taken Friday afternoon:

Bode, my little dare-devil, would scheme all kinds of ways to go faster down the hill. Gianna went down by herself a couple of times, but preferred being with me. I felt like a kid, laughing and whooping it up as Gianna and I flew down the hill in the red sled. We got going pretty fast, and I would take my legs out to brake just as we neared the fence. Exhilarating!

Our only plans for the rest of the weekend are to stay home, stay warm and enjoy the slower pace of life.  We're not going out. There will be no skiing this weekend, either, because of the roads. I have enjoyed having my little family home together, "grounded" for the time being by the city and the weather. Life will be back to its regular pace on Monday, when the snow melts and everything goes back to "normal."

Happy weekend.

xo

05/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.  Linking up with Jodi and her 52 project.

Bode: always happy skiing

Gianna: waiting patiently to ski with Daddy

Nico: happy to hang out in the lodge with Mommy

01/52

A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.  Linking up with Jodi and her 52 project.

Bode:  his life has changed dramatically over this past month, and he will be facing more changes this week: another (very) loose tooth soon to be out, a new school, new teacher, and (hopefully soon-to-be) new friends!

Gianna: misses being outside and was so happy to roll around our new (sunny) yard on Saturday

Nico:  a happy shot of this usually-smiling baby, as he runs away from me and toward life (yes I switched pics)

Priscilla: enduring change and new places as best as she can

(Note: P is a bonus portrait. I just happened to get a good shot of her this Saturday and chose to post it here.)