Project- Happily Ever After: Easter Weekend

Easter this year was fun for us. This time of year has been such an amazing time for us. Everything is so different with Blip. I feel like I don't have anything else to even talk about other than my son...my family. But that's okay. He's that cool.

And he really is.

I have no regrets in life. I do wish my opportunity to have this little person in my life had come earlier....which means I wish Mike would have come sooner, too. Maybe being in my thirties gave my enough selfish time to know that giving up my career is okay. Hard, but okay. Having a "job" to go to is okay. Coming home to the most beautiful smile each afternoon is so much better than just okay.

Regina told me once that "the days are long, but the years are short." I believe that statement may be true if I didn't work outside the home. But I do, so the days seem shorter and shorter as they fly past us...we can all be together swinging at the park...and all of a sudden a few more weeks are long gone. He says a few more words, understands just that much more, wants to walk, eat chicken, have his cousins over to play...cries when they leave him for home.

I love his smiles. I am in love with his newly learned kisses. I crave his hugs...and I can't get enough of his giggles. Holidays are just an added bonus for time with my family.

I was sick most of the week with the plague (as we refer to it at this house), but by Friday I was feeling a lot better...I was pretty sure I wasn't going to die, so I was happy by Friday. Feeling better was more than lucky since we had Richelle's three boys for the weekend while she and Anthony celebrated their anniversary. Having four kiddos and being sick...would have made for a very long weekend for Mike. It was much more fun for us to both be healthy.

Mike stayed home from work on Friday, so he accompanied us to Regina's for our Annual Easter Egg Hunt. We arrived and the cousins immediately started playing and running around. I know Blip watches them...and longs to run and play. He gets so excited to see the kids having fun together. I can't wait until my boy can have some fun with the other kiddos.

We had dinner and then the hunt began. Blip and Caryn's son were the two littlest, so they were let loose first. Connor is 2 1/2, so he "gets it" a lot more than Blip does, but we still had fun. Blip was the lucky finder of "the golden egg" this year. He got three dollars...we added it to his little cash pot he's got going.

Saturday morning Mike and the boys woke up and headed out to the lake for some fishing. Blip and I slept until about 9am, had some breakfast, played together, and then it was nap time. We had to drop Carsen off at a birthday party for the afternoon, but after we picked him up we all headed to see the Easter Bunny.

We waited in line for almost an hour, but just like Santa Clause...Blip was pretty dang happy to see the Easter Bunny. He wanted to grab the Bunny's glasses...and feel his soft (dirty, in need of a good scrubbing, used to be) white fur, but he was laughing and happy the whole time. Richelle's two little(r) boys were super cute, too. Her oldest was too cool for EB pics this year. I don't blame him...and I know for a fact I would have rather died at 13 than even be at the mall with my lame family, but being the adult gives such a different perspective on how quickly being a child is over...and real life starts way too soon.

After having Henry re-stuffed at Build-a-Bear, we all dropped Mike off at home to nap before he had to go to work. The rest of us went to dinner at NYPD. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather...except Jake. Jake froze. I love being a native. Nearly 80 degrees...and chilly. Love it.

The Easter Bunny paid the four boys at our house a visit while we all slept. Richelle's boys even had an egg hunt in the house that the Bunny set up for them. They have a super nice Bunny. Blip's Bunny isn't so creative, but that Bunny sure left Blip a fun-filed basket of goodies.

Sunday morning Blip woke me up at about 9:15am. I love this kid. I changed his pants, and then we woke up the other boys. We all headed downstairs together to see what the Easter Bunny left for us.

Blip got a new bike helmet, a toy phone, a Mickey straw-sippy cup, new police jammies, a stuffed lamb, a stuffed beagle, a Mickey Mouse Club House movie, and a MMCH book with sounds, a new bath toy, a police motorcycle matchbox car (freaking awesome!), and some additional animals to put on the Ark with Noah.

At some point Blip came across some of the candy the boys got...specifically two Peeps. I think they are the nastiest waste of calories ever, but Mike thought we should at least let him try them. So we did...and he seemed to like the nastiness until is disintegrated in his hands. He was covered in pink sugar by the time we pried the remnants of the two marshmallow bunnies from his hands. Bath time was in order. And so was brushing his sugar coated pink teeth. All 9 1/2 of them.

Mike was preparing for his colonoscopy all day on Sunday, so he wasn't the happiest of campers, but he wasn't too bad. The boys and I colored eggs while Blip napped. We used food coloring, water and vinegar to dye them. I love the colors they turned out. The boys were bored before they even finished, so I finished...but it wasn't all that much fun by myself. I can't wait until Blip wants to do this kinda stuff with me.

Anthony and Richelle picked up the boys shortly after we finished, so when the baby was awake and fed we walked to the park. We enjoyed each other and the beautiful weather until it was time for Mike to really start the prep.

I decided we should put the baby's new bike helmet to use, so I grabbed his new baby seat from the garage, my bike, some tools, and installed Blip's seat on my bike. I am excited to have another way to have some fun together. We didn't get to ride much that evening because it was getting dark, but we will have fun riding to the park or around the neighborhood often.

We bathed the baby and got him ready for bed. He went down like a champ...like normal. We had such a fun weekend together as a family and with Richelle's boys. Blip loves when his boys are around to watch and play with. He loves them so much...and so do I.