Boo!!!

Introducing the newest member of the Rader zoo.


This is Boo.


We got him at the Wake County Animal Shelter. He is about 7 years old and seems to be a Rottwieler. His old family moved and couldn't keep him.


He has settled in to our home pretty well. We got him for Amber, and I'm not sure that she likes him.




At Mrs. Amanda's mom's house

As always, we had a wonderful Easter. The real highlight of the day is going to Mrs. Amanda's mother's house for dinner. Her mother hosts family and friends for an Easter potluck - and somehow manages to accommodate 50 or so people in her house. The kids spend the afternoon jumping on the trampoline, playing with the dogs, and chasing after Mrs. Amanda. If I'm lucky, I can get one or two of the children to stop to eat dinner.








After dinner, the Mrs. Amanda's mom puts out over 500 Easter eggs. They are EVERYWHERE. In trees, under rocks, where ever she can reach.

She unleashes the smallest children first. This year, there were a few babies in the group. For the first time, CoCo wasn't one of them. (Sniff sniff!!).


Then she lets the preschoolers go.


After a small wait, she unleashes the medium size kids.


Finally, she unleashes the almost grown kids. I was so proud of Maddie - after finding just a few eggs for herself, she started helping the little kids.



Thanks Mrs. Amanda (and family!) for another wonderful Easter!




Easter Morning


For those who know my children well, it will be of little surprise that they woke up on Easter Sunday before the birds. The almost woke up before the bunny. Owen was jumping around my bed at 5:30am, saying "He was here!! I see eggs!!!"

To which his grumpy mother replies "She. The Easter Bunny is a girl. Boys don't lay eggs."

Come to think of it, I wonder if that is what started Owen's new fascination with the birds and the bees?? I'll post about that later, but I will say that I am as ill-prepared for that talk as I was to wake up at 5:30 on Easter morning.

I think I managed to keep Owen quiet until 5:33 when he woke everyone else up. At that point, sleep was futile.

Honestly, for me, the whole "Easter morning" thing is uneventful. It took the children less than 20 minutes to find all 250 eggs, and probably another 5 minutes to eat all the candy. I made a lovely country breakfast, complete with sausage gravy and biscuits (welcome to the South!!!), but everyone was full from the candy.

Owen and the little girls look forward to dressing up. After this day, I had to retire Owen's Miami Vice shirt once and for all. I have to admit, that shirt has given me quite a few chuckles. But, it's now missing multiple buttons AND his tummy stick out (especially after eating 11 pounds of candy).

I ended up getting some cute pictures of CoCo before she got dirty.





Ginger is wearing the same dress that she wore for Thanksgiving. Only now, it's several inches too short. She doesn't care - it's pink with frills.


And, Maddie would not come outside for Easter pictures. It had something to do with a bee. And the fact that she "did not have a dress." Maybe next year.


Easter

It has been a LONG time since I posted. Our computer was going thru some extensive 'back-up' process that made it virtually impossible to upload photos. I think that the process is done, although I can't be sure.


Easter was as fun as always. We started by dying eggs on Easter Eve. I spend weeks picking out the coolest egg-dying tools and toys, and boil enough eggs to feed our entire neighborhood.


The kids usually finish up in about 30 seconds. (Notice Owen's missing tooth in the picture above. Can you believe it was his first??).


We usually make a ginormous mess, and this year was no exception. I did learn a new trick - putting the eggs inside a wire whisk. This completely stops the kids from grabbing wet Easter Eggs with their hands, and turning into multi-colored monsters. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop them from breaking at least half the eggs.



Before it's all said and done, Owen starts begging to 'crack an egg.' I don't know what his fascination is with that, but I never let him do it because he won't eat them. It just seems so wasteful. I'd rather wait 7 weeks to throw out (and waste) the 3 or 4 dozen eggs I find in the back of the fridge.