Easter, part two--the egg hunt

As previously mentioned, we had a busy Easter morning. After eating with Grandma MJ, we came home and hit the sack! A couple of hours later, the boys woke up to find eggs scattered all about the house....and the hunt was on!!

The boys running down the hall after the all-clear was given

"There's one!"

HA! Love this shot of E getting waaaaaay down in the crack to get the egg stuffed in there!

Cameron, being as gentle as he is, tried to open an egg (which contained a few coins) only to fling the egg and its contents all over the kitchen.

Here he is cleaning up (& counting the loot!)

"Got another one!"

Col was finding tons, as you can see...but, he was so good to share his findings!

Cameron spotted this high-percher, but was semi gracious to let E get it down

Then, once all of the 'stuffed' eggs had been found, we headed outside to find the eggs we had colored the night before. The boys each had one special egg that had their name on it--they were instructed that when they found 'their' egg, they were going to be able to redeem it for their very own extra-special basket of goodies! So....the hunt was back on!

"Nope. That's not it."

Ah....what is this Colin sees?

Found it!
One down, two to go....and Cameron found his next (without too much prodding!)

Ethan found his last, with only a bit of help from Daddy

Then, it was back inside to find out exactly what those special eggs were good for!

Cameron's special basket contained a couple of large candy goodies (I'm sorry, but I can not help myself--I just couldn't not buy the Cadbury's or the Reese's eggs, even though they are like eight billion calories a piece), a new Hermie movie, a new Dinosaur Magic School Bus book, and several Henry and Mudge books!

He got right to work checking the books out....

....and then moved on to a bit more comfortable reading spot. *grin*
Ethan, mostly, just sat and ate M&Ms. He was in his glory, believe me.
Col's basket also had those aforementioned large candies (of course), a new Veggie Tale movie (the Easter Carol--I had never seen this one, only read it to the boys--but it was great!), several Henry and Mudge books, and several Magic School Bus books!

{Ahem. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, eBay, for your used lots of books.}

Then, we took some fun pics. Mommy got one with each of the boys:

Sweet Cami D got two, 'cause....he's just that cute.

E Ry

Col

....and then one with all three of my little monkeys!!

Man, I love these boys.

We had a great, great Easter--hope you all did too!

Needed something to post today....

....so, I settled for the Easter pic of Shane and me. *grin*

Happy Monday everyone!

p.s. Part two (containing the egg hunt) up tomorrow!

Colin's version of The Sound of Music

I began singing today, and soon, the boys began singing along with me. We love The Sound of Music around here.

After several times through the song, I dropped out.

Colin, however, sang right on.

His version was so funny that I had to grab a pen.

"Do, a Deer" as sung by Colin (with incorrect words italicized by yours truly):

"Doe--a deer, a feel man deer

Rain--a drop of falling suuuuuuuuun

Me--a name I call my cell

Far--a long off way to ruuuuuuuuun

Sew--a needle pulling bread

La--a no to follow sooooooooooooooo

Ti--a drink from moldy bread

That will bring us up to doe doe doe doe doe...."

I love it. And when it's not exactly right, I love it all the more....

(almost) Wordless Wednesday: Alternately titled: Just because I don't have girls doesn't mean I can't teach them a thing or two about makeup...

{This is what happens when your boys find hidden Halloween make-up stuck in the back of your closet--make-up that you got on wicked clearance at an after-Halloween sale, and that you had planned on saving for some fun on a rainy day, but had since forgotten all about. Said boys decide they want to be real pirates, "just like the ones on the package!" and, since you were stuck inside due to *inclement* weather, you agree. You agree to turn your sweet, baby-faced little boys into pirates. However, you unfortunately find that hastily ripping open the package and following the painting instructions on the box actually turns them into semi-dead looking, very scary Pirates instead of normal-looking ones. (Wait....are there such a thing as 'normal-looking' Pirates?) Dern that Halloween spin they have to put on everything.}

I still actually find them quite adorable, and they had a blast doing this--even Ethan, who I thought would never cooperate, climbed on the stool and said, "Me? My turn? Pee-ee-eeease?" and sat very still while I 'transformed' him!

They also enjoyed flashing some Pirate faces at me.....Happy Wednesday everyone!

Easter, part one

Easter is a very hectic day for us. It starts about 4:30 (yep, a.m.) with me getting up and starting the process of shuffling everyone out the door to our church for the 6 a.m. sunrise service. Well, well worth the effort, but--yikes! It is a feat--and I could not do it without Shane's help, that's for sure. After the service, we have breakfast at the church and then it is home for a bit (to hopefully catch a few winks!) and then back to the church around 9:30 for the 10 o'clock service.

There, Shane wrangles the boys (who behaved exceptionally well this year, PTL!) while I play piano and then sing in the choir's Easter contata. By the time we left church around 11:45, we were pooped!

Grandma MJ and the boys at church

I know many do the whole 'big meal' thing on Easter, but we don't. It is rather refreshing to me to have a hubby who supports me in this endeavor....he knows how wiped out I am by noon and kicks right in to take over the dinner reigns!

That, by the way, translates into planning where we are going out to eat. *grin*

This year, we decided to stop at a local place to carry out some yummy fried chicken with all the fixins. Then, we headed on over to Grandma MJ's to eat with her.

That, by the way, translates into no cleanup for me. *grin* But, as my mom will tell you, she does that the best anyway. Cleanup is definitely her department.

Little boys who are ready to eat!

"Ummm....who took my spoon, and what in the world is this thing?"

Col and Daddy

Cam and Grandma MJ

Cameron is always, always good for a big squeeze!

Then it was home to nap (yay!), followed by some serious egg hunting.

To be continued....

By far, my favorite shot from Easter....

....Isn't it true that the best pictures are never the posed ones?

Happy Easter from the Merritts!

(I couldn't decide which picture I liked better this year--Col is being a bit goofy

in the first one, but I love that Ethan is smiling and that you can see Cameron's

missing tooth; Ethan isn't smiling in the second one, but Colin looks much

more normal....can't win with every picture, can you? *grin*)


And, a couple of blasts from the past, just for fun.

Easter 2008

And Easter 2007

*awwww! Look how teeny they all were!*

Hope your Easter was as wonderful as ours was!

Thank you, Jesus, for what you did for us....

There's a lot of fun that surrounds Easter....

...but as for me and my house, we will remember and focus on the

real Reason for this holiday weekend!

A really wet goodnight kiss

Mommy: "Ok....kisses goodnight everybody! Give me a kiss goodnight!"

Ethan: "mmmmmmmwah!"

Colin: "mmmmmmmmmwah!"

Cameron: "sluuuuuurrrrrrrrppp."

Mommy: "I said, 'Give me a kiss' Cameron....not lick me."

Good gracious.

Sticker Man

Colin loves to pretend to be different superheroes.


When Grandma Nette gave him and Cameron umpteen sheets of stickers a couple of weekends ago, he apparently decided to turn himself into 'Sticker Man'.


The result? Dum-da-da-dum: Presenting Sticker Man!!

Mastering the art of sticker applique

"Yes....I'm quite pleased with this. I'm thinkin' I look pretty awesome--Huh, Mom?"

Of course, Cameron had to copy so they could both be 'Sticker Man'.


And, then....the time came when Colin wanted to not be Sticker Man anymore.

This ensued.

A few smiles and laughs {in between the shrieks of agony} to show

how he was trying to be a very tough Sticker Man despite the pain
"Ow....Owwww....I can do this, I can do this....."
And, of course, I was not snapping photos from whatever angle I could to document this process while peeling stickers from my eldest son's poor little face.

That would be crazy.

And cruel.
Aw. What a sweet little face. This picture really got me.

Poor Colin. He was slightly traumatized, I think.

Cameron, on the other hand....

....well....

...nothin' phases this kid.

He was sitting there, watching Colin writhing around in pain, yet still continuing to attach more and more stickers--apparently completely oblivious to the fact that he, too, was going to have to go through this *ahem* slightly uncomfortable removal process.
Good thing a kiss from Mommy makes everything better.

Random funny things heard in and around my house today

I was telling the boys tonight about the first speeding ticket I ever got. I was on my way home from a PartyLite show, and was in one of those small towns where the policemen just yearn to pull people over for going like three m.p.h. over the limit....anyway, the conversation went something like this:

Colin: "Mommy, why did you get a ticket?"

Me: "Because I was going too fast, honey. I was in a hurry to get home."

(several questions later....)

Colin: "But, Mommy, why were you in a hurry to get home?"

Me: "I don't know honey, I just was."

Colin: "Were you hungry or thirsty? Were you just tired?"

Me: "*sigh* Yes, buddy. All of those. I was hungry and thirsty and tired."

Then, it was quiet for a few minutes as the boys processed my criminal history. Suddenly, Cameron piped up:

"Did the policeman take you to jail, Mommy?"

Colin: "Oh. Jail is a bad, bad place....."

****************************************************************************************************************

The boys and I were in my bathroom tonight. I was getting ready, and the boys were doing....well....various boy things. I noticed Colin watching me intently as I was putting on my mascara.

Colin: "What's that, Mom?"

Me: "It's called mascara."

Colin: "Manscary?"

Me: "Mas-Care-Ah."

Col watched me for a minute, and then said: "Are you doing everything you can to look very pretty?"

Me, laughing: "Yeah, buddy. I sure am."

And then he said:

"It's a lot of work, huh?"

hmmmph.

*****************************************************************************************************************

And later....

Colin: "Daddy, look!"

Shane: "What, buddy?"

Colin: "Mommy has pretty stuff underneath her eyes. Look at it!" (he was referring to my eyeshadow, which, don't worry, was on top of my eyelids, not under)

Shane: "Oooooh, pretty!"

Colin: "It's shimsy, isn't it?"

Pretty sure he was going for a cross between shimmery and some other glitzy word.....

*****************************************************************************************************************

Cameron and Colin were racing on a very large track tonight, and it wasn't going so well for Cameron. Colin finished *just a bit* quicker than he did. We looked up, and here came little Cameron, trickling across the finish line, with tears streaming down his face.

Cameron: "*sob, sob* Mommy, I just tried to be fast and I just wasn't! I wasn't fast, I wasn't fast...."

Me: "Oh, buddy! You did a great job, you were very fast!"

Colin, ever so sensitive, puts his arm around Cameron and says: "Cameron, I'm sorry I'm so fast. I just can't help it....next time, I won't do my best. I won't try so hard!"

"Thannish"

I knew it.

My kid's a scholar, alright.

I've been saying he's a prodigy for years now, and people always laughed at me. Well, how about some living proof?

He's already speaking a foreign language.

Can you believe it?

I couldn't either, until I heard it. And, NO, he didn't pick this up from Dora or whoever Dora's male cousin is (Manny? Danny?) We don't have cable, remember. This and this apparently had something to do with it, though....

Even Cameron is saying a few words...it's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.

Watch, and be amazed....

Alright, alright. Well, I never said WHAT the language was, now did I?

It's definitely foreign, that's for sure....

Encouragement for Moms

Courtesy of Jill Savage
{Her preschooler said to her,} "Mom, listen to me." I told him I was listening to him and I repeated back to him the details of what he had told me. "No mom," he responded, "listen to me with your eyes." Continued on her blog.....




Jill had some amazingly wonderful things to say today about communicating with your children. It was a wonderful read, and I thought some of you may enjoy it! Hop on over to her blog and check it out!

Also, Jill has written a wonderful book called, Real Moms, Real Jesus. (You can get it here, if you'd like.) To be perfectly honest, I had no idea the depth of knowledge I was going to be diving into when I began this book. I am so, so glad that I picked it up at Hearts at Home.

What does Jesus understand about the life of a Mom? Only everything! I have been so encouraged and refreshed by this book, and am only in the middle of chapter one.

Jill is going to be hosting a book discussion starting next Tuesday on her blog. The chapters aren't long at all, so there is more than enough time to grab the book and hop on in!

I already can't wait to get started. Even if you start a chapter or two behind, it will still be worth it. Will you join me in the discussion?

Wordless Wednesday: We officially have three tree climbers....

Sun-Dried Tomato Rigatoni with Sausage Meatballs

We had this dish for supper last night.

I seriously would consider this one a guaranteed winner.

This recipe (which I have modified a bit, but originally came from the Kraft Magazine) has become one of my very favorites--it is unbelievably simple (and quick) to make, and everyone in my household gulps it down as if they haven't eaten in days, which thrills me to death.

In the interest of you 'menu-planning' mommas out there--and for Julie, who wants so badly to try, I just know it--I thought I would share!

Sun-Dried Tomato Rigatoni with Sausage Meatballs

• 1 pkg. sweet turkey sausage (link-style; these actually look like bratwurst and come five in a package. They'll be in the turkey section of the meat department)
• 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato salad dressing
• 1 box Rigatoni
• salt for pasta water
• onion powder and garlic powder, to taste
• pasta water, reserved

Begin by bringing a pot of water to a boil.

Heat another large skillet over medium heat.

Take two of the links out of their casing and make them into tiny meatballs. {I like to make mine very small, like about the diameter of a dime or less. They cook quicker; I find that the boys do better chewing them; and there are more to go around in every bite of pasta! You might want to use more meat, though, depending on your family's liking.}

Brown your sausage meatballs on medium heat in your large skillet. You will be adding the rigatoni into this pan later, so make sure you have enough room for all of it in your pan.

When sausage is browned, add the can of tomato paste and your dressing, and combine it all. I like my sauce to be a bit on the thinner side, so I use the full 1/2 cup. Don't go too crazy thinning out your sauce with the dressing, though--that is what the reserved pasta water is for later on!

Season with garlic powder and onion powder to taste. I rarely measure anything, but I think I use about 1/2 teaspoon each.

Turn heat to low, and cover your meat/sauce mixture. Use foil if your large pan doesn't have a lid; it works just as well!

Add a good amount of salt to flavor your now boiling pasta water, then give it a stir. Next, add your entire box of rigatoni.

{Go ahead. Make the whole box. I can almost guarantee that this will be so well liked that the leftovers--if there are any--will be quickly eaten up!}

Cook the rigatoni to al dente, about 10 minutes. Do NOT overcook the pasta!

Turn off boiling water, but do not drain pasta. Using a slotted spoon, add your rigatoni to your sauce/meat mixture. Don't sweat it if some of the water is getting in the sauce, 'cause you need some of it in there anyway!

Once all the pasta is added to the sauce, check your consistency. There isn't going to be a lot of sauce leftover--this isn't a recipe like that. Basically, you should have just enough sauce to completely cover all the rigatoni. If the mixture seems too pasty or thick, simply add more pasta water until it gets to be the consistency you prefer.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad....yummy!!!

Oh, yeah. If you do try it, be sure to let me know how you/your family liked it!