Easter 2017

I'm finally recovering from a severe Easter hangover and hoping that I've successfully hidden all the candy and treats that we absorbed over the weekend!

We had a jam-packed weekend - Saturday was brunch with Collin's family - we made quiche, cinnamon rolls, the cheesiest potato casserole, ham, and fruit. I eyeballed everyone's mimosa's & gin-fizzes with deep deep envy and the kids were in sugar comas by noon. 

We had a birthday party on Saturday afternoon and then booked it straight to church - which, was a total nightmare. I mean, 3 exhausted kids, the littlest of whom thinks she'd like to crawl right back into the womb. Attached. At. The. Hip. SO, trying to sit in church with said kids was nothing short of a joke. Needless to say, we had to bail early and headed straight home for early bed time & raising those swollen feet! 

The kids woke up bright & early on Sunday, SO excited to see if the Easter Bunny had delivered on his promises. The footprints (made of flour) led everyone to their baskets. We ate chocolate croissants (Trader Joes - you HAVE to try!) and played with our new toys for awhile before we had to get ready for Nana's house and another full day. It was more brunch, more egg hunting, more baskets and so on. We headed home and all three kids were out for the night by 7 PM. Parenting win. 

It was such a fun weekend - every year gets better as the kids get older and then surprises get bigger! 

Easter Baskets

Easter is quickly approaching and the bunny is heavily relying on Amazon Prime this year (and who am I kidding... every other year!) Everyone has different philosophies for Easter, and ours tends to be rather random. Some of my favorite ideas I've heard are a summer themed basket (swimsuits, sandals, towels, ect), a basket of new books, and even an Arts & Crafts themed basket. I'm far too indecisiveness and not nearly enough of a Type A for those sorts of things, so my kids get all the random things I've been wanting to buy them since Christmas ;) 

BUNNY BUS // TOO MANY CARROTS // PANCAKE BOOK // BASEBALL CAP // SWIMSUIT COVERUP // BLOCKS // CARROT BUBBLE BATH // YARD TOOLS // DENIM SNEAKERS 

A few new books, some spring accessories and of course a few toys to keep everyone entertained :) 

Last year, we did these amazing baskets, and I think we'll probably re-use them this year!  And if you're looking for a fun Easter activity for the kids, we also did these last year and it was a TOTAL hit. I'm talking surprised shrieks and jumping up & down - the whole nine yards!

I'm still working on Easter outfits - while I'd love to do springy dresses and sweet Mary Janes, the weather here is calling for sweaters and rainboots... so I'm improvising. 

Hope you're having a week full of spring things! We are back to school & routines after spring break and it's as rough as it sounds :) However, I did power down some cookie dough on the way to school drop off this morning, so there's always a silver lining.

Easter Weekend

I woke up at 3 am (such an ungodly hour) to feed Winnie this morning and couldn't help but think about what an amazing weekend we had. Mondays don't bother me (some people are SO against them), but I seriously didn't want this weekend to end. Holidays with kids are nothing short of magical and I just can't get enough! Our next big holiday isn't until JULY, so I'm thinking we're going to have to make up a few parties to get us through the next few (rainy) months! 

We spent the majority of the weekend with family, hunting for eggs, eating our fair share of treats (keeping PEEPS in business for another year), and playing with new toys from that handsome Easter bunny (SOB gets all the credit... ahem, I spent a lot of time on Amazon ordering all that shit)

It was Winnie's first Easter and she celebrated by napping in her bunny ears. If I didn't have 10 kids, I would have taken a photo, but you know, priorities (making sure everyone had clothes on & no peeps in their hair). I can assure you it was the cutest thing ever.

Hope your Easter was perfect in every way! May you always remember the incredible debt Jesus paid for us - so that we can live! 

Easter Baskets

Every year, we pick up different "easter baskets" (see here & here) for the kids, because I just can't resist the chance to buy another basket. It's just one of my favorite things. Well this year, I discovered these amazing canvas bins by Pehr and I knew immediately that we had to have them for our Easter baskets. Our friends at Pehr so generously sent a few our way and I'm totally obsessed with them.  

I printed these tags with the kids names and think they'll be perfect little easter keepsakes for their baby books :) The stickers are from Peek last year.

I typically find one or two bigger items to put in baskets and the rest is little tokens & of course candy. Baylor is getting a baseball glove & a book, but has a legit gum obsession so his eggs have gum balls in them - which will easily be his favorite part! I found this adorable BlaBla bunny for Bellamy, and for Winnie, it's books & diapers. Because what more could a baby need? (#boobs) Also, notice the tooth brushes... that's an ode to my ultra-clean husband who moonlights as a dentist. ;) 

POM POM BIN

GRAY SPECK BIN

CITRON STRIPE BIN // MIRABELLE THE BUNNY

What's in your Easter baskets? I still have time to add a few things, so if you have any great suggestions, share them in the comments. XO

EASTER OUTFITS

There's something about Easter that feels so special. We go to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we spend time with family and take a million photos of our kids. Growing up, we always got new Easter dresses and it's a tradition I will keep with my own. It feels like a right of passage. 

In a different life, I'd have already bought all of these outfits for the kids. Instead, I'm scrambling because I'm an organizational disaster half  most of the the time. So let's just call this post: 

"What my Kids would Wear for Easter if I had my Sh*t Together"

Everything is from Zara (ALL the heart eyes, ALL the time) with the exception of the big juicy red bow and those sweet little baby shoes. 

Magic Jellybeans + A Lollipop Forest

You guys! Easter is two weeks away. We try to focus most of our Easter traditions on the resurrection of Jesus and the celebration that He is risen, but I sometimes can't resist the light-hearted, festive traditions that make holidays extra fun with kids. The easter bunny is a little creepy for me and I refuse to make my kids sit on his lap (thanks for those traumatic memories, mom!), but I love a good easter basket and especially love the magic jelly beans. For those of you that haven't heard of this, the kids get to plant special "magic jellybeans" in the garden just before Easter. They can plant directly into the dirt or a planter, whatever you have! When they wake up on easter morning, the jellybeans will have grown (hint: that's your job - just place any kind of tall lollipop where the jelly beans were "planted") into a lollipop forest! I would have shit my pants as a kid if my mom did this (in an excited, mind-blown fashion. In fact, Winnie will probably do the same thing - that's her latest trick these days). 

There's really nothing like watching your kids experience "magic" and I honestly can't wait to see how the kids react this year. Baylor loves festive traditions, and Bellamy likes whatever Baylor does, so this will definitely be a crowd pleaser ;)

I've made this packaging available to download (click here) - you just need to print, cut, fold in half, and staple to a clear cello bag full of jelly beans! (you can buy cellophane bags on amazon or at target! The file is 5" wide, so aim for a 4.5" cello bag)

Happy Planting! 

Easter Backpacks

Just as expected, dying eggs with five toddlers was cray. It was less about making beautiful colors and more about preventing egg dye on every surface in the vicinity. BUT...it was festive and the kids loved it..so #winning. 

I wanted to share our Easter "baskets" with you guys before the big day! I had my mind made up some time ago that I was going to do backpacks for the kids this year instead of baskets. Here's the deal... we're kind of past the "diaper bag" phase, but the kids still need so many random things with them throughout the day (especially if we're going somewhere productive, i.e. the zoo, the museum, or out to the lake/park (all you locals... we LOVE Greenlake!) SO... instead of me lugging everything around in a Mary Poppins bag, I figured we should divide and conquer. Plus, the kids are at the "even steven" stage, where everything they do & get has to be the same or else it's recipe for theft and jealousy and maybe even some tears on sister's part (girlfriend loves herself some DRAMA). So I'm hoping my strategy pays off - everyone gets the same snacks, drinks, toys & treats in their bag and we should all just be happy campers. I did some legit backpack research ;) and settled on these ones from Herschel! They came in the mail and I couldn't love them more. They're incredibly sturdy and well made and I'm praying they last until elementary school. 

So for Easter, I decided to stuff them with some fun Easter eggs, a bubble wand, a sturdy new water bottle for summer adventures, a new book for each of them, and some cheesy character plates, because they're 1 & 2 and we have to keep it REAL over here. Sis also got a pair of FP Moccs in hers, and Baylor got a slew of new trucks to keep him busy. 

As far as candy goes, I really try to limit how much we shell out around Easter (that isn't an egg pun, for those of you wondering). I included some pez, a few M&Ms, and each of them got a ring pop, because who doesn't love a ring pop when you're that age? Oh the novelty! Otherwise, we kept it low key in the treat category. Also, Lord knows that Nana & Gammy will have that taken care of. #spoiledlittles

So there's that ... our Easter backpacks. Now...where am I going to hide them?! Baylor is going to LOVE searching for his. We've done a few trial egg hunts around the house and he's pretty much dominating. Yesterday, we filled each egg with a bit of cereal and he could eat his breakfast as soon as he found all of the eggs. While this may sound like a form of child labor, I'm pretty sure he thought it was the coolest activity he's done in months and for me? Well, it pushed breakfast back 15 minutes, which is always a win. Ain't nobody got time for a breakfast routine at 7:00 am. #gobacktosleep

What's in YOUR Easter baskets? Hope you have an EGGcelent (that is an egg pun;) Wednesday. xo

Full Circle Moments

Growing up, my dad would always buy chicks for us before Easter - many a' years, he'd come home from the feed store with a chirping box and inside would be fresh baby chicks, maybe a day or two old. The novelty never wore off and their teeny tiny little feathers in his large worked hand is still, to this day, vivid in my mind. His love for animals was deep and wide. Animals were one of his passions and he always had a way of bringing that into our home - we had horses, goats, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, cats & dogs growing up, among many other not so popular choices (rats & guinea pigs). We lost my dad unexpectedly, three years ago today, just three short months before my baby boy was born. I just desperately wish he could've met Baylor - what I'd give to watch my dad hold my first child. I do know this will happen one day, as we all have the promise of eternal life. While it doesn't get easier and some days really feel empty, the longer time passes, the more I learn to cope. Whether it's through music (he loved to listen to blue grass & jazz) or just through his memories, I'm finding ways to remember the good and embrace the sad,
in unison and with intention. 

The kids are finally at an age where I can begin to pass along traditions. So this year, I brought home baby chicks for my own kids. It felt like a right of passage and a passing of the torch, all in one. The smell of the wood shavings and chick feed brought me right back to my child hood, sitting on the cold cement floor of the garage, holding our own sweet baby chickies. The novelty still hadn't worn, the anticipation still just as robust as when I was 7 myself. It's hard to say what life will bring your way, but in those moments where it comes full circle, the only thing I know how to do is send a prayer to heaven and give thanks for the gifts in my life. These moments are fleeting and to share these special traditions and memories with a family of my own feels right - it feels like healing. We're learning to live over here, taking the good and the hard in stride. 

Rest In Peace, sweet Daddy. I love you and can't wait to dance with you in heaven again. "I'm gonna love you forever." 

Baylor & Nana affectionately named all the chicks: Buckwheat (the yellow), Albert (b&w), Sara, & Minnie. I'd say the did a hell of a job. Happy Hump Day! Go kiss your babies & call your parents - tell em' you love em'! 

Easter Art Print // FREEBIE!

While I love to decorate, I'm very picky about seasonal decor. Let me preface .... Christmas -- all bets are off and I'll go from zero to Clark Griswold before you can say HoHoHo! BUT, the rest of the time, I find it difficult to live with faux bunnies and pastels or turkeys and cornucopias. Fourth of July - it's AMURICA - that's totes ok. And Halloween, well, I make an exception cause I'm so ready for fall that I'll do anything to usher her in in style. 

All this to say, our easter decor is very limited. I did, however, make a little easter print that I'd love to share with ya'll! Download below to spruce up your kitchen or living room, and remember why we celebrate easter! Bunnies & chocolate are great, and I love me a good dyed easter egg, but we have a loving God that sent his son to die for our sins and He conquered death and rose again. A promise of what is to come for us and a testament of our all-powerful Creator! 

I hope you enjoy - tag us @HENANDCO or #henandco on Instagram so I can see what you've done with your print! Happy Monday peeps! #ilovepunnies