Cr(H)appy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

We have had a - shall we say - very interesting day.

It all started last night when Main Man and I went out after supper to buy Easter Bunny goodies. I know we shouldn't have left it 'til the last minute, but at least that way, we didn't have to worry about the kids finding our hiding place.

By the time we got home, it was late enough that I was very tired. Main Man, on the other hand, had promised to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the boys, so he was bound and determined to keep his promise.

I tried to sit through it, but just couldn't make it. I was so tired!

So I went to bed.

Normally that would not have been such a big deal, but, because I had gone to bed before the boys, the Easter Bunny did not make an appearance - not at his usual time, anyway.

Therefore, he showed up at about 5:00 a.m. (if you know what I mean).

Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep after he woke me up (;-), and I got up to get ready for church around 8:30. The boys dribbled out of bed one at a time shortly after I did, and they were quite excited about their baskets. (Except that, unbeknownst to me- and the Easter Bunny evidently - they all decided they did not like dark chocolate. Funny, it's my favourite. Guess I'll have to eat theirs up for them.).

Anyway, we were about 15 minutes away from leaving for church when Main Man noticed something wrong with Ruffy, our schnoodle. It's difficult to put this delicately. Poor Ruffy had managed to stick a lump of poop the size of an egg to his bottom.

There was no way to remove it easily, so I stripped down (I was already in my church outfit.) and proceeded to bathe our uncomfortable pooch. Now that was a glamourous Easter morn!

We did manage to arrive at church on time, and everything went very smoothly there. Lots of "Happy Easter!"s and "Great to see you"s, and all of my boys actually listened to the sermon (I love our new minister!).

In the afternoon, we began our Easter holiday family project of clearing and cleaning out the basement. We have a contractor coming to begin foundation repair (Our house is 51 years old and built on a swamp.) in early May, so we're trying to either remove or sort out all of the items in the basement before then.

Of course, part of the clean-up process involves cleaning up after our little critter visitors of late. By the way, for anyone who has been following the Library Mama Mouse Saga, we seem to have beaten them. No new signs of their presence in over a week. Believe me, had there been any new evidence, you would not have seen me cleaning up in the basement today!

Anyway, as Main Man pointed out as he worked away at a storage closet filled with evidence (to put it delicately) of our little friends, we were sure having a "crappy" Easter this year.

I sincerely hope that none of you, my fair friends, have had as crappy an Easter as we have had, and that yours was instead very happy.

Random Friday Thoughts

I came home from work exhausted and slightly headachey today. It seemed like an awfully long week. After supper, I fell asleep on the couch while reading (not a comment on the book). I was told later that Main Man had fallen asleep on the other end of the couch. Meanwhile, our kids were having a grand old time eating popcorn and watching tv in our bedroom. I know I'm going to be sleeping on popcorn crumbs tonight.

The boys locked themselves out of the house today in -27 degree Celsius weather. Luckily we have an amazing neighbour who fed them lunch and looked after them after school until I could get home. I often wonder what I would do without our wonderful neighbours.

Last Friday and again tonight, we had a family game of Kaiser, an old card game I used to play as a kid on the school bus. Ever played it? It was a blast from my past. I'm a player, though. When I'm playing a game, I like to play the game. Main Man and the boys would rather joke around and distract each other. By the end of the evening, I was quite tired of people speaking just to hear their own voices. I know, I know...I'm a party pooper. They've already informed me of the fact. My question is this, though - why even play a game if you're constantly going to forget whose turn it is?

So it's Valentine season. How does everyone feel about that? I don't mind it. It's kind of a nice day for teachers. I'll get lots of little "for the teacher" valentine cards and maybe even a few chocolates. Still, here at home on the other end, I'm not sure how much I like supervising a kindergartner printing out the names of all his friends. Grade 1 is so much better. Guess I can look forward to that. #3's biggest concern is that he wants to write "I love you" on the valentine for one specific girl in his class, but he's a little ambivalent about the thought. I figure he's just another male who is afraid to commit.

And is it just me, or was Anna Nicole Smith more than just a little creepy?

Even Old People Can Play Candyland

There are still a few Christmas stories left to tell. This is one of the cutest, I think.

#3 received the game "Candyland" as a gift, and he and I were getting ready to play a game Christmas morning. The rules state that the youngest player goes first. I read that to him and asked him who was the younger player between the two of us.

"I am, because I'm six!" he exclaimed.

"And I'm not, because I'm 41," I deadpanned.

His face suddenly clouded over, and he gasped, "You're so old!"

As soon as he said it, he realized that he may have hurt my feelings (though he actually didn't). Wanting to make things better, he took my face in his little hands and said, "I'm sorry - I didn't mean that in a bad way. I just want you around for a long, long time."

You know, it doesn't happen very often, but I was rendered speechless.