Easter pictorial

The celebration officially began Saturday night as K prepared gifts and a snack for the Easter Bunny.

The hunt …

It took nearly an hour to find and solve all the clues, which led to the Easter basket and big, fluffy bunny. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny provided sustenance in the form of jelly beans and mini chocolate eggs with each clue. The hunt was proclaimed, “this is so much fun” along with hopes that the Easter Bunny would devise another one next year.

All the girls (one with scooter) walking in the balmy weather, working up an appetite for handmade guacamole.

The table ready for the taco fiesta, which just may have been the most fun, most memorable holiday meal ever. We’re talking about turkey tacos for Thanksgiving it was that much fun!

Happy jelly bean hunting

The egg-dying, feast preparing and decorating festivities have begun! I received advanced notice that the Easter Bunny is preparing a treasure hunt with clues (written at the 1st-grade reading level of course … mom isn’t allowed to help) that K will have to solve to find her Easter Basket.

Then we’ll be celebrating with the auntie, grandma and grandpa with a taco fiesta dinner. I ask you, what says Easter better than tacos and Negra Modelo? Exactly.

Lost decorations and a craft disaster

It all started with the missing box of Easter decorations. It should have been in the basement but a quick search a few weeks ago revealed nothing. I don’t like to spend much time down there, never knowing what I might stumble over, but the other day I bravely channeled my inner Nancy Drew and took a closer look. I didn’t find the box in question but I did find a big box that I had put aside for the junk guys to take during the last clean out. Ah ha! They must have taken the wrong box. Oh, those poor chickies!

And so began the plan to replace the decorations with handmade items. First up, the felt bunny. Look how sweet they are in the pattern book:

I thought I’d make a half dozen or so, whipping them up with felt I have on hand. Ha! The steps and hand sewing are quite simple, and yet, my bunny looks like he has a tumor on his head. And is it just me, or is his face more chicken than bunny? Look at the nose … much more of a beak.

Yeah, this guy is going to be an only bunny. Although, I do have a few ideas for tweaking the pattern to avoid the trouble spots. Hmmm …

The next day

3 hours and 2 bags of stealthy junk removal later, and the messy room has disappeared.

Thanks to a lot of combining, organizing and purging, surfaces can once again be used and there is room to breath. Many things were moved around for better access or to encourage use. Amazing how many neat things get more use when put in a new spot.

And while I was itching to do more, there is a certain amount of clutter that seven-year-olds need. At least, that’s my thought. So the stuffed animals continue to reign on the bed, and the lego table still houses a collection of little items with which to build.

Now we’re working on “a place for everything and everything in its place” maintenance plan with Miss K responsible for daily clean-up. Next up: deciding what more we can donate!

Facade

Look at this child. Eating a grapefruit so neatly.

The neat and tidy is all a facade. This is what said child’s room looks like …

It’s driving her mother crazy. Progressively more crazy as piles and piles are found under the visible piles. So many piles that there is no room to put anything. The closets are small but the problem isn’t the closet. It’s too much stuff.

It’s time to clear out. To find new homes for things outgrown and out loved. Time to simplify. Rediscover how much can be done with all the treasures already here instead of procuring more. I suspect we’re set for at least a year.

More fun than a barrel of monkeys

Hard to imagine anything more fun than a barrel of monkeys but, hold on to your hat, we found it …

The chalkboard wall! It’s the perfect place for practicing spelling words for the weekly 1st grade test …

And for doodling.

And for menus, lists, reminders, tic-tac-toe … well, the possibilities are endless and ever so much fun. Can’t wait to get some colored chalk … ooh la la!

The best part is the impromptu creations and collaborations that this little wall inspires. Amazing what a small can of paint, a paintbrush and a short amount of time can produce.  Chalkboard walls for everyone — that’s my new motto!

Magic in the mundane

And to everyone, like my little sister, who feared for my sanity after seeing the paint post … no, I’m not entering a Goth phase late in life and painting the kitchen black. Christina guessed it … chalkboard paint. To create a chalkboard wall. To expand the previously small, framed space (which didn’t work because the frame fell down every time the refrigerator was opened). As soon as the paint cures, we’ll do a big reveal!

Because sometimes …

… you just gotta paint …

Even when work is stacked to the ceiling, the laundry is despairing of ever being folded, there are piles everywhere, and you’ll surely end up burning the midnight oil …

… you just gotta paint.

Of possibility and post-its

A short respite in a week stacked with work deadlines to enjoy the possibility of a drawer cleared of overflowing office supplies …

… and to realize I have a bit of addiction to post-it notes. Clearly, I rarely walk by a cute design without buying it even though I have a supply to last decades. Anyone need 1, 2 or 10? Just let me know.

From here to there

In the garden …

On my desk …

So far, March is more lamb than lion.