Happy Easters

Time for a true familial update because SOMETHING HAPPENED! What happened? Easters happened. Holidays are WAY more fun with little kids, not just because the kids get so excited, but also because it provides a little flavor kick to the routine blandness of my life. Ok I can't complain about my life because it's awesome, but it is very...the same. So thanks, holidays, for mixing it up a little.

Yes, kids make everything from egg dying to halloween costumes 100x more exciting and just darn CUTE. However, we've realized pretty quickly that there has to be a certain level of...brain functionality in your kids to make any sort of holiday tradition REALLY fun. Since Annie is so little we passed on dying easter eggs (that would have been a disaster) and didn't even buy her an Easter basket (sorry, Annie, that your parents are so darn cheap and practical). Don't get me wrong, I had every intention of getting Annie all sorts of special Easter things. I'd peruse the seasonal aisles every time I went to the store and those pastel thingamabobs and doo-dads called to me saying: "Annie's first Easter! Buy me!" And then immediately I'd think: "Yeah--and she's not even going to REMEMBER it!"

Remember how I said that kids make holidays more cute? Here's another fact of life: the pressure to make holidays cute for your kids is very, very real. #AmIRight moms? Sometimes that pressure is social, but I think it's often internal. If your mom was as cute about holidays as my mom was, you know that internal battle. That simultaneous excitement and stress you feel about making holidays cute for your kids just like mom did.

Ok I just barely complained about life being bland without holidays and then about holidays making life stressful. Sorry for being bipolar but welcome to #momlife. (And stop complaining Kathryn!)

ANYWAY...wanting to be a "good mom," I had to do SOMETHING for Annie's first Easter. I ended up, don't laugh, getting Annie USEFUL things like baby food, new shoes, and illustrated children's scriptures. All of which I was going to get her anyway. We so fancy.

AND THEN--an easter bunny miracle happened! The night before Easter, two of our dear friends dropped off a cute easter basket for our family on our front porch. (Shout-out to B-rad and Nicole!) It was yellow and pastel-y and filled with fake grass and all sorts of easter-y goodness. SAVED! Annie got her first-Easster Easter basket after all!

We stuffed that magical surprise basket with all of her practical gifts and "hid" it so she could go on her very own Easter egg hunt. Aren't we just such cute holiday parents?

Aren't parents weird? We feel excited about having fun holiday for our kids. Then pressure to make it special. Then impractical for even thinking about putting effort into something they won't appreciate or even remember. Then neglectful for NOT putting in effort or making the day special. Then dumb for making such a big deal out of it. Then just plain happy because even though she doesn't get it and won't remember--she's happy. And it's been a good day.

Such is life for a #rookiemom who is a pro at being last-minute holiday cute.

Happy first Easter Annie!

#Holidays #Easter #momlife #rookiemom