Easter was "late" this year, April 20, which has the added benefit of slightly warmer temperatures. it always seems incongruous to me when Easter falls at the end of March and all the pretty Easter dresses are covered up by coats and we might have to choose snow boots rather than sandals!
this was the first year Elizabeth was allowed to be more involved with hands-on egg dyeing and she was so excited. I bought the "deluxe" PAAS kit with extra supplies to make glittery and foil-bedecked eggs and somehow, by the grace of God, did not end up with glitter all over the house.
I don't know how this one was so blurry but you get the idea!
Greta's pastel eggs
Cece's jewel-toned eggs
I debated once again about which Easter mass to attend. we have attended the evening vigil once before, but that involves a lot of faith and perhaps a dash of insanity to attempt solo with young kids. so we typically go Easter morning, but I asked the older girls about it and they were unanimous in their vote for the vigil. I mean, it is pretty cool! and the vigil mass at our church is shorter than many others (typically about 90 minutes to 2 hours, whereas it can run a solid 3 hours at larger churches especially if there are many people being confirmed). so, I decided we would chance it! however, we had to decline an invitation to a post-vigil party held by Cece's best friend's family. every year they host a party immediately after mass that lasts until about 2 AM! I told them they definitely win Coolest Catholic Family status and we would love to join once Victoria is school-age.
I love, love, love the Easter Vigil. the service begins outside around a huge bonfire while the choir sings ancient chants. then we all process in while the priest carries in the Paschal candle, periodically stopping to elevate it and chant "the light of Christ", with the response, "thanks be to God". this year, Elizabeth was thrown off by the idea of standing outside in the dark, so I waited with her and Victoria at the entrance to the church and we joined the rest of the group as they came in. then the service continues with alternating Scripture passages read by a lector and psalms sung by the choir, telling the entire salvation story from the creation of the world until the resurrection. it is solemn and yet joyous, as befits the reiteration of what C.S. Lewis called The Great Dance.
well, we made it about forty-five minutes in before Elizabeth started losing her mind. I spent most of the service out in the vestibule with her, and was strongly considering just rounding up the rest of the troops and heading home, but eventually she calmed down and we made it to the end. the music was absolutely glorious, as it always is under Nick's direction, and ultimately I was glad we stayed. the faith I want to impart to my children is not just rote facts about God and church doctrine, but also the richness of mysticism, incense, liturgy, and bringing light out of the darkness. and sometimes that is worth the late bedtime!
time stamped 11:13 PM and suddenly Elizabeth is all smiles again
one of the sweet Oratorian brothers saw me taking the girls' photo and said "let me get one of all of you!" you will notice I dressed Victoria for comfort ;)
when we come for Sunday morning mass, both sides of this street are packed with cars (this is in the university district). it was surreal to see it so empty!
walking back to the car, they were pretending some imaginary drama
in the morning, Nick played for 9 AM and 11 AM mass, while we slept in a bit, and then the girls hunted for their Easter baskets. I aim for a solid mix of candy and summer necessities -- like bathing suits, sunglasses, sandals, etc -- that I would be buying for them anyway.
eating breakfast in their new suits (another Costco find!!!)
Elizabeth insists on wearing her snowboots as much as possible
Cece recently bought a sewing kit with her allowance money and was thrilled when I asked her to mend a ripped seam on my sweater. she was even more thrilled when I gave her a dollar upon completion!
they loved the mini Squishmallows my mom sent!
thank you Grammie for the Easter treats!
then we loaded up the car and headed east to Nick's parents' house for Easter dinner, more Easter baskets, and an egg hunt! we ended up doing an indoor egg hunt with eggs I brought from home, and a second outdoor egg hunt with eggs Sabrina had filled. these girls are living the life, I'm telling you what!
about ten minutes into the drive, the girls spontaneously started singing one of Elizabeth's favourite songs, "Five Little Speckled Frogs", and I just had to capture it (along with some views of my favourite vantage point of Pittsburgh, coming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel and seeing the downtown skyscrapers juxtaposed against the cheerful yellow bridges. I just love this city.
more Easter basket treats!
it wouldn't be Easter without Sabrina's bunny cake
Victoria is holding Frankie, Sabrina's childhood baby doll
I was trying to get a cute picture of them with the flowers but they wouldn't stop scowling for some reason. goofballs!
The snowboots with the swimsuits. I am dying over here!
And this: "involves a lot of faith and perhaps a dash of insanity"...ha. Yes, long services are so fraught in the earlier stages of parenting. Gold stars for making it work!!!
She absolutely loves those snowboots. She's worn them to mass a handful of times and I don't care one bit. Haha.
I think parenting itself requires a mix of faith and insanity!! It's a little bit hard to picture what our life will look like once we have all big kids. I will miss the cuteness and innocence but I have to say I'm looking forward to less spilled milk, tantrums, and potty accidents ;)
These photos are all so beautiful and happy! I love the one of the whole family, and the snowboot/swimsuit match up is adorable. How fun that Cece was able to mend something for you!
Well, there are certainly moments of strife that were *not* captured on camera. Ha! But I am very grateful for our family and the memories of each holiday season. And the mending is a game changer!! It's such a fun transition when they start being actually helpful ;)
it's about time for a good old airing of the grievances. while we have ever so much for which to give thanks, sometimes we need the catharsis of enumerating our woes, big and small. (you can read the 2023 edition here.) _________________________________________ first up, potty training. I buckled down and trained Greta and Cecilia both around age 2 1/2, and it went fairly well (I'm a big fan of waiting until the kid is practically ready to train themselves). Elizabeth turned 2 1/2 near the end of the school year, and logically it seemed like a great time to buckle down -- we wouldn't be driving around to after school sports and activities and we'd have more time at home. I kept waiting for the day when I'd wake up full of excitement and motivation to strip off the diaper and chase a naked toddler around the house. and ... shockingly ... that day never came. then we were preparing for our trip to Seattle in July and it definitely didn't seem like the right time...
1) shredded chicken in the instant pot. the easiest meal prep ever -- perfectly cooked chicken that can be added to wraps, salads, or other recipes like enchiladas and casseroles! I follow the directions in this recipe , although I don't always add all the seasonings. and I generally cook 5 pounds of chicken breast at a time, so I increase the cook time from 10 minutes to 15, and allow natural pressure release. 2) journaling. Mom gave me my very first journal for Christmas the year I turned 6, and I filled several more volumes by the time I reached college. eventually I got out of the habit, partially as I was blogging more regularly and just in general with the advent of smartphones and the addition of four kids :) in a recent session, my therapist asked me if I had ever journaled and if I thought it would be helpful to do that on occasion. I laughed and said I'd give it a shot. the OG journal. the cover is slightly stuffed for a pleasing squishy texture written just a...
1) basketball. the last month of the regular season for basketball started with a bang, with JV games on March 1st, 4th, 6th, and 8th, and developmental games on March 1st, 5th, and 9th. there was lots of drive-thru dinner and many, many snacks for the babies. this month, Cece really found her groove after a joint practice with the developmental and JV team. she told us afterwards that she had been frustrated all day after not getting a turn to play in a classroom game (the bell rang just before it would have been her turn), and she channeled that emotion into playing more aggressively during practice. as a second grader, she defended the ball and stole it a few times during the scrimmage against fifth and sixth graders! of course the coaches praised her for her determination, and that just fueled her fire to continue to make them proud of her. every game thereafter, all of us parents were in stitches watching her on the court and we nicknamed her The Enforcer. it's going to be f...
The snowboots with the swimsuits. I am dying over here!
ReplyDeleteAnd this: "involves a lot of faith and perhaps a dash of insanity"...ha. Yes, long services are so fraught in the earlier stages of parenting. Gold stars for making it work!!!
She absolutely loves those snowboots. She's worn them to mass a handful of times and I don't care one bit. Haha.
DeleteI think parenting itself requires a mix of faith and insanity!! It's a little bit hard to picture what our life will look like once we have all big kids. I will miss the cuteness and innocence but I have to say I'm looking forward to less spilled milk, tantrums, and potty accidents ;)
These photos are all so beautiful and happy! I love the one of the whole family, and the snowboot/swimsuit match up is adorable. How fun that Cece was able to mend something for you!
ReplyDeleteWell, there are certainly moments of strife that were *not* captured on camera. Ha! But I am very grateful for our family and the memories of each holiday season. And the mending is a game changer!! It's such a fun transition when they start being actually helpful ;)
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