Tuesday, April 30, 2013

An Easter In March

I love when Easter is in March. It doesn't happen very often, in fact, the last time Easter was in March, I was about 8.5 months pregnant with Baron. I had him about 3 weeks later, so that is basically all I remember about that Easter. Oh, and the fact that Andy was out of town and I had to pick him up at the airport later that day. That was when he used to travel ALL THE TIME for work. But, that is a story for another day, because I digress.
 
So, like I said.... A March Easter! We had a neighborhood breakfast and egg hunt for the kids on Saturday that was a lot of fun. I stuck with Magnus and the other kids all ran away to find thee best possible eggs, so I didn't really get any photos of them at all.

 
We colored eggs that night (With cousins! Fun!)





 
As the Easter Bunny was assembling baskets, I heard someone get out of bed and go to the bathroom. Then, when they were finished, instead of going back to their bed, I heard cupboards opening and someone searching for their Easter Basket. At one in the morning!
 
I peeked out my bedroom to see Jonah poking around and told him that he needed to get back to bed. He sheepishly obliged, while reminding me that Easter was his favorite holiday and he was just so excited! I understand son, I understand :)

The next morning was exciting as the kids awoke and searched for their eggs and baskets. It was a lot of fun because this year, we were in a new house with lots of new hiding places, and because the kids are getting older, the Easter Bunny decided to give them more of a challenge. The 2 little boys found theirs fairly quickly, but the older 3 took longer and started getting a little frustrated, which I found hysterical.



 Eventually, they were all found and enjoyed.
 
I made our delicious Easter Breakfast of baked french toast with carmelized maple syrup, bacon, strawberries, oj, and milk. So yum.
 
We dressed in our Easter duds and took some family photos. Magnus wasn't very cooperative, as usual. But, I got a few.
 Easter outfits are one of my favorite things about the holiday. My other favorite thing is the candy. Mmmmm..... Peeps. And Cadbury Mini Eggs. And Starburst Jellybeans. And Reese's Eggs. I could go on...
Happy Happy Easter to you! Only a month late :)

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hello There!

Hi! I know I have been away for awhile. Did you miss me? Did you wonder if I was ever going to return? Did you worry that I might have fallen into the never ending abyss called Life?! Because if you thought it was that last one, you would be correct-o, my friend.

But, no fear, I always return. And so, here I be.

I'm going to be playing catch-up for the next little bit, but I just wanted to pop in and say hello, because I hvae missed this little blog of mine. Here's a round-up of the Collette Happenings:

-Easter (I feel like Easter was forever ago, and yet, it's only been a month. Seriously, Time, you've just got to slow down, for my sake. Pretty please with a cherry on top.)

-Spring Break (fun!)

-Kids' School Stuff (always)

-Birthdays (2 this month, it almost kills me every year)

-A little thing I like to call "One Way To Drive A Mother Crazy" aka Spring Soccer (for 4 children)

-And LASTLY!!! My half-marathon (Woo Hoo!)

Now. I know I have mentioned this last one quite a bit, and most of you are probably all, "Yes, we get it, you ran a lot. Very interesting, now get over it." But, I am very proud of myself! So, I will be doing a full post about the complete endorphin high that I received while running for 2 plus hours straight, at just under 6 MPH. It was an awesome experience.

On top of all these mind-bendingly interesting subjects, I will be blogging about anything else I feel like.

Thanks for reading!

Friday, April 5, 2013

To The Mother Of One

Goodness gracious... We've been having spring break and with that, having a ball. I love breaks from school and I am really excited for summer in 2 months.

My in-laws wanted to take the kids for a day of fun during the break... All except Magnus. My mother-in-law doesn't do diapers*, which I totally get, considering how many she changed over the years with 7 children. So, the older 4 went off with Grandma and Grandpa to have some fun in the sun, and Magnus and I stayed home to have our own one-on-one fun.

Now, just so you know, Magnus and I are home alone together 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours while Bear is at preschool. However. Magnus takes his nap during that time, so we don't really get much time to play alone together, you know, and stuff like that.

Also, that being said, I know I have posted about what a crazy/busy/cute-little-troublemaker Magnus is. So, here's how our day went: Magnus ran, and I chased. He played, and I followed. He told, I obeyed. He said jump, and I said how high. He asked, I gave. He made messes, I cleaned them up. And etcetera, etcetera.

You guys. I was exhausted by the end of the day. And while I loved playing with my baby, do you know what it made me think of?

How truly grateful I am that my first few children are so close in age and that they always had a playmate. I think I would have been dead from exhaustion otherwise. (I mean, I was exhausted all the time anyways, but for other reasons, that I preferred :)

I also thought of how much harder it is to be a mother of 1 child, instead of 5. You are their playmate, All The Time. And, while I love my children, I just feel like other children are better cutout for that job.

It did reiterate to me though... I LOVE my children. With a love that I can't even describe because I feel like my heart might burst. That kind of love.

*I feel I have to explain that, of course my MIL changes diapers when she's watching the kids for us. She doesn't, you know, leave them swimming in pee and poop until we get back from wherever, and tell us they need to be changed. She just doesn't take diaper age children on outings. So, there you go (because I know you were wondering.... ;)