Leading up to Easter I vowed to keep their baskets small and reasonable. It is so incredibly hard to do this. My children aren't spoiled, per say, but could really use a reality check on the holiday horizon. Steve thinks he gets a gift from, EVERYONE, for EVERY holiday. Seriously, St. Patrick's Day rolled around and he was like, "When are people coming over to give me gifts?" and I was like, "What have I done wrong as a parent to make you think that on St. Particks Day people come over and give you gifts?"
But I just LOVE my children! And seriously, have you seen the little girl stuff lately, I could spend millions on shoes alone for my little girl. Needless to say it was hard. I went to Ross for their Easter Best outfits and then hopped on over to the dollar store. In Everett, on Evergreen. Not the nicest places for the cheapest things in town.
When I went into the dollar store I thought I might have contracted Hepatitis just from touching the baskets, and I'm not a germaphobe in the least bit, but persevered on, illness or not.
I was grabbing some cute little plastic watering cans and shovels when I over hear (which wasn't hard because the man was practically screaming) "Ya know Bill, I just want to do something real nice for my little brother. He pulled himself off the heroin and got into NA and got himself a real nice place in Everett. I just want to get him a huge Easter basket with lots of good stuff. Bill, you got any white chocolate? I just want to get him a whole mess of white chocolate!" I look up to see a ragged man and two dollar store employees just staring at him. "I just want to buy this whole thing right here! I'm gonna do that for him cuz money dont mean nothin to me! Ya, know Bill I just bought two, not one but two 65 inch screens. Yep, them smart TV's. One for my room and one for my living room. Yep, I just dont care about money at all!"
I was thinking to myself that I should stop judging this guy, but really, he was just setting himself up to be judged by me. I bought the kids a ton of bubbles and other summer-type paraphernalia for the baskets and made it out of both stores only having spent 52$. I was pretty impressed with myself, because most Easters its triple that.
The day before Easter I was having second thoughts, "They aren't going to have fun on Easter morning because I didn't buy them enough! They totally need candy. I'm just going to get them a little candy. and toys. just small things. or this big thing. They need that! I'm a horrible mother!" But calmed myself down and ran out of Target.
Easter morning came and Steve and Summer were thrilled with their baskets.Steve didn't mention the Easter Bunny slacking on his job and Summer was just happy to chew on the bubble wands that she kept dipping into the bubble solution and eating.
He was also pretty pumped about the Easter egg hunt for that morning in the living room. I painstakingly write up coupons and put them into the plastic eggs. We don't give them candy, its such a waste of money and really, what good is candy doing them. I also, tell everyone that gets them Easter baskets, no candy.
I'm sure they all hate me.
I put in 52 coupons ranging from "No school today" to "chocolate milk" to "salmon attack".
The last one was a rough one, I was so tired and I didn't know what else to put in there. It was actually the first one he opened too. I ran into his room and grabbed this stuffed animal salmon and attacked him with it for a few minutes. He seemed to enjoy it.My Mom and her husband came over later to give the children their baskets. They did the coupon thing with Steve as well and Summer received the cutest Little Mermaid love seat from them. She loves it.
Heather and Hattie came over a little later and we made Summer share her chair with Hattie so we could get them both in their Easter Best.
Summer was not pleased.
We cleared everyone out and made our way over to Aunt Cathys house.
Aunt Cathy and Uncle Stan put on a huge Easter egg hunt for the kids, there are almost 200 eggs. (I know because the parents have to fill them and count them all and hide them, its like slave labor, that we enjoy. The slaves did not enjoy themselves. I guess I shouldn't be comparing it to slave labor)
Summer discovered that candy was in the eggs, so she gathered up a few and sat down in the grass only to have me find her a few seconds later, covered in chocolate and grass and bubbles and chewing on tin. She doesn't care that you need to take the wrappers off. Summer does what she wants!Maddie,4, and Ashton,2, the other two egg hunters and Steve and Summers cousins, were being adorable. Walking around and looking for the eggs with some help from us while Steve was running feverish screaming in excitement every time he found an egg.
After the hunt, they picked up their baskets from Grandma and Grandpa Berlin and Cathy and Stan.
They did get candy from the grandparents, a couple of giant bunnies. I'm pretty sure I didnt tell them about my no candy rule.
We had our Easter feast, which was lovely, and hung out on the back deck in the fading sunshine for a while. The kids played with their new toys and I talked Maddie out of eating a whole chocolate bunny. "I think if you ate that you would throw up in the car like this, bleh! (I made a puking noise) then your mom would be like oh man! It stinks in here! Then Ashton would puke and no amount of baby wipes could get that mess out of her car"Annie (Maddies mom) and Maddie both looked at me like I was totally insane.
I might be.
But it worked!
All in all, it was a truly wonderful day, one that I look forward to the most out of all the holidays. It lacks stress, if I don't make it stressful and we get to spend the day with family we don't see all the time.
I'd say my no candy (I know there was still candy) cheap Easter bunny and coupons worked out ok.
Cheers.
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