Easter is Here!

He is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

This was a difficult Holy Week for me. Difficult because Maggie has decided to act 2. (For parents of 2 year olds, I doubt I need to say more.) I just felt very disconnected at the services on Holy Thursday and Good Friday - probably because I missed so much being out in the vestibule with the 2 year old. (She has learned to talk, so now we talk all the time ... and her volume is either ON or ASLEEP.) We have been talking a lot about being at Jesus' house (or "Jeezy Hoos") and using our quiet voice there but she's 2, so the lesson has not yet been grasped. In her defense, I am asking her to be at church for an hour and a half, at 7:30pm on a weeknight, so it's completely off her normal routine. Still, it was disheartening to have missed so much good church, ya know?

Mass this morning was AMAZING, and totally got me back on track. Maggie was busy (and tired) but never got out-of-hand, and I felt totally connected to worship and community. It was fantastic! I do love the Easter service - it is such a joyful celebration! Plus, Eddie James and crew were here celebrating Easter with our parish, and I always enjoy it when he is in town.

After Mass, we all gathered at Hubby's parents' for lunch and Easter egg hunting. This was Maggie's first time and y'all, she had a blast! Those eggs were hidden multiple times because she didn't want to quit!

Once she figured out there were marshmallows inside the eggs, oh the joy! (This is Maggie with her mouth stuffed with "marsh", still hunting.)

This is working backwards, I suppose, but here is a picture of Maggie and me dying eggs yesterday (she's wearing one of Hubby's old t-shirts as a smock).

Didn't they turn out pretty :)

Two songs really touched me at Mass today, so I'm sharing them with you. Of course, they are both favorites of mine ... enjoy, may God bless you, and Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday to Maggie

Even though Maggie had a fun ole birthday party, we still had family-only dinner and cake on the actual day. I just couldn't let that day go by unacknowledged. This video is of us singing to her ... I love her grin :)

"Yay!" for the Yaya Party

Maggie's 2nd birthday party was a rip-roarin' success. Up front, mucho mucho thanks to Nana (my mom) for all her hard work leading up to the party. She is so great at taking an idea of mine and making it reality (all the characters were done by her). Grandma and Grandpa are also appreciated for letting us turn their front yard into a 2 year-old playground, and for all the help they provided that day. I couldn't have done it alone, that's for sure. Oh! And before I forget - thank you so much to our friend, Joe Mac, for the documenting this day for us - your pictures are amazing!

So, onto the party. Here's the Birthday Girl, complete in her Ode-to-Yaya outfit (she calls Mickey "yaya"):

Y'all, these kids had so much stinkin' fun. (We had a few neighborhood kids drive by multiple times while we were setting up, asking questions and checking things out!) The kids all brought the rose petals I sent in their invitations to pay admission to Mickey Park - it was so cute watching them!



Bubbles are ALWAYS a hit!



I made a cinnamon chocolate loaf cake. Mmmmmm. The ears are modeling chocolate and edible, though the day was so warm they got really soft and we had to cut them in half to make them stand up. Still, I thought they came out really cute. And they were yummy :)

The chickadees were all helpful when it came to opening presents. Little ones crack me up with how excited they are about presents, no matter whose they are! For the week following this party, Maggie would periodically come up to me and say "open presents". She definitely got the hang of it :)

The hit of the day was Maggie's tricycle. Hubby and I gave her a Schwinn trike for her birthday gift, and the kids were all over that thing once it was revealed.



This is Maggie's Intended ... aren't they cute :)



All in all, a very fun day for the kids ... and the adults, too, I hope. The weather was pretty breezy but so lovely, and perfect for 4 hours outside.



Happy 2nd Birthday, Doodle-bug! We love you!

My Binky-less Babe

I don't know why, but I have been dreading the process of breaking Maggie of her binky addiction. I have nothing to base those jitters on. Maggie has been so easy to transition with everything we've done thus far, but for some reason I was building up the binky issue to dramatic proportions.

If I'm completely honest, I will admit that some of the fear was because I didn't want to lose sleep. I am selfish where my sleep is concerned. I am not a nice person without adequate sleep, y'all.

Anyway, my mom and I were talking last week about it, and I wondered what Maggie's reaction would be to not having her binky for her nap the next day. My mom said she'd try it and see. So, when naptime came around on Thursday and Maggie asked for her "binky-blanky", Nana gave her the blanky but told her the binky went bye-bye. She questioned it a couple of times, but then accepted it and napped beautifully without it. Ever since, whenever she asks (which is less and less often), we just tell her the binky went bye-bye. Maggie has been binky-less since last Thursday, March 31st.

No crying. No drama. No issues whatsoever.

The side effect of no binky? 7:00am wake-up calls from the crib.