Easter... Again

Oops! Enjoy (or not) this overly-ripened entry from Easter that I forgot to post. (At least I remembered to throw out the hard-boiled eggs. I think...)

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I have good news: They didn't lose Elizabeth! Yay!

She had a really nice time at Zoo Camp, except for the first day when it was really hot. When I picked her up, she fell into the car, her cheeks red, and said in an exhausted voice, "We walked everywhere."

"What about those moving sidewalk/escalator things? Did you you ride any of those?"

"No. We walked everywhere."

Lizzy is more of a sprinter, if you know what I mean. She's good in short bursts, but tends to peter out over long distances. However, a medicinal dose of chocolate frozen yogurt perked her right up, and the weather became more tolerable the rest of the week.

By Monday Elizabeth was rejuvenated. Not only had Zoo Camp proven successful, but the weekend was a blur of chaotic Easter goodness -- which, of course, left me exhausted. I think that's a general rule - the relationship to kid bliss varies inversely with the resulting parents' energy levels, or stated more simply: Happy Kid = Exhausted Parent. Here's a snapshot of the weekend:

• As tradition dictates, we participated in Easter festivities at the park with Kellie, daughter Makenna (5) and son Kyle (2). It was overcast and cool.
  
  
• The kids had a successful egg hunt at park. Well, more like an egg "pick-up" -- no hunting involved.
  
  
• When we returned home, the girls made a giant monster with an itty-bitty head.
  
  
• Thanks to Kellie's Martha Stewart-like talents, we made easter bunny chocolate cupcakes with the kids. The floor looked as though someone spilled potting soil all over it.
  
  
• Then we dyed Easter eggs and knocked over cup of yellow dye. The table is still stained blue and green.
  
  
• The cat threw up.
  
  
• While we were relaxing (i.e. cleaning up), Kellie and I heard water... gushing... from somewhere... and discovered the girls spraying each other (and the inside of the house through the open window) with the hose. Kellie braved the backyard to save Kyle who was crying behind a tree, only to have him squirt her with a squirt gun when she was close enough. Inspired, Lizzy then turned the hose on Kellie who ran screaming out of the yard and down the side of the house. Samantha, who hates to get wet and blames me for everything, kept yelling at me through the screen door, "It's all YOUR fault!" while I laughed and thought, For what? Giving birth to Elizabeth?
  
  
• We sent the girls to their grandparents house for a sleep-over Saturday night where they planted the Magical Easter Seed. (Am I the only one who thinks that sounds perverted?)
  
  
• Some friends came over to our house on Saturday and we played Jenga and Life. Michael learned it's not a good idea to hold a cat in your lap while playing Jenga. Not good at all.
  
  
• Michael and I stayed up until 1am chanting and sacrificing carrots, hoping the Great Easter Bunny would leave some baskets for the girls. (Turns out the rabbit did a nice job. HE filled two baskets with small gifts and chocolates for the girls that HE apparently purchased at Target. Then HE took pictures of various locations around our house, printed the pictures, and hid clues at each of the locations so the girls could visit each place looking for clues to find their baskets. Kind of creepy, really, having him all around the house like that... and the pellets... Yech.)
  
  
• Sunday morning the girls woke up early at their grandparents house and discovered that the Magical Easter Seed had grown into a Magical Easter Tree covered with Easter treats... at their grandparents house. (Did I mention that this occurred at their grandparents house?) Meanwhile...
  
  
• Michael and I slept.
  
  
• The grandparents brought the girls back home where they discovered their baskets and enjoyed an actual Easter Egg hunt in the backyard. There was much whining and kvetching, however -- You're helping her and not me!... She's getting more than me!... I wanted the pink one!... Where's my Excedrin!... and so on.
  
  
• I retired to the relative bliss of my quiet kitchen to prepare traditional Easter fixings.
  
  
• We all ate too much.
  

And there you have it. Happy Kid = Exhausted Parent.

Elizabeth was so happy and rejuvenated, in fact, that she knew -- knew -- she'd have a great week at school this week. She would listen to authority figures. She would receive "thumbs up" cards and "good job" balls each day. (Am I the only one here who thinks that sounds perverted?)

"I feel like a nicer person," she said to me before returning to school. I wasn't sure how to respond, because she already is a nice person. But I think I know what she meant. The kindergarten "grind" doesn't last forever. Monday morning, Elizabeth shot out of the gate like a beautiful palomino, ready to face the kindergarten day ahead. It was wonderful to see.

If only she hadn't stumbled somewhere before the finish line.