Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Easter Preview

I am a planner to a fault. I like to plan things out in my mind and then wait until circumstances are perfect before I carry them out, meaning that I often don't carry out my plans. Case and point: Easter is upon us and for the past week or so I've been planning what we'd do if we were in a house. I saw my friend Mirjam's blog on their cute German tradition of decorating blossoming branches and thought how I really would like to do that in my own family. It brought back memories of painting eggs with my mom and the thrill of blowing out the inside of an egg without breaking the shell. But the fun will have to wait until next year when we have a cute house to decorate, with an even cuter craft room to make the decorations in.

Then it occurred to me that my thinking was a bit off and what better table to paint on than the work bench we're using as a dining room table? In addition to that, will there ever be a time when I care as little as I do for the chairs surrounding my table (remember we are using $5 Walmart camping chairs at the present and I certainly hope not)? So paint away children and make as big a mess as you would like!
If you've never experienced the thrill of blowing out an egg, I highly suggest you try it. Simply poke two holes (one on top and one on the bottom) in the egg. I used the tip of a sharp knife and tapped on the shell until it broke a little hole. Then blow on one side and empty the egg contents into a bowl. If you have a hard time blowing out the egg, make the holes a little bigger.
We used acrylic paint and sprinkled very fine glitter dust on the wet paint so it would stick. Then using a hot glue gun, we attached string to each [dried] egg.
We found a blossoming branch at the park and "planted" it in a little pot.


And now I smile every time I see my table, which is an utterly new phenomenon.

P.S.

If you're wondering where Alex is, he opted out of the egg painting and went for a nap instead. He's a bit like Noah in that regard--when I pull out the crafts, they both disappear.

For the rest of the week:

Thursday is Passover (my side of the family celebrates this every year--no they're not Jewish) and we'll be doing a modified observance, meaning we're going to skip the dialogue and just talk about the symbolism, go for hummus rather than horseradish (for the kids), naan rather than Matza (they're both flat breads and naan tastes so much better), and we're using grape juice instead of wine in the haroset and as our drink (if you're surprised go talk to your bishop). We're also going to watch The Prince of Egypt to explain the story behind Passover--great movie and music by the way.

Friday is Good Friday and in Indiana that means no school for Gabby and no work for Noah (have I mentioned how much I love Indiana?). And so, we're going to head out to Cincinnati, Ohio and see what it has to offer.

Saturday is reserved for egg hunts galore.

Sunday is of course Easter so I'm making hot cross buns for breakfast (another tradition from my family). The kids will each be getting a new little something to wear. Then it's off to Church followed by dinner with friends.

And so readers, I ask you: what are some of your family's Easter traditions?

5 comments:

  1. Hooray! Passover continues! I love the eggs. I love the fact that you'll see _Prince of Egypt_. Dad is in DC until Saturday, and we'll postpone Passover for a week so we can invite his counselors to join us. I think we should watch _Prince of Egypt_, too.

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  2. You are such an amazing inspiring Mom! I love all your ideas! The tree and eggs look wonderful!

    Unfortunately for Easter traditions I haven't really established very many. I have decided to only do the "fun things" on Saturday leaving Sunday as more of what Easter should be. The girls will be getting a dress (because they are in need of them) and another little outfit (because again they are in need of warm spring/summer clothes)

    Have fun with all your fun traditions!

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  3. I have noticed a few people do hot cross buns on Easter, am I missing the significance? We don't have anything really established yet, as Henry is only now just starting to get it. But I do make deviled eggs every year, and every year they are way too salty. Oh, well. We are going up to Milwaukee for Easter weekend, otherwise I would totally be joining you for Cinci. Are you going to IKEA?

    I love the Easter egg tree, but I know if I attempted that at my house, it would be all me. Henry would do one and then take off to run in circles or whatever it is he does.

    Have a great weekend!

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  4. In comparison to unleavened bread, hot cross buns use yeast, so the rolls RISE (symbolic of the resurrection). You also put a cross made out of icing on the top (self explanatory). Traditionally, you eat them on Good Friday, but we're going to eat them on Easter.

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  5. You go Martha! I love the egg tree you made with Gabby and clan.

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