Greek Easter

Easter morning came at last, and Julia could not have been more amped up to search for her Easter basket.  Instead of playing in her room or finding another way to entertain herself until a decent hour, she decided to climb into bed with Ethan and I and continually check the clock. 

ETHAN AND I: (trying to sleep)
JULIA: Ugh.  WHEN is it going to be SEVEN?  I wish I could just look for my Easter basket RIGHT NOW!

With her vigilant eye on the clock, Julia was able to loudly announce the hour changing to 7:00, and eagerly begged me to escort her downstairs to find her Easter basket.  Without regard for the fact that her sister was sound asleep, Julia burst into the bedroom to awaken Madeleine so the hunt could begin.

Julia was filled with desperate impatience as I insisted the girls use the potty and brush their teeth before starting the basket hunt.  Auntie Caitlyn joined us in the bathroom to help brush teeth, and happened to remark upon being chilly as she assisted Madeleine in teeth brushing.

CAITLYN: I didn't pack pajama pants and I'm freezing.
ME: Do you want some of my pants?
MADELEINE: Um, NO.  I can't HANDLE about pants.
CAITLYN: Yeah, if you have some, sure.
ME: (tossing her a pair of pants) Here.
MADELEINE: Um, no, I don't WANT those.  I can't HANDLE about pants.  Mom?  I just can't HANDLE about pants.
JULIA: Maaaadeleine, can you just HURRY UP with brushing your teeth?  Mom, can I please go look for my Easter basket now?

My kids are really good about NOT thinking the entire world revolves around them and that nobody else exists.

As soon as we got out of the bathroom, Julia made a beeline for the very obviously placed Easter basket of Madeleine's, "hidden" underneath the piano bench.  "FOUND MIIIIIINE!" Julia shouted, pushing past everyone to grab Madeleine's basket.

I can understand the mistake.  It's not like I labelled the baskets by name in HUGE balloon letters or anything.  Oh, wait, yes I did:

Anyway, after I explained to Julia that the basket was, in fact, Madeleine's, Julia shoved it back under the piano bench so that Madeleine could have a completely non-suspenseful time "finding" her basket.  Julia was fortunately able to discover her own basket after a few more minutes of searching, and the girls settled in to examine their loot.

MADELEINE: What a HECK?  A Simba coloring book?!?

The highlight of both baskets was the Merliah Summers (aka Queen of the WAAAAAAVES) Barbie dolls that they received:

The Barbie dolls came along with us in the car on the ride to church, and it's a good thing we had some brand new, exciting toys with us, because the drive was full of traffic and LOTS of extra detours, thanks to both the Walk for Hunger and Harvard Square May Day Fun Fest taking place along our usual driving route.  As Ethan and I began to bicker over whether or not it was worth trying to go to church given the fact that we were likely to arrive for only the tail end of the service, Julia began to worry about the fact that her parents were arguing.  Because...Julia NEVER argues with Madeleine.  Right?

JULIA: GUYS!  GUYS!  Can you just STOP FIGHTING?  It makes me really UPSET!
MADELEINE: (brightly) Well...I'm feeling really HAPPY!

Glad to know the traffic and bad moods of the parents couldn't shake Madeleine's chipper spirit.

Thankfully, the church service itself had started late, so all was not lost, and we were able to make it there without missing too much.  Of course, the service itself was not what the kids were excited for, but rather the youth Easter egg hunt that occurs every year after the Easter Day liturgy.  The kids of the congregation got busy searching the church grounds for eggs full of such loot as jelly beans, tattoos, stamps, stickers, and little toys.  In addition, each kid secretly hoped to be the one to find the golden egg, which is filled with money.  Unfortunately, the golden egg proved near impossible to find, with even the adults who had hidden the eggs unable to remember where it was.  At long last, one of the adults found the golden egg, and the hunt wrapped up so that the kids could pose for a group photo for the church bulletin.

As the kids stood together, smiling for the cameras, one particular kid's face started to crumple in sadness:

The photo shoot had not yet ended when Madeleine ran from the crowd into the comfort of her aunties' arms, to sob: "I didn't find the golden eeeeggggg!"

So, Yiayia took the time and effort to grab one of the red-dyed Orthodox eggs that were handed out after church, wrap it in gold foil, and hide it in the bushes.  Calling Madeleine over, Yiayia steered her towards the faux golden egg, which Madeleine found and with which she then became so INSESSED that she couldn't bother to lift her eyes up to the camera as we attempted to take a family photo.

So, I grabbed the distracting golden egg out of her hands and tossed it to Shannon, who wasn't fast enough to catch my spontaneous and poorly aimed throw, and the egg cracked on the pavement, and our picture came out like this:

Whoops.

Happy Easter!  I hope that all you readers, Estr sellibrators or not, are of like sentiment with Madeleine, post-Easter basket (but pre-golden egg failure), and are feeling really HAPPY today!