Easter Excitement

Today is the first day of spring vacation, and Julia couldn't be more excited.  Not only does she have a week+ off from school, but it's Easter weekend!  She was SO extremely amped up this morning that she couldn't stop chattering away at anyone who would listen.  It was a MAJOR case of diarrhea of the mouth.  It didn't matter whether she had anything of import to say.  Julia was not afraid to blurt out inane announcements like: "I have two MOLES!"

Furthermore, she apparently expected us to divine what was in her head.

JULIA: Mom?  Should I tell you NOW, or should I tell you later?
ME: Um...

Because I had no idea of the subject matter about which she was going to tell me, I wasn't really in a great position to make a decision.  I took a gamble and went with "now."

The information was STAGGERING.

JULIA: I finished "Samantha's Surprise!"  And it had a HAPPY ending!

Wow.  How unusual for an American Girl book to have a happy ending!

Julia has been earnestly preparing for Easter in classic Julia style.  There are Easter cards, pictures, "presents" (like a necklace made out of paper), and decorations everywhere.  In fact, Julia has lost track of all the places in which she has stashed her Easter gifts.

JULIA: (cheerfully) Well, I guess I'm gonna make NEW Easter cards, because I can't remember where I put the ones I already made!

Among the Easter crafts are a bunch of little poems, and they are true gems.  Take a look at a few:

"IT'S EASTER!  So don't be lasy and pick up a daisy.  Happy Easter to all."

"IT'S EASTER DAY!  Let's go and play.  An Easter egg hunt I'd say."

"HAPPY EASTER!  Easter's so much fun. Let's have fun in the sun.  HAPPY EASTER!"

"EASTER'S ON ITS WAY!  Where should we spend the day?  Let's colect Easter eggs."


Madeleine, as well, seems to be champing at the bit to get the Easter party started.  Coming up to me with a look of urgent concern in her eyes, she announced, "Mama?  We better HURRY and set the table for EASTER!"  Even though I assured her that we still have two days until Easter, her sense of urgency remained.

MADELEINE: But Mama?  Time just GOES and GOES.  We have to get ready for Easter before it's TOO LATE!

Luckily for both girls, we DID get to get ready for Easter today, in the form of making cookies.  The girls especially loved helping me frost the cut-out cookies I had made:

Madeleine leant her own unique creative style to her cookie decorating, producing such masterpieces as an Easter egg with a smiley face:

As you can see, there was no shortage of icing drizzled all over Madeleine's plate.  In fact, she made sure to "clean" it all up after we frosted the cookies, wiping up bit by bit with her fingers and licking them off.

Or, as Madeleine put it: "Mama!  I'm cleaning the frosting up with my TUMMY!"

Needless to say, she didn't have much appetite once lunch came around.

Anyway, I've spent enough time on my computer this morning, so it's time for me to get productive.  I'd better stop being lasy and go pick up a daisy!