Pot of Gold

When you are a working mom, long weekends are like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...24 extra hours to enjoy the little things...the little things that can easily get put on the back burner until all the weekend chores are done.  And sometimes the weekend chores take up all the time or they must be neglected in order to make room for the small things.  On a long weekend there just seems to be a better balance. 

We had Easter dinner with family and Mother Nature was kind enough to provide us with a temperature that was reasonable enough for the girls to enjoy a few hours outside with their cousins.  I love watching kids play.  I love hearing their conversations, their negotiating, their laughing...I love their made up games, their squeals when they are getting chased, their energy to run up the hill and log roll down the grass with legs and arms flopping and flapping and then sitting up with that dizzy look on their faces.

Cousins are like the perfect mix of a sibling and a best friend.  A sibling because the love is present and felt in  your heart and soul but rarely spoken about.  And a best friend because you only have to do fun stuff together. You don't have to live with your best friend.  You get to skip all the things like she ate all the cookies, he's kicking me under the table, move over I can't see the tv.  Some of  my favorite memories are the times I've spent with my cousins.  And as I watched my girls playing and laughing and bubble blowing with their cousins I wonder if this time, this moment, will be one of the memories that they cherish when they look back on life. 

We did spend a little time coloring eggs...and I just have to say...I get really excited seeing all the colors and anticipating how the eggs will turn out.  And at one time I would have had a vision for what colored Easter eggs should look like and I would have tried to convince Callie that less is more...maybe it doesn't need dye, paint, sparkles, and stickers.  But this time I just let her have at it...letting her be free to create what was in her vision not mine.  And as you know I'm all about making memories...but I just have to say...we did this egg decorating while Lexi was napping.  She will have to make her memories next year...mostly because I needed to keep my sanity!

Easter morning means looking for eggs in your jammies and rockin' bed head while mom snaps pictures.  This year Callie knew exactly what to do and Lexi just followed suit.  When did they get so big...so big that they hardly needed any help finding the eggs and filling the basket.  Lexi got sidetracked when she discovered the chocolates inside the plastic egg so Callie collected most of the hidden treasures.  They know it's a makin' memories kinda day when breakfast includes a bowl of mini eggs and a side of jelly beans.

Happy Easter Monday.