Eggs & a Birthday

Colored eggs this evening.  Realized it was the first time hubby and I have done that little tradition ... in 12 years of marriage!  How is that possible?  Well, we've never really had reason to hard boil a bunch of eggs and dunk them in liquid dye.  (How did this tradition get started anyway?)  Last year Natalie was just young enough that we squeaked by without having to make a big ta-doo about The Bunny.  We did a modest little plastic egg hunt at a neighbor's house and called it a day.  This year, she seems so much more aware.  And so, yesterday, while at the market for a last-minute dinner ingredient, I happened upon the quinnessential product of all things Easter ...

... and I thought to myself, "Oh, yeah, we should probably color eggs this year."  How totally lame is that?  No forethought.  No anticipation.  Just dumb, random luck.  Regardless, I grabbed my box-o-PAAS and a dozen eggs and headed home.

Tonight after dinner, we broke out the vinegar and all the rest of the necessary .supplies ...  made a whole big production ... and Natalie stayed interested long enough to watch the tablets dissolve (ooooh! aaaah!),  nearly knock over a cup - three different times, break an egg, and see one egg "magically" change from white to pink.

In the meantime, CJV woke up from her evening snooze and needed to be held.  I tried my best to help CPV figure out how to color eggs - something that he apparently didn't do as a child and I haven't done in many years.  

To lighten the mood, I told the story of the Easter I was 12 - yes, people, I said 12 - as in almost a teenager - when I realized (or finally accepted) that the Easter Bunny (spoiler alert here) isn't actually responsible for hiding all those eggs and leaving candy in the waiting baskets.  While my family colored eggs, I hid out in the living room and cried these sad littler tears for the deceipt and loss of innocence - I am so dramatic, huh?  This was also the year that Christmas changed for me, too.

Chad's response to my little confession - appropriate as always, "Seriously, you were 12?  Babe, you were pretty lame."  (at least he used past tense)

I was the oldest in my family.  I didn't have older, more worldly siblings to ruin it for me. Besides, I really wanted to believe ... and my parents were so good about making a big deal of the whole thing.

While tonight's egg coloring experience was not much to write about (well, I am writing about it but you know what I mean), I do have some really fond memories of this tradition with my parents and brothers and sister.  I also have high hopes that as our girls get older, they will be able to better appreciate these all-important holiday preparations.

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On a separate but related note, my most treasured Easter memory happened when I was 8 years old.  Easter that year fell on April 3rd.   I remember my mom talking about her contractions - long before I had any idea what that meant. I can still remember the "frantic" preparations to get my brother and I dropped off at Grandma's house, so my mom and dad could get to the hospital.  My Grandma was hosting our annual Easter Brunch, and I was surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Yet I could not focus or even enjoy the festivities going on around me.  I just wanted the phone to ring.  I wanted to know that my mom was alright.  I couldn't wait to hear if I had a new baby brother or sister.  

That Easter my baby sister was born.  Tomorrow my baby sister will be 27 years old!

Happy Birthday, Laura Helen!

If I could bake you a cake, it would definitely be Funfetti!  Love you, little sister!