our easter

This Easter was nothing like the last. Last Easter involved runs along the beach and a sunrise... a beautiful beach day and an amazing Italian dinner... Oh did I forget to mention we were surrounded by family? Well. It was the best. And Florida. I digress. Needless to say, this year was different in just about every single way it could be. 

But I wanted to make it as much as I could. We started our day with baskets of course. After the seven am wake up call. The kids unfortunately were gifted with a whole lot of stuff for our pool. The pool that is not being installed for who knows how long. So salt in the wound Easter Bunny. Salt in the wound. But they were excited none the less. Slides! Goggles! They got mostly things they needed or could use anyways... A new hoodie and baseball shades for David... Pajamas for Dom and Letty got new shin guards for hockey. I'm so fun.

We also had a giant Zoom meeting with as many of my dad's side of the family as we could muster  up. There was something like 12 screens going simultanously and I'm sure you can imagine how loud and chaotic it was. But so fun! Then I made everyone get all dressed in their Easter best for a delicious dinner whipped up by who else but Matt. He make spaghetti and meatballs... garlic knots and a napoleon for dessert. The kids watched Peter Rabbit while he was doing all of that... and all I did was force people into uncomfortable clothes and set the table as fancy as I could. I tried to make it nice!

Everyone was happy to go back to our quarantine finest as soon as dinner was over. But yeah. So Happy Easter!

a socially distant egg hunt

Other than this year (or the one Easter where we were sick) we spend our Easter doing a family egg hunt. The kids, that is. So to have to do an egg hunt without our cousins and without my parents being able to watch was very upsetting. For us all. So my sister got the idea of doing egg hunt shifts at my parent's house. We bring our own eggs that we stuffed ourselves and hide the eggs outside and my parents can watch the festivities at a very socially distant and responsible distance. It wasn't ideal. But it was better than nothing.

We took a "shift" on Saturday. It was a bit cold but at least the sun was shining! Letty and I hid the boy's eggs and then she hid in the van while I hid her's. We go youngest to eldest in our family... not sure why that tradition started but it has been the way it has been done for as long as I can remember. Dominic had the backyard... David had the driveway with all of Pop's scattered vehicles about... and Letty gets the front walkway and porch area. They found the eggs. They ate the candy. And then they played for a bit before we headed on home to our four walls. It was a forlorn sort of festivities. But we make the most of what we can!

annual easter egg day

In an effort to keep things as normal as possible I really tried to keep traditions alive for the holiday as much as I could. One of those traditions being dyeing Easter eggs. And for the first time in my life, I did them without my family. Which probably weighed more on me than it should have. But I am a traditions-type of girl. And a love-my-family-a-whole-lot-type of girl. But the show must go on! Coronavirus or not!

I just had your basic dye kit for the eggs that I had added to a grocery order the week before, thank God for order pick-up am I right? I didn't even bother blowing the eggs like we usually do... Hard boiled it was! And we didn't do a ton because well: COVID and all that. Save the eggs! 

We FaceTimed Nonna so she got to  join in on the fun for a little bit... not the same! She gave the kids the idea of using white crayons to write or make designs on the eggs so... That Nonna! She is so wise! The kids actually took their time which was quite surprising. Once the eggs were dry then they painted them with some shimmery paint that came with the kit. And then off they were to play while I was left to clean up the mess. Despite the circumstances I think it was a great success!

and on the 28th day...

I wrote this blog post. So there is that.

Our days have been blurring together as I am sure they are for most of you.... we take care of ourselves and the day-to-day chores... Anyone else doing an inordinate amount of dishes? We started online learning at some point in the past week and a half and that had some things that needed to be figured out but we are all learning what the new normal is here. I can't thank my kid's teachers enough they are working so hard to make sure there are things available for them to do online....  My kids still need quite a lot of hand-holding and I'm sure next week once the work starts getting "counted" they will need even more. But it is okay! We will get through this! One day at a time! Letty starts online tutoring next week and I am beyond thrilled about that! Someone else (who actually knows what they are doing) take the wheel and help that girl! I still try and get my work outs in even though finding motivation is hard. But I'm always glad I do! The kids make messes and then clean said messes. There is yelling and wrestling and time outs.... And of course giggles.

We take walks every day the weather allows... Dom can even do the entire development loop (1.4 miles) now without crying or being carried, so that feels like a major accomplishment. A few times a week I drive the kids over to my parents where they can ride their scooters with no worry really of getting hit by a car. We decided to shave the boy's heads hoping that by the time this is all over it will have grown back in enough for their typical cuts. I got a little sunburned this week on a gorgeous day that was all too fleeting.... The kids get super dirty each and every single day so when we pull them insides for showers it is a necessity. Then we eat! Always with the eating. We have been getting take out a few times a week which is always a highlight! And then we end our nights watching a movie. We have been loving all things DisneyNature right now... And of course in between all of that there are a lot of Zoom meetings and FaceTime calls with friends, family and teachers.