Emily dying Easter Eggs!
Madeleine dying Easter Eggs!Amazing how time flies when you are having fun - sorry for the lapse in "publishing".
Shockingly, the girls have been keeping pretty busy. Easter was a hit this year and once again the difference between this year's Easter and last year's was anticipation. As with any holiday, the girls had fun with the actual day a year ago, but this year Madeleine and Emily are aware the holiday, whatever it may be, is coming and are waiting with little patience and great anticipation. We knew the Easter Bunny came at night (it was pointed out this is much like Santa Clause) and that he would hide our eggs and put candy in our baskets. The day before Easter our naps were a bit on the short side (which means we are just a wee bit grumpy "gumpy" and not coping as well at bedtime), after Emily and Madeleine had been put to bed Till left to pick-up a pizza as I was boycotting the idea of cooking. Emily spied the departure from the girls' window (unfortunately over the garage and with a clear view of the driveway) and came unglued because Daddy wasn't cooperating by going to sleep so the Easter Bunny could come. When I told her he would be right back, it was suggested that perhaps he had gone to pickup the Easter Bunny and bring him to our house. While this was the topic of great discussion we concluded the Easter Bunny would simply hop to our house, just like he hops to all the other kids' houses. Madeleine, Emily and I read all of their books featuring a bunny in any form until Till returned, upon which he promised to go to bed as soon as possible.
Easter morning brought a thorough review of Easter candy. On the acceptable list are Cadbury Mini Eggs and M&Ms. On the unacceptable list are jelly beans (although we like to lick them just a bit, but will not place them in our mouths), chocolate eggs from Germany (which they would love if they would just try them) and, much to their mother's distress, peeps.
In advance of Easter Madeleine and Emily had a wonderful time dying eggs. Just like last year we wore head-to-toe black as it seems this color is least likely to show spilled dye. The first video gives a good indication of our method. No spoons for us! It is all about using one's hands and, as shown on the left of the screen, constantly rotating the egg in question. The second video gives an overview of our vibrant finished products and some discussion on the creation of secondary colors. In both videos Emily is in profile on the left and Madeleine is facing the camera.
In other news, Busch Gardens reopened on March 21st! Two of us were slightly more excited about this than the other two - you can guess as to pairings. We didn't tell the Madeleine and Emily we were planning on going (we were too afraid to risk the excitement that would be destroyed by an unexpected shift in the weather - we are proud to be cowards) and once in the car did not tell them where we were headed. However, the girls have a very good sense of direction and can navigate Williamsburg fairly well (including being able to tell you - most of the time - the direction to turn at each intersection, and the street names, on the way home from Colonial Williamsburg) so it didn't take them too long to figure things out. When Busch Gardens closed at the end of October we had told Emily and Madeleine it would reopen in the spring when the flowers were out. This video demonstrates some of the enthusiasm of that morning and Emily's connection that the flowers are out! Emily is on the left and Madeleine is on the right. The girls were thrilled to see all of their favorite rides and their mother is on a mission to get them on a ride that involves riding in a "log" (with an adult) by the end of the season. She wants a picture of terrorized girls to go with the picture she has of their terrorized Uncle Kyle on the same ride in 1994....so far, we have gotten as far as actually getting to the ride and refusing to get in - we obviously respected the boycott, but will continue to work on this.
In literary news we have been reading two of the Fancy Nancy books in which Nancy teaches the reader "fancy" words...."furious is a fancy word for angry...mauve is a fancy word for purple". When I looked at these books at the store they seemed a bit long for our attention spans, so we decided to test the waters with the library's copies. They are a hit. Periodically, Nancy says something is "ooo la la fancy", so we are doing the same. We have "ooo la la fancy" shampoo, scarves, etc.....just what I need - divas in the making.
Yesterday the girls and I took the car through an automatic car wash at the gas station. There was some preparatory discussion as to the noise, water all over, etc. There were four VERY large eyes in the back of the car and Emily physically shook. However, both young ladies stood their ground, possibly damaged the circulation in their right thumbs because of the hard sucking and did not cry! We consider ourselves very brave for this effort.
Last Friday the rain finally stopped and I took the girls to Yorktown to play in the sand. When we first arrived we were basically the only ones there. We did very well playing together in one central location, then Emily decided to wander off. While she was never out of my sight, she did have a nice time ignoring my requests for her return which meant I had to go stomping after her (leaving Madeleine and my purse at the original location) and bring her back. Her walk (the kind where the child has to walk really fast and hop periodically because one side of her body is being pulled up by a ticked-off adult clutching the child's wrist) back was accompanied by a lecture about safety, etc. As soon as Emily was back, Madeleine decided it was her turn to take off. I threatened that should this occur, we would pack up and go home. This was the point Emily looked at Madeleine and said "It's okay Madeleine, just walk." grrrrrr I am so looking forward to the teen years!
