Easter: done & dusted.

Easter called for a Lace Dress :)

Well well, another Easter has come & gone! Done & dusted for another 12 months! It seems each year the 'chocolate' season rolls in quicker than the year before & then slips out even quicker!

With that said, we had a really awesome Easter Weekend this year! It contained absolutely everything that a 4 day weekend should entail, I think! We didn't go away....in fact, we hardly left the house! As Monday morning rolled around, it occurred to me that the kids & I had not left the house in almost 4 days! We had basked in the luxury & comfort of our new home & neighbourhood. It was so unbelievably nice!! And as much as I love to fill my days with adventures & being out in the big bad world....I also love slow days at home full of crafting & coffee & lazy couch sessions watching movies! It's all about balance baby :)

The lead up to Easter was beautiful.

Dyed boiled eggs & crayon drawings :)

{we gathered sticks on one of our evening walks, stuck them in a vase and decorated them with a packet of $2 foam eggs....simple, easy & kind of fun!}

Ella was a buzz of excitement on Saturday afternoon. She carefully drew pictures for the Easter Bunny & put a lot of thought into what she was going to leave out for him. She asked lots of questions about the famous Bunny, and I stumbled my way through some sufficient answers :)

She went to sleep that night a very excited yet content girl. That's something I really love about being a parent....seeing & feeling the magic & joy of life through the eyes of a child! It opens my memory up to wonderful flashbacks of my own childhood. Sometimes, having children around makes life seem even more worthy of celebration!

And at 4am, Ella crept into our bed and whispered "in the morning I have to show you the most amazing thing Mummy!!" ..... she had spotted the trail of shiny eggs on her way to our bedroom :) And just like that, she fell off to sleep again, snuggled between Mummy & Daddy...waiting for the sun to rise!

And, it did.....so the festivities began...

We haven't spoken a lot about 'Christianity' to our kids yet. It's been briefly talked over & I've attempted to make some simple explanations about God & Jesus & Church & beliefs! But for now, we're keeping their minds open. Open to choice. Open to their own beliefs & values. As parents, we will instill faith & a sense of doing what's right. I want my kids to be kind & honest & loving. I want them to be grateful & aware. I want them to believe in something....in life. But....when it comes to religion, I want them to follow their own instincts & beliefs. Some people may find that shocking that we're not driving our children down a 1-religion road....but to be honest, Chris & I are both still figuring out what & who we believe in....so who are we to force just 1 religion on our children? Christianity will probably be the main drive, but an open mind & an educated choice is what I'd rather present to my kids.

However, with that said.....as Easter & Christmas celebrations roll around, I do relay stories {Christian Stories} about these special days & why they are significant on the calendar. 

As a child, my Mum would take my Brothers & I to church. I liked it there. I enjoyed the safety of growing up with a Christian upbringing. But now....I'm grown and have the freedom to do & follow whatever I like....and I do believe in something.....but what? I don't know! While I figure it out....my church; is wherever my family is. Being surrounded by happiness & love & homely things is religion to me....

Nanny & Ella. Easter Sunday 2012.

Grandma & Ryder enjoying some snuggles.

Pa & Ella. Dancing on his feet.

'Aunty Mon' sharing the Easter Joy.

I regularly talk about traditions, and how I want to embed them into my parenting. Well, how's this for tradition....Chris's Nan has worn these exact Bunny Slippers for 24 Easters now!!!! Every Easter Sunday she whips them out & sports them all day. LOVE!

We hosted 'brunch' {basically a fancy way of saying come around for wine, food & fun mid-morning} on Easter Sunday. Surrounded by family & friends we celebrated Easter, we celebrated life & we simply enjoyed the little things in life. That makes me happy. And having the space to now accommodate guests & host such events makes me VERY happy.

Easter 2012 was lovely. And as it winds down and is done for another year, I can look back at these photos & smile. Remember & smile!

I hope your Easter was filled with things & people you love!

Now, to pack away the Easter crafting & decor and look forward to the next chance to celebrate :)

P.S. 15 days left to go into the draw to win an iPad3. Over here for details.

P.P.S. I'm also giving away a $50 iTunes Gift Voucher on my Facebook page if you spread the word about the iPad3 promo. Ends this Sunday night....QUICK!

P.P.S. The TEENAGE TO ME photo project will be wrapping up late next week. Have you entered?? If not, please do!

And it was a good Friday.

Today is Easter Good Friday. And what a GOOD Friday it was!

Like most days lately, it started in a blur {severe broken sleep is taking it's toll on me}, but once I was downstairs & had caffeine running through my veins, we were in full Friday speed :)

Ella & I kicked off the day with some more Easter craft:

I bought an egg painting kit to do today....however we opened it to discover half the stuff was missing from the box {jibbed}. So we dumped that plan and simplified it to painting some foam eggs & smothering them in glitter. As my Mum says "you can never have too much glitter!" :)

Her independence still catches me off-guard. Not so long ago, crafting sessions with her required me to do most of the work. Now, I get her set up, throw in my two-bob & away she goes. She's creative & arty & loves to do it her way!!

I love the lead up to special celebrations. All of this week, we've talked about Easter. We've crafted and we've planned. Whether you're religious or not, there's always something worth celebrating. Through basic activities with my kids, I'm hoping to instill in them a knowledge & understanding of special events and a love of celebrating & following traditions. Making memories each & every year. Using these times to reflect & learn & look forward.

The end crafty result:

Ryder woke from his morning nap after a piddly 25mins & I almost cried with exhaustion as this 9kg boy likes to be carried ALL.THE.TIME. However being a public holiday, Chris was only doing half the amount of work as normal {the joys of being self-employed....you never seem to 'stop' working} so he whipped up the most amazing healthy lunch. It was divine!!!!!!!! The man can cook :) teamed with a fresh fruit & vegie juice...yum!

The next occurrence was an amazing thing....Ryder slept for TWO HOURS!! This, my friends, rarely {aka...never} happens. He's famous for his 20minute power naps. Expecting him to do his usual mini-sleep; I shoveled down my lunch, skulled a coffee, played with Ella & then sat down to write, expecting to hear his cries through the baby monitor....they didn't come. So, I kept writing, Ella kept playing, Chris kept working. So, we watched a whole kid's movie {Coraline....man, that movie is weird!}......yet, the boy was still snoozing. I even had time to sit with pen & highlighter and READ!!!!!!! Read a grown-up book. All to my self.

It was lovely.

And due to his lovely lengthy nap, Ryder woke in a wonderful mood & the relaxation continued while he happily played & sister overtook my laptop:

She's discovered ABC for Kids online.

For the first time since Ryder was born, I got to sit & read & relax for more than 5 minutes, whilst having my content babies right there with me..... Friday bliss! I told you it was good Friday.

Ella asked if we would come upstairs to her room, so we could camp with her! No idea what she was on about, I grabbed Ryder & we headed up. She had set up her tent, built a ring fire with cotton balls and made 'marshmallows on sticks' {cotton balls on pencil tips}. Creative much?? So, we sat fireside & roasted marshmallows & all crammed into a play tent to sleep & hide from hoooing owls ;o) Never a dull moment with her around, this sassy little lady of ours!

"Mum! Enough with the photos! PLEASE!

We followed that up with some fresh air out in the front yard. Sprawled out on picnic rugs, we soaked up the peace & serenity of our new neighbourhood. Have I mentioned that I love it here? :)

Not the best angle I know. But I love how he grabs his feet...so cute.

Days like this. Moments like this, diminish the frustrations of all the sleepless nights & exhausting moments of Motherhood. I have two thriving, healthy, amazing, spirited children who love so big.....blessed truly is the best word to sum that up! The love I have for these two burns holes in my Soul daily.

We ended the day with a sunset walk around our 'hood', an early dinner, an early bedtime for the kidlets & a chance to relax & blog before 8pm!

Happy Good Friday to you all! Cheers to a wonderful, love-filled weekend.

What did you get up to on this holiday?