Easter

After two years of no traditions, we decided to do as many as possible this year. Here are a few:

Hot "Cross" Buns

Homemade Kites (symbolizing the resurrection) 

Paintings to give as gifts

Egg dying and egg hunt (of course, a classic US tradition)

 The kites posed more of an issue than expected. The materials were quite expensive and it took seven tries to finally get one up in the air. Shad's made it up finally. We did find out that we had secured the bridle on the wrong side and it was catching the wind funny. Once we fixed it, it took seven different strings to finally decide that we need nylon kite string...but on the package it specifically said, "do not attach to anything that may become a sail or become airborne." 

It took me half a dozen children to decide that craft time was worth the mess and worry. I even enjoy it now and I encourage them to do crafts and get messy whenever possible. 

This was a particularly magical day where everyone got along and enjoyed painting and we read poems while we painted. It felt like a scene right out of an old book. 

James and I want to re-create more of a traditional childhood like we had or our parents and grandparents had. We want minimal "unnecessary" screen time and lots of family time. Crafts has been a fun way to accomplish it. No matter what else is going on, they seem to gravitate to whatever is going on in the kitchen, or wherever I am. So I try to have something stimulating to do each day. 

I had to show you this beautiful pot from France. I have a sweet Etsy friend that sent this to me with birthday chocolates and a nice card. This was a big deal. I also bought the copper pots you see behind you. They are decades old and in excellent, though very loved, shape and tough as boots. I don't think I'll ever need another set of pots. Easy to care for...if they tarnish, find a child, a few wedges of lemon, and a chair. The lemon makes them sparkle like new. 

We got a science experiment from the Easter Bunny who thought a fun project would be better than cadbury eggs...

And the cabinets arrived! James did an excellent and timely installation and I love them. They are a simple shaker style which I think is a very classic style. Shaker always translates to simple. I will be having gold (not real) handles and knobs installed. I'm still getting used to the color. I really wanted them to be Benjamin Moore Railings, which is a DeVol kitchen color that I absolutely love. If you don't know who DeVol is, you should meet them! You should also meet Laurel Bern. She is the life blood of design in my mind. She is so knowledgeable and talented. 

My only problem now, is that I don't have counters or a sink for the next two weeks. I believed myself to be a pretty innovative person with a good mind for problem solving. Children force me to problem solve all day long...but having no indoor plumbing...my mind shut down. I live in the kitchen. Sometimes I am in the kitchen so often that I sit on a stool to cook or do dishes and my children bring me their school work and work around me on the counters. But now I have no counters...or sink. So, after a very difficult day with some frustrated words and getting very bossy with everyone to stay away from me while I figured it out...I figured it out. Kind of.

I pulled the living room corner table into the kitchen to be the center island. I filled a bucket with soapy water for the cleaning rag. It gets drained and refilled with the hand pump every few hours.

It's a good place to prepare food, but like I said, children gravitate toward the kitchen, so it also became the perfect place to play Monopoly Deal.

Side note: I did successfully make some pretty rolls today and I am picky about which recipes make it into my sacred recipe box (yes I'm old fashioned and I love my box with cards and I will never get rid of it, no matter how many times I'm badgered to put my recipes on the computer) But anyway, I decided to keep this recipe. 

And this is what we do now, three times a day. The first bucket is where the dishes soak and are scrubbed. The second is a bleach bath. The boys drain and refill these twice a day too. I close the lids when we aren't using them. 

You might be wondering why I'm wearing a dress. I like dresses. I feel most comfortable and feminine in a dress. I don't mind yoga pants and leggings either but most of the time I am happiest in a pretty house dress (always with an apron, which comes in so very handy! I can't live without an apron at home and today I almost took Shad to baseball with it still on and covered in soapy water and floury handprints.) I also have a few pairs of ballet flats that I use as house slippers. 

I have always loved dresses and feminine clothing. I would dress in princess dresses if they weren't so cumbersome. You might also wonder if it's harder to work in a dress. I don't mind it, as long as I'm warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I don't notice much of a difference but I suppose I choose more dresses in the spring and summer because I don't like being cold. 

Other strange things about me...I am almost always pregnant and many people have asked if we are done. I'll be very forthright, and I am never offended by the question...it's already strange enough to have seven in this day and age, but we are actually going for nine. 

We like having children and we hope that they will grow up to be nice people that will leave a good mark on the world. If each of my kids grows up and only touches one life for good, It will be all worth the effort. And no, I'm not a super-mom or a super-woman. I don't own a cape, I own a broom and an apron and I am very often barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, by choice. I am happy that way and grateful to my wonderful super-husband and father, James, who has gone off every day and sometimes weeks at a time to slay the dragons for us so that I CAN be all of those things. YES sometimes it is very hard. Raising seven children comes with lots of messes, sleepless nights, tears, and stress at times, but I'm not one to stop doing something just because it's hard. If that were the case for everyone in the world, we'd have no doctors, dentists, soldiers or mothers. 

So, please don't feel in the least bit sorry for me. I know that traditional women aren't very popular in todays world but I find it a very refreshing and fulfilling lifestyle for me...I am up right now, with a cup of warm tea, writing. I just gave my face an ice bath and a ten minute oil massage. I read a book to my kids and sat with my dog for a few minutes. Tomorrow we will play and paint and fight and resolve and wash lots of dishes after a big chicken dinner. We are watching, Gone With the Wind, and installing cabinet hardware, snuggling babies with curly red hair, reading more books and watching the sunset. I wouldn't rather be anywhere.