Our Easter

Our Easter started out just fine! Gus actually had to leave for the airport at 3:30am yesterday, but the Easter Bunny had already been to our house by then. I fell back asleep after he left, and was then woken up shortly after 6am by two VERY excited kids who wanted to tell me about the goodies the bunny had brought them. I bought myself a little more sleep by giving Niko the green light to work on his various new Lego sets, but I still got up right around 7am (my biological clock is programmed for 7am, as much as I would have liked to sleep longer!). We ate cinnamon rolls shaped like bunnies (thanks, Pinterest) and then they got dolled up in their Easter finest to hunt for eggs. The bunny hid them very well this year, so it took a while. But the weather was nice, and they had a blast!

After lunch, the weather was gorgeous and I really wanted to get out and go for a walk. So we did! We checked out a section of the Rail Trail that we hadn't been on before. It was great! We walked a few miles, chatted, and Maya collected pine cones (remember this detail). They even let me take their picture.

Then they were tired, and wanted to play some more with their Easter goodies, so we went home. We were wishing Yiayia a Happy Easter on the phone when I noticed something dark at the edge of Maya's hairline. And it was MOVING. I acted quickly, and pulled a live TICK off of her. I got it into a sandwich bag quickly (this is apparently my first instinct with ticks now... SAVE THE BODY! even though this one clearly hadn't bit her). I had her strip down so I could check for other ticks, and I looked in her hair. I thought we were in the clear. I also checked Niko and then myself (though I have the creepy-crawlies, even as I type this!). Niko's hair was really easy to check, since it's short, but I wasn't convinced that I had checked Maya's hair as thoroughly as possible. So I did it again. And wouldn't you know, there was ANOTHER TICK! And this one was attached. Commence freak-out. I ran for my tweezers and did exactly what I was supposed to: firmly pinched the head and pulled straight out. And it BROKE. I may have said bad words. Maya was crying. I ended up having to go back later on with a sterilized needle to dig the rest of the head out. The good news is that it looked fine today. No swelling or rash at all around the bite, and the bite itself is scabbing over. I will continue to monitor it, but that's a good sign. Call me Dr. Mom.

Anyway, by the time bedtime rolled around last night, I was drained! But I had promised Niko that we'd do fun things for Spring Break, and mini golf was at the top of his activity list. So after running errands all morning, we came home, ate lunch, and headed out to the kids' favorite golf course. The weather was ideal, and the sunshine felt great!

After that, the kids both announced that they were thirsty and "starving." So we were headed home. But then we drove right by the park they love, and they mysteriously forgot all about their hunger and thirst, haha!

Later on, we had t-ball practice-- it went great! And then we had a nice, quiet dinner at home and everyone went to bed peacefully. Tomorrow promises to be another beautiful day!