Salt and Pepper, Jellybeans, and Easter Bunnies

I think it's officially springtime from now on. Ah! I love the sun and the hope that snow is gone for good (or till next Christmas, as my kids would have corrected me were they not busy coloring Easter eggs.) 

Celebrations in the Thompson household are not planned-ahead-martha-stewart-style festivities. Boxes filled with seasonal decor usually surface the main floor the day before the event. Christmas, perhaps, is the only exception. Something is telling me that Easter is a big holiday too. Without Easter there would be no Christmas, said my favorite Prophet. It's just that when it comes to multi-tasking, I am not a multi-tasker. Especially when one of the tasks involves a newborn baby. That's just too much for me. 

Solution? Like I said, children are in charge of the egg-dying business. For this purpose my 8 yr-old son boiled 18 eggs earlier this morning. Dad made a cross for our object lesson. Nadia taught us about the Atonement. The twins were the cutest Easter bunnies stealing plastic eggs. Baby Tavish basked in the sun on the deck where we all gathered. I pretty much conducted our spontaneous pre-Easter Saturday Family Home, no, not Evening, more like an early Afternoon. Those who speak Mormon, know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, FHE's (or Family Home Evenings) are mandatory delightful family activities that we, as good LDS parents, try to hold every Monday and teach our kids all kinds of good things while they attempt to throw tantrums or play Minecraft. We have taken a long break from FHE's by reason of the new addition to our family, but it's time to get back on track. And this is how it is done by me. (By the way, it really does not have to be Monday, it just needs to happen. Every so often.)

First, you need to have an Ensign magazine at your home. Then, you need to have a good husband, who will go on a very short notice to the craft store and dig out nothing else but a nice fake palm branch. Then you send your 3-yr-old boys to find you a rock and two twigs, not too big, not to small. Everything else is on me: 2 pennies, 1 pair of old glasses, a piece of bread, salt and pepper, 7 plastic eggs with 4 jelly beans in each. 

Now to prepare, I filled every plastic egg with Scripture verses, describing the events of every day of the Easter week. And I wrote numbers on each egg, so we know which day of the week we are talking about. 

We started out with a song chosen by Ethan which is called 'Easter Eggs'. Have you heard of it? Me neither. But it goes to the tune of 'Jingle Bells' or otherwise known as 'Elmo's Song'. It sounded nice. Levi chose himself to say an opening prayer. The twins had fun lining up those eggs in order and taking turns opening them one by one and distributing jelly beans among the 4 jellybean eaters. The older kids were either reading from the Scriptures or retelling the story in their own words. Scott's mission was to keep the eggs safe from our enthusiastic helpers until it was time for them to be opened. My role was to present every object in connection with what was being read and it went like this:

1. Palm tree branch - Palm Sunday. (Matthew 21:1-11.)

2. Glasses - Jesus healed the blind and the lame in the temple. (Matthew 21:12-17.)

3. Two pennies - the Savior delivered some of His memorable sermons such as His teaching about the widow's mite. (Luke 21:1-4.)

4. Piece of bread - the Last Supper. (Mark 14:12-26.)

5. Salt and pepper - Jesus prayed and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:36-56.)

Nadia put together a great object lesson on Atonement. It was pretty cool, actually. She poured salt on a plate, representing our pure clean lives when we come to this world. Then she sprinkled pepper on top of salt which symbolizes our sins, or the sins of the world. Then comes the magic: a plastic spoon, electrically charged by rubbing it on the carpet (got science?) goes over the salt-pepper mixture and attracts just the black particles, leaving the white behind. This spoon is supposed to symbolize Jesus cleansing us from our sins which represents a marvelous gift of Atonement. 

6. Cross - Christ's great and last sacrifice that made salvation possible. (Luke 23.)

7. Rock - the stone of the tomb removed, He is risen! (John 20.)

It was a good time, in spite that half way into it Ethan and Levi lost interest and went to explore the backyard. Then for fun we had a couple of Egg Hunt Races, where the kids scattered their plastic eggs all over the lawn and on my mark they ran to pick them up. The winner was the one with the most eggs, of course. Counting those eggs on the deck, the kids and I were still (as in the years past) puzzled with the relationship between Easter Bunny and the eggs. Why does he bring them? Did he steal them from a hen, or did she give them (her future babes) voluntarily to be eaten on Easter Morning? Or were they up for adoption? What's the story there? 

Happy Easter, nonetheless!

And this is the bunny that kept me company while I was blogging about the other bunnies. 

 

Back in the Saddle (Sort of...)

6 weeks postpartum I celebrated in the gym. I surprised myself braving the weather and running there pushing my double-Bob full of 70 pounds of babies. The twins got so much bigger ever since Tavish was born, I probably shouldn't call them 'babies' anymore. I had a rough start, I'm so out of shape, so I had to walk up every hill the first mile. The second mile my heart got into the rhythm with my feet and running against the gusty winds felt glorious.

The boys were happy to finally play at the gym. More so, to see their favorite kid-size potties at the kids' place bathroom. Some of the gym staff (mostly childcare workers) were glad to see us back and were asking about our new baby.

The free weights, on the other hand, looked like they didn't recognize me at all. I had to lift much less than what I did at 37 weeks pregnant. I was tempted to stay for the strength class, but I ran out of time quick, Tavish was not going to sleep through his meal, and my family would not forgive me for banning baby formula at our house.

The best part of the day was night. I haven't had such a deep, good sleep for months and months. I had hard time sleeping when pregnant, and even worse time with Tavish (no need to explain, right?) Last night I woke up at 4 am and I could not even remember, did I have a baby, and, if yes, where that baby was. I was terrified to find my small sweaty butterball right next to me - oh, my! - I could have squished him! I didn't remember taking him out of the bassinet and feeding him. It's like when I was breastfeeding Ethan and Levi sitting on a couch and snoozing away, only to wake up an hour later to be horrified at the thought that they could have slipped out of my arms and fallen on the floor. But then, you are too tired to chastise yourself, you just go back to sleep, and it. feels. good.

First Day of Primary

January 6, 2013

Ethan and Levi started Primary today. (It's a Church class for children after they graduate from Nursery). They actually were "helpful and cute" (teacher's words). And to think that they would cause trouble or get expelled on the first day. How silly of me! They are good boys! (When they are not running around naked, toilet-papering the whole house.)

Bach Minuet 2

March 16, 2013

"How was your music lesson?" - I asked Nadia and David after they came home from Nadia's harp teacher where they rehearsed their duet piece for the recital. "Good! First time we sounded like a couple of constipated elephants, but the second time around we sounded like dancing flamingos." Nadia is  good at being funny when she uses her words.

Brotherly Love

March 17, 2013

Twins are taking a bath. Dad walks in to find Ethan out of the tub all in bubbles pointing into the toilet: "Poop in the toilet!" Dad: "Good job!" 
Ethan: "No, brother pooped in the bathtub. I put it in the toilet." Looking at his hands: "With my fingers - DISGUSTING!!!!"

What's in 15 years of marriage?

1 family   2 languages   3 musical instruments   4 bedrooms in our house   5 children   6 gallons of milk a week   7 birthday cakes a year   8 military moves   9 is bedtime at our house  10 unfinished DIY projects   11 is a prime number, as we should all know   12 countries we've been to together   13 Articles of Faith memorized by our children   14 (at least) U.S. states visited   15 years of military service and service to each other together as a family.

                               
1 семья   2 языка  3 музыкальных инструмента   4 спальни в нашем доме   5 детей   6 галлонов молока в неделю   7 тортов ко дню рождения в году   8 военных переездов   9 часов - отбой в нашем доме   10 незаконченных домашних проектов   11 простое число, как всем должно быть известно   12 стран, в которых мы вместе побывали  13 символов веры, заученных наизусть нашими детьми   14 штатов Америки, которые мы посетили   15 лет военной службы и жизни вместе. 

Nadia's Happy 12!

My girl has turned 12 yesterday! Happy Birthday to my best friend, my sweetheart Nadia! She is awesome and funny, smart and beautiful. I am so happy she is my first-born. I'd be lost in this world without her and with all our boys. 

At our Church, 12th birthday is a big deal. 12-yr-olds graduate from Primary and join the Youth programs. One of them is a Young Women's Organization for girls 12 through 18. So, introducing you a brand new Young Woman. She is beyond excited to finally be with the girls her size. Primary felt too dull a place for a smart cookie like Nadia. 

Now, let's get the party started! There were times when I was a serious party freak. Not any more. "Simple" is my goal in life these days. So, here is what we came up with 2 days before the party. A simple fold-up invite without any scrapbooking bling or stickers. Ironically, I even ran out of color ink. A picture of math equations from internet is on the front page along with Nadia's own formula for a happy 12th Birthday Party. I thought it was perfect for her gifted and talented classmates.

Inside, on top was the info about the party. And the bottom half had Nadia's great idea of collecting donation items for a local charity instead of presents. 

Oops! "Thanks you" was an accident. Late night, frazzled brain..

Between making a cake, cleaning the basement, and breastfeeding, my only decoration item was this garland. I made those flowers out of old plastic table cover and sewed up a big button in the middle. I think they are cute. Not quiet Pinterest worthy, but hey, try making them 15 minutes before the party with the fussy baby by your side.

And here is our crowd. It was so much easier to admit to the girls that we could use some help setting up the table, or holding the baby, in other words, free myself from the super-mama complex. I did not have any games, or activities, or crafts planned. But I think they were completely content watching the Life of Pi and socializing. The cute Thompson boys were not formally invited but were a hit (nuisance, occasionally) among the girls. So, yesterday I learned to trust in guests' abilities to entertain themselves.  

                                    

Last but not least, take a look at the collection of presents. Not bad at all. Next week Nadia is planning on taking them to the charity and volunteering there for a couple of hours. Such a good girl. Plus community service - check!

Winterland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiezC6huLFc

Snow, finally! It makes me miss Germany so much. Garmisch to be precise. Garmisch-Partenkirchen has the most beautiful, magical winters that make you feel like a child lost in the fairytale land. Virginia, ummm, not so much. But the good thing is, Nadia and David are out of school. When was I last excited about that? When was I last crazy about the prospect of observing my 4 children displaying addictive behavior toward the electronic devices, or toward the stash of treats suddenly discovered in our kitchen cabinet. But the new truth is that ever since Tavish was born, I like  it when my older kids are home. They keep the twins busy and happy, freeing my set of hands for our newborn baby. So, Love, love, LoVe this white cold wet fluff falling from the sky today.