Easter Egg Hunt Mayhem

Being the holiday-lovers we are, Clay and I were all excited to take Ellie to every Easter activity our community offered.

We went to the Easter egg hunt at a local shopping center and were glad when we hardly saw any cars there. But once we turned the corner, we saw thousands of people. We were late, so we quickly got Ellie to her age group (0-4) and the whistle blew. We pointed out some eggs to her, but in less than two minutes, little hands had grabbed them all and Ellie was left empty-basketed. While we were waiting in line to see the Easter Bunny, a couple of parents noticed her basket was empty and had their kids share with her, which was so sweet.


Despite the girl ahead of her bursting into tears when she saw the Easter Bunny, Ellie seemed to love making the acquaintance. Next year, we'll skip the egg hunt and go for the bunny.

Next was an Easter egg hunt at the football stadium. The field was covered with prizes and treats and the stands were filled with about 5,000 eager parents (and their kids). We were a little skeptical about the chaos that would ensue when they gave everyone the go-ahead. It was kind of crazy. My friend and I decided that next year we would have our own low-key Easter egg hunt in my backyard. Sounds much more appealing. 

After a much-needed nap, we took Ellie to Color Me Mine. Ellie loved it but we wish we had prepared her better for the fact that we'd have to leave her creation there for a few days to be fired in the kiln. She almost couldn't bear to leave her kitty behind.

We ended the night with a movie night because our rental of "We Bought a Zoo" was going to expire. The movie was kind of cute, but more cute was Ellie munching on her little bowl of popcorn and turning to me and saying things like, "This is our movie night! I'm a big girl." After seeing a (PG) movie screen kiss, I explained "They are kissing, like mommy and daddy, because they're married!" The next morning, she laid one on me and said, "We got married!" This girl kills me. 

Yesterday

Our day started with Ellie helping me with chores. 

She helps me with three simple things every day and gets a sticker. 

So far, she has loved it. I'm sure it won't last too long, but I'm taking advantage of it while I can.

Yesterday, she thought climbing into the dryer was a good idea. Every kid has to do this at some point, right?

 It was such a sunny day yesterday. I'm not going to lie -- I kind of loved skipping winter this year. 

 We met Clay and his mom for a yummy lunch, then let Ellie have a ride on the carousel.

We also got some playground time in, a daily activity for us these days. 

     We finished the day with Red Mango. (I'm excited to try their new Cake Batter flavor!) 

I'm really soaking in the days where it's just Ellie and I and things are relatively easy in the motherhood department. But we are getting more excited every day to meet our baby boy. I can't believe he will be here in three and a half months.

Day Off

I had an audition at the conference center downtown the other morning, so Clay took work off and we made a day of it.

First, we went to a little French cafe my sister told us about. We shared an omelet and drooled over the pastries. Then, we headed to the new shopping center downtown. Even on a Wednesday morning, it was busy, but not too bad. The shopping was pretty amazing.

 My favorite find for Ellie: Her new yellow high-tops, which she loves and her blue floral dress.

I really like my new grey blazer and a striped maxi dress I found for a steal. Thank you, tax return!

After shopping (and despite my protests that Clay and I should switch places), I cashed in on a Groupon I had for a massage, and Clay took Ellie to a play center she loves. As you can see, she had the time of her life.                                                

There was something so exciting about having Clay with us all day on a week day and getting away together -- even just 40 minutes away!                                      

p.s. sorry for the messed up alignment on this post ... Ellie had at the computer and I'm not sure what happened!                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Spring Festivities

My sister invited us to a 5K her stake was doing. It was a lot of fun (despite Ellie's pouty face).

Little did we know, there was an Easter egg hunt after the race for the nursery kids, so we gave Ellie our camera case and got her all hyped up for her first Easter egg hunt.  

 I had to give her some serious coaching. I mean look at those kids and parents inching their way forward!

Score!



When Ellie opened her eggs and saw her jelly beans, she looked at me, confused, and asked, "These are only for going potty?" When I said she got to eat all of them right then, she couldn't believe her luck.

That night, we went to a party for our friends' daughter, Savannah.

When we asked Ellie who's birthday it was, she said, "Banana's!"

Crystal had the cutest spring theme going on, and Ellie and the birthday girl even had on matching shirts

(wish I got a pic of both of them, but Ellie's tolerance for pictures ended after this one).

I had fun making this little spring headband for Sav (which looks adorable on her, I might add)

and this little cardigan:

It's a knock off of this Banana Republic cardigan -- tutorial here.

I've made a few of them for friends and love how little work you have to do to get such a cute result.

Speaking of Banana Republic -- we have an appointment downtown this week and figured we'd stop by the new City Creek Center. I've heard it's a pretty cool place. I'll let you know!

Recipe Sharing

On Sunday, I had baking fever and made a few recipes I had been wanting to try. They are all favorites now, so I thought I'd share.

#1: Whole wheat English muffins.
Even if you're not crazy about English muffins, you will LOVE these. They are easy and delicious!
Recipe here.

{Homemade strawberry jam optional, but highly recommended.}

#2: No-bake energy bites.
I would share a picture, but we gave some to my good friend who just had a baby girl and we (mostly I) ate the rest. Believe me, they are worth trying. And only 5 minutes of prep! We keep kept them in the freezer. The toasted coconut is a must, in my opinion. That yummy crunch is what makes them so addicting.
Recipe here.

#3: Cinnamon-oat pancakes.
These have actually been a staple in our home for a year or so, but I made them recently for a lunch + freezer meal exchange with my friends, then made more that weekend for sunday dinner. They are hearty, healthy and yummy. They freeze well too.

Recipe here.

My alterations: I use half whole wheat flour, half all-purpose. I usually use almond milk instead of cow's. I add a pinch more cinnamon than called for, add vanilla, and sometimes add a mashed ripe banana if I'm feelin' it. I also add a little water sometimes so they aren't so thick.

St. Patty's

As most of my friends and family know, Clay and I like to make a big deal out of every holiday.  

This year, a few of my plans backfired a little — 

Like when I put some drops of green food coloring in the toilet and told Ellie the leprechauns had been here. Her expression turned to one of major concern and she said, "Don't make it green!" I had to flush it away before she would use the toilet again. 

During breakfast, I excitedly asked her if she wanted some green chocolate milk and she said, 

"No, I want it dark." 

I had also bought some Lucky Charms for her, thinking they would be a definite hit. Turns out she despises the marshmallows and only wants to eat the grain cereal parts — which I grew up thinking were gross parts of the cereal you put up with to get those marshmallow rainbows and pots of gold. 

But a part of our plans that did go well was the 5K we signed up for. 

The weather was perfect, we made good time and Ellie did great in the stroller. 

{Before the race} 

{I break out my super-attractive leprechaun-cheetah socks but once a year.}

{One minute before the race began. Ellie was plugging her ears because we warned her a canon would go off soon. This one's not a fan of loud noises.}

{Minutes after we finished the race, it got really windy and chilly. 

Oh, and that Mickey Mouse sucker is the reason Ellie did fine in the stroller. 

That and me giving in to her requests to hold her hand during parts of the race.}

{My good friend Keri ran too and pushed her double stroller the whole way — rock star woman, I tell you.}

We continued the festivities by painting our nails a matching green, 

then some good friends treated us to an Irish dinner — corned beef and all. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Donuts + Rollerblading

Over the weekend, Clay had a free Krispy Kreme donut coupon, so we got Ellie psyched about a trip to the "donut shop," (we sang the song and everything) and we let Ellie choose her own donut. She had a hard time narrowing it down, but in the end, she chose a glazed donut with dark chocolate icing in her hand and was all smiles.

Earlier that day, I had been telling Clay I had been craving rollerblading. He concluded it wasn't worth the risk during pregnancy (I have a pretty nasty fall on my record), but when we were tinkering around in the garage later that day and I saw my dusty blades, I couldn't help but strap them on. When I had them on, Ellie looked at them and said, "Cute, babe!" 

I took her for a very conservative spin and she loved giving me high fives as I wheeled past her. 

After our little rollerblading moment was over, she said, "That was a nice skate!" This girl cracks me up.

And we are definitely taking her to Classic soon.