It’s that time of year again. EASTER. The tulips and daffodils are starting to bloom. The buds on the cherry tree in the backyard are forming. The days are getting warmer and longer. The kids can spend more than a half hour outside without being chilled to the core. The gloomy people are starting to smile…AND the kids want to dye easter eggs. Eww.

I try to get excited for this event. It’s almost like prepping for a marathon. You feel strong, pumped, excited, and intimidated all at once. I tried to prep this year. I bought two dozen eggs instead of a dozen. I bought two kits instead of one so that two boys could do the color green at the SAME time. Where I failed…keeping it all to myself until everything was absolutely ready.

I got home from the grocery store and they were acting like animals…you know how little boys do. All three were wrestling on my bed (my bed…that’s another post). Of course someone gets hurt and they get lectured about wrestling…AGAIN. I swear the three year old is going to whoop some serious butt when he catches someone messing with his older brothers, the boy is vicious. So what do mommies do when the kids are misbehaving and completly not listening? Mommies resort to bribery. “Be good boys or you don’t get to dye easter eggs!” “WHAT!? Easter eggs!? YAY!!!” (as my pillows go flying to the floor and Finn tackles Logan to the mattress) Okay, did they not hear the “be good” part?

Now the excitment has set in and it’s the constant, “Can we do it now?” “I want to do it now.” “Now?” “Now?” AHHHHHHHHHH. Let me check the mirror to see if I still have any hair left on my head.

First, I have to explain that the eggs are raw and need to be cooked. They have zero patience for this and I continue to hear the “Now, now, now.”

Second, the eggs need to cool before we get our color on. “Now, now, now?” “Mom they MUST be cooled off by now!”

Third, get the table ready and try to keep their little paws off of everything until we’re ready to begin.

I tried some deep breathing techniques…they didn’t seem to work, so I had a beer instead while the eggs were cooling. Ahh, much better. I then realized that even though I was ready with two coloring kits, I didn’t have enough vinegar for two coloring kits! Eek. That was stupid.

We made the best of it. The dog only got one egg (with its shell). “Oops!” I can’t wait to pick that one up out of the backyard. The boys only complained a little, wait no it was a lot, that the eggs were taking too long to get to the desired color. Daddy had the great idea of grabbing food coloring and making some of them sort of tie-dye. They really got a kick out of this. Finn only dropped and cracked one. Deacon’s was eaten by the dog as previously stated. Logan managed to keep his all intact. All of the dye cups remained standing. And I am the one that spilled some water on the table. Minimal arguing with each other over who got to drop the next egg in the only free cup at the moment.

I consider this success. Now what to do with two dozen hard-boiled eggs? Egg salad anyone?