Despite desperately wanting this baby to come, it has been a very nice Easter weekend.

Yesterday morning, we dyed eggs.  Sam wanted to know if a dyed egg and a died (a.k.a. dead) egg were one in the same.  Ummmm… no.

In the afternoon, despite some rain, Dan took Luke, Sam and Maria to an egg hunt.  Jack claimed that he was too old.  (Yikes!)  He did say that he’d go next year to help the baby collect his eggs.

Chaos reigned after dinner when we made Easter Cookies.

Early this morning, the kids discovered their Easter baskets, hunted for eggs the Bunny hid and ate breakfast before Mass.  In an effort to avoid stains, I had the kids eat THEN dress.  All went fairly well until the picture taking session, during which Lukie got a bloody nose while messing around with his siblings, trying to avoid the camera.  So much for avoiding stains.  (Hey – Kristina!  Remind you of another Hemmersmeier Easter???)

(notice the blood on Luke's shirt?)

Finally… a half-way decent picture (if you overlook Dan’s goofy face, Luke’s stained clothes, Jack’s unsmiling face and Maria’s feet):

After this picture was taken, we all headed out the door to Mass.  There were two services at the same time, so it wasn’t too crowded and we had no trouble getting a seat right up front.  One of the cantors started things off with a boisterous and long rendition of an Alleluia.  When she finished, the silence was deafening.

Sam, not one to lose an opportunity, chose that moment to ask, quite loudly, from the front row, “Is church over now?”

Maria, of them all, was the one who shied away from the bunny.

It’s what I keep telling myself and everyone that asks.  But, it’s still frustrating.

We’re stranded.  Yes, it’s at my in-laws (who have food, heat and a washer and dryer), but we’re still stranded.  Unable to get home and back to the things we need to get back to.

We came to St. Louis to visit family for the New Year.  On Saturday morning, we packed the van, stripped the beds, cleaned up after ourselves and were preparing to head over to our niece’s birthday party on the way out of town when we discovered that our van wouldn’t start.  This wouldn’t have been too disconcerting, except that two days previously, we had had a brand new battery installed.  So, it wasn’t something as simple as replacing the battery.

We made some calls to see who would be able to work on the van THAT day, so that despite being delayed, we’d still be able to head home to Chicago.  We ended up having the van towed to a nearby Honda dealer who told us they could work on it – they were open until 5 p.m., and the service manager thought that would give him enough time to diagnose the problem and make a repair.  Things were looking up!

A few updates later and things were looking expensive (go figure), but still doable.

Getting a jump on things, Dan had his dad bring him over to the dealership at 4:30, anticipating being able to pick up the finished van, get back, pack her up (again) and get a move on.  No such luck.  No luck at all, it turns out.  Not only was the van not finished, but the problem was WAY worse than anyone thought.  It’d be Tuesday at best, before the repair could be done, and cost several thousand dollars, to boot.

Happy F-ing New Year to us!!!

After much discussion and debate, we decided that Dan HAD to go to work and Jack and Maria really couldn’t afford to miss school.  So, at 6:40 a.m. on Sunday, Dan, Jack and Maria boarded a train bound for Chicago.  I stayed behind with Sam and Luke to wait on the van.

On Sunday, I ran out of deodorant, prenatal vitamins and the always-needed-while-pregnant-Tums.  And I had to do another load of laundry.  During which I shrunk to doll-size my newest, most comfortable bra EVER.  Also the only one I had with me, as we thought we’d only be here for two days.

Not only do I now have saggy boobs, but very COLD saggy boobs, as it’s 15 degrees here and dropping.

I’ve had one call from the dealer.  As of 11:35, they were taking things apart and were hoping to have an estimate for us sometime this afternoon.  So far:  nada.  Not looking good for a reasonable departure time tomorrow, IF it’s even ready tomorrow, is it?

Have I mentioned that a nasty storm system is headed our way beginning Wednesday?  Nothing like driving six hours through a snow storm with two young kids, is there?

So, while we could be stuck halfway home, missing work and school or paying for a hotel, it’s still a little hard for me to see the bright side of things right now.

Guess I can fill the day tomorrow with bra shopping… that should be fun a fun thing to do with The Little Boys.

On the other hand, as the holidays draw to a close, so, hopefully, does The Ugly Beard Contest.  “I hate it,” Jack told me, of Dan’s new… ummmm… growth.  “So do I,” I told him.  “I think he has a really good chance of winning,” Jack said.

Ummmm… yes.  If Dan doesn’t win, I can’t imagine who will.  I love him tremendously, but God did not make my husband for growing facial hair.  It took several days before you could even tell he hadn’t been shaving and now, after a week, it just looks like his face is really dirty.  I’d love to post a pic, but I doubt he’d be willing to pose for me.  Maybe I can sneak up on him during a nap.

Christmas was wonderful, as were the days following, as our wonderful friends, the Remicks, came to visit.  It was the first time I’d seen my Goddaughter since her baptism last year.  She’s a dream.  Soooo cute and soooooo happy all the time!

The visit was too short, but we were only a stop on their way to North Dakota.  We were lucky to have them for a day and night!  The way the kids got along, you’d never have thought we’d moved away.  It was great!  The house felt quiet and empty the moment they pulled away.

The ornaments are packed away now and all the gifts are strewn about the house.  We’re looking forward to seeing some family for New Year’s and, come Monday, we’ll be back in The Routine.

Sam worked hard ringing and singing:

Introduced a song to the audience:

And sat on Santa’s lap:

And Luke was the best Toy Soldier the school has ever seen:

One more half-day of school and Christmas Vacation begins.

Heaven help me.

“It’s a good thing Santa has a naughty list!

…For Maria!”

Wolverine

The Princess Ariel

Ever since getting home from school, Luke has been digging through his goodie bag.  His favorite thing?

(He’s the fireman).

I did pretty well.  Everyone had green except for Maria.  I figured we’d do her hair like we did for the parade and that would be that.  Well.  I figured wrong.  She was not interested.  So, the good big brother Jack gave her his green sweatshirt and he went with an orange t-shirt.

I screamed threats at the kids and demanded their presence in the kitchen immediately called to my little darlings for breakfast, where I presented them with GREEN Cheerios (Luke, Sam and Maria) and VERY GREEN oatmeal (Jack).

Truly, I expect excitement, but then a refusal to eat.  But, to my amazement, all of the kids ate their breakfasts.  And had green mustaches the rest of the day.

Green Cheerios. Made simply with food coloring in the milk. By lunch, however, I discovered a much better recipe - sprinkle cereal with green sugar crystals.

I can't believe he ate it. Don't know that I would have.

Green and orange. If you look closely, you can even see that Luke is sporting a green tongue!