The Distraction of Easter

Easter turned into a lovely distraction this year.  I was not expecting it, I have to be honest.  I am so cranky and evil right now that I didn't think there was much that was capable of bringing a genuine smile to my face.  But Easter did.  More specifically, Easter with my precious little dude.  I think three has got to be one of the greatest ages to enjoy a holiday like this.  We started talking about the Easter Bunny coming to our house just a few days before the holiday.  Then I told him that his "MO" (my cousin, whom he adores) was going to take him to Nanny's house (my 92 year old grandmother who still hosts this event).  Well the prospect of going to Nanny's to hunt eggs with all of his cousins and also get to hang out with his MO was more than he could handle.  Too excited.  So he was pretty stoked for the day.

He woke up at 5:40 in the morning and when I went in to get him he said to me, "We go to Nanny's now?"  I informed him that most reasonable people on the planet were still asleep and that, NO, we aren't going to Nanny's right now.  He joined me in my bed for his milk and when I asked him if he wanted to go and see if the Easter Bunny came to his house he told me, "No tank tu.  It too early.  I check yater."  Good call, kid...good call.  So at about 7:40am he came back into my room and I asked him again.  At this point he was all for it.  He ran out into the living room and came back shrieking, "An egg!!  An egg!!  I finda a egg Mommy!"  He nearly lost his shit when he saw he had an ENTIRE basket that was all for him in addition to the extremely fun eggs.  Watching him hunt for eggs and check out their contents with such enthusiasm really made me smile from the inside out.  I am rarely sappy and cheesy, but really, this is why I had kids.  This joy.  The pure fascination and laughter from something as simple as finding 18 plastic eggs.  Watching him do this really just made me melt.  And it made me rub my belly in anticipation of years ahead when he and his sister perform this action together.  And don't think I'm exaggerating when I tell you I haven't rubbed my belly in anticipation in quite a few weeks.  Sometimes you need something simple like this to remind yourself why you make the decisions you do.  This was one of those times.

I was so giddy that I decided that I was going to ignore doctors orders (to hell with bed rest) and I was going to go to my Nanny's house with my cousin and my boy.  I didn't want to miss the "big egg hunt" that was going to go down there.  Plus, the weather was beautiful and honestly, I REALLY needed to get the hell out of my house for a few hours.  So I took a shower and did my hair and I went to the Easter celebration.  And watching my boy play with his cousins and hunt for those eggs was worth it all.  Behold the precious boy showing off his prizes.

He hunted and he played and I sat out in the real world, with real other people (as opposed to the ones in my head that I talk to when at home on bed rest) and I almost felt like a normal human being.  For one afternoon, it wasn't about me, or the baby, or when she was coming, or the contractions, or how shitty I feel...  It wasn't about ME at all.  And it was bliss.  I was just a normal participant at a party for Easter.  And watching my boy eat strawberries in the sunshine?  Well...just take a look at that face and tell me it doesn't melt your heart:
And just in case this post seems like the day was too idyllic to be true, let me show you a picture of my child once we got home from all of the festivities and after he had his nap.  And let me label this picture exhibit A: What happens when your child that normally doesn't eat sugar has a day filled with Easter candy.  He starts to DIVE, literally, from the ottoman to the chair thinking he is flying.  And really, he basically IS flying.  And a 9 month pregnant Mommy that went out of the house when she isn't supposed to really doesn't have the energy to try and curtail such activities...
Thank you for all the fun, my boy.  We have just one week left of it being just the two of us, and days like yesterday remind me why I will miss that.  But at the same time they also tell me how much more enriched they will be for YOU when you get to share a day like that with your future sister.

And on a different note, today began a full week of no school for The Boy because of his Spring Break.  How in the HELL am I supposed to live through this?  Seriously!  It wouldn't be that bad if I weren't on bed rest because we could go to the zoo, or the Children's Discovery Museum, or the beach, or hell...even a park.  But when Mommy is supposed to be on bed rest, what in the hell is she supposed to do with her child?  Because honestly, by 9:20am this morning (which is MONDAY, by the way), I was out of ideas.  It is going to be a LONG week...