Sweet Treats

I hate Easter candy. Peeps, Cadbury Eggs, Malt Balls...honestly, just having to type those words makes me gag a bit. The theory is, the Easter Bunny never really gave me and my brother candy in our baskets. We got things like fruit (a real treat growing up in our house!), stickers, butterfly nets, playing cards, playdoh and crayons. So we never developed a real taste for the marshmallowy, super sugary treats most kids grew up indulging in come springtime. Fine by me.

Based on tradition (and a desire to keep our kids somewhat mellow and healthy around the holidays), Nate and I made a similar deal with the Easter Bunny for Ryan and Lindsey. He can hide some candy in the baskets he leaves with all the grandparents, but the baskets he fills at our house should be full of fun toys and healthy snacks. The Easter Bunny is a cool dude - and had no problem keeping up his end of the bargain.

So, with the right kind of fuel to get through a long weekend of visiting relatives, Ryan and Lindsey had a blast - spending time with their cousins (I love that they have cousins close to them in age), aunts, uncles and grandparents and a bunch of other people who love them. They hunted (and decorated) eggs, baked peanut butter cookies (for the cool dude mentioned earlier) and got rewarded with some pretty sweet treats in their baskets. Ryan got a cozy Phillies sweatshirt and silly putty, which transported Nate and I back to childhood as we ran to get the Comics section of the paper and showed Ryan the fine art of transposing ink to putty. And Lindsey got a cute pink umbrella chair, made herself right at home and started noshing on some pringles.

Spring has arrived. Indulge in its sweetness, won't you?

Maybe Next Year

Last Easter, Lindsey was just a few months old. So her visit with the Easter Bunny was pretty uneventful. In fact, she slept right through the entire experience.

This year, Lindsey was wide awake and wanted nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the oversized rabbit. She was fine when we first got there and had no problem waving from a distance. But the closer we got to the chair, the tighter she clung to my shirt. Then, I tried to put her on his lap.

All hell broke lose.

I like to believe the people who run these photo ops have seen it all. And even they looked concerned when Lindsey started screaming. I thought about just throwing her on his lap anyway, but given who I work for, thought it might look bad if I was accused of mentally torturing my one year old.

So, this is the closest Lindsey got to a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Maybe next year.

Daddy's Happy Place

It's been two years since our last trek up to State College for Blue White Weekend.

We started the weekend off similar to our last trip - a walk through campus, past Old Main (Ryan now knows that is where Daddy asked Mommy if she would love him forever - and she said she would), pit stop at the Lion and finishing it with some Creamery ice cream. We had to enjoy the sunshine while we could. Because even though they call it Happy Valley, the weather is often gloomy.

This was Lindsey's first time in State College, but she wasted no time fitting right in.

And though we walked down the same pathways and roads, and visited the same landmarks and statues, it is clear a lot has changed. For instance, Lindsey - not Ryan - took a break in the daffodils.

And our family has changed, both in numbers and size!  Check out the before and after of Nate - courtesy of P90X and eating healthy (I'm still a work in progress).

The weather changed too. Last time, our parents commented on how nice the weather was in State College. It was blazing hot that weekend. This year? Though the sun was out on Friday and Sunday, it was much cooler. And of course on Saturday, the day of the game, it rained all. day. long.

Not to let a few (million) raindrops slow them down, Daddy and Ryan dressed as water-proof as possible and trekked down to the stadium. Lindsey and Mommy were much less adventurous. We hung out in the car and watched other silly people huddle under umbrellas, run into campers or simply embrace the rain and jump in puddles. It only took about 15 minutes (enough time to book it into the stadium, look around and realize they were the only two silly boys there) before Ryan and Daddy came back and admitted defeat. Luckily, there's always next year. 

So more changes - we bowled in State College for the first time ever. Ryan and Lindsey had a blast. We went to the carnival for the first time too. Though it was windy and chilly, we managed to think warm, happy thoughts. Lindsey got to go on a few rides - first in the hands of her Nana and Grandma and then an honest-to-goodness carousel ride with Daddy! She loved it. Our girl loves adventure and the wind blowing in her hair. Even though I'm sure she was freezing on that ride, she had a smile the whole time.

Ryan went with the more low key option and played some carnival games - first he tried to win a goldfish in a ball tossing game, but lost. Then tried to win a ball in a fishing game, and won (go figure!).

Though much has changed with our visits to State College, there is one thing that will always remain the same: This is daddy's happy place. And the fact that he gets to share it with Ryan and Lindsey and experience new adventures with them after all these years...well...that makes it mommy's happy place too.

How does your garden grow?

When I was younger - around Ryan's age - my parents got me a goldfish. As the story goes, I loved my fish. I would ask to feed it everyday and gave that fish all my love and attention. Apparently, a little too much attention. My mom started noticing little drops of water on the outside of the fish bowl every now and then. And as the days went by, she noticed the fish seemed to be getting sick - it was not as lively and not swimming very well. Finally, the fish died.

Turns out? I would often take my fish out and pet it. Oops.

I think about how cute it would be for Ryan to have his own pet, but he's got a lot of his mommy in him so maybe it's best we wait a few years on that. In the meantime, we've decided the next best thing to a living, breathing pet is a living, breathing plant!

Nate and I have talked often about starting a garden - lord knows we have plenty of room for one  - and with the cost of food (along with everything else) continuing to rise and our focus on eating healthy, now seemed as good a time as any to get going. Plus, it's an activity the whole family can get in on.

We're in the early stages right now - we've bought a ton of seeds and some young plants and have been keeping them warm and safe inside. But the weather is getting warmer and the plants are getting bigger, so we've spent the past two weekends plotting out our space in the yard and getting their new home ready for transplant.

The best part of growing a garden? Kids are encouraged to get dirty - and will happily oblige.