Easter Brunch & Egg Hunt

Yesterday, we Scurlocks hosted a potluck Easter brunch and egg hunt for some of our best friends and their kids.  Josh has to work next weekend and I really wanted to do something that allowed him to celebrate some Easter festivities with the girls.  Plus, I really needed a reason to thoroughly clean my house and having company come over always promotes that. :)

I spent a majority of the week running errands to get the necessities for the party with my two tag-a-longs in tow.  One day we even ran to Target in our pajamas because getting kids changed and out the door at 9am... ain't nobody got time for that!  Although my Mom definitely told me on the phone later in the week that "She NEVER took us out in our pajamas when we were kids and she had four of us."  Well, I don't remember her drinking a glass of wine at 5pm most nights either but hey, Moms gotta do what Moms gotta do.

In order to keep the hosting costs at a minimum, I made the party a potluck.  We provided a "waffle bar" which was a hit as well as mimosas and a few fun and festive treats.  However, at 10pm the night before as I was decorating the 24th cupcake and the 20th cookie and hand dipping bunny peeps in chocolate and sprinkles I did wonder why on God's good Earth I do this to myself (cue the reason to serve mimosas).   It's all for the kids right?  Hmmm it's possible it's entirely for me.  Or Josh. Okay that's definitely not true.

The egg hunt however, was totally for the kids.  It was a chilly 30 or so degrees but they didn't care.  They were so excited to go hunting for the eggs.  This was the first year we had tried an Easter egg hunt with Ryan and I'm just so thrilled that she had fun.  Although the plastic eggs have barely left her sight since she found them and she keeps asking when we are going to go looking for eggs again.  I'm pretty sure we will be hunting for non-treat filled plastic eggs around the house every day until the novelty wears off.

Ryan won't let Rory play with her eggs but she is willing to show them to "Ro-roars" as she likes to refer to her.   If Rory does manage to get ahold of one, Ryan is quick to grab it away.  Sister love at it's finest.

It was a truly fun day and while I wish stuff like this where the whole family is together could happen more often, it makes the days that it does seem extra special.  We are so blessed to have all of our friends here in Massachusetts and so happy that we get to celebrate these kinds of things with each other.

Santa Claus

Awww 'tis the season where you pay money to place your terrified child on the lap of a big bearded man in a red suit and snap pictures of the entire process.  Gotta love Christmas time.

Last year's visit to Santa did not go so well for Ryan and up until the moment she was dumped on his lap, I had high hopes of it being a successful Santa trip this year.  I gave her pep talks about Santa all week and how he is a nice man who brings you presents on Christmas and when we saw a big stuffed Santa at CVS the other day, she went right up and hugged it exclaiming "Santa!!!"  In line at the mall, she was fine.  She wanted to watch the other kids seeing Santa and seemed to be okay with the prospect of meeting him.  We were there with our other little friend Avery and the two of them were so adorable in their Christmasy best.

However, the pictures with Santa tell a completely different story.  One of terror.  They look extremely similar to last years other than the fact that Rory was present  (and could have cared less) and Ryan has a little more hair.   I'm such a mean mom.  At least one of my children wasn't crying.

\

At least her prize at the end was that she got to walk the mall hand in hand with her BFF.  After that, all was right with the world.  A girl after my own heart.

I said it last year and I'll say it again.  Maybe next year?  Then again, if I'm lucky enough to have Ryan decide she likes Santa, undoubtedly Rory will be screaming in the picture.  We could have a few years ahead of us before we get a Santa shot with no crying kids.

2nd Annual Christmas PJ Playdate

Ryan and Rory hosted the 2nd annual Christmas pajama/hot cocoa/cookie exchange playdate last week.  We had so much fun doing it LAST YEAR that I decided it has to be an annual thing.  It's so much fun to celebrate the holidays with all of our good friends here and it reminds me every year that I am so thankful for the Mom friends that I have made in Massachusetts.  These women have become my extended family and without them,  I know that life in MA would be very different.

The day before, I let Ryan help me decorate the sugar cookies that I baked for the party.  She ate WAY too much frosting and sprinkles, but she and I had a good time and she definitely thought it was a treat to get to make a huge sugary mess.

The day of the party, I made sure that the house was decked out in holiday decor and that there were plenty of yummy treats to share.  I also had my signature hot cocoa bar which is always a hit with everyone.

We had a wonderful time with all of our friends.  The kids played and the Mamas got to socialize amid the chaos.  Ryan had a GREAT time.  Every time I looked over she had another cookie in her hand.  I'm pretty sure she had about 15 during the few hours that everyone was over.  You'll see in that in every picture taken of her, she had a cookie.  That's my girl.

A lot of babies have been added to the bunch this year.  I'll be interested to see how many new ones there are next year! A big thanks to all of our friends that joined us.  It's definitely feeling like Christmas around here.