My Awesome House: The Spice Drawer

So I've been working my tail off for exactly one month trying to unpack, paint, organize and set up house. We've come a long way and we are getting there. Checking one thing after another off our long, long lists. So it's time for a little flaunting, just a little.

My kitchen counters are 14 feet long. Lower cabinets, dishwasher and sink along the island counter; upper and lower cabinets, stove and refrigerator along the wall. When I saw the kitchen I knew it was bigger than my last one, so I would have no trouble fitting all my stuff. But I'd conveniently forgotten the huge rack of kitchen appliances, serving dishes, and tupperware I'd been keeping in the laundry room.

No matter, I worked and worked those first weeks, to get the kitchen put together. Each day I'm getting a little better at remembering where things go when I unload the dishwasher. I'd gotten almost everything a place by week 2, but one placement eluded me - my spices! I have a lot and they need their space. My double decker lazy susan was cracked and crippled but I would still use it if I could. Only there just wasn't an upper cabinet for them. Or a lower cabinet. Or a shelf. I'd started researching wall-mounted wire racks when I had a vision. What the heck was I keeping in that huge drawer across from the fridge?

I'd overlooked it, walked right past it, in my considerations. I opened it and found a pair of scissors and the dishwasher user manual. And a huge empty drawer.

Behold, my spice drawer:

It's a beautiful thing. I almost hate to post it because I love opening it for first-time visitors, especially family who understand the spice thing, and observing the appreciative awe, but it's a good way to start my My Awesome House series.

I also keep my rolling pin in this drawer because it's too long for any others. That leaves almost no space for new spices so I knew I would have to be prudent. Then one time my dad laid one jar on top of the others and closed the drawer. "See?" he exclaimed, "You can do a whole second layer!" Aaaaahhh.

Bake Sale Report

Hallelujah - camera cord has arrived so I can get back to blogging! It's high time for a bake sale report.

It was a grand success! A little crazy, a little stressful, but a screaming success. Friday, the day before, everybody dropped their goodies off at my house, and amongst all the boxes (we'd been in the house 6 days), a kingly mound of sweets developed on the dining table. Around 8pm my friend Lori came by and we hunkered down to a night of Diet Dr. Pepper, cellophane and ribbon. I printed off return-address size labels for each item, telling name and price, and we individually wrapped several hundred goodies in bags, plus about a dozen loaves.

The next morning I took my baskets, boxes, table cloths, aprons (I'd gone a little project-nuts one day and made iron-on "Carlin Hall" aprons for the Bake Sale workers), and lists and headed to the school. We set up a U-shape under a tent, with goodies on 2 tables, pizza on the third, and coolers of drinks and ice pops on the ground nearby. Someone dug out foamboard posters from the school attic and we hung them up - open for business!
Luckily the weather was perfect! Partly sunny, in the 80's - warm but not too hot. We ordered pizza from Domino's and sold it by the slice, made a killer profit on the water and sodas, and raked it in on the goodies. The other two workers and I were hopping the whole 3 hours of the fair, and I only ever stepped away to call for more pizza or run over to bid at the silent auction. Ed and the girls passed by once in awhile on their way to or from games, and for the occasional treat. By 4 o'clock the fair was over, everything was cleaned up, I was sweaty and had a killer headache, only realizing then that I was probably hungry and dehydrated.
Overall the fair made a record profit, about $2500, and the bake sale make about $400. I've got big plans for next year, like ordering more pizza (we kept running out) and charging more for it (at $1 a slice we only made $1 profit per pizza), rallying more help with the packaging (it took two of us almost three hours), and buying less water (I bought five cases from Costco and only used one.)

But what we really care about is what I made:

Cookies: Lime Meltaways, Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies, Molasses Gingersnaps, Peanut Butter Cookies, Mint Surprise Cookies

Bread: Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (from a Trader Joe's mix)

Cake: Lethal Peppermint Chocolate Cake

Visit The Virtual Goody Plate over the next week or so to get the recipes I haven't posted yet.

As a side note, the twin-sized quilt my Mom made for the silent auction brought in $150, and we're already planning for next year's. My cookie-of-the-month offering only brought in a disappointing $25 but I scored winning this awesome herb pot for my deck - chives, parsley, rosemary, basil, mint, thyme and oregano, and no work on my part!

Mom Tip: Shopping List

Kind of random but here's how I do my grocery shopping list. I keep a magnetized paper pad on the fridge and write down things as I run out or as they occur to me. Then Saturday or Sunday when I make my menu plan for the week I write down everything else I'll need.

But the list is all jumbled, not in categories - RECIPE FOR SHOPPING FAILURE!

Between scolding, wiping noses, giving snacks, and issuing nonstop threats with one or both kids at the grocery store, I'm lucky to get anything on my list, much less read through and double-check it in every aisle.

So on my computer I have an excel list divided into categories. I take my handwritten list, enter it into the computer and print it out - makes life much easier!

But since moving to Virginia, with it's overwhelming shopping choices, I shop at four or five different stores, depending on the sales, or what area I'm going to be in for other errands. And of course all stores are arranged differently, and it's hard to keep track where things are in each one. It makes me crazy to have to backtrack when I've got ticking time bombs in tow.

So for the stores I frequent the most, on the back of my list I've written down the aisle numbers and what they contain. Then I've come home and made a custom list in excel for each store, not just with categories but with aisle numbers so I can really hopefully get what I need in each aisle:


I guess it kind of sounds obsessive but grocery shopping with kids is a science and takes as much preparation as possible. And even then it can be harrowing. Since preschool has ended I've taken both girls a few times, and usually come home in a deep sweat and having forgotten several things anyway. And in a bad mood to boot. So I'm back to my NY routine, which is getting up at 6am to shop before Ed leaves for work. Even so, the shopping list thing helps a ton so I'm not searching like crazy; after all, who likes to think at 6am?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Writing book reviews is mentally taxing, especially when one feels, as I often do, that words fail. How to perfectly capture the tone of someone else's work in your own words while also relaying just-enough-but-not-too-much plot, and, in this case, trying to convince every person I know to read it immediately? Even as I write, I waffle whether to even try, the alternative being to copy the entire back cover into this post, summary and book review quotes in full.

Ever since finishing Jeeves a month ago I've had trouble getting into a book. Tried a few but the timing just wasn't right for me and them to make it happen. One afternoon I finally sat down and gave myself 15 minutes to browse categories, lists, and reviews on Amazon to find a suitable read, one that would fit my mood just right. I wanted easy but not fluffy. I wanted deep but not depressing. I wanted humorous but substantial. Reviews of Guernsey gave me high hopes so I took the leap.

Aaaah, the leap! Could hardly put it down - I wanted to savor but couldn't help rushing through. Charming is too cliche but what says it better?

"Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naive...It's tempting to throw around terms like 'gem' when reading a book like this. It's as charming and timeless as the novels for which its characters profess their love." - San Fransisco Chronicle Book Review

All I usually need are fabulous characters, gifted writing and a great ending - maddeningly hard to find altogether, so when I do I make a big deal about it.

"The characters step from the past radiant with eccentricity and kindly humor. The writing, with its delicately offbeat, self-deprecating stylishness, is exquisitely turned." - The Guardian (UK)

And ok, the obligatory summary, totally copied because it's so well put:

January 1946: Writer Juliet Ashton (love her!) receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

My only sadness is there is no sequel. What on earth shall I read next? Maybe I should look into Charles Lamb...

Argh!

So while I was moving/pulling the computer across a room the other day I managed to bend my plugged-in camera cord enough to permanently incapacitate not only it but also one of my precious USB ports. So a new cord is on order but until then I'm strapped and can't upload pictures, pictures upon which most of my blog posts rely. I'm not gonna lie to you, it's annoying. I can try to start drafting but I don't like to without the pictures. Guess I'll just go hang a curtain rod or find a place for those last remaining kitchen items.

In other news, I LOVE my house. LOVE IT. The honeymoon was short, as we have quickly discovered its flaws, and the repair list grows longer, but every day I look around and love it. I expect there will be a new series on the blog - What I Love About My House or some such. May come off braggy but whatever. I think back on our history of apartments and decide I deserve to love my house and revel in it.

Disco Mom is in the House

...and I have internet, woohoo!

We are up to our chins in boxes, and the house echoes as we move around, but bit by bit, box by box, we are settling in. I could tell you the story of moving day, the details of organizing the kitchen, the way "rough" is an understatement for the girls' adjustment, or our new favorite game:
"Where Did I Put _____: (I Just Saw it a Minute Ago)."

But I'm too tired and have too much else to do right now. Like paint. And clean. And unpack. And put together. And get all the stuff for the bake sale organized. And baked. So for now a few pictures:

Living Room

Dining Room
First Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies
(I've got my priorities straight)
And a final two words for you:DOUBLE VANITY
(I have arrived.)

Done Deal

The agent called this morning around 8 am to remind us what to bring to the closing at 4 pm - drivers licenses and a big fat certified check for the amount due. I was functioning on an adrenaline buzz all day knowing we would be homeowners by the end of it. At 2:30 we met at the house for the walk-through. At 4 we were in the signing room at the title company. By 5:10 we were on our way home, and the combined relief and disbelief sent me into an emotional crash and I almost fell asleep in the car.

But we had one more thing on the agenda. We got my mom who was watching the girls, my dad, my brother & his daughter who were in town to join us at the new house for a maiden meal: watermelon slices and Pakistani takeout from Ravi Kabob.

Just the first of many, many happy dinners to come!

The Good Stuff - May 2009

I know the Good Stuff posts dropped off for awhile there - I was having a hard time keeping up with them monthly, so I'll just post them whenever I have a few things to tell about.

Kid Good Stuff

Hanna Andersson Floppy Sunhat - For my fair-skinned girls, sun protection that won't fly away. And the $10 price tag is a steal for H.A. quality. Ginger chose Blossoming Pink; Hazel chose Papaya.

Sometimes I'm Bombaloo by Rachel Vail - Just before our England trip I took the girls to Border's to each pick out a new book for the trip. Which also gave me the chance to do some browsing. I found this book about the experience of having a tantrum, and liked it but thought it could go either way with the girls - maybe they'd relate to it, maybe not. It's the story of a girl named Katie, told from her own point of view. She explains that she's a great kid most of the time, and many of the things she does well. Then she explains that sometimes she's "Bombaloo," a name for her alternate personality when her anger/frustration gets out of control. She explains what it's like, and how, when it's over, she's sorry and a little frightened and her Mom understands, and then she's Katie again. I lucked out - my girls love the book and want to read it a lot and talk about it. And today when Hazel had a tantrum, when it was over, I asked if she had been Bombaloo, and she smiled and said, "Yes! But now I'm sorry and I'm Hazel again." Not bad, not bad at all. I think it's great to have a story - a third party - to use to talk about feelings and especially feeling out of control, and to give those feelings some validation.

I Love Chocolate by Davide Cali - We went to the dance studio where Hazel will be taking a class this summer, to get her measured for shoes. Across the hall is the cutest ever children's bookstore called Aladdin's Lamp and I will probably go there every week during class with Ginger. I walked in this week and "I Love Chocolate" was the first book I saw. I read it, thought I would die over its perfection, and bought it. Just the perfect book for a chocoholic Mom to bond with her kids over.

Grown-up Good Stuff

Benjamin Moore Paint website - Playing with paint colors has been my after-hours obsession lately, dreaming of Disco-Mom-ing the new house. I will post on results later this summer. My friend gave me a good pointer on saving a little $ - she found her colors at Benjamin Moore but took them to Home Depot to be matched and bought Behr paint which is excellent quality but less money.

Chutney - I became hooked in England when they scoop this stuff out as a restaurant condiment next to ketchup. Goes with anything! Plus they slather it on sausages and Dave makes one yummy cheddar-n-chutney panini. Got myself a jar of Carmelized Onion Chutney from Bracken Hill Fine Foods to bring home. Keep your eyes peeled at your grocery stores and farmers' markets and give chutney a new chance.

The Jeeves books by P. G. Wodehouse - (I just finished The Inimitable Jeeves.) The trivial adventures of frivolous bachelor Bertie Wooster and his ever clever butler Jeeves. Insubstantial in the extreme; also enormously entertaining and humorous. And fantastically British. I wholeheartedly second my brother Dave's suggestion: "One wonders what it might do for the verbal talents of a generation if they were required to read Wodehouse in school instead of ghastly classics like The Scarlet Letter."

Beginning Design

We close on our house next Tuesday, May 26. Once I have keys in hand I can go through and take pictures of everything and start slathering walls with my paint samples to see how they look. We have a truck scheduled for Saturday, May 30 to move all the big stuff and as much of everything else as we have ready, then we'll follow up trickle-style for the next week or so with the minivan.

So there's definitely not enough time to get all my painting done before we move in, but we can shuffle stuff around and paint one room at a time once we're there. So I've prioritized, and just got home from buying samples for three roooms.

1. Master bedroom - currently a pale lavender which is actually very nice but doesn't really go with our bedding which has deep browns, light greens and neutrals. Also my Mom has made us a king size quilt; here's a sampler of some of the fabrics.So I was looking for a pale warm gray. I can't do tans or beiges but grays I love. I got a sample of Gray Owl (3rd from left.) We'll see.


2. Office - It's the second largest bedroom in the house and it will be the office/sewing/art studio which means it could be any color. So I went searching for inspiration, and found it at Modern Nursery:

I went with a slightly brighter blue since the room only has one window - Patriotic White (last on the right.)
Right now that room is the most heinous brown-orange which Ed actually likes - as soon as I heard that I realized I was on my own for design decisions. I love the anise wall stickers and am planning on getting them for the room as well.

3. Girls' bedroom - right now it's a yellowy neutral color but I want a little more definition. Plus I want to do a section with magnetic primer so that will have to be painted over anyway. I saw a room in a magazine (can't find it now) that led me to pale yellow-olive greens, and I also went paging through my set of Ida Pearle alphabet cards I've been saving and planning to hang in the girls' room (hence the magnetic primer.) I found inspiration in the W card:And got a sample of Pale Sea Mist, which looked a lot more like the W card in the store than it does on my screen...which is why we spend the extra money for samples!

The main floor - living, dining, kitchen - are OK for now but I plan on a major makeover at some point. I'm exploring wallpaper - it's making a comeback! - and could die I love THIS so much. But I mustn't be hasty!

Basing expectations on experience, I fully expect to hate whatever I do and want to change it over and over and never be satisfied. And I can. Cause it's my house!

End of School Teacher Gifts

I was simply mortified when, on the last day of preschool before winter break, I glided in with two gorgeously plated and ribboned goody plates for Hazel's preschool teachers, only to find ten other similar plates lined up along the bookshelves. NEVER AGAIN, I vowed, will I offer goodies as teacher gifts. I should have known. I should have remembered. In my past life I did work in elementary and middle schools for a few years and teachers were always trying to pawn off gifted goodies to each other, most of which just ended up getting stale in the teachers' lounge.

So as the end of the school year approaches, I would once again like to give something small to the teachers as a token of appreciation, but I'm too darn tired to think of something myself. So I called my sister Tona who is a thoughtful, creative Mom and has had kids in school for at least 10 years. Off the top of her head (had to rush off for the American Idol final) she gave me:

• house plant
• 6-pack of marigolds or similar
• travel mug with Dunkin/Starbucks gift card
• plastic beach bucket with sundae supplies (minus ice cream)
• new cool lunch bag
• small tote with sunglasses, sunscreen, book

All of which are awesome ideas. I know gifts for the classroom are nice but I prefer to give something personal like the above. I started a TEACHER page in my GIFT IDEAS spreadsheet and thought I'd hit up the rest of you for even more ideas. 'Cause I'm just too darn tired. And willing to ignore the blinding silence I received in my call for FHE chart help. So let's have them.

Bake Sale Survey Results

Serious thanks to everyone that took my bake sale survey. Unless you signed your name I don't know who took it so general thanks to all 47 people who responded.

In case you are curious, or might be in charge of your own bake sale someday, here are the results:

1. What are you most likely to buy at a bake sale?

Questions 2 through 5 addressed how to price various items; I asked what you would expect to pay for each. Wide range of responses; very interesting. Here are the results:

Cookies (1 large, 2 medium or 4 small) - 55% responded $1

Single slice/bar/square treat - Tie at 38% between 75 cents and $1

Whole loaf of bread - Range $2.50 to $12, Average $4.86 so I'll probably go $5. Most indicated that it would depend somewhat on size and that they would pay more for something "special."

Whole cake or pie - Range $2 to $20, Average $8.46. Some said they would pay more for a cake than a pie, but as you see above only 3% said they would actually buy a whole cake; 11% said they would buy a pie. There's going to be a cake walk at the fun fair where we're having the bake sale so people wanting a cake would probably go for that instead. Someone also said they would pay more for a berry pie than another kind.

The last two questions were open-ended: What is your favorite thing to get at a bake sale and any additional comments. These answers ranged all over the board. Some detested Rice Krispy Treats; others would die for them. Some wanted baklava, others a good chocolate chip cookie. Many claimed they would buy something that's too difficult or complicated to make themselves. The Fun Fair and Bake Sale are on June 6; I will be in the middle of, or just recovering from, a move so I will not be making a lot of complicated goodies - mostly cookies and breads from me, but this was great information for me to pass on to the other parents.

Don'ts
Flat cookies, stale RK treats, poorly decorated cupcakes, oily brownies

Do's
Yeast bread, scones, almond croissant, HUGE cookies, sweet bread, ooey gooey RK treat, killer cherry pie, homemade bread, fudge, baklava, cleverly decorated cookies, brownies with nuts, pie tarts, chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, soft pretzels, chocolate zucchini bread, anything chocolate, mint frosted brownies, chocolate-caramel-peanut concoctions, black-and-white cookies, pumpkin bread with crystallized ginger, pie, super cupcake, good chocolate chip cookies, whole wheat bread, blondies, oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, zucchini bread, pies with sugar on top, anything with cream cheese or honey butter

One of the most surprising things I found was that some people would expect higher prices at a bake sale, it being a fundraiser and people being generous, and others would expect lower prices at a bake sale - "good price for a good cause," kind of like getting good deals at a yard sale. I created this survey in the hope of neither underpricing nor overpricing our products, but in general I agree with the first sentiment. The whole point of a fundraiser is to raise money, so as a customer I would shell out a dollar or two more than at the bakery.

But I also wholeheartedly agree with the comments that addressed product quality; attractive, fresh, homemade treats should sell themselves at higher prices than re-pacakged Chips Ahoy cookies or oily brownies straight from the mix. I won't have total control over this; every family will be contributing items for the sale, but I am going to share the survey results with everyone and encourage quality over quantity. I'm also going to package and label all the items myself so they are uniform - clear cellophane tied with a ribbon and a computer-printed label and price on each. Someone also mentioned the workers should wear disposable gloves. I hadn't thought of that since all the food will be packaged but I agree it's a good idea; if nothing else it looks good!

Thank you to everyone for all your input!

FHE Chart Assignment

I'm off to England tomorrow so while I'm gone I've got an assignment for you.

I want a new Family Home Evening chart for our family. Family Home Evening is a time set aside, usually Monday night, for building family relationships. Usually we study and discuss religious topics and/or do an activity like a game or service. Traditionally an FHE "program" consists of:
Opening song
Opening prayer
Lesson
Activity
Closing song
Closing prayer
Treats

It's also traditional for each of these items to be assigned to family members on a rotating basis. Thus the need for a chart. In my family growing up my mom made a chart by covering a thick posterboard with cloth, then making two rows of cloth pockets shaped like flower pots, with the names of each assignment on them. Each family member had a flower made from cloth and pipe cleaners with our names on them, and there was one flower in each pot. It hung on the wall in the hall so all week we could see what our assignment would be for Monday night, then after FHE we would move the flowers over one for next week's assignments.

I'd prefer not to have to make my own chart, but I'm coming to the realization I'll probably have to. I just haven't seen anything acceptable out there. For example, all of these ideas make me want to puke. These charts are not so offensive, just boring. At Women's Conference last week in Utah I got re-inspired to hold regular Family Home Evening, and the girls are big enough to take on assignments. With a chart we could be organized about it - a visual reminder to all of us to prepare and make that time a priority. I spent the better part of some of the sessions doodling, trying to come up with design ideas.

And here we run into a manifestation of a larger issue I have. When it comes to design, I know what I like and what I don't like but I suck at coming up with my own ideas. I'm already struggling with this right now as I prepare to move into my own home - my FIRST own home - and try to create a cohesive design vision for it. It's painful and I know eventually I'll need professional help.

But back to the chart. Has anyone else run into this problem? Have any of you seen a good chart - and by good I mean creative, stylish, modern, clever, fresh - or anything that could inspire one or be like one? I'm not thrilled with my own designs, and even less thrilled with the prospect of executing them, but I will if I have to. The main thing is that this is going to be hanging on the wall in my home, so it has to look like art or equally classy, not like a school project. I am very, very open to ideas. Especially you designers and artists out there, or anyone who knows one. I need everyone's help here. You have 10 days.

Snapshot

Tonight, 8:47 pm. Hazel and I are laying in the dry bathtub, in my dark bathroom, trying to be quiet. Ginger's looking for us and Ed, her turn at hide-and-seek.

Hazel strokes my cheek. "Mommy, I love you."

"Thank you sweetie, I love you too."

"Mom, if you weren't here our family *******." The limited acoustics of loud kid-whispering in an echo-y chamber manifest themselves.

"Our family what?"

"If you weren't here our family would be ******." Very loud whispering.

"Our family would be WHAT?" Voices on now. I really want to hear this.

"Mom, if you weren't here our family would be CANCELLED."

Heard it that time. Eyes smarting, throat lumping. Ginger's feet come pattering down the hall, closer. Hazel's hair smells like coconut and flowers. I kiss the top.

"Thanks, sweetie," I choke out. "I'm glad it's not cancelled."

All at Once

We've got some stuff going on.

Ed's mom was here visiting last week. Tomorrow I leave for a long weekend in Utah (Hickman women bonding at Women's Conference.) Four days after I get back we leave for a British adventure, visiting Dave's family and some other touristing, including the most awesome ex-pat ex-mission companion ever in London. (So this is also a call for clever ways to keep kids occupied on a long trip.) And a week after we get back we close on our new house (here in Arlington, see picture above - it's yellow!; there will be a post about it eventually.)

Meanwhile trying to keep everyone fed and healthy, and the (current) house clean for potential renters to see. And, ahem, yes, lots of baking. So the blogging has fallen a notch or two on the Must-Do List, but I'll be back, here and there. Thanks for checking. Happy Spring.

We Make DC Look Good

We recently did a photo shoot of the girls with our favorite local photographer, Andrea Marie, in Georgetown.

Check them out on her blog. Be prepared to die.

Park Party

When it came to Hazel's birthday party this year I gave her two choices:

1. A small tea party with only a few girls, or
2. A big party at the park next door, and she could invite more kids.

I thought she'd at least have to think about it but there was no hesitation: PARK PARTY!
It was great to take advantage of living literally next door to a park. I figured it would be pretty easy because all the entertainment is taken care of; they just play at the park and we provide food and supervision. Which was mostly true. Of course there's the weather, and it's been an especially rainy spring this year. We only had to reschedule once and on the second try got a sunny, if blustery, day. There were no major injuries or problems beyond one friend from preschool who demonstrated her mortal terror of balloons by screaming bloody murder when she arrived. We quickly got rid of the balloon bouquets I had tied to the park entrance.

Activities were jump roping, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, soccer and "monster" with Ed.
Snacks were pretzels, strawberries, bananas, juice boxes and water bottles. Cupcake cones for the treat.

Goody bags contained 4 sidewalk chalks, a pencil and one candy-filled Easter egg.
Most parents dropped off but a few made the party a whole family thing and stayed with younger siblings to play and hang out. It was an awesome time, but I'm so glad we're done with birthdays for the year!

EBX09 Follow-Up

It has been another unbelievably fun and successful Easter basket exchange. Not to say it wasn't without its...anecdotes.

Totally unpredictable mail service rushed some baskets and dragged others. (I think the key is to send Priority Mail; I'll mention that in the instructions next year.) My friend Margaret opted out this year due to gestational diabetes so I jumped at the chance to make TWO baskets, and the challenge of making one for her (nearly) candy-free. My beading friend Shanna went to painstaking measures to create a cherry-blossom-ish bookmark for my cousin Celeste who misses the East. Sydney emailed me for Erin's coloring to get her accessories just right.

And I think the best was when I got a frantic phone call the Friday afternoon before Easter. Gabe had driven from Culpeper to Leesburg, VA (over an hour each way) to hand deliver her basket to Marie just so it would get there by Easter. No one had been home so she'd left it in the bushes and called me to call Marie to make sure she got it. I told her, "You know hand delivery was not required, right Gabe?" She answered seriously, "I didn't want to risk the chance of being kicked out of next year's exchange! I know you have the power to do that." She knows me well...

One theme I picked up on, that many of you mentioned in letters and emails, was that you (we) made a much nicer basket for our person than we ever would have for ourselves. What a great chance to treat and be treated. What an awesome atmosphere of fun gifting this exchange created!

See for yourself:


As for me, I've got to tell you about the basket I received. I admit, I manipulated the assignments. I've been missing New York a little so I assigned myself to my friend Emily in Brooklyn, and happened to mention a few things I wanted from there. She came through and then some. Cadbury mini eggs and creme eggs, the only milk chocolate treats I like, check. Smoked almonds - lots of them - from the Turkish store on 5th Ave in Bay Ridge, check. Some awesome beads, check. Chocolate covered pretzels, almond bark, and turtle candies from another store on 5th, check. YUM! And on top of all that, THREE BOOKS I've never heard of or read! Which is good because I really need to pull myself out of the Twilight series and move on with my literary life. THREE BOOKS that all look awesome and that obviously took some time to pick out.

And all my stuff was packed in amNewYork newspaper and used-up metro cards; I loved that touch. And I almost - almost - cried when I turned one of the metro cards over and saw a magic marker "A" on the back. Emily's husband's name is Adam. Ed and I used to do the same thing to distinguish his metro card from mine in the drawer by the front door. It took me back. Emily, you're awesome.

But aren't we all? I was pretty proud of the package I sent Sydney, too. Egg timer (who doesn't need one?), Penzey's spices, Lake Champlain bunny, Trader Joe's chocolates, cookie cutters, dish towel, handmade earrings & bookmark, lip gloss, note cards, shopping tote, and my latest CD mix. Truly a package I would love to receive. What can I say?

Thanks again to everyone for participating. See you back here again next year for EBX10!

Our Beautiful Easter Girls

Respect the Van

Seriously.

Easter Baskets

I look at making Easter baskets for the kids a lot like filling stockings. A little fun stuff, a little practical stuff, and a little candy - perfect! Last year I gave them tiny felt bags big enough to hold about 2-3 plastic eggs, and that was it. But this year I got sucked into the Easter aisles at Target and got them real baskets:
I've been collecting a few things here and there to put in them, but when my friend asked me last week what I'm putting in baskets, I realized I better get it all out and see if I have enough, or - more likely - too much stuff.

So in those same Target aisles I was happily surprised to see some toy-filled egg packs in addition to candy eggs. I know it's a marketing racket but I'm the target demographic and I liked them. They had Hot Wheels, Monster Trucks, My Little Pony, and Little People eggs to name a few. We love Little People at our house, so I got a pack of those:
For Christmas stockings last year each girl got a pack of Crayola twisty crayons and they really liked them, even used them up. And all our markers have been dried up for ages, so a couple of new packs of art supplies are always popular. Check out the flip-top markers - perfect for our "I-don't-know-what-happened-to-the-lid" family:
And no Easter is complete without little battery-operated light spinner things. We get them every year and they last a few months and then get broken and thrown away:
Now that we're starting to move out of tights season, the girls need dressy church socks - a perfect Easter basket filler:
And of course no Easter basket is complete without a pointless impulse buy from CVS. I opened it up and tested one - these Bunny Blasters can really shoot far! Guaranteed to get the pieces lost the same day, especially if you take them outside!
And while I don't favor the idea of loading my kids to the brim with sugar, a chocolate bunny is traditional. And if they're getting chocolate, it might as well be the good stuff. Train their palates early. I ordered a couple of these 3-inch dark chocolate "place setting" bunnies from Lake Champlain Chocolates in Vermont.
As I laid it all out and put it all together, everything fit perfectly. I'll probably also throw in an egg or two of jelly beans or maybe a Peep. I think they're nasty but the girls like them and we love Kevin Henkes' book, Owen's Marshmallow Chick, so maybe just for that.
Ed will just get a little bunny. It only hurts my feelings when I make him a basket that goes neglected, so we're all happier this way. And of course I've insured my own excellent basket via the exchange. It arrived yesterday but I'm waiting to open it until Sunday.

So I know this is probably too late to really help any of us, but maybe it can be a resource for next year. Other potential ideas of things that could go in a kid's basket:

• bubbles
• sunglasses
• small toys like Ponies/cars
• small bag snacks like goldfish/fruit snacks
• could line it with a new shirt or washcloth instead of plastic grass - I SO don't do plastic grass
• new toothbrush/toothpaste
• small bath toys (like duckies from World Market)
• packets of seeds with mini garden gloves/spade/watering can
• framed picture to put on their wall/dresser
• books
• sidewalk chalk/watercolors/art supplies
  
• a new special "quiet" toy for church (we have some of these Magnetic Fun sets and they are gems at church or on plane rides)
• videos (we are on a Dragon Tales kick here, and also love The Bedbug Bible Gang)
• music (love Justin Roberts)
• socks of course (little ones fit in eggs)
• band aids
• chapstick/lip balm
  

What other ideas do you have? What's going in your kids' and spouse's baskets this year?