Well I guess it's a big deal

Today I asked Elana if she wanted to get her ears pierced. This was not something I had been thinking about... I'm really not sure what made me ask. But she said yes, so we set out to do it! I didn't really prepare her for what was to come either (being all spontaneous and whatnot). We went into Claire's at the mall and she chose the earrings she wanted to wear for the next 6 weeks (Rainbow Dash). I filled out some paperwork and she looked around at all the earrings--she was so excited. The girl helping us asked if she wanted to do both ears at once  or one at a time. Elana answered one at a time but was easily persuaded to both at once. Another girl came over and after the purple dots were made, they counted to three and pierced my six year old's ears. I swear she was smiling the WHOLE time! I did not see her wince in pain at all. It made me full like a wuss. ;) I really didn't think she would go through with it; I thought for sure she'd get scared and back out. This mama learned an important lesson today. Watch out world! (Later in the car she told me she felt like she was gonna cry but held it back) Elana loves her pierced ears!

(Before & after phone pics because I didn't take my DSLR)

Duke Gardens

It was the first day of spring break... let's go to Duke Gardens I thought to myself. We packed a picnic and proceeded towards our fate... utter destruction. Lol. It was bad, so bad. I mean, it was beautiful at the gardens, but I was a hot mess with 4 kids. :) Sammy only wanted to run away from me and towards bodies of water. Lucy was screaming. And oh yeah, I had only taken a stroller so there I was hollering for Will and Elana to stay close while I pushed a stroller with one hand uphill through gravel that restrained a screaming toddler and the other hand holding a crying 3 month old. gooooood times. Suffice to say, I did not get all the pictures I was hoping for but here they are...

Easter Table

I had a lot of fun making the table pretty: I made a runner from some fabric I got at JoAnn's, dyed a few eggs, used my new Pottery Barn Easter plates, and a few other small touches...

Easter Egg Hunt

Each year our neighbor Sheldon hosts an easter egg hunt for the neighborhood children in memory of his granddaughter. We are honored to participate: