Starting Where I Left Off: The Egg Hunt

Sorry for the blog silence of last week. I found myself bone-tired, uninspired and it suddenly dawned on me that I have a baby boy due in a few weeks and we have done almost nothing to prepare. So, instead of actually doing something to prepare, I chose to spend my "me" time sleeping.

Despite the fact that the house is now a complete mess and the fact that I'm still tired, it was a nice vacation. After a week off though, I've been thinking that I ought to start things up here again. So, I'll start where I left off with our Easter egg hunt.

Just a typical egg hunt:

He found the blue egg!

Counting her eggs.

Adding another egg to her basket. Buddy is pleased with the eggs he found.

Searching for the last elusive egg. I was a little bit tricky on a few of them.

This year I was inspired by a book that my son's preschool teacher read in class and then let us borrow because Buddy was so obsessed with it: The Great Easter Egg Hunt.

It is a fun book with a cute story and bright illustrations. The real fun is that it is a look and find book. Buddy loved searching for the letters hidden on each page. At the end, the letters end up spelling "Happy Easter."

He expressed the hope that our Easter egg hunt would be like the one in the book. While, I had no plans to visit a chocolate factory during our egg hunt or any of the other fantastic things that occurred in the book, I did think it would be fun to hide letters in some of the eggs so Buddy could unscramble them and spell "Happy Easter." It turned out really well. Buddy was thrilled and Jellybean was happy to find that the eggs that she had thought were empty, actually had letters hiding in them.

Opening the eggs, secret message unscrambled, money, jellybeans, anything better?

Here's a little video of the moment he finished the secret message:

Happy Easter! from A Happy Song on Vimeo.

Perhaps I'll think up a new secret message next year and hide some more letters. It was a nice way to cut down on the candy.

Though, it seems that Jellybean was all about the candy. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Our Christmas

I have been trying to write this blog post about our Christmas for two consecutive nights, but unfortunately, every time I sit down to do it, I end up wrapping myself in my new cuddly blanket and before I know it, I've fallen asleep. So, I guess I'll finally try and sum things up while the kids are down for their naps.

Well, Christmas exploded at our house. I'd like to say that we spent yesterday cleaning up, but with one child down with a stomach bug we decided that we didn't mind looking at the mess for at least one...or two...more days.
Our holiday celebrations were very successful. We always start out with dinner at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. Following dinner, my family likes to put on a musical program. (D has mixed feelings about that portion of the evening.)

Buddy and Jellybean joined their cousins in singing a lively rendition of Jingle Bells. Buddy, to my amazement, actually belted it out. Jellybean decided that she was more fascinated by the jingle bells that my sister provided for the kids to shake.
At the end of the program, the children always participate in a live nativity. Jellybean was a beautiful angel.

Buddy had pretty well had it.

On Christmas morning, the kids were excited to find that Santa had brought them just what they asked for. They were mostly surprised because I think they had forgotten that he was even coming.

A doll house for Jellybean and a bat cave for Buddy. (Is the bat cave just a masculine version of a doll house?)

They have been pleased with their gifts and have been playing non-stop since Christmas morning. Buddy has a whole new excuse for why he doesn't have time to eat or use the bathroom. "I'm not done playing my game!" The "game" he hasn't finished seems to change every five minutes. I'm glad that his stomach bug was so short lived, but it didn't put much of a crimp in his new toy enjoyment.

We finished our Christmas celebrations with a lunch at my in-laws house. The food was wonderful, of course, but nothing beats spending time chatting with family.
D has taken the week off from work, so we've been really enjoying just being home. I was a little annoyed when I realized this morning that I actually had to do some house work during the vacation. What's up with that?

I hope you are having a fantastic holiday as well.  Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Easy Recipe: Zucchini Casserole

There are a lot of people out there who turn up their noses at casseroles.  Apparently, they aren't an "in" food anymore.  I hear that they haven't really been in since the 60's.  I think this is a travesty.  I grew up with two different casseroles that I love to come back to for a simple, quick and delicious meal. 

I've decided to share my family's zucchini casserole recipe. It is one of those comfort meals from my childhood. There's nothing high brow about this recipe, but it is a great way to use up all of that extra zucchini you are undoubtedly growing this Summer. 

Zucchini Casserole

1 C shredded carrots
6 C cubed zucchini
1/4 C diced onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 6 oz package stove top dressing mix (pork)
1/2 C margarine or butter
1 C sour cream
1 C cubed fresh or canned turkey or chicken

Method:

Cook onion, carrots and zucchini in a large pan until tender.

Mix sour cream and soup into veggies.

Melt butter and stir into stuffing mix.

Place half stuffing in bottom of buttered casserole dish.

Pour veggies on top. Top with remaining stuffing.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

As simple as that.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ