Hoppy Easter

...from our little bunnies!

I know a reality show participant!

An acquaintance from my church is going to be on the TLC show, "The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom" this Sunday, March 23 and again on Friday, the 28th. (both at 5pm PST) Their names are Stephanie & Garth, they have 4 boys and they were both in the Air Force. He flies for Southwest Airlines, she's a stay at home mom and they're even from Kansas! They are huge KU fans...often flying home for weekend games. I guess the show asked them to make it look like you're trying to decide between working or staying at home and they asked Garth to borrow some neighbors' dogs to take them for walks with the kids...so some things were staged. She also doesn't want the show to make him look like a clueless dad, because he's very involved with the 4 boys. They're such a great family.

Anyway, if you get a chance on Friday (since Sunday is Easter!) to catch the show, do it! Know that you know this family by association. And that, my friends, makes us all famous. (like my logic?) I already have my DVR set.

Useless info for your Easter dinner discussions

Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the SpringEquinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. This year, Easter will fall on March 23.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will eversee the rest of our lives...and only the most elderly of our population (95 years old or above) have ever seen it this early before. None of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier.

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so ifyou're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that).

The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.

So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year.

Don't you feel educated now? Happy early Easter!!!

Coloring Easter Eggs

I decided on Friday to finally decorate my house for Easter. It's a shame the decorations will be up for only 10 days! Oh well, we'll enjoy the festivity (or is it festive-ness?) while it lasts.

We colored Easter eggs after church today. Walmart was selling these little Q-tips with dye in the stems for $.88 and it ended up being the perfect tool for Kaylin. (I highly recommend this product!) She unknowingly received the eggs that cracked on the stove, so there was no need to worry if she dropped one. I was still very on edge, however, because she continually put the Q-tip close to her head and hair. As you can see from the pictures, her face, hands and high chair tray became quite colorful. So much for taking pre-Easter pictures this afternoon! (That's my new trick, by the way...I dress the kids up in Christmas outfits, Easter attire or Halloween costumes and take pictures several days before the big event. Everyone is much more relaxed, especially ME.)

This is another place holder for a scrapbook page, so just enjoy the pictures!

My top 10 list of "Mommy Must-Haves"

Moms love getting recommendations for amazing products from other moms, so here's my list. I apologize that most items are baby related...my kids are still pretty little! Now that we're moving into the pre-school age, I'd love to get some recommendations from you...just add a comment at the bottom of the post.

1. On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo. Anyone who knows me, knows I love this series. They have books for kids all the way through teens, but Baby Wise helped my kids become independent sleepers who slept 12 hours a night at a very early age.

2. Video Monitor - this helped me during my kids' first few months and I still love it today. They now have monitors that have a remote screen, that you can literally carry around your house.

3. The Ultimate Crib Sheet - this thing is amazing. It's waterproof on one side and sits just on top of a regular sheet. So when it needs to be cleaned, you just unsnap the straps from the sides and lift it off without having to remove the bumper or wrestle with the mattress.

4. Diapers.com - I am shocked that no one has mentioned this site before! You can get 160 Pampers for $39, which is a MUCH better price than I've ever seen. I also found size 6 Pull Ups for Ryan (for night time) and they'll be much more comfortable for him than the size 5's he's been wearing from the store. And with a $50 order, shipping is FREE. I have a coupon code from a magazine for $10 off (it expires 6/30/08)...feel free to use it. It's: PTG6. If you're reading this after 6/30, you can get $5 off your first order by using the code: KatieRoose.

5. No Slippy Hair Clippy - the only bows that will stay in Kaylin's fine, non-existent hair!!! And they don't snag on her hair when she pulls them out. I also recently met a local gal who sells little girl and baby hair accessories, bibs, nursing covers, etc. The name of her company is Jonesy Baby and this is her Etsy shop. The flower clips are really reasonable and pretty versatile. You can put them on her headbands, in your child's hair, in a pony tail elastic or on a hat. I bought a few and love them.

6. Color Wonder products by Crayola - SO worth the extra cost...I don't have to worry about markers on my carpet, tile or high chair tray. You can even buy them at Michael's and Joann's with a 40% off coupon. Kaylin recently found a Sharpie and is so used to me not caring where she colors that her little hand started heading for the grout on my tile!!! I stopped her just in time.

7. The most amazing catch-all Bibs - You can also get them here. This item should be higher on the list. Kaylin is now feeding herself because it catches the little bits that fall from the spoon or fork. You can unsnap them and lay them flat to wash them and they're so secure, Ryan spilled a whole cup of milk into it by accident and not a drop got on his clothes!!! (update - I just discovered that Walmart sells these bibs now for under $4. They're on the bottom shelf in the baby section of my store.)

8. TiVo/DVR - I love that I can record Ryan's favorite shows and he can watch them at any time of day. And in the rare moments when I actually watch a show or when Mike's watching a game, we don't have to shush the kids...I can just press "pause" and keep my kids the priority. Love it!

9. Onesie extenders - These help onesies fit kids a little longer. They come with various snap sizes. Genius!!!

10. Little Touch Leap Pad - I really like this book system. It's served our kids well. However, I was just in a market research group for a new product by Leap Frog called the Kiwi. It should come out sometime next year and is better in so many way. The books are downloaded right into the unit, so no lost cartridges, and if you plug it into the computer, it will tell you the progress of your child and give you tips on things to work on with them. (ie...if they consistently mix up K and X or something like that) It's so cool. Leap Frog is a huge hit in our house.

WOW - a must see video clip

This video is about 11 minutes long, but well worth the time. Get a little perspective from a dying father...click here. It really has me wondering what I would want to teach my kids if I knew I only had a few months to live. And for that matter, why wait? I think I'll sit down with Mike soon and make a list of the most important things we want our kids to learn from us as parents. I challenge you to do the same thing. Because you just never know! I'm going to hug my kids now...

What is Bloglines?

People I know are finally starting blogs and my list of "blogging friends" is getting longer each day. When I had just a few blogging friends, I'd go in and check every once in a while for a new post to read. The list is now longer, it's more of a chore than it used to be.

That is, until I learned about Bloglines. This website is brilliant! I added the websites of everyone who blogs and all I need to do is add it to my favorites and check it occasionally and it will tell ME who has a new post on their blog! I just love the simplicity and efficiency behind this site. Especially since two of the funniest people I know have recently started blogs. I can't wait to get a daily laugh from these ladies. Blogging is an outlet...I don't need to tell you how hooked I am. You all see that I daily posts! I have SO much to say...and Mike gets sick of listening. Maybe not, but I do talk a lot, and he is a man...I need to give his ears a break when I can...