Easter Sunday Mayhem

1:30 am The Easter Bunny was up very late last night at our house, making sure the kids were truly asleep before putting out the chocolate and treats.

5:00 am I heard little footsteps going down the stairs to the main floor, checking to see that the Easter Bunny really did come. Thankfully, those little footsteps then came back upstairs and back into bed.

6:30 am The boys were awake without having to rely on the alarm clock they set the night before. They went downstairs to begin their sugar high. Almost teenage daughter was still asleep.

7:00 am The alarm clock which the boys set but didn't need went off, rousing me from a good snooze. I stumbled out of bed, plodded to the boys' room, shut off the alarm clock and then trudged down the stairs myself to say good morning and see what treats the Easter Bunny left. After wishing the boys a Happy Easter, I asked them if they'd mind if I went back to bed for a little bit. They didn't, so I did. Almost teenage daughter was still asleep.

8:15 am Everyone else was now up and the stereo was now on, so I rolled out of bed again and toddled back downstairs. Almost teenage daughter had made coffee (bless that girl!) and the kids had opened their Easter bags from Grandma. It was time to set up the bread machine to make batch one (multigrain) of buns for dinner with Grammy and Grandad later today. Then time to help the boys glue and paint their wooden vehicles from Grandma's Easter bags. Gotta love Grandma: she provides candy AND toys.

9:30 am The kids weren't hungry (surprise, surprise: they're full of candy and chocolate) but the adults were. Feeling lazy, we scrounged around and came up with scrambled egg dogs: scrambled eggs and shredded cheese in a hot dog bun. Surprisingly good.

10:00 am I was still waiting for the dough cycle on the bread machine to finish batch one so I decided to blog a bit and then get myself cleaned and prettied up in preparation for the Easter celebration with my family later today. The painting of the wooden vehicles was completed and they were set aside to dry.

11:00 am The dough cycle on the bread machine finished and I made the first batch of buns, placing them in a warmed oven to rise before setting up the bread machine for round two (whole wheat). The boys played with their freshly painted but now dry wooden vehicles with the television blaring in the background. (Explain to me again why we bought that stupid noise machine?) The kitchen table was still a mess with bowls of candy, paint-covered waxed paper, paints, paintbrushes, scissors, the waxed paper box and assorted other crap. Why am I the only one in the house that puts things away without being asked? Arrgh! The boys put their paint-covered pieces of waxed paper in the garbage (after I told them to) but managed to get paint on the outside of the garbage can. Arrgh! Of course, they didn't notice and tried to blame each other when I told them to clean it up.

11:45 am The first batch of buns were given an egg yolk wash, a sprinkling of rolled oats and placed in the oven to bake. The kitchen table was still a mess although I had put away my scissors and box of waxed paper. Hubby seemed to think the local bicycle shop would be open so he left with a couple of the kids to pick up replacement brake parts for oldest son's bicycle. Being Easter Sunday, I was skeptical and expected them to return shortly.

3:00 pm The buns were baked and batch two sat cooling on the wire rack. Hubby came home from his shopping trip - I got to say "I told you so" about the bicycle shop being closed, but the mall was open and the boys now have caps that make them look like little 1950's Cuban revolutionaries. It was time to change into some nicer duds and head to the folks' place for Easter dinner.

3:30 pm All aboard Moby (the great white whale of a van) - we're off to see the grandparents.

4:30 pm Supper was planned for six pm but that didn't stop the flow of appetizers. I asked if I could help with supper but was told no, just sit and relax. Love it!

6:00 pm All the guest arrived and chatted with drinks, then lined up and served ourselves buffet style. There was too much food to bring to the table, and too many guests for just one table. Yum!

8:00 pm The kids ran off to play after supper, leaving the adults to chat over coffee. it was time to round up our little monsters and get them home. The Easter Bunny had dropped off treats at the grandparents' house too, so we left with bags of goodies.

9:00 pm The kids were in bed (all except almost teenage daughter who had to carry on half a dozen MSN conversations simultaneously with her friends.)

11:00 pm All is quiet. The kitchen is a mess but I'll deal with that on Monday.