Bunny Bait

Easter projects are in full swing here at the marks residence. and it is one of my favorite things to do as a mama-make holidays fun and full of everlasting memories. i want my babies to look back and love the holidays as i do.

yesterday we dyed easter eggs and my ocd had to be reigned in. a lot. i've actually found this has to happen like all the time in this journey of parenting. m loved it. she plopped the eggs in, took them out, plopped them in again. repeat. they turned out beautiful. she asked me if we could do it again this morning. i didn't have any more hard boiled eggs so we decided to make bunny bait instead!

it was super easy and the finished product is real tasty. i know the easter bunny that comes to our house will be happy happy happy.

recipe:

2 cups chex mix
2 cups pretzel sticks (i left this out because the bag mysteriously disappeared from the grocery store to my house….)
2 cups/1 bag white pop corn
1 bar white baking chocolate, melted (i used ghirardelli)
easter sprinkles
easter colored m&m's

Spread the chex mix, pretzels and pop corn onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Drizzle over the mix. Toss.

Add sprinkles and m&m's.

Let set. Be sure to add sprinkles after tossing or they will coat with chocolate and you won't be able to see them.

Package up to share with friends. or eat it. i did both.

and just in case the easter bunny needs an easter basket ideas, this is what i've done so far for m: sunscreen stick, play dough eggs, a bunny book, strawberry shortcake goldfish, sand shovel. (not pictured: new swimsuit, plastic baseball bat and tee ball with a T.) for d: new pacifiers, two baby toys, swim diaper and a mum teether. for daddy: swimsuit, tank top and t-shirt, new bbq tools. of course a few plastic eggs filled with treats in each basket too!

Circle of Moms

i am so lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful moms. i have a few different circles of friends; in one of the groups we mainly stick to play dates with the kiddos and the other we do a girls night out once a month. i haven't been able to attend since the duke was born but i am really looking forward to our weekend away in May.

being a mom is tough. being a wife can be tough too. these are the two jobs that i have. to be a wonderful loving mom to my kids and be a fantastic wife to my husband. and i need support. we all need support. too often moms dig at other moms. judging. criticizing. snickering. its sickening. life is hard enough. we do not need to break each other down and make it harder. some cloth diaper. some don't. some breast feed. some don't. some breast feed for 3 years. some only 6 months. some moms lose the baby weight when they get home from the hospital. some lose it a year later. some mothers are single. some are married. some moms send their babies to day care. some don't. some moms stay home. some cannot.

it simply. does. not. matter.

all that matters is that you are doing what is RIGHT for YOUR family. that YOU and your FAMILY are HAPPY and thriving.

i pumped for m for 5 weeks and supplemented with formula. i nursed d for 2 weeks. too often, actually EVERY single time i am asked or it comes up that my children are bottle fed, i feel this unrelenting feeling to explain why. my head is screaming "i need to tell them it wasn't a choice!" "they have to know i went to an LC and it didn't work!" "they have to know i didn't give up!" (people have actually said to me "oh, so you gave up?") those last two words make me want to throw up. i did not give up. i tried. i was bleeding. scabbed. saying the F word with every suck. the pain made me curl my toes and cringe with tears. see, there i go again explaining why. i don't need to explain why i feed my babies the way i do. it works for our family. we are happy and thriving. period.

my point is, i am so lucky to have moms support my efforts as another mother. support me when i am crying and tired, support me when i am struggling, support me when life is peachy, support me and my family no matter what. i hope that i am encouraging to others and i hope that i give support to my mama friends like i have received from them.