We Survived

Yes, we survived the beginning of Sandlot Softball practice and book fair AND it being Holy Week. I realized Wednesday night, as we were getting ready to show a movie to the kids in the upper grades, that I'd totally forgotten Easter was almost upon us and we hadn't colored any eggs. What kind of mother was I? When was I going to color eggs with the girls? Wednesday was the book fair movie night, Thursday was Maundy Thursday services, which I'd told Pastor D. I'd help her set up for. Friday we usually take down the book fair and pack it back up for Scholastic AND the girls had ball practice. (We didn't pack things up because we were both just too danged tired.) Finally, on Saturday we were supposed to meet up with my mom and sister to load up some of the last stuff from Dad's.

Now I know, in the grand scheme of things that coloring pagan symbols of fertility for Easter Sunday isn't all that big of a deal, but I don't like to just ignore things I want to be family tradition. And having it as a family tradition means we couldn't just rush through things either. So, Thursday night after services, I boiled up a dozen eggs, thinking we'd fit in time on Friday somehow. About an hour, after school, and we'd be good, right?

Didn't happen. There just wasn't enough time between getting home from school and needing to be at practice. Forgive me, Gods of Sandlot, but I really was praying for it to rain that afternoon. It didn't. It did rain out the end of practice, though. We'd still have time to color eggs after getting home. Nope. Didn't happen. The van wouldn't start. And it was pouring down the rain. *sigh* The Kate came to our rescue, but the van still wouldn't start when she tried to jump me. (The van, guys. Watch those gutters.) She waited on Triple A while I left in her car to get the kids home to eat.

We didn't head to my family's on Saturday. This, I think, was overall a good thing. Yeah, we didn't help getting the stuff to Goodwill. We did a get a day of seriously needed rest. Mr. Incredible was recovering from a migraine the day before. I was, umm, having a bad day of lower back pain. And the girls were just fried. Jeff got the van fixed in the morning - it was a bad battery. I spent a good chunk of the day in bed. Mr. Incredible and the girls went for a bike ride that afternoon and we all had pizza for dinner. (Mr. I. makes seriously good pizza.) And we colored Easter eggs, although THAT didn't happen until about 9 that night. It was fun.

I made it to services on Easter morning. Pastor D. did an awesome job. We had ham for dinner and then had a family we're friends with over for an egg hunt in the backyard. Not bad for on the fly. And it was a good first Easter at home. Next year I intend to be back at Grandma's for Easter weekend. I want the girls to have those memories for when she's no longer around. (This is MY grandmother we're talking about.) I want to have those memories. And we all want to have the experience in the here-and-now.

It was still a good day, though. :)

My Fortune Beans

This was inspired by the egg tree at my grandma's. A couple of my cousins' kids put some plastic eggs on her azalea bush in the front yard. I love how bright and shiny the cheap-o plastic eggs look in all the drear of early spring. I was worried, though, that the eggs might just walk off, given our location on one of the major roads through where we live, which also goes right past the district's high school. Hrmm, what to do? Well, I thought, if they walk, there should be something in them. Thus were born Fortune Beans. I went with the plastic jelly beans because I didn't need to poke holes in the top for the string. Inside each colorful bean is a nifty little fortune cookie fortune, found with an online search.

As for them walking off....Well, except for the wind knocking one down, all of them are still on the bush out front. Making me smile every time I look.

Book Fair

Where I am all week: bookfairs.scholastic.com

We're having our spring book fair over at the school this week, complete with evening events. Tonight the cute younger kids are having their spring music program and tomorrow night we're having a movie event for the upper grades. We screening Twilight for a bunch of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. It'll hopefully be a blast!

As soon as I remember, and get the time, I'll post some pics from the fair. It was so much fun decorating for it!

The Fugue State

Well, finishing the book by the end of February and having Revision One doen by today hasn't happened. In fact, I haven't really written much since my craft article for Llewellyn. (Which, by the way, was a lot of fun!) But then Monkey Girl was home for two weeks with the flu, then Dad died and there went another week of my life where I just couldn't focus to write. We just finished up a week-long spring break, during which the girls and I went to Grandma's for sever days - and I dealt with more Dad stuff. After a month and a half, Memory Lane has become a well-worn trail. And I find myself in a bit of an overall funk lately. Even worse than I usually get as the seasons shift from Winter to allergy Spring.

However, it's not as though I haven't had other creative moments, though there haven't been many. I've done some card swaps the last couple of months, thanks to one of my email lists. (I'll post the scans for the February swaps soon. I might even share the lentil stew recipe from the recipe card swap.)

On the Dad's Stuff front, his trailer is done except for getting the last bits out. Decisions have been mande about everything, which I think was the harder, more time consuming part. That's also where all those trips down Memory Lane happen. My sis and I got through it pretty well, without many tears or arguments between us. She's still trying to figure out why I'm so darned excited over getting Dad's military stuff. It's not like he was on active duty longer than it took for him to train and then he did the minimum time in the Reserves. This was back in the late 60s. I don't know, I just get excited over that stuff. And it was obviously important to Dad or he wouldn't have kept it his entire life.

It's interesting to see what folks find so important in their lives.

Futility!

I've been avoiding the social networking sites because I really, really don't need something else to keep updated. Honest. It would never happen....or at least not very often. So, tonight while gorging myself on Mr. Incredible's pizza, our friend Pastor D. comments on how she keeps expecting to friend me on Facebook. The Kate and I had just been talking earlier in the day about how I was avoiding these things for as long as I can.

And so, now, you too can be my friend. I'm officially on Facebook. Look for Melinda Fulk. No A.

Cool Free Images

I know, its a bit late for this, but Lisa Vollrath has another wonderful countdown on her website. Check it out before they're gone!

Wow!

Sorry not to have posted anything at all in at least two weeks, but, unfortunately, the title of my last post was very appropriate for the coming days. My father passed away the night of February 21st. I found out a few hours before my Girl Scout meeting the next day and then left for my grandmother's on Monday. (Yes, that would be my father's mom I'm referring to - she's 85 and fabulous!) I've been overall fine, but in a bit of a busy funk ever since. I want to write more about my father and am hoping that will happen in the next week. In the meantime, I'm planning on returning to my grandmother's yet again this weekend to help my sister sort through his stuff....and dealing with our yearly Girl Scout cookie sale. I'm not sure which is more mind-numbing. ;)

So, before asking if there's anything you can do to help, do me a favor. Go hug your kids if you have them, because you never know what's down the road. Watching a parent bury their child is heart-wrenching, even when the child they're burying is your parent. And if you don't have kids, go hug you parent or someone who's like a parent to you. And thanks from me for your help in this.