Easter, the one that happened several months ago

I know. You thought this day would never come.

I don't know why I've finally decided that today is the day ... I've still got several sets of pictures from July and August that I have yet to share with you, so I certainly could've held out longer on Easter.

Sigh. I guess I just felt sorry for you. I thought eventually you'd forget about it, but when a few people actually ASKED me about the Easter pictures recently in emails and comments, I realized you people are like DOGS WITH A BONE.

So away we go!

Back in March or April -- whenever Easter was this year -- we gathered at my Uncle Dick's house for lunch and the Easter Egg Hunt that he's hosted for the last several years.

My cousin Allison's little girl Anna helped make cakes.

 I didn't try the cakes, because Peeps aren't my jam. But several other people tried them.

If memory serves, I think they found out that Peeps aren't their jam, either. But aren't the cakes festive looking?

My parents were here for the weekend, so we enjoyed the day with them and my mom's extended family. My dad forgot his cap, so he made so with a paper napkin to protect his head from the harsh sun while we ate lunch. #innovator

The kids tried hard to act interested in lunch, but in reality they couldn't wait to get out to the front yard to hunt for eggs. It was hard to tell, but I used my motherly intuition. I listened for clues, like the 92 times they asked how long it would be until we could start the egg hunt.

Eventually we all GAVE IN and made our way around front.

Amelia was beyond ready. I don't think she could possibly have remembered last year, but she was Ready To Hunt.

She pranced down the steps and looked left and right, hoping to catch a glimpse of a few eggs before the hunt officially started. OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CHEATING, her brothers will have you know.

But once Uncle Dick gave everyone the Go signal, everyone was off! Grayson helped Amelia get started.

I'm not sure how much help she actually NEEDED, but he's always happy to assist her.

Turns out, though, she's developed an eagle eye over the past 12 months, and she was able to pick eggs out of the shrubbery pretty much on her own without too much trouble.

It's possible that Nick had big goals.

Jake may be the only child in the state of Alabama who hunted for eggs in a sweatshirt that afternoon.

Jake does love a good hoodie.

Precious Anna.

Anna is always so sweet to Amelia ... and I think in a couple of years Amelia is going to follow her around like a puppy dog. It's kind of starting already.

It took the kids about 20 minutes to hunt for the eggs, and even then, Uncle Dick wasn't convinced they'd found all the ones he'd hidden.

Jake might not have found every egg, but he definitely started out by taste-testing the ones he found.

When do kids get too old to want to hunt eggs? WE'RE NOT THERE YET. Especially not when the eggs have money in them.

Uncle Dick likes to keep the plastic eggs to use again the following year, so each year we open them up, empty the contents into Ziploc bags, and leave the eggs with him. It's always exciting for the kids to count up the money and eat what little chocolate was actually in there.

As always, it was a wonderful afternoon spent with my mom's side of the family, and we hope to do it again next year!

Well, you know. In about six months.

Bygones.

Three!

Amelia,

You have brought a light into our lives – ALL of our lives – that none of us could have imagined.

When you walk into a room – well, you rarely walk … you run – you bring with you an energy that cannot be ignored.

You squeal with joy, you crinkle up your nose so that it’s the perfect companion to your impish smile, and you steal the hearts of everyone within striking distance.

And then you immediately ask them for boloney, a cheese stick and a yogurt.

I’ve never known a little girl who loves both princesses and dirt as much as you do. The messier the meal, the better, as far as you’re concerned.

Now, you DO love a good wipe. But not before getting as much yogurt, melted chocolate or cereal milk all over your person as is physically possible. 

Where do I start with you and your love for animals? To say you’re obsessed with Scout would be an understatement. You call him your “best fwiend.”

You won’t leave the house without giving him five minutes of hugs and kisses, and he’s waiting at the top of the stairs for more when you come home. If he’s not right there, you hunt him down.

And Maisy? Our backyard neighbor? You love that dog … you love to feed her treats and leftover hamburger and chicken from your plate, and if Daddy would let her move in, you’d bring her over tonight. 

All of us would give up a limb for your affection. You give it pretty freely – ON YOUR TERMS. You love to bestow hugs and kisses … when you feel like it. You love to cuddle and watch TV … when it suits you.

You love to tickle, wrestle and ride piggyback … when you’re in the mood. And of course we all eat it up with a spoon. 

Are you spoiled? Possibly a thousand percent. We just hope you can hide it long enough to marry well.

You are the sun, the moon and the stars to the five of us. Well, six if you count Scoutie, and I know you do.

Happy 3rd birthday, my sweet girl. You’ve given us three years that have exceeded even our wildest dreams. 

I love you,
Mommy

The 'Frozen' giveaway winner!

It's my great pleasure to announce the winner of the Frozen giveaway today!

Random.org chose Number 10 out of the 30 of you who entered:

So that means that Alexis is the lucky winner! Alexis's entry said:

With five little girls in the house I have heard this movie probably a hundred times. But, I have NEVER seen it! Olaf makes it more light hearted and for that I'm grateful. Final answer, Olaf. 

ASK ME HOW BAD I FEEL ABOUT THE FACT THAT SHE HAS FIVE LITTLE GIRLS IN HER HOUSE AND THE GIVEAWAY PACKAGE INCLUDES FOUR ITEMS.

Pretty darn bad. Alexis, please email me with your mailing address so I can ship your package! I'll try to get it to you within 12 weeks. #fingerscrossed

Anyway, so sorry that all 30 of you couldn't have been winners. I hope to do something else fun soon ... we'll see how this Amazon thing goes. Ha!

Speaking of that, thanks to any and all of you who decided to help out with that. You guys are the bestest.

Tune in tomorrow for an annual tradition, my letter to Amelia on her birthday.

The most I've ever asked of you

Many of you have been reading my blog for a long time. (Thank you!) We've been doing this together, you and I, since 2008.

I don't know why, but recently I've been bombarded with a lot of offers from companies and individuals to do sponsored posts and requests to add buttons and images to my blog ... things I'm just not interested in doing -- nor have I ever been interested in doing. Sounds like a lot of upkeep to me, and many of you have said at one time or another that you appreciate the fact that I don't accept ads.

But I have a request to make of you.

I'm a member of Amazon's Affiliates program, and when I link to products on their site (and I tell you when I do), if you purchase anything as a result of clicking to Amazon from one of those links, I  receive a commission from them of roughly 4 to 7 percent of the purchase price. Amazon doesn't pass an increase on to you; it just deducts it from its profit on the sale.

To tell you how profitable this has been for me in the past, I HAVE EARNED TWELVE WHOLE DOLLARS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS AS AN AMAZON AFFILIATE.

I know! Blogging is profitable, y'all.

Back to my point: It occurred to me that if you were inclined to support my blog at no cost to you, you could change your Amazon bookmark in your browser to (copy and paste it):

http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=grassstains-20&linkCode=wsw&

That is my personal Amazon Affiliate home page link. It would be a "passive" way to support my work here, because a small portion of your eligible purchases would be paid to me as a commission each time you shop there.

I won't know who does and who doesn't, so there's no pressure on you one way or another. And I know I could be opening myself up to some serious criticism here, but I decided that the ask was worth the risk.

Please know that if you decide to support my blog in this way, it would mean more to me than you could ever know. Thanks for considering it.

A 'Frozen' giveaway

**This giveaway is now closed.**

This is not a sponsored post.

Well, it is sponsored by Grass Stains. That is to say, BY MOI.

In honor of Amelia's 3rd birthday, this week, I am giving away a package of some hard-to-find Frozen merch to one of you, a treasured Grass Stains reader.

Included in the package is a new-with-tags size 4 of her current favorite nightgown:

A new version of her favorite notebook and pen set:

 A new Anna and Olaf melamine bowl, which is what Amelia loves to eat her cereal and oatmeal out of on Saturday mornings:

And last but certainly not least, and Anna and Elsa umbrella with an Anna-shaped handle. Amelia doesn't have this YET, but I have one set aside for her for Christmas. (Shh!)

To enter to win this AMAZING Frozen merch, leave a comment (one per person, please) telling me who your favorite Frozen character is. If you don't like or haven't seen the movie, you can tell me that, instead!

The winner will be announced on Thursday. Good luck!

Amelia's 3rd birthday party

This is going to be a very Amelia-heavy week.

SORRY, IT'S JUST YOUR CROSS TO BEAR.

Her 3rd birthday is Friday, but we celebrated almost a week early because I have a work commitment this Saturday. So for one time AND ONE TIME ONLY, you get to enjoy pictures of an event kind of in advance!

(I'm just now realizing I could've saved these pictures until next week and finally shared Easter with you today.) (Oh well. Easter can wait until next week.)

Our regular cake lady Vickie's daughter was getting married last Saturday, so she wasn't able to make Amelia's cake for us. It took us a while to adjust to that piece of news, but we rebounded and ordered a cake from Olexa's, a local bakery that makes great cakes.

They came through with a pretty Frozen-inspired cake for Amelia:

I don't know if you can make it out, but there was glitter that looked like "fairy dust" in the icing.

The edges looked like they'd been piped with snow drifts, and they even airbrushed it with soft pink accents.

The snowflakes on top were so delicate!

They really did a great job on it.

As has become our custom for party favors, I ordered cake pops from my friend Jamie. (Have you visited her cake pop shop, Jamie's Sweet Revenge? If not, you're missing out.)

Olaf is 100-percent edible. On Anna and Elsa, their skirts are edible, and their tops are decorative (they're paper toppers on toothpicks that pop right out).

I ordered three dozen. Ask me how many are left.

Zero.

They were a huge hit.

Two of Amelia's friends from daycare came, Moody and Emma. Emma's sister Caroline came, too.

And her cousins George Emory, Branum and John Bart were there, along with our babysitter Anna and the kids' parents. So we had a great group! I was pleased since it came together in a hurry and invitations only went out the week of the party.

I don't think I've ever seen any group of kids enjoy a trampoline more than these 3-year-olds (and Caroline).

I don't think any of them have a trampoline at home, so they had a blast.

They jumped for almost two solid hours without stopping, and they giggled the whole time.

Anna remarked -- and I agree -- that it's easy to tell that Amelia was raised on a trampoline.

She can jump circles around kids who are much older than she is. She's really sure-footed out there and it doesn't bother her when she falls down, or even to get knocked down. Only to be "cwunched."

I wouldn't be surprised if Moody asked his dad for a trampoline on the way home.

This picture made me laugh. Emma and Amelia are having so much fun, one with beautiful bouncing curls, one with ... well.

I think Emma needs to put a trampoline on her Christmas list, too.

Our gift to Amelia was a set of plush Anna, Elsa and Olaf dolls. I was worried she wouldn't let them remain the centerpiece for the table for the duration of the party, but she did.

(I didn't tell her they were FOR her; I told her they were for the table. But still. I thought she might demand them.)

I know you guys are going to think this is ridiculous, especially since I'm not a Pinterest Parent, but those two-liter Cokes in the background of these shots are TOTALLY KILLING ME. As a matter of fact, I absolutely considered only serving bottled water with coordinating wraps that said "Melted Snow" on them, because the OCD in me would prefer that. But I stood strong and decided that people might prefer Coke and Coke Zero.

YOU'RE WELCOME, PARTY GUESTS.

Speaking of coordinating things, I ordered a dress from etsy a few months ago specifically for her party, and when it was time to get dressed, she refused to wear it. Of course she was dying to wear it TO BED THAT NIGHT, but it was a no go for the party.

Excellent.

I didn't argue with her. What are you gonna do? It's her birthday. Let her wear what she wants. Especially when it's rainbow chevron. Girlfriend has taste.

She was a little shy while we were singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

She reminded me of myself when I'm in the spotlight. Shoulders hunched up ...

... looking like she's in physical pain.

Her brothers came over to help her blow out her candles, because she wasn't sure how to do it.

Success!

After we enjoyed the cake, she opened her gifts, we handed out cake pops and the guests headed home. It was a wonderful evening and we were glad so many could share it with us and our sweet, sweet girl.