It's interesting how our young'uns change their ways as they grow older. There are two holidays in particular that we have noticed some pretty big changes.
In years past, Christmas and Easter Eves have found Pa and me anxiously awaiting droopy eyes, signalling the time when our children might be finally wearing down enough we could send them off to dreamland so we could get busy with our preparations for the following morning. Since that rarely happened in good time, we usually ended up sending them off to bed still wide awake and excited. Then it was a matter of doing our best to be patient, hoping at some point the darkness, and lack of activity as they lay in their beds would finally take over and cause them to fall asleep.
Last night, unlike those significant nights of the past, the kids surprised us by announcing, a full 10 minutes before their usual bedtime, that it was time for bed. They both headed in with their books and settled in, awaiting the nightly "tuck in" ritual. An hour later, they were both still awake, but quietly reading with their booklights.
Since we had been informed, once and for all, that they knew who the Easter Bunny was, and that "he" actually consisted of two adults they were both quite familiar with, we felt it was safe to proceed, with little fear of being surprised by a child wandering out of their room.
The table was cleared, freshly wiped down, and covered with the Easter table cloth. The baskets came out and were filled with green paper "grass", saved from last years festivities. Various packages of candy were opened, and emptied into reuseable plastic eggs which were lovingly placed within the "grass" lined baskets, along with a stuffed critter for each and bookmarks which I had created from pictures taken of the kids, cropped in "paint", printed onto glossy paper, and cut to size before being slipped into two plastic bags, packaging left over from some earlier purchased items. Two large chocolate bunnies were placed between the two baskets, which were happily discovered by our two eager munchkins this morning.
The eggs the kids colored yesterday were hidden and found, along with a few more pieces of candy, and all the goodies have been sorted, counted, and resorted multiple times. Of course, each time they are sorted the count becomes lower ;-)
We're trying something a bit different with our Easter ham this year. Pa's cooking it outside on the covered grill. We are using our TNT Kahlua glaze though. We've tried several other glazes over the years but have never found another we like as much as this.
Kahlua Baked Ham
10 lb. precooked ham
3/4 c. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Kahlua
1/2 c. Kahlua
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
whole cloves
Place ham in roasting pan, fat side up. Roast in 300ยบ F oven, 18 minutes per lb. During last hour, trim rind and stud fat with cloves. Sprinkle with brown sugar and then 3 TBSP> Kahlua. Pour 1/2 c. Kahlua mixed with mustard into bottom of pan. Baste with pan syrup.
Another benefit of getting older for the kids is that they get to have more say in the menu choices. This year they chose tossed green salad for the green vegetable, and mashed for the potato dish. In addition to the usual cherry tomatoes and olives, we're adding sliced cucumbers at Pa's request. Naturally, no Holiday meal would be complete without cranberry sauce and deviled eggs. so those will be included as well.
Dessert will be a variation on strawberry shortcake, utilizing angel food cake rather than the more traditional shortcake. My hope is it will be a "just right", not too heavy, not too sweet finale for what is sure to be a rather filling meal.
Saturday Night At The Movies
Last Saturday we watched Beethoven's Big Break. It was a really fun movie, with plenty of laughs, which I would recommend for all ages. Last night we watched Nim's Island. Another fine film, which I guess would probably be classified as a "dramedy, basically, a family friendly drama adventure with a few chuckles thrown in. It also included some great visuals, and, again, I would recommend this film for all ages, although it may not hold the attention of the very young, at least not for the whole thing, although even they would enjoy several of the scenes.
I need to get busy with dinner preparations and so I will leave you with wishes for a most wonderful Easter day !
3 comments:
Sounds wonderful. This was the first year that we did nothing, absolutely nothing, for Easter. Sat around and wondered what to do with ourselves! As mine go older we changed from egg hunts to treasure hunts. I would sit up half the night thinking of clues for each child. Then, as each clue was put in its place, a treat was left behind; an egg, a candy, a pen, etc. At the end of the treasure hunt was a larger, more kid pleasing surprise. My guys loved it and we did the last one last spring in Wyoming. We do a variation on the theme for Father's Day, but the hidden objects are beer and cigars.
Thanks your response, Bev. That's a brilliant idea! We've been thinking our young'ns are getting a bit beyond the usual egg hunt, but couldn't think of what to do instead. I just love the treasure hunt idea!
Oh that ham sounds yummy! :) Glad you had a great Easter! :)
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