Easter Time!...

The Bunny Came!

And God showed up, too!

It was a happy day at the Leong house.

Come on in....

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 The boys came down this morning to Easter baskets filled with toys and books.

Gavin received a cool toy that has a light up show when he presses a bar on the bottom.

And the Easter Bunny knew how much he LOVES the Fisher Price "Laugh and Learn" lady's voice and songs - and gave him a cell phone and a rolling puppy!  He was in Heaven.

Brian was more than happy to help his brother crack open his eggs.  Inside were coins for Gavin's piggy bank!!  The three of us raced up to Gavin's room to put the money in his bank.

Brian was excited with the toys in his basket...a helicopter, a telescope, Spider Man stickers and a sticker book.  But he was even MORE excited with the eggs in his basket that contained a few M&M's and Lifesavers!

Gavin wasn't interested in the scavenger hunt so Brian, being the great big brother he is, collected all the eggs in the playroom for both of them.

Inside each of the 20 eggs was one coin!  Brian was over the Easter Moon.

Yesterday, the boys got Easter gifts from Miss Sara and her parents that were - as usual - amazing and creative.  Brian got a pop up castle which has replaced our fort in the "book nook!"

A few days before Easter, a box arrived from our friend "Miss Barb" who often sends the boys books for their library.  A few of the books that she passed along I actually slipped into the boys Easter Basket stash.  One of which was called "Where Does God Live?" by Holly Bea.  

Once I read through this book alone, I knew it had a special place in Brian's basket.  All morning the three of us read books together - and Brian asked for this book twice.  We often casually talk about God and Heaven and angels together - especially at night.  Each night at bedtime he asks, "Want to lay on my bed for a little bit and look up at my stars, Mommy?"  And we do.  We lay on our backs...hold hands...and look up at the glowing stars on his ceiling. He tells me where everyone lives as he points up to the sky.  "Pop lives in that star... and Darcy is in that star..."

After reading the book one final time, I brought the boys upstairs for a short nap.  As I tucked Brian in he said, "Mama - is God dead like Pop?"  I quizzically replied, "Why do you ask that, Brian?"  He answered, "In the book it said that God lives in Heaven and you go to Heaven when you're dead."

What a perfect day to explain to my son how very alive his God is.  And how he lives everywhere... and in everything... and in everyone.

Happy Easter!!

p.s.... if you entered the Mattel "Save The Bunny" drawing, check this list to see if you're a winner!  I assume they would contact you - they didn't even tell me the winners were announced.  I have no idea who the winners are on the Chasing Rainbows Facebook Page giveaway - I haven't been told yet.  It was a rather anti-climactic ending... oh well.

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Entry #10444Natasha

Entry #10479Erica C.

Entry #1411Debbie T.

Entry #8964Maureen L.

Entry #4352Krista g.

Entry #372Patti M.

Entry #8911Darwin C.

Entry #11597Jessica S.

Entry #5990Ava P.

Entry #8829Aimée R.

Entry #8622Michelle H.

A New Way to Make Easter Eggs!...

We had a big event happen today!

No, it wasn't our visit to the Easter Bunny, although that was a big moment.  Last year, Brian was terrified (can't say I blame him) and wanted nothing to do with the bunny.

And, no, the big event wasn't Brian's great coloring job that he brought to bribe the bunny (Can't say I blame him there, either.  I wish I had thought of that years ago.)

The big event?  Mommy created a craft project with the boys.

Me.  I'm the Mommy.  I know...I can hardly believe it myself.

We decided to decorate Easter eggs and I discovered a new way to make the eggs.  In the OVEN!

I saw this circulating on Facebook and had to investigate.  Turns out the idea came from the chef, Alton Brown.   You can find the "recipe" here.

It only took 30 minutes and it was much simpler than watching a pot of boiling water.  But the coolest thing about this?  It didn't smell like eggs were cooking in the kitchen.  It smelled like we were baking a cake!!  How cool is that?

The other new idea I wanted to try was dyeing eggs with shaving cream and food coloring.  We sprayed shaving cream onto a cookie sheet...

...and then dripped all the colors on top.

They suggested using a toothpick to swirl the colors through the shaving cream - and I didn't.  I gave Brian a large chopstick.  

In hindsight, I wish I had used the toothpick.  The shaving cream was a little over-stirred and it kind of looked like one big color blob.  In a test of "nature" vs "nurture" - "nature" won.  I've never let on that I don't care to get dirty or do messy things so as not to influence the kids.  But Brian has always been that way on his own!  He is always asking me to wipe his face or get stuff off of his hands.  This egg craft was entirely too messy for him.  The photo below?  Totally staged to show him "rolling the egg through the cream" - he barely wanted to touch it!!  So, the rest of the egg rolling was left to me.  And I had dyed fingers for the rest of the day.

In other news - I have NO idea if Gavin is really my child or not.  He was completely out of control playing in the shaving cream.  Let's just say clean up involved Q-Tips.

This is what the eggs looked like after being rolled in the shaving cream...

...and ten minutes later, I toweled the shaving cream off to reveal these...

I think they would have been a lot more vibrant and marbled if we hadn't over mixed with the big chopstick.  But that's okay - I'm feeling pretty confident that this was a one time event.  Thank God.

We also did the traditional "Paas" Easter egg dyeing kit.

Poor Gavin had to be restrained when anything was put in front of him.  He literally would just grab any of these cups and throw them.  Not a great idea when there's food coloring involved!

Both boys had a good time, though!

Brian asked me why we make Easter eggs and, to be honest, I wasn't sure where that tradition came from.  Even when I looked it up, it wasn't entirely clear.  So I told him that, just like Daddy, the Easter Bunny likes hard boiled eggs.  We decorate them because he loves to see our artwork.  And then, when the bunny comes to our house, he has something to eat before he leaves gifts in their baskets and hops onto the next house!

My explanation conveniently solves my dilemma of how long I'll have to stare at these eggs.  Now I know the Easter Bunny will devour them before we wake up on Sunday!  Score!!

If any one of you is learning about the egg baking or the shaving cream trick from ME - please tell me so I can have a good laugh.  Talk about an unlikely source!!

Save The Bunny Giveaway!!...

In a couple weeks, many of us will be celebrating Easter!  This will be Gavin's fifth Easter and Brian's fourth - and neither have ever had a candy filled Easter basket.  I've chosen, instead, to fill both of their baskets with toys and maybe a few cookies or organic lollipops.  I've never been a Mom who gives candy to  my kids.  It didn't make sense for Gavin, obviously, but I don't give it to Brian, either.  But let me also be clear - I LOVE candy.  I choose to eat mine in the closet while I'm hiding from the kids.  But, I digress...

When I think about last Easter, I can't help but say - "What a difference a year makes!!"  I had just found out that Brian had a nut allergy and gluten sensitivity!  If I had hoped to do a "traditional" Easter basket filled with candy, it would have been quite challenging.  Here is my post from last year so you can see what choices I made for their baskets.  They were both thrilled.  Last Easter was also right before our embryo transfer using an egg donor.  We all know how that turned out.  Yes, what a difference a year makes.

The increased traffic to this little blog has brought some interesting opportunities my way.  Companies have been contacting me with offers and giveaways.  I've never said yes to anything before - I thought it would change the vibe of my blog.  But I've changed my mind... and here's why.  It's really because of all of YOU that my blog is getting more exposure!  So, if things come my way that make sense to share here so I can pass on my good fortune to you, I will!  If something is offered that maybe doesn't make sense for me to write about - I'll share it on the Chasing Rainbows Facebook Page to share it with you there!  This won't turn into a blog junked up with ads or constant pop ups.  The only constant "ads" are the Amazon links to the side.  Do you know what they're for?  If you click any of those links to get to the Amazon site, a percentage of your total purchase goes into an account for Gavin!

This past weekend, I was contacted by Mattel.  Yes, Mattel!!  And they had a really fun, very timely and super exciting proposal for me.  They, too, believe that Easter baskets are healthier and inspire more creativity and play when they are filled with TOYS instead of candy!  They put together a "Save the Bunny" campaign and exciting sweepstakes and I'm flattered that I was chosen to be included with just a handful of blogs!

First - and especially if you're a "Bachelor" fan like me - watch this hilarious celebrity PSA:

So, here's the plan.  You can head on over to the "Save The Bunny" website where you can enter the sweepstakes.  Mattel will be giving away a toy a day to children of all ages between now and Easter... and one grand prize of $4,000!  You'll also find pretty decent coupons for toys like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher Price - and fun Easter basket ideas.  (There's a really cute hot wheels one I may try to copy!)

And you can also enter to win the grand prize - shared across the handful of blogs they've chosen, including mine.  One lucky winner will win a deluxe Easter basket filled with toys! There's also ten second prizes that consist of a Hot Wheels Multi Pack or Barbie Madison.  If you win anything, Mattel will ship it right to your home!  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  (And no - I never thought I'd say "Use the Rafflecopter" on my blog.  But there's a first time for everything and if I can win you some toys for your kids, I'm in!)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ca62ad6/ 

And, thanks to Mattel - one of MY readers will win either a Hot Wheels Multi-Pack or Barbie Madison!  To enter for that, head on over to the Chasing Rainbows Facebook Page, "Like" it and you'll see the entry link!

Last year we had a pretty tough Easter...food allergies (that we resolved!), the first family visit to my Father's grave and a failed round of egg donation.  This fun giveaway is a boost for this girl this year! I hope you'll join the fun!

And please...please save the bunny.  Or else this might be "the most dramatic Easter ever."  (Couldn't resist, Bachelor fans)