Am I the only one who is constantly amazed at how my expectations and reality don’t quite match up? Sometimes, I hope for the best and I’m sorely disappointed, while other times I’m prepared for disaster and everything turns out perfectly. This was one of those weekends that was filled with a little bit of both. Today’s post is probably going to be one of those that’s more for me than anyone else, but looking through these photos and remembering little conversations from the weekend, makes me want to cherish these days of two big girls just a little bit more.
This is our third year to attend church services on Good Friday instead of Sunday morning. It’s still a little weird to get dolled up right after work and school, only to spend Easter Sunday in our pajamas, but I’m finding that we like the slower pace of our weekend better, so we’ll probably keep it up. I like having some separation between our church services and the Easter Bunny and the Good Friday service is my favorite (I’m talking to you, communion).
The girls were super chill about Easter outfits this year and actually ended up choosing and paying for their own dresses. Sophie’s was a random steal at TJMaxx — we obviously love a good ball gown! — and Ella grabbed hers at Gap with a leftover gift card.
We had to grab some photos in the front yard to mark the occasion, but there were far more silly ones than serious. Again, this is something that I never expect when gearing up for photos, but I’m always secretly happy with how they turn out. These are such a picture of our lives right now — Sophie is silly at all costs, while Ella makes bored faces or holds her sister at arm’s length.
That photo on the right is Sophie’s standard “weird face.” We’re not too sure where it came from, but it is a staple in our house hold. Her chin disappears completely and she strums her fingers like she’s up to no good.
Ella is looking a little too grown up for me these days. We have a whole hair and makeup routine and finding clothes for her that we can all agree on is a chore. Gap was probably the tenth store we visited and we were so thrilled to finally find something that fit her well enough, but didn’t make her look 17.
Also? I bought two different options for Easter and didn’t wear either one of them. I loved what I wore to work on Friday and my hair and makeup still looked fine, so I literally ran a brush through my hair and added some lipstick before getting the girls ready. This was probably the easiest time I’ve ever had getting ready for Easter!
On Saturday, we had no plans. Josh was gone for much of the day, so the girls and I just rested and hung out around home (BECAUSE OUR SWEET DADDY CLEANED HOUSE FOR US ON THURSDAY!). I was laying outside reading when Sophie came out all upset and asked if I had bought her birthday gift yet. She was worried because she saw something in the hall closet she was afraid she shouldn’t have.
Since the kids were gone all week with my parents, I had time to go through our Easter goodies, divide everything into two separate bags and confirm that the shares were similar in size and we had plenty of candy. The kids were only going to be home ONE DAY before Easter, so I stashed the bags in the hall closet and never though about it again. Apparently, Sophie bought me a gift while they were gone and was looking for wrapping paper in the closet. She saw the lid of something for Ella’s basket and realized she should get out of the closet. Whomp whomp. We decided to brush it off and hope for the best, but Ella was devastated and wanted us to make something up or remove the item from her basket — she was not ready for Sophie to know about all the magic.
Our baskets were pretty simple this year. I always try to buy items that the girls need or will be getting before summer anyway and this year was no different. Ella got faux gold birkenstocks, a beach hat, sunblock, goggles, a t-shirt, new curling wand, a few bath items and candy.
Sophie got faux rubber Birkenstocks, a beach cap, sunblock, goggles, a t-shirt, craft supplies, a few items from the dollar spot and candy.
It seemed like the girls were enjoying the morning and Sophie didn’t say anything about the Easter Bunny or what was in her basket, so I thought we had escaped unscathed. They spent the morning comparing goodies, hunting Easter eggs, and watching movies while Josh & I cooked breakfast.
Later in the afternoon before our dessert guests arrived, I was laying outside reading (again), when Sophie sent me the following text message: “I know the secret. At Nana’s Chloe said, ‘blah blah I’m so happy my mom got this for me in the my stocking’ and I said ‘don’t you mean Santa?’ and she said ‘yes’ and then Ella whispered ‘that was close!’ Then something that was in the closet that I accidentally saw was in Ella’s Easter present. One time when I was gonna look up ‘is the Easter Bunny real?’ because we were talking about the Easter Bunny, dad made an excuse so I wouldn’t look it up. Are the Easter Bunny and Santa real?”
Basically, I had a heart attack, ran inside to show Josh and then we called Sophie into our room. I was so afraid she would be sad and I ended up being the one in tears. It’s so hard to believe that both of my girls have outgrown those things and that they are old enough to recognize the different between reality and magic. She thought it was pretty amazing and much like Ella did when we told her a few years ago, she can’t wrap her head around how we get everything done in one night and keep such great secrets. We talked about the responsibility of keeping the secret for her friends and younger cousins and how magic would continue to be a part of our lives as long as she believed in it. After she left our room, I sobbed and told Josh I was so glad we were having another baby. Just a few months ago, doing this all over again seemed so daunting, but I’m definitely looking forward to ten more years of holiday magic!
I always see parents debating the Santa dilemma and whether it will damage the trust their kids have for them or make them question the reality of their faith, but we haven’t’ had any of those repercussions. Instead, both girls have had no problems seeing the difference between what we’ve told them about Santa Claus and what we teach them about Jesus. In fact, they laughed at me for emphasizing that Jesus was in a different category altogether (obviously, mom). They were also so excited to hear how much we love surprising them on Christmas and Easter and how much thought goes into choosing gifts and making sure they have a wonderful childhood and holiday experiences. I remember being so worried about that first Christmas after Ella knew the truth, but we found that it was just as sweet and Ella was even more excited when she realized how much work went into shopping and selecting gifts. My point is just that if you’re a mom and you’ve struggled even the tiniest bit with how to reconcile these things in your heart, stop worrying. It will really be okay and your holidays will be just as magic-filled, as long as you let them.
How was that for a rambling and disjointed Friday blog post?!
