Hoppy Easter!

This year we threw together a last minute trip to Indiana for our 3 day weekend.  The kids (and Scott) get Good Friday off here, and since we haven't seen Kristin and Co. since LAST summer (before Alex was even born) we decided a visit was in order.  

I'd like to say that our recent travels to New Orleans have turned us into professional road trippers, but that is most definitely not the case.  And even though this trip was shorter by half, we still endured many trials and tribulations as we crammed all 7 of us plus our stuff into the mountaineer for our 5 hour drive.  On the Thursday before Easter, I checked the kids out of school a bit early, loaded everything up in the car,  and picked Scott up from work on our way out of town.  Thirty minutes later and we were already stopping for food.  And gas.  Because that's how we roll.  Hahahaha.  It was mostly because the kids were already freaking out and bugging each other, wanting to eat, and needing to use the bathroom, but it was also because a new seating arrangement was in order.  Things weren't exactly working with Ethan and Jane flanking the baby in the middle row of seats.  Jane kept trying to hit him and take away his snacks and Ethan can't handle the noise when Alex starts to fuss.  I decided that I couldn't handle listening to Ethan yell at the baby to stop crying and be quiet for the rest of the drive, so we switched Jane's and Grace's seats and solved most of our problems while managing to make the trip in our allotted time frame.  

The kids -- as always -- had a BLAST with their cousins, staying up until midnight (or later) almost every night and overloading on candy and electronics (they really had fun playing Just Dance on the Wii), and jumping on the trampoline.  We had an Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard on Saturday which jump-started the sugar consumption while providing an outlet for fun and festivities.

 

The 6 younger ones. I love Jane's expression here.

Easter Egg Hunting.

Jane needed a little trampoline break.

The 4 older boys humored the younger ones by coming outside during the Hunt.  They also humored them on MORE than one occasion by bouncing them on the trampoline.  They were VERY good sports.

Sunday morning dawned bright and SUPER early no thanks to my 2 little ones.  Alex and Jane's night waking habits slowly but surely evolved over the course of our stay until the last night we were there one or both of them were up almost the whole night long.  Fun times -- luckily Scott was the one driving home and not me!

Since I knew that the kids would be stuffing their clothes in their backpacks for the trip, and I knew that Kristin's ward meets at 9 rather than 11, I decided to save the new Easter outfits and the obligatory photo op for the next Sunday when we'd be at home and theoretically have a little more time in the morning.  I think it was a good call on my part.  The kids managed to ransack their Easter baskets before church and after getting everyone ready to go we made it in one piece even if we were just a tad late.   After church we let the kids play for a little bit longer until we finally had to hit the road.  Within 30 minutes, every single one of them had crashed hard and fallen fast asleep.  It made for quite a peaceful Sabbath drive for about an hour or so.   Hahahaha.

It's taken a full week, but I think the older ones are finally starting to get back on schedule -- at least with bedtime.  Unfortunately for me, the little ones are still having issues.   Just last night Alex woke up around midnight which then woke Jane up who didn't fall back asleep until after 3 in the morning.  Aaaaahhhhh!  Aside from the bedtime problems, we're finally making progress with our ongoing "Love at Home" initiative.  After seeing how much the kids loved the trampoline at the cousins' house, we decided we're going to finally bite the bullet and get one for our yard once the kids earn 400 "Peace Points."  They can get points for pretty much anything -- being kind, helping out, doing their chores, staying in bed at bedtime, brushing their teeth -- so long as it contributes to the love and peace in our home.  They can also get points taken away for things that decrease the peace -- such as yelling, screaming, fighting with each other, disobedience, etc.  So far it's working much better than expected.  Hahaha.  At the end of each day we add the day's tally to the grand total where it is then safe and sound from having any points detracted.  Ethan is very particular about that stipulation.  It's only been a week and we're already almost a quarter of the way there!  At this rate we should be able to get one just in time for summer vacation.  It's amazing the way I've manipulated the system into perfect timing, isn't it?  Hahahahaha.  Once the trampline is earned, we'll just have to see what else I can come up with to bribe my children into good behavior...

Updated Addendum:

Apparently I also need to come up with a way to bribe myself into better parenting.  While trying to finish up this post about 20 minutes ago, I made Sophie -- the child who is allergic to all dairy -- fix a bottle of milk for Jane.  Well, let's just say it didn't end well for poor little Soph.  She spilled milk on her dress which got on her stomach which caused her to break out in hives.  THEN when I told her to go and wash her skin off before putting on some hydrocortizone, she got soap in her eyes and is now a burning, itching, crying mess.  I am not always the best mother.  Just to let you know.

Another update:

It is now after 10 o'clock and Sophie has been freaking out off and on for the better part of the last 6 hours.  And while she is a bit of a drama queen, her eye is legitimately hurting.  And here are some pictures to prove it.  :(   I just might give the doctor a call in the morning if she is still complaining.

Do you like how stylish she still likes to make herself look even when it's bed time and even when she's in excruciating pain?  Hahahaha.  Poor little super muppet.