Easter Family Gathering 2012 -- Yes, It Is All Cracked Up To What It Is Supposed To Be

Family holidays -- gotta love them!  I do, I really, really do!  I toil, bake, cook, clean, and run around like a chicken with its head cut off to host a holiday party (or any party for that matter), but I love, love, love doing them and wouldn't have it any other way. 

Centerpiece on my Kitchen Island

This year, as it is every year for Easter (for over 15 years), I hosted my side on Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday.  The holiday is made bigger when my sister, Suzi and her family from Minnesota come down, because (due to the distance, obviously) they don't get a chance to spend every holiday with us.  My niece and goddaughter, Kailey, is however, allergic to dogs.  We have Pongo in the house and Wolfie outside.  Due to her allergies, I always make sure besides vacuuming, that I shampoo all my carpets and wash all my throw rugs, to help possibly forgo any problems for her. 

Friday Prep Day: So, Friday brought shampooing carpets, besides the last minute tasks to getting ready.  The tables were set -- this year since another set of good china had been added to my collection, everyone was able to sit down to a total coordinated effort.  I know this sounds trivial, but to me I always am trying to coordinate all -- I'm very anal, if you haven't deduced that by now!  Black tablecloths with Easter table runners, my white china trimmed in gold, gold chargers for the adults, clear goblets, my good silver and gold flatware, and gold and black cloth napkins.  I took out my new and antique soup tureens to place on the tables, along with water pitchers, salt/pepper shakers and also grabbed water and milk pitchers from my collection that coordinated with the table settings.  Once all the napkins were placed on each place setting, I was satisfied with the arrangements, but knew that I had one last minute item that would go on each plate -- that I would wait until my youngest niece, Tabba, to arrive to have her help me with.  

What is left of my adult table setting after we got done eating.  See the new upholstered chairs!

I was up very, very early that morning, but still it seemed my day was slipping away rapidly.  I still had to make the desserts, salads, jello, cupcakes, wash floors and the throw rugs.  Plus, I had to get groceries.  My initial plan was to go early in the morning, but I decided I didn't want to break up my day, meaning that once I got up I wanted to hit the floor running and sweating and didn't want to have to clean up and change to go to the grocery store.  And the lawn needed to be mowed.  Luckily, after serving up a quick lunch to Bob, he agreed to go out and take a whack at the lawn, which has always been my job to do.  One less thing on my list. 

"Kids" Table - this was the centerpiece for their table which contained all the eggs for the hunt (alot missing now)!

Off to Get Groceries: Now, by the time I had gotten all but the desserts made, it was already 6:30.  I quickly cleaned up, changed and was on the road to Monroe by 7:00 p.m.  With two quick stops (okay, they weren't necessarily "quick" but quick as I could get when I am running around), I had the Durango loaded up with groceries and a few other Easter fill-in treats for the baskets.  My new find for this shopping trip was "Kinky Liqueur" which is a blend of distilled vodka, blood oranges, mango and passion fruit.  I glanced at my clock in the car as I turned on the ignition and couldn't believe it was already after 8:30.  My how time flies when you are having fun -- NOT!!  I just simply don't really enjoy grocery shopping anymore -- especially when I am in a rush (which 99.9% of the time when I grocery shop, I am).  

The kids' and Bob's Easter "Baskets"

Late Night: On the way home I called Bob and asked him to turn the oven on, as we were doing a rising crust oven pizza for supper.  I figured that could bake while he and I unloaded groceries.  With the groceries unloaded and a little supper under our belts, I shooed Bob off to bed so I could get down to some serious dessert-making.  My goals: devil's food Easter cupcakes, Better Than Sex dessert and a new find -- Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake.  The latter is the one I have never made before, which is always my personal challenge at each holiday; to find a new dessert and spring it on everyone.  Of course, I hadn't quite read through the whole recipe before and so once I sat down with it to read it in detail, I found it was going to be a little more time-consuming that originally planned.  With all the desserts complete, by 2:30 a.m., I pulled the finished cheesecake out of the oven.  Now I had to let it cool down before putting in the refrigerator.  I decided I needed to sit down on the recliner to maybe get in a quick snooze, so off to la la-land I went for one-half hour.  At 3:00 a.m, I awoke to find that the cheesecake was sufficiently cooled down, at least enough to put in the refrigerator.  Once done, off to bed I went, only to be awaken a little after 4:00 a.m. by a low.  

I dragged myself downstairs and had a quick snack of some milk and cheese and guided myself out of the low; sat down in the recliner for a half hour to read, rest and recovery, and by that time Bob was up.  Time for me to get up and rolling some more.  By 5:00 a.m., I was able to start functioning again, so it was time to put together the other foods that needed to be baked, cooked, etc., and to get some more last minute laundry done.  

My Easter Basket from Casey/Nika; Bob and I also got Easter candy from Brady/Jenne

Unexpected Helper(s): Later that morning with a few Facebook posts, my niece/goddaughter, Maci, decided she would come over to help me finish up getting everything ready.  She said she would be over around 10:00, which was an hour before others were to arrive for appetizers.  When she appeared, she brought four of my five littlest nieces along.  Hmmm...not sure how much that is going to help?  Faced with questions about this and that, I finally sent them to my "kids' entertainment drawer" and told them to grab the sidewalk chalk and they could go outside to play with that.  Next thing I know, they are running back in because Wolfie (who loves anything that is not tied down), took off with one of the bags of chalk.  They chased him but couldn't keep up nor could they find out where he dropped it at.  Well, they still had one container to use.  With Maci working hard, I left her with instructions of what to do next while I went upstairs to get ready. 

Early Arrivals: At 10:40, I heard voices downstairs and realized that my son, Brady, had arrived and also my sister, Suzi, her hubby Greg and littlest angel, Tabba.  As is her nature, Suzi went right to work to help get the last minute things ready, and I called for Tabba to come upstairs so I could put her to work on her little task.  Once we had our kiss-and-hug greeting over, I handed her packages of Peeps and gave her implicit instructions on what to do next.  She was to place one Peep on top of every place setting, in the center of the napkin.  Off my little "current 4-year-old, just-shy-of-a-few-days 5-year-old" went. 

Tabba -- My Little "Peeps" Helper

Once dressed, I came downstairs to find she had indeed done her job well.  She had even rewarded herself with a leftover Peep.  (I am told that giving sugar to children on the morning of a holiday is a forgiven sin! Okay, so maybe I made that up!! But when you come to Aunt Shari's house, I get to treat them to all kinds of goodies!) 



My helpers, Maci and Suzi, were hard at it.  Now here is the funny part.  I can tell everyone appetizers are at 11:00, and no one shows up until noon.  I think, even though my family will claim it is me, that they are all habitual latecomers.  So, when sister Suzi and family showed up even before 11:00, I was surprised, but pleasantly thankful.  I rewarded her by telling her cocktail hour had officially started.

A picture of some of the "hidden" eggs in the back yard

Our family always does an Easter Egg Hunt, weather permitting, and I always let the little ones decorate their own baskets,  pails or whatever I have designated for that year's gathering utensil. This year, I gave them yellow gift bags and had a box full of Easter stickers and markers for them to decorate their own.  This keeps them busy them for a little while.  So I sent them off to the living room to entertain themselves for a bit. 

The rest of the gang slowly started arriving.  The older and younger kids settled into the living room to set up a game of Sorry.  After getting through some appetizers, punch and cocktails, it was time to eat.  With others also bringing food and drink, feast we did.  I am always so glad for the time that we can share as our big family gathers together.  It is not only a time to gobble up food, but catch up with everyone, share their opinions, cackle a little, share remembrances -- that is what family time is all about.

Then it is time for clean up.  We linger a little over an after dinner cocktail or two and slowly start to clean up from the feasting activities.
 

Serious game of cards - Golf

Spoons: The "older" and "younger" kids then cleaned off their table as once they are done eating, it signals time to play games.  They next come in search of spoons to play a mad game of Spoons.  I have learned through years with them playing Spoons and what could be considered trial-and-error, that they are no longer allowed to use my teaspoons.  They need something with a little more gruff behind them because the teaspoons bend easily -- that is not to say they are cheap spoons.  These are solid spoons, but a game of Spoons at my house with all the cousins gathered together involves the possibility that no one backs down when they grab a spoon and there is a good chance another person has attached their fingers to it, too.  It means that sometimes (as in the case in point between Casey and Brady) someone might be yanked up and lifted across the table in pursuit of the winner of that specific spoon.  (And past history has been that if they are using my teaspoons, they get bent.  The rule now is tablespoons!)

Now, I can also claim from my own experience, that I am just as devoted to claiming a spoon and have yanked people off their chairs in order to win that spoon.  When my Mother plays with the grandkids, she knows what she is in for, but she can be just as steely when it comes to vanquishing a coveted spoon.  They also know there is a chance they will leave the battleground with battle scars such as scratched arms and hands, bruises from being knocked off your chair or skidded across the table.  It runs in the blood, you can see it pumping through their veins, you can see it in their eyes -- we are all Bravehearts playing out Mel Gibson's character in our own quest for the sacred last spoon.  One or two people will go down in each battle and be trampled under in the next ensuing game to finally become the victor in the end -- in my house it is not a sport for the faint of heart!  Before each battle day, these minions pump iron to ready their muscles for the ensuing day's battle. At each gathering, the previous victor is marked with a "Scarlet V" and it is noted that they will be the first to go down.  Chests are thumped, there are screams of failure and delight, and egos stroked and deflated. The tales of games past are relived only to be consumed by the newest game at hand where fresh stories are created to regale at the next gathering when again they converge in search of the highest honor -- the last person standing with a spoon in their hand!  At the end of the day, though, the combatants shake hands and walk away from the table . . . usually only to gather up the cards for the next battle at hand -- a game or two of card games of different sorts . . . a little quieter but none the less competitive.

From young to older, the kids love their card games as much as they love playing Spoons

Clean Up Duty: While the kids are off vying for the imaginary golden belt, the adults find time to sit back and gab a bit.  But dishes need to be done, so we are also stacking, clearing off, washing and drying the good china.  My brother-in-law, Wes, always has two duties when he comes to my house.  First, before the meal, if he is early enough, he carves the meat(s) for me.  Second, after the meal, he also does scrap duty.  We give him ice cream pails of the leftovers scrapped off the plates and he dutifully takes them outside to dump them over the fence.  Our cats and dogs adore Wes.  To them he is the Master of Scraps. The feline and canine animals around our farm know when it is a holiday or a party.  Once they see the cars pull in, they know it is going to be a feast day and they will usually begin to gather on the front steps in anticipation.  When the white ice cream pail comes outside loaded with scraps, you become the Pied Piper of O'Connor Dairy.  Wherever you go, they will follow!

Wes; Strawberries and; Cream Cheesecake; Kinky Liqueur- Yes, that's my martini glass with some Kinky in it!

Easter Egg Hunt: While we are cleaning up, the kids have now broken up into two groups.  The older ones, who are the Easter Egg Hunt egg-fillers, and the younger ones, who are the patiently-waiting-seeking-to-get-as-many-eggs-as-possible hunters.  The rain has held off, so that bodes well for the Hunt, but it is starting to sprinkle, so once the eggs are filled, the older kiddies head outside to plant them around the back yard.

The After-Math: Clean up means everything gets washed and set on the dining room table for me to put away in its appropriate spot or hutch.

The five younger ones have to be threatened a few times as they jostle for a peak or two out the windows to figure out their own plan of action.  Once we get them lined up at the front door, we decided that Maci had better grab Tabba and take her out first.  One, so she can get a head start against the older girls, and two, so she doesn't get trampled by the stampede of sisters and cousins.  It is all for yourself, if you drop it, you lose it; unless it is Tabba's and then it is off limits.  One day she will have to apply that same courtesy to her younger cousins when they are able to run around with the rest of them.

Niece Kailey Picking Eggs

Once the rain begins to fall a little harder and we have determined that all the eggs have been gathered, it is time to go inside to open up the treasures.  I holler at the girls to head out to the living room where they can dump out their finds.  That is the moment when Nika warns me that maybe this is not a good idea.  "Why" said I.  After some evil eyes given to her by me (my renown interrogation techniques), she finally spills the beans that maybe some of the egg contents are not suitable to be dumped onto the carpet.  Oh, boy! This isn't the first year this has happened and it certainly won't be the last!  Opening Easter Eggs from the Easter Egg Hunt can sometimes be filled with "little" surprises.

Niece Kelsey opening her findings

What's In that Egg? In years past, the older kids have found it amusing to throw some oddities into the mix by putting a few items into the eggs that you wouldn't normally find.  This year there was a strawberry and a grape or two that found their way off the fruit tray into an egg or two or three, and besides opened empty candy wrappers, there were also a couple filled with . . . powdered sugar.  Oh no!  Did someone just say that little Tabitha found one of those and is opening it?  Too late! As Maci was helping her, Casey decided to help even further and a puff of powdered sugar exploded out wherein those two decided it was time to shower each other with powdered sugar.  Never mind the mess that it created everywhere else!  Kids -- they never grow up! I was quickly able to put a kibosh to what could have been a powdered sugar bath by quite a few of the kids.  Never a dull moment!
 

Nieces Brooke (L) and Autumn (R) with their eggs

Aw www . . . just wouldn't be a holiday around our place without a few antics stealing some moments!  But that is okay, because the kids grow up so fast . . . and then again . . . sometimes they don't.