Eggs n’ Things

Today, we dyes Easter eggs:

  

 

It’s the first time we tried it at home. I didn’t add vinegar or lemon juice as the box suggested, just water, so our eggs are not as bright as they could be, but they still turned out really neat. Some had cool designs because we drew on them with markers first, others were sort of marbled because I added a little oil to the dye. It did not take very long to dye all 11 eggs (lost one when it cracked open during boiling two days ago) and nothing was stained in the process, other than the eggs. The clean-up was really easy. I intended to hide them in the back yard while Fi was napping, but two things prevented me from doing it.

1) It was raining:

 

2) Fi did not nap. This is that means she napped only twice in the last week. Yesterday we drove to my cousin David’s for Passover and Fi slept in the car on the way.

Please, oh please tell me she is not giving up her nap. I really need that time in the afternoons to do work like grading papers, making answer keys, planning lessons, and writing tests. The two hours between when she goes to sleep at night and when I go to sleep at night are not enough time to do everything for my job, let alone my studies. And, while Fi is generally good natured, when she hasn’t had a nap, she is a ticking time bomb and I never know what is going to set off long periods of whining, crying, and yelling. Those afternoon hours are also my only break in the day, when I am not dealing with someone’s child, my own or someone else’s. I NEED that time. I use that time to make phone calls for such things as doctor appointments and dentist appointments and other things that require a little quiet. And I just can’t believe that a week ago she was taking three hour naps and suddenly she doesn’t need them anymore (so she says, “I don’t need to nap, Mommy, let’s play”). It doesn’t seem right to me. All of her transitions have been gradual, so I don’t believe she just dropped the nap like a sack of potatoes all of a sudden. That leads me to wonder what is really going on with her?

Eventually John took her to the park and I hit the eggs at that time. It was fun to watch Fi’s surprise at finding the eggs.

Maybe it is the after effects of the chocolate seder from last weekend:

Yes, a Passover seder using all chocolate ingredients. It will be much cuter when she is older.

Could it be the excitement for Fi’s first time in a kayak?

 

We went to check out the new REI in Oxnard and John spent quite a while discussing kayaks with my friend’s husband who happens to work there. We found a life vest that fit Fi perfectly. She insisted on holding the paddles, even when John was in the kayak with her. We definitely plan to buy some soon as both John and I love kayaking and think Fi will like it too.

Could the no-napping be the prerogative of the princess?

My little cousin Lindsey loves to dress Fi up whenever we visit her. She has many different dresses and shoes and hats and purses just for dress up. Fi likes playing with Lindsey and it helps her come out of her shell.

Nah, most princesses don’t push their own strollers.

Yup, she’s still doing that.

Well, here’s hoping that Fi’s hiatus from napping is only temporary. Otherwise, I am going to have to start staying at work later so that I can grade papers and do other stuff. It’s not the end of the world, but I am not sure I’m really ready for this phase.