EASTER AT THE SCHILLER HOUSEHOLD~SUBTITLED: TEENS AND EASTER EGG HUNTS

Unsure of how I should proceed with today, I asked my teens if they wanted to do an Easter egg hunt this morning. My youngest daughter's "NO!" drowned out my older daughter's "Yes," so I thought the hunt was off. 

My eighteen-year-old loves family traditions. You know, the kids sitting on the stairs in birth order, (or reverse birth order, depending on the year), hidden baskets, eggs galore, sharing time with extended family and enjoying a big meal. This year we aren't going home to St. Louis for Easter, nor are we sharing it with the neighbors, which is our alternate tradition. Money's tight, so all I got for the baskets was candy, which we probably don't need, but it just seems wrong to have Easter without it. I wish I could find these one inflatable rabbits my grandma used to give us every Easter. They stood about two feet tall and even though there wasn't much you could do with them once you blew them up, I still loved them and still think about them every Easter. Other cool things, which I should have picked up this year, (and still might, shhh!) are paddle balls, punching balls, those yo-yo thingies with the curved parallel rails that the "yo-yo" ran back and forth on...do you know what I'm talking about? But I wax nostalgic.

I FOUND THEM!

Although the kids may or may not be too old for Easter egg hunts, I still wanted to make the day special somehow. So, we are having cannelloni  (very untraditional, I know, but we all love it and it's a high maintenance meal that I don't make often) and these Jello chocolate dipped Easter egg concoctions that the kids love (I think it's pudding and cream cheese in the middle and the chocolate shell, better look that up since time is ticking).  

Next, the stage has been set. There WILL be a family game and it WILL be without angst or bloodshed, whether it kills us or not! We don't have a lot of family game action because 1) there is almost always some sort of emotionally scarring unpleasantness, and 2) we all are so busy. The kids have a more active social life than in previous years, I'm working my writing gig, and my husband is held up in his hermit hole in the basement doing taxes, or financial aid forms, or something else vital to our family's well-being that has nothing to do with the basketball game that is  on "just for background noise." 

I have warned all to get their homework done (seeing it is the last day of Spring Break and of course the ideal time to cram in all of the homework assigned over Break!). My youngest son spent twelve hours, TWELVE HOURS, playing video games while we were watching his brother's baseball doubleheader in Ottawa yesterday, (about an hour and a half drive). We are not even sure if he ate during our absence! Needless to say, not a lot of homework got done.

What about you? Still in the fun days where kids overstuff themselves with Easter candy? (Although, come to think of it, ours still do that). Moved on to try to establish new traditions? Please share with us as we parents need to stick together!

I'd like to thank my friend, Terri, for inspiring this post as she reminded me that I need to include more of the other, non-writing, me on here! Happy Easter all!