Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all who are celebrating (and for those who aren't, just enjoy the pictures).

I have a babysitting co-op in my neighborhood that rocks. We help each other out on a regular basis - for example both this coming and this past Wednesday when I need someone to get Little Miss off her bus. With over twenty women together, we can always find someone who is available to watch our children in exchange for hours.

It's more than just the babysitting though. Our monthly meetings are a great social outlet and a wonderful source of information about upcoming events, the schools, and more. We have periodic ladies nights to just get away. And we do holiday events, including an Easter Egg hunt that has become quite the tradition.

It starts off with an Easter Egg hunt, which they kindly hold off on starting until the four of us who attend the Catholic school that gets out later can make it to the designated house. Each of us provides stuffed eggs, and the kids are separated by age to go in search of their requisite number of eggs.

Note that I have no pictures of this. Although I recharged my camera before the event and put the battery back in, I apparently neglected to put the camera actually into my purse. Nice babysitting people lent me their camera, however.

We also have a visit from the Easter Bunny, who comes to visit all the children and is available for pictures. Usually the Easter Bunny is fairly stationary and put in a picturesque area, but this year he was mobile.

This may also be the last year we have the Easter Bunny. As disappointing as it was, I witnessed several of the older (and I'm talking early middle school age) children harrassing the bunny - pulling on his gloves, yanking his watch chain, pulling on his pockets trying to rip them off his jacket, lifting up his waist, and the like. I chastised them, and they looked suitably ashamed for being disrespectful to the bunny, but I caught them (and others) at it later, and I know other moms did, too. It's a shame.

This isn't all, however. After the Easter Egg hunt is over, there are cookies to decorate. Dozens and dozens of cookies are made, frosting and sugars and decorations are provided, and the kids get to go to town making and eating their creations. You'll notice no pictures of Little Miss here, as she was being Miss Crabby McCrabbypants and not listening and was taken home by my husband after the Easter Egg hunt portion.

The host for the past two years has added yet another bit of entertainment. She prints out all sorts of Easter coloring pages, and the children are then invited to color them for a contest. This isn't your typical contest, however, where the one artistic child wins every single year. Instead, all the pictures are hung up for their due admiration while the kids go run and play for awhile. Eventually, they are taken down, shuffled, and three random winners are drawn.

Mister Man didn't win, and he was disappointed, but he was thrilled that he was able to help other kids find eggs after he'd found his dozen. In fact, as he was helping one boy find thirteen of his eighteen eggs, one of the eggs he found for that boy had a special "E" label inside that meant the boy received a special prize. Mister Man couldn't have been prouder that he helped than if he'd won himself.

And really? Isn't that what Easter is all about? Helping others, sharing and celebrating as a community, and recognizing that we're all in this together trying to make the world a better place?

Happy Easter!