Easter Lunch

We were invited to a friends home for Easter lunch and everyone opted to bring something to share at lunch, we decided to bring some appetizers to add to the Easter lunch plan. One thing to note is anytime we have an event the food we serve or order is usually directly tied to the current cravings of my husband. This time it was scotch eggs and bacon..breakfast themed food! I though it'd be a simple thing to make a few par boiled eggs and bake some shrimp. Problem was, I had never made scotch eggs before..

Anyhow, after church (ok we intended to go to church but ran into some hurdles..) we headed over the White Plains for lunch and yet another egg hunt. This one was supposed to be more intimate and fun because it was organized by my mom so I thought it was great idea especially for the little ones to get have a chance to really look and discover the eggs. I love to see the look on their faces when they do. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a scaled down version on yesterdays egg hunt because the two 11 years olds basically scooped up all the eggs with minutes leaving the little kids in the dust once again.

We started with some very lovely sangria made by my sister and I made bacon wrapped shrimp and scotch eggs which is something we used to have all the time in Nigeria but have never had since moving here. It's really a British dish not very American at all, I got the recipe from Bon Apetit and figured if it came out bad I'd just bring the shrimp..luckily, they actually came out quite nice.

Baked bacon wrapped shrimp

Scotch Eggs

Mom brought Easter baskets, tons of candy and easter eggs, face paint/decorating kits and more for the kids and then as they watched eagerly from the window, she spread the eggs out in the backyard..she really just put them right out in the open ..no efforts to hide them at all to the dismay of the older kids but I thought it would be rewarding for the little ones who barely even knew what to do. When she called the kids out, Ayden and Shaina jumped over the little kids and immediately collected every single egg! I then made them put them all back in new hiding places so that the little kids could see them and then we had to restart the egg hunt.

 Look at that face..you'd think she found gold in the grass..

 confusion sets in as all the eggs disappeared..

 My nephew wondering what all the excitement is all about..

Mikki, set a beautiful table serving an elegant lunch, a combination of American and Nigerian food- we had roasted lamb, honey glazed ham, egg salad, roasted chicken, quiche, spinach soup and more...various pies and cookies. Its fun hanging out with them (the Williams's), they have extremely polite kids, Mikki and I have a lot in common and it's generally a relaxed gathering with lots of laughing and dancing when we do. And then in an interesting yet funny turn of events..my mom had lollipop "grills" for for the kids...this basically concluded our Easter 2014..WESTSIDE!..

Westside!

Easter Egg Hunting.

This year was Evalie's first Easter in the US because last year we were in Nigeria and although we had a lovely lunch with my family, we didn't do the traditional egg hunt. I used to color the actual hard boiled eggs with Arielle but could never get passed ending up with tons of eggs with color bleeding into them..what do you do with them? No one would eat them..anyway and I kind of don't lone the cheap plastic eggs..unfortunately I'm yet to find another option. So this year ( after a long, long long winter!) the sun came out and we got ready to hunt. We joined my nieces and and a few friend (and hundreds of other kids to my surprise) at the Stoney Point egg hunt.

 Of course as soon as they saw eggs they went running into the field to get them without realizing the swell of kids behind the line just waiting to here "go"...I didn't realize what was to come. I figures a leisurely walk while picking eggs along the way..I WAS WRONG.

Once they cut the line, the kids came flying towards us and within minutes, there wasn't an egg left on the grass. I immediately grabbed Evalie's hand because the kids wouldn't even stop long enough to avoid knocking her over. The kids were strategic and rough, it was like being in the midst of a football game. Surveying the baskets, both Evalie and Arielle barely had gotten anything and began to get upset but obviously, the organizers of this event anticipated this occurrence and came around with bags full of additional eggs dropping them right in front of the kids so they could pick them up without having to dodge..13 year old boys..who by the way should really not have been participating..

 Eventually, the crowds scattered and the kids got to play in the grass and and in a bouncy pen. I especially like this odd couple. Evalie (1.5 years) and my niece (11 years) have quite a friendship, its very cute.

Memorial Day 2014

So as usual somehow, I got roped into playing host for the BBQ and you know what, I'm getting better at it. I was much less flustered and had enough food prepared to feed the crowd. It was a beautiful day, the kids were well rested ( read: not cranky) and we had just enough friends over to have a great time without any drama...you know how some friends/family..family-ish people always bring the drama! Nope not this time, the adults were cool and the kids really entertained themselves..starting with bubbles, then running up and down the little slope in our backyard then getting totally wet in the sprinklers..to water balloons and smores. It was an all out welcome to summer celebration! 

Arielle, 5

Evalie, 22 months

wolverine

my sweet littles

The adults

my niece

blowing bubbles

Ice cold pops..

water balloons with my sister and niece

Balance...

I'm back!..Oh my gosh..where has the time gone. I guess life really takes over when you let it do so! Well I have not written a thing on here in 5 months partially because I felt like my blog had turned into fodder for some no do gooders and I had felt a bit of conflict (like others do) about exposure/overexposure. Anyway, for the last few months I have been focused on a few things which involve making various parts of my life better, starting with myself, my relationships and my role as a mother. I have also taken on an unexpectedly demanding role at work while trying to hit the gym everyday. I have to say though, my efforts have paid off in various ways, I am feeling better both mentally and physically, I feel like we have developed a rhythm in the house between jobs, school and the little one who is home with her nanny most of the day. Certainly there is still the guilt of being gone at work and then taking another hour to myself to workout but I think it's been good or if anything balanced...or approaching balance..my baby is almost two and amazingly brilliant and stubborn..my older daughter is more gorgeous and more particular about her wardrobe everyday...I have lost 15 pounds and counting and my husband..well he's pretty even keeled...if you know what I mean!

Did I just say that? balance? Well I guess my life is more balanced than its been (or had any chance to be in the last 5-10 years). I am able to fit most things into my daily routine and I'm not completely stressed at the end except of course neglecting this blog! So here I am..I'm making a dedication to return to the blog and continue to use it as an outlet for my thoughts, my literary exercise and maybe even some comedy. I won't let my feelings of insignificance keep me from writing. I know I have something to share everyday and should do so regardless of if I have nice pictures to go with it. That's what this is about right..reality..documenting my thoughts..visual or not. My next few posts will be taking you back a few weeks..months but then we will move forward..I don't mind the non linearity anyway..my life isn't linear..I like it that way so why would my blog present it any other way..I ask myself that all the time.