Our Easter

We had such a lovely weekend with family and my heart could just explode!

 

On Saturday, we had Josh's family over for a little Easter lunch and cousin play time. These kiddos are so much fun to watch together and I'm so excited for next year when Judd will be out running around with them!

 

It was raining on Sunday morning, so the Easter Bunny had to hide eggs inside. That's not nearly as exciting, but we still had fun! Here are the boys baskets. Poor Judd didn't get too much this year.

Jacob got his first Lego Duplo set, which he's been talking about pretty much since Christmas. Haha! He was so excited and wanted to open it right then, we had to talk him into finding the eggs! Ha!

Once we pried the legos from his hands (literally) and told him there was chocolate in the eggs, he was OFF!

Judd was taking notes for next year.

"Chocolate...hahahahaha!!"

"Look!"

My sweet boys.

Judd stayed awake the entire service and fell asleep on the way home, so of course didn't get a single picture with the entire fam. Ugh! Next year! But here's 3 of us.

We had a yummy lunch with my family after church, and then we all took naps. It was glorious!

I hope y'all had a lovely Easter weekend. I'm leaving you with my favorite Easter hymn.

Kool Eggs

This is the first year I finally bit the bullet and dyed eggs with Jacob. It just seemed so messy and with a WILD and CRAZY toddler? No, thanks.

But! I found this recipe for Kool-Aid eggs and I thought it was a genius (and less messy) idea! And the eggs turned out really cute (and they smell good)!

First you need to boil the eggs. This is simple, y'all.

Put all your eggs in a single layer in a sauce pan, fill with just enough cool water to cover the eggs, add 1 tsp. of salt, bring to a rolling boil for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit covered for 15 minutes. At this point, I transferred the eggs to a Tupperware container and put them in the fridge for the next morning.

When you're ready to dye the eggs, pour the Kool-Aid packets in cups and then add 2/3 cup water to each.

 

We used a whisk, as you can see, and Jacob could easily do it all by himself!

"Ooooo....look mom! Bluuuuue!!!"



That's it! So simple and easy! I wish I would've gotten a picture of Jacob trying one of the eggs. LOL! His face was priceless. And no, they do not taste like Kool-Aid, much to Jacob's dismay. :)

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Our Easter

We had one of the best days ever yesterday! I'm still on a high from all the family time. We are truly blessed.

 

My parents and sister, and Josh's mom came over early on Sunday morning and we all went to church together. Jacob went to the nursery because, well, he cannot handle sitting still for more than 5 minutes. It allowed us to enjoy the service and soak in the beautiful music and moving sermon. I felt God' presence in that place, and it will surely take me through this week!

 

 

After church we came back to our house and Jacob had a little egg hunt in the backyard. The dog helped him, of course.

 

 

This little boy would hunt eggs ALL day if we let him! At first he was just putting the eggs in the basket, but after awhile he realized there was actually stuff IN the eggs. We gave him goldfish, Teddy Grahams and 2 Hershey Kisses.

 

 

After all the eggs were found, and candy was consumed, we headed back inside to play with his loot from his Easter baskets. Yes, its plural because Jacob has the best grandparents a guy could ask for!

 

I made a delicious brunch, with breakfast tacos and fruit salad. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of the table or food. Boo! Oh well.

The day was a success and we all slept really well last night.

I've been singing this hymn all morning. Like I said, I'm still basking in the Glory of God! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and Easter.

Easter Basket Blog Hop

Hi, friends!! Happy pre-Friday! Hope you're having a great day.

 

I'm joining my friend Darci at The Good Life Blog for a super fun Easter Basket Blog Hop!

 The rules are very simple- share the above logo, link back to Darci's blog, and share you little one's Easter baskets! So, without further adieu.... here is Jacob's Easter basket... 

 

 

I have been hiding all this stuff in the garage, and literally threw them all in his basket over naptime. Unfortunately, the lighting 'round here sucks with all these clouds! Ick! So, I apologize for the terrible lighting.

I detailed all of his goodies here, so be sure to check it out!

 

Cheers!

Easter Brunch Ideas

Happy Friday!!! I hope y'all have had a wonderful week so far. I'm so so looking forward to a fun-packed weekend, starting with a yummy lunch with my sister today!! Yay!

We're having some family over after Easter service, and I've been thumbing through my brunch recipes trying to decide on the perfect menu.

I've narrowed it down to these options, so I thought I'd share them along with the corresponding recipes...

 

My french toast casserole is seriously bomb. And the best part is it's EASY! You can make it, pop it in the oven and get on to the egg hunting!



original recipe

As a kid, my parents made this no flip pancake nearly every weekend. Its so so good. It requires a bit more prep (sifting flour- ick!), but it's sooooo delicious! For the 7 of us, I'll probably make two double batches. It's that good.

 

Ingredients (for a single batch, which feeds 2-3 people)

6 eggs

1 cup sifted flour

1 cup milk

4 tbs. melted butter

1/2 tsp. salt

 

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400.
2) Beat eggs until well blended.
3) Slowly add flour while still blending.
4) Add salt, milk and butter.
5) Pour into greased 9x9 pan (if you double the recipe, you need to put it in a 9x13).
6) Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.
7) Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with melted butter, powdered sugar and syrup. YUM!!

  

PS- look at these old school pictures and our OG oven! Woof!



I've been addicted to poached eggs over buttered toast lately. The combo of the runny yolk and butter seriously can't be beat! Poached eggs are suuuuuper easy to make, but they do require attention, so making for a group might not be the best idea.

 

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make poached eggs.

First- bring water to a boil in a frying pan.

Once the water is boiling, crack desired number of eggs directly into the water and let it cook in the boiling water. You can make multiple eggs at a time- I've made up to 3 in a small frying pan.

While your eggs are cooking, put bread in the toaster. Butter once done.

Next- after a few minutes (maybe 3-5), scoop the eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon, and lay on top of buttered toast.

 

 

That's it! Your goal is to keep the egg runny. (I clearly didn't accomplish that this time because the eye doctor called twice while it was boiling- ack!) Sooo yummy!!!

My next option are these scrumptious and simple ham and egg cups. I feel like these would be a good "side" item to go with one of the above (probably not the poached eggs, too much egg?).  



via

I haven't actually made these yet. They look pretty easy though, and I think you could add hashbrowns to the bottom, instead of serving on the side. Here's the original recipe.

 

What are y'all planning on making?? Any good ideas? I love a good brunch recipe!!!

 

Cheers!


Linking up with: [the good life blog], Not Just a Housewife, Lewis Lane Designs, Cherished Handmade Treasures

Jacob's Easter Basket & Stuff

With Easter less than 2 weeks away (how is this possible??), I thought I'd share all the goodies Jacob will be getting this year from the Easter bunny!

Itty Bitty Boo with Swim Trunks | Etch-a-Sketch | Bubble Gun | Happy Easter, Mouse | Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny

Hoooowwww cute is that Boo?? Jacob is obsessed with Boo. He has the large one, and another small one with a "bear hoodie." I thought this one was sooo cute and perfect to kick off spring/summer.

The Etch-a-Sketch is really my next attempt at "arts and crafts" with Jacob. He either draws all over the house or has NO desire to do it. So, I thought maybe he could draw on this?? We'll see.

 

I'm not entirely sure how appropriate a gun is for Easter...but this Bubble Gun will surely be the key to my sanity this spring. I am already soooo sick of blowing bubbles. God help us!

And of course, Easter books! He already has many religious Easter books (this, this and this are my favorites), so I thought I'd get him some mainstream books.

Jacob has already been sporting this crazy-cute Easter tee.

 

 

And on Easter Sunday, he'll be wearing this handsome aqua gingham shirt with khakis.

 

Can't wait to see and hear about your Easter basket picks, and of course- the egg hunts!!! I love this time of year!

 

 

Linking up with: Lewis Lane Designs

Easter Egg Explosion

Easter is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for. Not sure if it's because it coincides with spring cleaning (and we all know I love a good deep cleaning) or if it's just the general uplifting feeling that spring brings- sunshine, warm temps, flowers, bright colors, etc. Either way- I'm totally game!

This year I decided to spruce up my Easter decor and try to do it on a budget. I think I nailed this one. 

Easter egg explosion at Casa de Sokolewicz...

I went to the Dollar Store and grabbed about 8 tubes of Easter eggs (4 of the pastel colors and 4 of the brighter colors, 24 eggs in each tube). I'm no math major, but that's like 200+ Easter eggs.

 

The Dollar Store eggs are awesome for crafting because they have holes on both ends, so you can easily string them.

 

I literally took 24 eggs, strung them on fishing line and hung them on my little nails on my mantel and called it a day. This little pop of color really does make a huge impact in our family room!
 

 

For each holiday/season, I fill up this vase on our dining room table with various items. I love that its one of the first things you see when you walk in our front door, and it just sets the tone for the entire house. I actually got those little wooden baskets at Emporium Pies (they put their to-go slices in them- how cute, huh??), but I found similar ones here. Just fill them with some Easter grass and you've got some adorable placecards or, in my case, a little Easter goodie for Easter brunch! (more on that later)
 

I can't even count how many times I've said this, but no holiday/event/season is complete without a wreath! I'm seriously in love with this one. I first hot glued eggs (probably 70-80 eggs, y'all) to a foam wreath form. Then just used some Easter grass to fill in the spots where you could see the wreath form. There weren't that many spots, but I had to add some more to even it out. I'm so glad I made this guy. Love it!

 

I took a little LBG inspiration on this chalkboard, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

 

I'll be back next week with Jacob's Easter basket and some ideas for a yummy Easter brunch!

 

Cheers!

 

 

Linking up with: Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, House of Rose, Living Well Spending Less, The Dedicated House, Lewis Lane Designs, Cherished Handmade Treasures