Things I Totally Spaced

#1: Easter. An entire high holiday.

I may have become a bit wrapped up in planning spring break/summer/regular stuff that I glossed over Easter. It doesn't even blip on the radar of my mind apparently until it is too late and I have all three children at home and certainly cannot sneaky-buy treats at Target. And it's too late for online shopping. So I'm in a predicament of my own creation. The only reason I'm even typing this is because Netflix has saved me with America's Cutest Dog, a collection of all those internet dog videos. The children are howling with delight in the next room- it's pretty awesome.

Here we've come after seven years of Easter basketing, and I am SICK AND TIRED OF IT. I hate the crappy trinkets and junk toys. They just take up space, end up huddled around the baseboards of the hallways, and I'VE HAD IT. Easter is a good opportunity to stock up on necessary stuff and let the Easter Bunny take credit. Why buy the normal stuff AND the stupid throw-away toys? I've decided to work smarter, not harder about all this. So I've made a list of some items that we need to get for summer/spring, and I'll maybe throw some jelly beans in the mix as well.

- Swimsuits. (we used to do this every year, but I accidentally went off book and bought a batman swimsuit for Little Man while he was with me. And I got a rocking deal off season at Garnet Hill last year on the girls' suits, so they've been in the closet, and I cannot guarantee the girls are unaware of their existence. Play it safe! I don't want any tricky Bunny questions come Sunday morning) And maybe beach towels, but I'm unsure what we're doing this summer with the pool and Little Man's special snowflake skin. He's in a major breakout right now because he walked barefoot in some grass for TEN MINUTES. Feel free to shoot me now. So this is weird territory. Onward!

- Easter Dresses/church wear. I was blindly buying these things beforehand. It's tricky shopping with the kids because we have VASTLY differing styles. Them: TULE! ZEBRA STRIPES! GLITTER! Me: Denim? Understated elegance? Machine washable? I'm doing an experiment this year and shopping without them, and their dresses will arrive neatly tucked in the basket, washed and ready to wear later that day? Right? Brilliant? I THINK SO.

- Flip flops. I'm totally going shopping by myself today, having secured some coveted childcare. (thanks Mom!) I'm also outlining my kid's feet to take with me to measure some freaking flip flops. Because I'm tired of fighting with the twins over flip flops. Every year they fight over whether to match or not. And whatever we go with, it's always the wrong choice. So I'm not giving them the choice. This sounds like a rant, but I'm sure they'll be ECSTATIC to find them in their baskets, really.

- Summertime activities. We're going to be spending a lot of QUALITY TIME together when school gets out. I need to hit my local craft store like a tornado and buy some... everything. My kids are going to have lots to keep themselves busy with. Since it'll be hotter than Satan's Patio outside, we'll be making mosaics, braided stuff, I don't know what 7 yr olds can really craft, but I'm about to find out. I might be investing a lot in some Lego sets as well. Those suckers are $$$. But I'll bet they'd be hours of entertainment. (for me, too?) Can the twins cross stitch? I remember that nonsense takes FOREVER! We are going to wreck it this summer.

-Maybe some games? If the kids can finally corral me to get involved. (so far our family favorites have been Uno, Hello Kitty Dominoes, Honey Bee Tree, and Spot It Jr)

Ok, so these aren't the $5 fare from the Easter aisle, I get it. See, my logic is you'll be buying this stuff ANYWAY. May as well make it into a basket that doesn't suck! Wish me luck! I'm going to be having a BALL shopping BY MYSELF. Have I mentioned that before? BY MYSELF? Oh yeah? Sorry.