Easter

Turns out the science experiments with the leftover egg dye are MUCH more interesting and fun than coloring eggs.

The kids dyed fabric.

They discovered an apple sliced dipped in egg dye makes a nice stamp.

They're mixing colors and making up magical stories to go with the potions and the magic cloth they dye. They're freezing dye to see what happens.

And days like this I remember why I have an ugly, crappy table and haven't tried too hard to replace it. They can spill all the egg dye they want over there and it won't be worse than it is now.  And that's also why we have hardwood floors instead of carpet, and why I had all the little boys dying eggs in dark-colored shorts and no shirts.

Once again, I see that children learning and clean houses are sometimes (often? always?) mutually exclusive.

Too bad they'd rather eat the candy than experiment with it!

Nathanael, just 3, doesn't remember coloring eggs last year. So when we said we were going to dye eggs, he said, "The eggs died?" and that was his perception of the entire activity. We were coloring dead eggs, and when we were done, all the eggs had died.  Funny thing is, it didn't seem to bother him much.

Easter is a funny holiday--to commemorate the most important event that ever happened (the resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ), we wear fancy clothes, stuff ourselves on expensive candy, make eggs look unnatural, and tell our children that a magical bunny pooped eggs all over the yard and they have to not only clean it up, but eat most of it. I just don't see the connection between the reason for the season and the traditions.

And, in other news: brown eggs aren't as fun to dye. But the kids insisted on trying because mommy didn't realize it was a problem until I'd prepared two of the brown ones to boil. Oh well.