Friday, April 26, 2013

Treading Water; Barely Afloat

It seems I am finding less and less time to get new posts up these days. There just isn't enough time in the day! To all those people who can't figure out what SAHMs do all day...to them I say we are always busy. Always. And it is exhausting. I think this past week my body has just given out due to pure exhaustion...and probably a little stress.

Last weekend, everything started off great!


Court kicked off Saturday with doughnuts for the girls. They thought they'd died and gone to heaven. Then, they asked to go to work with Dad and I had a few hours to get a few things done.


They worked hard!! Soon it was quittin' time. I picked the girls up and our cousins got new baby chicks, so of course, we had to go see them! Oh they were darling and Grace and Charlotte LOVED them! Wish I could've taken a few pictures but Grace and Charlotte were being a little too affectionate. Grace and Charlotte were even lucky enough to name two of the chicks: Blackberry and Sammy is what they chose!

So like I said, everything was off to a great start. Then, we noticed that Grace was getting dark, purple circles under her eyes. He mood and energy level were off.

On Sunday, Grace woke up with eyes covered in gunk. We thought it might be allergy related but it being Sunday and all, there wasn't much we could do. As the day wore on, she seemed a bit better.  Eventually, we packed both girls in the bike trailer and hauled them on a bike ride. Only my bike is equipped to pull the trailer and on the way to...it was downhill, but on the way fro...it was UPHILL - mind you, a very small incline but uphill nonetheless. And let me tell you...these girls aren't getting any lighter and I am not getting any more in shape. An additional 70+/- pounds is enough to make an anthill feel like Everest...unless you actually climbing Everest because then you'll likely be carrying gear weighing much more than 70+ pounds...not to mention oxygen.....Anyway, you get the point. It was a long haul. I was pooped! Lucky for me, we were having dinner at my in-laws so I didn't have to make dinner. Yah-hoo! Both girls were exhausted after a big day so bedtime was a breeze. I think I was asleep even before I hit the pillow.

The next morning, everything went full speed off course. Both girls woke up with eyes practically glued stuck with gunky goodness. It was looking less like allergies and more like pink eye. Perfect. {sigh}

Silver lining. The doctor didn't require us to go into the office. They just called in a prescription and quarantined the girls (and therefore me) for 24 hours from their first dose of medication. That meant no ballet for Grace and Charlotte and no school for Grace the following day. It was a long two days but by Wednesday I thought everyone was on the path to recovery. Their eyes were no longer goopy but their noses were dripping. So we skipped gymnastics and ran some errands instead. We all needed to get out of the house but we needed something leisurely. No stress. After we were done with our errands, the sun came out so I took the girls to the park.


Then we hit the library so that we could kill a little time until Court could meet us for lunch. So far, so good. Fresh air. Leisure. No stress.

Everything was looking up until I started backing up...literally...to head home. Then? Fender Bender. Yup. A little one. Everyone is/was fine and that's all I'm gonna say about that. But for a day where we trying to avoid stress, it definitely found us!

That night, I got hit by flu-like symptoms minus the flu. My whole body ached. I couldn't get warm. I had chills. Sleep was what I needed but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

In the morning, we tried to get back to normal. Grace went to school. Charlotte and I went to the grocery store and ran some other "errands". After lunch, Charlotte took a turn for the worse. She was cranky and tired and kept moaning and crying. I could tell her body hurt just like mine had the night before. Eventually, I gave up on trying to get anything done - cleaning, cooking - (I hadn't accomplished anything the entire week why start now?) - and just held little Charlotte in my arms for two hours. She didn't sleep but she rested. I didn't sleep but I really wanted to. After dinner, my chills and body aches came back hard. I think I took a shower and was in bed by 8. The girls were both asleep so I figured I could hit the hay too.

WRONG!

Charlotte was awake at 9 and though I tried to put her back to bed, Court quickly determined that she was hot to the touch. She was running a fever and it was going to be a loooooonnnng night. She tossed and turned and cried and woke up all through the night. So while little sleep happened, at some point during the night, the fever broke. Me on the other hand,

So here we are. A week later. I'm exhausted. My entire body hurts. I've been treading water - frantically treading water - trying to hang on but barely afloat. Let there be relief, sweet relief...STAT!!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Boston Strong

Boston Strong

I love Boston. Always have. Always will. Boston is where I originally wanted to go to college. I'd never been there but I knew it was my kind of place.  I think the architecture of a city can tell you a lot about the people who live there.







Now, after having been there several times, (blogged about here and here) it is easily my favorite East Coast city. I know I am supposed to love NYC more but I don't. It's too big. Too impersonal. Too... everything. Boston is a big little city. With water and all four seasons. It is historic but modern. It is education at the highest pinnacle. It is walkable and cozy. It is diverse but bound in tradition. It is friendly and helpful. When the bombs went off at the marathon, and bystanders went rushing to help the victims, it didn't surprise me. No where have I been where strangers were so helpful or friendly. Never put out or expecting a slap on the back. It's like it is engrained in their DNA to help.  So it saddens me greatly to see the events unfold this week. 
My thoughts are with you Boston. 
Stay strong. Stay true. Stay you.  

xoxo

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Bribing with Ballet

Right before Christmas, Charlotte was nearly potty trained. Santa brought her big girl panties and she had an accident. After that, potty training took a back burner. She showed no interest which was probably a good thing as we traveled a bit in the last few months. Stopping in road side bathrooms or using the lavatories on airplanes is the pits. Throw in a potty training toddler.
The worst!

Now we are home so it's time to get on the potty training band wagon again. For a few weeks, I've been telling Charlotte that if she uses the potty all the time like a big girl, she can do big girl things like go to school or join ballet!

I never imagined she'd actually do it because she has shown no interest.
And then one day, she just went to the bathroom - by herself - and did all her business.
I didn't even know what was going on until I heard the toilet flush!
Of course, she's had a few accidents (only 2) but it hasn't swayed her determination.
So yesterday, was the first time Grace had ballet class since Charlotte figured out the potty. 
(Grace missed a couple of classes because of spring break, traveling, being under the weather, etc.)

Charlotte, per usual, wore her ballerina attire even though she is not enrolled. 
When we got there, she trotted out to the dance floor. I had to pull her off as she screamed, "I'm a big girl now. I use the potty."

Couldn't argue with that!
But Grace's class is extremely full and I knew the teacher would tell me no flat out if I asked if Charlotte could participate. Mind you, the ballet company only allows students age 3 and above. Charlotte is only 2.5! There was a good chance the teacher would say no regardless of the number of students in class.

Again, I never imagined Charlotte would potty train as quickly as she did so I never imagined that I would be in this position. All through out Grace's class, Charlotte cried and whined that she wanted to dance. I told her I would call the teacher later this week. "Nooooooo!!" She threw herself on the floor. 
Apparently, that wasn't good enough. Again..."I'm a biiiiigggg giiirrrlll nnnoooowww!! I go pee pee in the pottyyyyy."

So after class, I meekly approached the teacher and explained the situation I created for myself. 
She was great and told me that the class starting in five minutes had far less students and that Charlotte could give it a try. We both were expecting her to melt down or get scared or just overall prove that she wasn't ready.

But Charlotte proved us wrong. Very wrong.
She was definitely ready.


Charlotte was ecstatic - ECSTATIC - that she got to be a legit ballerina!
And I was ecstatic - ECSTATIC - that the ballet teacher helped me dig myself out 
of my debt to Charlotte.
I don't ever want to be on Miss Charlotte's bad side. 
Let me tell you, it is a bad place to be!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

When it Rains, It Pours!

While we were driving to Boise before Easter, I received an email from a friend. Not unusual, right? Well, it was unusual because I hadn't seen or spoken to this friend in years! She and I had met while I was still practicing law (before kids) and she and I were involved in a lot of community activities together. She was a riot and I enjoyed her company. Then, Court and I moved and had Grace. I retired from 'lawyering' and unfortunately, she and I fell out of touch.

Then, out of the blue, she sent me an email telling me that she follows my blog. "I just had to tell you from out here in blog reader land I read every blog you send out. I laugh..I cry ..I sit down usually each morning and check the email. You truly amaze me with the life you have created for yourself and family." Is that not that nicest thing ever?!?! I was blown away! I really thought the only people that read my blog were family members...and even they hit delete every now and then I think! Ha! Ha!

So you can imagine my utter disbelief when two days ago I received a blog award from the very real, the very funny and the very talented mother of two boys, Amy! Amy documents tales, tribulations and treasured memories of motherhood with a good dose of humor and sarcasm thrown in at her blog Science Geeks & Super Hero Freaks. You should check it out! I follow her blog on Bloglovin' and envy her wit, her relate-ability as a mother and her time horseback riding... although I don't envy the amount of snow she deals with up there in Vermont! It is amazing to connect with someone who reads my blog and even more amazing to receive a virtual high five! Thank you so much Amy for following along and for bestowing my little labor of love, Home Sweet Home Place, with the Liebster Award!



Here's the deal:
~Each nominee must post 11 facts about themselves.
~Nominees must answer 11 questions the tagger has given to them and then create 11 new ones to pass down to the bloggers they nominate.
~Display award logo on your site and link back to the person who gave it to you.
~Choose 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award on to and link them in your post.
~Notify your nominees.

So here goes...

Facts
  1. My all time favorite mini-movie series is Anne of Green Gables.
  2. I have a parrot named Kiwi. She was my high school graduation gift.
  3. For the most part, I drink white wine in the summer and red wine in the winter.
  4. Christmas is my favorite holiday. Easter and Halloween are tied for second place.
  5.  I will not ever, not ever eat a raw tomato but I will eat salsa. No rhyme or reason, I know.
  6. I love beautiful, old barns.
  7.  I love flowers, trees and plants but can’t keep them alive for the life of me.
  8.  Before having kids, I loved scary, suspenseful movies. Now, after having kids, I can’t watch even a preview without being terrified.
  9. When I lived in the city, I couldn’t imagine living in the country. Now that I live in the country, I would rank living in the city equivalent to poking oneself in the eye. 
  10. I’ve always wanted to write a book. But I have no idea what I would write about.
  11. The older I get, the more I realize more parents were right – about everything.
   Questions From Amy (My answers are in red)
  1.      Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning person. 
  2.      Coffee or tea? Coffee.
  3.      Boxers or briefs?  No, wait! I actually meant thong, high thigh, or old lady briefs? Hanky Pankies. 
  4.      Furthest place from home you have travelled? Africa. 
  5.      Dream place to travel to that you have not yet been to? New Zealand/Australia.
  6.      And why would you like to travel there? So I can master my fake Australian accent and drink a bunch of wine.
  7.      Are you a Dog or a Cat person? Dog.
  8.      Do you prefer to read fiction or non-fiction? Fiction.
  9.      If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have one food, but a lifetime supply of this one food, what would that food be?  Chocolate chip cookies. 
  10.      Same question as #9, but with one celebrity of your choice to stranded with.  Who would it be? Justin Timberlake. No explanation needed…for the record, I love my husband!
  11.      For question #9 and #10, why?
      Liebster Award Nominees
                                                                                                                                                                                                          
I     I read a lot of blogs. A lot! How do I choose a blog to follow? I don't have a scientific process. Usually, the photographs draw me in. I love a great photo. But content, humor, inspiration... that is what keeps me coming back! I love blogs that show creativity - either with words, photography or craftiness. It is amazing what people come up with! The quilts! The parties! The stories! It is so inspiring! I particularly appreciate the mothers. The mothers online that share their joys, their frustrations and their insecurities as they negotiate the path of motherhood. Special needs. Infertility. Starting a business. From home. We all have a story. We all have a dream. We all have a voice. And we all appreciate that voice being heard. And so the Liebster Award. This particular award is to be bestowed upon blogs who have less than 200 followers. I tried hard to stay within that parameter with the following nominees. With some blogs, it is hard to tell how many followers they have and there might be a few in the following list that have more than 200. Regardless, they all are great blogs worthy of a follow! They will inspire you. They will make you laugh. They will make you reflect on your own life choices. They will make you feel something new. Enjoy!
  1.      Kimberly Ouimet  http://bigbgsd.blogspot.com  
  2.       Me & Wee  http://meandwee.blogspot.com
  3.      So Happy  http://katieemrich.blogspot.com
  4.      Growing with the Gimlins  http://gimlinfamily.blogspot.com
  5.      Three Cottage  http://threecottage.blogspot.com
  6.      3 Kids & A Breakdown  http://www.3kidsandabreakdown.com
  7.      Robert and Amy Plus Two  http://robertandamy.blogspot.com
  8.      Sew and the City  http://sewandthecity.blogspot.com
  9.      Other Pieces of Me http://www.otherpiecesofme.com
  10.      My 4 Lil Girls  http://my4lilgirls.blogspot.com
  11.      The Neuzel Project  http://theneuzelproject.wordpress.com
      New Questions
  1.         What did you want to be when you grew up?
  2.      Who would you like to see live in concert?
  3.      If you could splurge on one thing for yourself, what would it be?
  4.      What’s your favorite TV show?
  5.      If you could master one new talent/skill, what would you want it to be?
  6.      Do you like to shop with friends or by yourself?
  7.      What is your go-to meal when entertaining?
  8.      If you could live anywhere for a year, where would you want to live? Why?
  9.      Who is your celebrity crush?
  10.      What movie have you watched a 1,000 times and could watch a 1,000 more?
  11.      If you had an extra hour in the day – everyday – how would you spend it?
      So there you have it! When it rains, it pours! Yesterday it was dog crap! Today it's blog awards! Ain't life grand?!


Thursday, April 11, 2013

UPDATE: I'm Up to My Eyeballs in Crap! Literally!

While sitting outside watching the girls play, I hit the publish button on my last post. It is still on the chilly side here so I ran into the house to get a sweater. We'd been outside for about 45 minutes.  Lindey too! Charlotte immediately announced she wanted to put on a diaper. She's been wearing panties so I immediately knew something was wrong so I scooped her up and quickly ran to the bathroom. She had soiled her underpants. Two steps forward and one back apparently. She'd already had several successful trips to the potty today! But that is why they call it potty training. We cleaned her up and put a diaper back on her because that is what she wanted. And as I headed back outside - sweater in hand - to enjoy some spring sunshine and fresh air, you'll never believe what I came across.

Another Lindey turd! Come on!


I'm Up to My Eyeballs in Crap! Literally!

So this is gonna be a stream of conscious/bullet point kind of post. I have a lot on my to-do list and even more on my I-want-to-do-list. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed in my few moments of free time, I try to do everything all at once and of course, get nothing done. How does anyone organize their time when there is no real way to organize it?!?

I already get up at 5 am - I've even bumped that up to 4:45 so that I can try to squeeze in some time where I can focus on just one thing - be it answering emails, cleaning something or just a few minutes to myself to merely surf the web. Yes, I have to schedule my down time - especially if that down time happens to be on the computer. I don't want Grace and Charlotte on the computer all day, everyday so it is only fair that I practice what I preach. The problem is that these days our lives are on the computer! From paying bills, organizing photos, researching anything and finding recipes. Even when I am "on the computer" I'm usually not on the computer in a frivolous way. I'm not Facebooking or Tweeting or gaming. I don't know any other way to put it...but I am working. Be it planning meals or preserving memories or scheduling activities for the kids. So if I'm not supposed to be on the computer when I am supposed to get all this stuff done?!?!

Speaking of getting stuff done, today I have done nothing but clean up sh*t. I'm serious. I woke up extra early to work on gathering and organzing information for a meeting I had today (more on that later). I wanted to get it all done before the girls woke so I could pull my thoughts together without being interrupted. When I went into the kitchen for my morning cup of coffee, I was greeted with dog crap all over my living room. And when I say all over...I mean ALL. OVER.

I should have known better than to let Lindey have free reign of the house last night. We had quite the day yesterday! I kind of have to backtrack with the story. Grace and Charlotte went to sleep like a dream last night! But my God! They should have! They went to gymnastics, accompanied me to the grocery store where we had to stock up on everything (it was the grocery store run after being on vacation so we needed everything!), hit the park in horrible, gusting winds, took shelter in the library and finally, picked up the dogs from the groomer. Oh the groomer! Here is where the story gets back on track. As I was paying and chatting with the store owner, I could hear the girls start that high pitch, whiney sound they make whenever I try to talk to an adult in their presence.  I, of course, kept chatting, giving the girls the one-finger, behind-the-back wave. (While other mothers were teaching their babies sign language for words like 'milk' and 'more', I was teaching signs for "Knock it off!!" and "I'm warning you."Much more practical if I do say so myself.

As the conversation ended, I turned to leave, gathering up the dogs and kids, which is always a shit show on a good day. And then. There it was. The reason for Grace and Charlotte's freakout - legitimate freakout - I might add.

Lindey decided it was the perfect time to have explosive diarea. All over. I will spare the gory details but we made it out without anyone stepping in it. A small miracle as the groomer graciously offered to clean it up. I swear. I can't go anywhere. ANYWHERE I tell you!!

So like I said, I should have known better than to let Lindey sleep anywhere but the "whole" - the little laundry room/dog kennel - last night. At 5 am this morning, while normal people were sleeping, I spent 45 minutes cleaning up Lindey's messes. Awesome.

And when I got back from my meeting today, guess what kind of surprise was waiting for me? Yep! More dog crap! So I let Lindey outside for an hour while I cleaned everything up and got the girls squared away with lunch.

When Lindey has been allowed in the house today, she has been on total lockdown. Allowed only in the "whole." It is now 3 pm and she has been in and out of the whole (only to go outside) since 1 pm. In those two hours, she has sh*t twice - IN THE HOUSE!! I'm telling you, I am about to lose my mind.

Throw in the peanut butter mess that Charlotte made today during snack time - epic! - and the fact that she is potty training and you get the gist. I'm literally up to my eyeballs in crap!!

While I am bouncing from one mess to the other, all I can think about is what I am not getting done! I have fabric all cut out waiting to be sewn together. I have several other projects I want to tackle. There are some things I need to dig in and research. I'd like to upload my photos from vacation. I'd like to share more of my stories and thoughts here. I'd like to get my hair cut and get a pedicure. I'd like to workout on a somewhat consistent basis. And while it sounds crazy, I want to get the plans for Grace and Charlotte's birthdays underway because I have a feeling this summer is simply going to get away from me for reasons I don't think I quite have the words yet to explain. I just don't know how to do it. I don't know how to get it all done. I don't know how to teach and nurture Grace and Charlotte all while getting things crossed off my to-do list!

I guess the only thing to do is move everything to tomorrow's to-do list and see what happens!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, we have another bird nest to report. This year, a Killdeer has nested in our backyard! (If you've been following along you know that an owl nested in our yard last year and the year before that...come to think of it, we've had a bird build a nest in our yard every spring since we moved here!)



See her there on her nest amongst the oh-so-natural pink flags?
We're hoping the flags will keep the garbage truck guy from running over the nest.



Aren't the eggs amazing?
They look like rocks!!


And I was able to catch a few photos of these two deep in conversation.
I love that they can now sit and talk to each other.


Unfortunately, most of those conversations end in someone crying. 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Wonderland

About a month ago, we were lucky enough to travel with Court's parents and Court's brother's family to the British Virgin Islands. If, like me, you have no idea where the BVIs are...here's some help!


It's a bit of a hike from Washington state but the sunshine and swimming quickly made it all worthwhile!



These cousins haven't had too much time together because of living so far apart. They quickly made up for lost time!


The island was full of color...


beautiful flora...


and lots of wonder!



In fact, we visited the Baths which are enormous rocks that line part of the island. The rock formations make enormous caves that the ocean water enters. You can swim and snorkel among the rocks. We opted not to do that because the girls aren't good enough swimmers yet but we did learn that these rock formations served as inspiration for many of the pirate scenes in Peter Pan. Grace and Charlotte just watched Peter Pan for the first time a few weeks before this trip. Perfect timing! Grace had been asking a lot of questions about "Wonderland" - what she calls Never-Neverland. When we told her that these were the caves in Peter Pan she was excited! And from then on she referred to BVI as Wonderland! A completely appropriate name I think!!


We did have a little rain...

but that just made everything that much prettier when it came back out!




It was so nice to relax with family.






Yes that is a wine glass. No she is not drinking wine!
She loves sparkling water!!


I never get tired of looking at the ocean and Court and I even managed an afternoon snorkel!
I hadn't snorkeled in years and had never really had a "successful" snorkel. But this was magnificent! Lots and lots of sea life!


The British Virgin Islands are many and close together which makes them a 
prime boating/sailing destination. 



I think this was both Grace and Charlotte's first boat ride! 
Just a water taxi to a nearby island for lunch but still fun! We even saw a sea turtle!



Neither got sea sick but the rocking motion did put a certain two year old to sleep!


Plenty of walks on the beach and Grace swam in the ocean for the first time. Charlotte, like me, was cool with sitting on the beach!


A beautiful and relaxing vacation no doubt! So lucky to share some R&R with family.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter Celebration! {2013}



Our Easter celebration this year was in Boise
and my was it lovely!
I don't recall an Easter Sunday quite so warm and sunny! 
I am really hoping spring has sprung and by that I mean I am hoping summer is around the corner. 

We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday with festivities in full swing!
Molly was in the process of making a feast! Lamb! Two kinds of potatoes! Baked Brie Bites! Asparagus tart! A coconut cheesecake! The food was delicious and what an amazing gift for her to cook for all of us!
Decorations galore! My mom even hung the new Easter wall hangings I made for her!
(I couldn't let a holiday go by without making decorations to display. On the five hour car ride, I made a bunny banner and some paper flowers. Didn't get pictures though.)


Everyone hit the hay pretty early that night and while Grace and Charlotte were quite aware that the Easter bunny was going to be making a visit no one anticipated a 5 am wake up call!

(Christmas is going to be a {insert expletive of your choice - I know what I've got floating around in my head and it might just rhyme with witch!) this year!



(Christmas is going to be a {insert expletive of your choice - I know what I've got floating around in my head and it might just rhyme with witch!) this year!

Miss Grace was excited and she was definitely awake! Luckily, she was convinced to stay in bed long enough to ensure that the bunny had hidden the eggs! 

As the bunny had decided to hide the eggs outside this year, he waited until the last minute. Easter Bunny was living on the edge. Next year, the Easter Bunny better be a little bit more organized.

Charlotte slept like a rock until the sun came up and probably would've slept longer if Grace hadn't woken her up. In our haven't-had-a-cup-of-coffee-haze Grace snuck upstairs. No more waiting! It was time to get this party started!! 




The Easter Bunny should also remember that just because it is 70+ during the day, it is still likely going to be in the 30s or 40s come sunrise. 


And that stopped sleepyhead Charlotte in her tracks. 


After two eggs, she declared herself done!


Meanwhile, Grace and Grandma were literally putting their heads together trying to figure out how the bunny got an egg up in the tree!


As a kid, I loved easter egg hunts and I never felt there were enough eggs.
(I now know why. Hard boiling and dying eggs with kids can be not a lot of fun. Sure, it's great for the first six eggs or so. But an Easter egg hunt with only six eggs frankly sucks. So we decorated two dozen plastic easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide. 
Easily transportable? Check. 
Kid friendly activity? Check. 
Pretty easter colors? Check.

Convinced we still didn't have enough, I added another couple dozen to the mix. 


Eggs! Eggs! Everywhere! Eggs!




Luckily, Grace and Charlotte had lots of helpers!




Eventually, all the eggs were scooped up and we could all head back into the house to defrost!


Time to see what the Easter Bunny left!




Grace was quick to discover the gifts the bunny brought!



While Charlotte was more fixated on the candy!






I made them each a peg doll family and house for Easter. I thought it was a cute little thing to make and wasn't expecting them to think much of it. But they LOVED having dolls "that looked like them!" I can't even tell you how many times Grace has shoved one of the peg people in my face and said, "Look, it's me! Look! It's Daddy!" It makes me feel good that even when they have access to iPads and cartoons, simple, homemade toys still make them happy!

Auntie Molly and Uncle Johnny-roo slipped in just about then and the Easter bunny had even brought them some goodies!



Grace was convinced that Johnny-roo needed help with his basket.


A few snuggles...







and a few pictures in our Easter finest.




Oh these girls!
There aren't words!

A fabulous brunch of filet mignon and béarnaise sauce (nice and light! ha!) we returned home to the grand finale!
The "adult" Easter egg hunt!

Yes, the Easter Bunny still likes to hide plastic eggs filled with money for us adults...Court included!
We each had 16 eggs to find for a total of 64 eggs.
All were hidden in three rooms and I am telling you,
if you hadn't known that there were five dozen eggs hidden somewhere in those rooms you would have never known.
To say they were well hidden well is a huge understatement. 
It was like James Bond himself hid the eggs! All five dozen of them!
Oh how I wish I had taken pictures of some of the places the eggs were hidden.
But money, not to mention pride, was on the table!
No time for messing with cameras!

Stuffed in the cardboard roll of open paper towels in the back of a cabinet.
In the coffee grounds container. 
In the cuckoo clock.
In a garbage bag in the garbage bag dispenser. 
In my Mom's purse!

Twenty-four hours later, there are still 11 eggs missing!

Well played Easter Bunny. Well played.