Strawberries, homemade Peeps, and a new love

Talk about an action-packed weekend to round out a busy week!

Strawberry picking, volunteering at church on Easter Sunday and Easter celebrations at our house, right after the house improvements, made for a very busy week and weekend. Needless to say, we're still not finished painting, but the TV is mounted above the fireplace and it feels like we have a TON more space in our house. It's glorious.

I'll start by showing you the homemade Peeps I made. I've been on a homemade marshmallow kick and I thought it would be fun to make a staple Easter treat from scratch. I had no idea if they would work and I admit that I was surprised when they did! I made my marshmallow recipe, emptied the goo onto a cookie sheet, sprayed a piece of wax paper with non-stick cooking spray, and used a rolling pin over the wax paper to attempt to make a flat marshmallow surface to cut out shapes. It wasn't perfect, but the final product was adorable! Just look!

I grossly underestimated the amount of sanding sugar I needed to coat these puppies! But I have it down now. They taste very good - nothing compared to the stale Peeps. And I made them with Agave instead of corn syrup because I had run out. That made them even tastier! I will definitely do this again :-)

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Saturday, we went to a strawberry farm about 45 minutes away. We both knew Madeline was going to love it, and seeing her excitement in person was adorable. To say she loved the farm is an understatement - she ate her way through the farm. I know you're not technically supposed to eat the strawberries from the bush, but there was no way to keep my toddler from diving mouth first into the berries all around her. By the time we left, there was strawberry juice all over her shirt AND pants. We came home with a trunk full of strawberries and preserves and a very happy little girl.

I know I looks ridiculous in the last picture, but Madeline looks adorable, so I posted it :-)

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Easter Sunday was B-U-S-Y! Since we were in town, I thought I really should volunteer. I know it's a very busy time at the church and the impact to the kids is huge, so despite Easter being at our house, I signed up to volunteer. It was well worth it and while our house didn't get as polished as I'd like (painting has literally stopped mid-wall), I wouldn't change it. Easter is about Jesus, not a perfect home. My church was PACKED well before the service started and the message was amazing. Once home, I put Madeline down for a nap and Craig and I got busy tidying up and getting food prepared. Family showed up around 3:30 and we chilled around the house. Madeline was spoiled and given a new duck that she adores...

But the real entertainment was from her Tio Nick - he even trumped Grandpa. She was mesmerized by him. You have no idea...she kept creeping closer and closer to him. I think he rather enjoyed it :-) And there was no shortage of kisses for him.

I didn't get a picture of Madeline in her Easter dress, so I'll stage it later this week. She was NOT happy to put it on for church and I took it off for her nap. When I went to put it back on her after her nap, she was feverish and I opted for lightweight cotton attire. Rest assured, she was complimented before I even entered the church by multiple people. She looked adorable. Now, if I can only get her to keep her hat on!