Alleluia!

{Update 5/21: Still catching up on the happy things from April. Still not in the mood to hit "post" on the Craptastic. Instead, here is some Easter loveliness.}

We had a fun and lovely Easter this year, which I desperately needed, because April was hard, and also because I felt super detached from church through Lent (with mono, I was trying to do only the most bare minimum of outings, so extra worship services seemed expendable, and I guess they were, but dang it messed up my churchy rhythm, especially in Holy Week, and good grief I just realized I sound like a big ol nerd, but there you go).

We had the kids up and Easter dressed by 7:30 (!!) (Mark and I would like our parenting medals now) which means we got to barrage them with pictures before we went to church, which was totally worth their eye rolling because I loved all of their spring outfits so much this year.

Our church, like many, does a flowering of the cross every year on Easter. All the children bring plants and flowers and decorate a cross in the courtyard -- bringing new life to a symbol of shame and death, which is kind of the whole point, yknow? Anyway it is a cool thing that the kids love, and this year they were the first ones at church so they were the first three flowers on the cross.

We went back after all the services and took some pictures, with Another Nathan too. I've said it before and I'm sure this won't be the last time either: we love being his Raleigh family.

Because I was trying to lay low, we didn't make any grand brunch or big meal plans, which at first I felt kind of sad about but then ended up being a good thing. We just did a simple dinner of mini Easter pies (there is nothing made from puff pastry I won't eat) and a strawberry almond tart (thanks for the idea, A'Dell!) that looked nothing like the picture in the recipe but was kind of tasty nonetheless. 

Nathan and I spent the afternoon making it, and he basically did it all himself. I supervised a lot but he is getting really good at reading recipes and stirring carefully on the stove and slicing gently (while I watch nervously and try not to panic). He spent a lot of his cooking time saying adorable things like "Do you think the blended strawberries will taste like a smoothie? That is my hypothesis." (He took a kitchen chemistry elective at school last quarter. You could have guessed that, right?)

Anyway he has been my kitchen buddy for years, and I love it more than ever.

So, yeah. It was a sweet day. Happy Easter!

Erin's Rules of Cell Phone Use

{Update 5/20: In catching up on blog posts I found this in my draft folder and it has nothing to do with anything; I wrote it a month ago (apparently on my phone, based on all the terrible typos I just corrected) and it amused me, so I'm hitting publish. Hi! You missed me in this corner of the internet, yes?}

With all the crap "old" people like to give "young" people about the "dangers" of cell phones and security and whatnot (all those quotes are because obviously the scolders and scoldees are not always defined by age or generational lines, but by how scared they are themselves of "technology" -- I don't think that word means what most people seem to think it means -- and frequently those people doing the most warning are the ones who least understand what they think they're warning about. Hence, "warning.")

ANYWAY I am here to be the person giving some crap back. Let's talk about current etiquette, because these things change, you know, and I would hate for anyone to be so out of touch that they are rude without intending to be, right? I also have many thoughts on social media (which, yes, is a relevant enough thing now that you do need to learn to do it well) but for now let's talk about phones.

1. Turn your phone noises off. Vibrate is okay, ring noises and notification noises and game beeps and music are not. There are some exceptions (wandering around the mall or the grocery store is... whatever), but for the most part, if you are stationary in a public place -- not only official meetings, but even in restaurants, waiting rooms, etc -- no one wants to hear your phone beep. Be honest, you're already staring at it anyway. You won't miss a notification. Turn it down. (Addendum: if you are too confused by your phone settings to know how to turn it down, you should not have that phone. Get one you can manage kthx.) You have a one-oops grace period on a noisy phone in public before people give you hate stares.

2. Don't call anyone before 10am or after 9pm unless you text and ask first, or have a standing thing, or a phone date, or whatever. (Somewhere my parents are applauding this. Oh how they fought to keep me off the phone after 9. I am with them on it now.) It is invasive and kinda rude. Just ask first. No out of the blue early/late calls.

3. Group texting is ONLY for people who ALL know each other. This is crucial and non-negotiable. I will repeat it: ONLY for people who ALL know each other. Don't loop me into a thread full of people I don't know, telling you something that has nothing to do with me or a group I am part of. Congrats on your baby's cute valentine card or your fancy new car or whatever, but don't tell me about it with a group of other people by text when I don't know them. Then I cannot get out of the thread! No.

3, let's review. I will say it again (in case you missed or think you're a special snowflake with a special snowflake reason to copy a bunch of people into a message who will then be riddled with replies from folks they don't know): group texts are ONLY for people who ALL know each other. No special snowflakes. Okay? Okay.

4. If you need to talk to someone in a public space airport/waiting room/etc, step away. We don't want to hear it. If you're the type of person who does this, I promise you are the type of person who also does it TOO LOUDLY. You are not important or interesting enough that we secretly are curious. Nope. You are who our grandparents warned us about with these newfangled portable phones. Go away.

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I've got for now. Whew. Glad to get that off my chest.

Another Bumgarner Beach Week

{Update 5/20: I have not blogged in so long I don't know where to start, and I tried to start by telling about the sh!tstorm this spring has been, but then I decided that even though it has sucked, there have been some fun lovely things too, and I feel like thinking about that today instead. So, the brief version of the sucktastic: I got mono, Charlotte sliced her forehead open, a million things in our house broke, and and AND (longer version of the sucktastic can wait for another day). Here is something happy instead.} {Yes I said mono WHAT THE FRESH HELL.}

Bumgarner beach week, in happy pictures.

All the grandkids, post egg hunt. You cannot even imagine the shenanigans my dad was pulling behind the camera to make them all laugh like that.

All my kids wanted turns holding baby Sully.

Ashley's kids have the best facial expressions. I want to pull this picture of Sully out anytime I need to say "come at me brah." And from Liam, he is clearly saying "b!tch please."

Anneliese and I have cornered the market on excellent beach hair.

Look at all my sweet babies! (I made them stand like this because I have a photo of just Nathan and Anneliese like this and every time I walk up the stairs and see it on the wall it makes me sad that Charlotte isn't in it. Hey! I have three babies to look at the ocean together now!)

We don't love being up bright and early, but if we're going to be, it might as well be for the beach, right?

We take this picture every year, my dad with all the kids. This year everyone is happy, and is almost looking at the camera. (We have some years where everyone is crying. Which is funny. But this is better.) Someday I want to line them all up and we can watch the babies multiply. I remember when it was just Dad and Nathan!

Bumgarners on a beach! Ashley and I made everyone climb out of their beach chairs and smile for this picture; we flagged down a random passer-by to take it for us. They all roll their eyes at taking the pics, but some day they will thank us for having the pics. Oh they will. (Mark is still exhausted from the Salzburg incident of 2002, so I don't think he is ready to thank us for all our photo memory-making just yet, but he will get there.)

This has seriously become one of our favorite weeks every year. Dad and Cathy are so lovely to keep making this happen, and the kids just love running around and playing with each other. (Nathan and Anneliese barely know what to do with themselves on the rare occasions we are on a beach without their cousins.) It makes me feel warm and happy and fully of family nostalgia, even as it is happening. Even with mono.

Sweet Cousins

My kids got to hang out with Alana this morning, all together for the first time, and it was just too impossibly sweet not to share pics:

They brought her a birthday present -- a stuffed dog they picked out/made together at Build-a-Bear a few weeks ago before she was born. It has three hearts in it because awwwwwww.

And then I got to snuggle the baby while Barbara napped, and I did not hate it at all.

THAT HAND! THAT CHEEK! I just cannot.

And now I shall nap too, because I can. Spring break woo hoo.

Random Spring Break Updates

I was having a conversation recently with some teenagers I know, and they were telling me about some kid they knew who got a bad grade and as punishment, since she didn't have a phone to take away, her parents took away her clothes instead. I mean, not all her clothes. Just her cute clothes. So she had to wear jeans and tennis shoes. GASP. Y'all, they were horrified. Jeans! And tennis shoes! Okay this is when I know I have moved into a mom generation because yeah, that still looks totally normal to me. But they were horrified. Appalled. Rallying the troops to bring her different shoes to borrow. They all claimed they would rather have their phones taken away than have to wear jeans! and tennis shoes! to school.

Really? Really??

Okay then. I am clearly a fuddy duddy mom, because I rock some tennis shoes with jeans frequently and without shame.

Also we canceled our cable which has nothing to do with anything except it feels like a giant weight off our shoulders. Also it means we watched the HIMYM finale live like it is still 1998 which was really fun and nostalgic with take-out and excitement and whatever, and then it sucked, and I hated the ending, and it crapped up my mood for a whole evening. Yes, a television show. You can judge me, I don't even care.

So. It is spring break this week. We have been using our staycation time for things like taking Nathan to the dentist, followed promptly by Dunkin Donuts, where Nathan ate a donut with a peep on it (SO GROSS) and drank an iced coffee, much to the judgement of the man working there (who is a little scary anyway) (but it was decaf! and FREE. shut it, dude) and the most lovely part is that we ate outside.

We also spent a morning at a bounce house place, which was very calm and chill and not overrun with children, which I loved. And Mark took the kids to the zoo which they all loved. And we had the carpets steam cleaned this morning because nothing says SPRING BREAK! when you're in your thirties like getting the carpets steam cleaned, right?

The kids were somewhat tired waiting to be allowed back inside after the floors were done. I found this picture on Mark's phone and it made me laugh:

And I found this one which made me grin, because HI BOOLER I LOVE YOUR SMILE:

Oh and also I got a haircut yesterday, which I am feeling sort of meh about, which is why there is no picture. Basically I went into it wanting some highlights, and a trim but not losing a lot of length. Instead, my hair was so super damaged, with burn spots (my hair dryer keeps igniting, which everyone is horrified when I tell them about, but simmer down, I will get a new one soon) and fried ends so high up that we ended up needing to cut off eight inches to get the damaged part (almost) gone. So yeah it is a lot shorter than I was ready for, and it is fine, I know objectively it looks normal and fine or whatever, I have had hair shorter than this many times in my adult life, but I just... wasn't prepared for it this week. I miss my long hair! I am sad! (I will be fine.)