Happy Easter! What a lovely celebration we had this year at my in-laws' country club after church followed by a relaxing and festive day at their home. Even the snow didn’t stop me from pulling out my spring polka dots and Easter hat. 

But when I was pouring over friends' social media pictures at the end of the day, I couldn’t help reminiscing about when I last wore polka dots and pearls: the 2017 White House Easter Egg Roll! If you haven’t heard of this annual Easter Monday tradition, you must add it to your bucket list. What a treat for families! The tickets are completely free and distributed on a lottery system with sign-ups in February, but if you know someone on staff, you can usually get around the lottery and snag a spot (thanks Mr. O&O!). 

Aside from tickets, the only other obstacle is the entry line. Our experience started out a little rainy, which seemed to deter more people than previous years, so we only waited about an hour from arrival to stepping on the South Lawn. Historically, however, lines have snaked blocks and people have waited several hours. Once you get inside, the lines are pretty minimal and thankfully they pass out snacks and drinks while waiting in the initial line, but I’d recommend bringing an iPad or something similar to entertain the kiddos. 

The Presidential Tennis Court is one of the first things you pass entering the South Lawn, so we stopped by and tossed balls around with a crew of Special Olympics athletes. Baby O&O also got to kick a soccer ball to the D.C. United Women’s soccer team at another station, comprising the top sports highlights of the day.

The namesake event is a must-do once you get there. The roll (and the actual egg hunt) are the only other substantial lines we had to stand in once inside, but the wait was 20 min or less, and the line for the egg roll was actually rather enjoyable. We passed by The Beast, enjoyed music by the United States Marine Band  (added to the event by Indiana’s own Benjamin Harrison in 1889), and even spied the White House Rose Garden and the Oval Office windows as we waited. Before we knew it, it was our turn. The basic concept is you scoop/roll a hardboiled egg down a lane with a spoon, racing others to the finish line. Baby O&O needed a bit of help but happily played along. It was exhilarating to take part in the 140-year-old tradition!

Countless other activities sprinkle the lawn from live music to arts and crafts, with many photo ops in between. On the way out, every attendee receives a wooden egg keepsake and a goody bag of Easter toys and treats. It was wildly successful and I would highly recommend it to any family!

​In honor of kicking Indiana polo season off, I'm bringing back the baby shower series to highlight two fantastic polo-themed showers thrown for me a little over a year ago to celebrate Baby O&O. Because of Mr. O&O’s and my combined love for all things southern and preppy, we decided on a polo theme for Baby O&O’s nursery, which inspired the two hat-wearing showers that came to be. The room has served its purpose well into toddlerhood as Baby O&O now loves pointing out all his "neigh-neighs" before bed. 

The first was a small, family shower that started with the most perfect blue and white polo onesie invitations and ended with a matching cake. Everyone got in the spirt and came wearing a hat and dress, with many sets of pearls to boot. The most special part was the old family cradle used to display a gorgeous array of goodies for my little man. 

​A few months later, a family friend on Mr. O&O’s side also caught wind of the polo nursery theme and put a Ralph Lauren polo spin on her celebration. After discovering an old RL teddy bear fabric, she incorporated this print into everything from the boots and rocking horse welcoming guests to the spiced nuts adorned with horse charms sent home as favors. While the details were jaw dropping, my favorite part of this shower was the game she played during presents: each guest had a mad-lib style questionnaire that they filled out and read part of before their gift was opened. The hostess wrote the personalized story, incorporating many sweet things such as Baby O&O's anticipated career and advice for him as he grows. As the guests read their stories, the hostess collected them and placed them in an album for me to keep. It is so heartwarming to go back and read the stories and see how the imagined Baby O&O holds up against the real deal.

​Upholding the legacy set by this painstakingly decorated nursery and fantastic showers, we took Baby O&O to his first match last summer and are gearing up to head out again this year! I hope you’ll join us at Hickory Hall Polo Club this summer.

In honor of this very special day, I interrupt this baby shower blog series (appropriately) for a brief look into the reality of a new mom’s first Mother’s Day. While I totally agree with and relate to all of these points (especially #9!), this wise bit of insight actually isn’t mine, but is a fantastic guest post from my dear friend Lisa Graft (for whom I threw the running-themed baby shower), a now-seasoned mama (compared to my 4 months!) to precious and adorable Josie. Take it away, Lisa!

​Last Mother’s Day (my first), I posted this beautiful picture of my daughter and me with the caption, “Doesn’t get any better than this.” 

​And I felt guilty. Like a liar. True, it doesn’t get any better than holding my sweet baby and giggling together, but it does get worse! So, in the spirit of full transparency, here are 10 truths about my short experience in motherhood that I wrote last Mother’s Day that still hold true, even with another year under my belt.

I’ve never been so exhausted – mentally, emotionally, and physically. When I became a mother, the selflessness came instantly to me. The work, then, is to not resent Josie for engendering the selflessness. And to not resent my husband for his learning curve on becoming selfless. And that’s tiring! But, of course, motherhood is amazing on so many levels. I love Josie more than I ever thought I could love a human. I’m enjoying the trial and error part of raising a baby because I’m becoming a very confident mother, and every day, I try to appreciate my tired eyes and full heart.

​I don’t know if it is my age or something in the water, but I think I’ve attended at least one baby shower a month since September, which provides the perfect excuse to start a baby shower post series! The first in this fun saga of celebrations is a rustic take on an early-fall shower for my dear friend Laura that two friends and I teamed up to throw to celebrate her upcoming baby boy. 

The most important decision in this endeavor was choosing a venue. While I always love hosting in my home, this particular foursome had decided a while back that once we all started having babies, we were going to host each other’s showers on location somewhere to both add an extra element to the party but also to cut down on the work for the hostesses! True to our word, we went with a locally owned Arcadian café in Westfield, Indiana called Rail Epicurean Market for this first one and we were not disappointed!

​Once we chose this charming eatery, everything else quickly fell into place. I ordered some simple yet playful invitations from Paperlesspost.com that pulled in a part of the baby's nursery theme and picked up some matching paper from one of my favorite places, Paper Source, to make envelope liners and a banner. IMHO, envelope liners step it up a notch on class but also on cost, so I invested in a DIY liner kit a while ago so I can stay classy without breaking the bank by making them myself. 

​When the big day arrived, the accommodating staff created a personalized menu from which each guest ordered a specialty hot beverage. One of the 3 hostesses created heavenly smelling lavender body scrubs for favors, and the remaining hostess and I threw together the table décor on a whim and a prayer! We still aren’t quite sure how it happened, but somehow it all came together in the 15 minutes before guests started arriving with the finishing touch of a blue pashmina I grabbed from my closet as I was running out the door.

The guest count was about 15 and we all gathered around a large wooden table, passed around charcuterie boards and pumpkin bars, and showered this special mama with love, gifts, and advice. I can’t praise the staff and venue enough: the food was delicious, the service timely, and the atmosphere warm and picturesque.

Unfortunately, due to time limitations, the egg whites didn’t have quite long enough to soak in the dye, so when the kids retrieved them, they had only a faint orangey hue. I think a combination of more dye and more time would have yielded better results.

Once we retrieved the whites from the dye and dabbed the water off with paper towels, the kids scooped the filling into their eggs. We then took our plastic knives and made faint vertical lines in the filling to resemble pumpkin ribs. Finally, I sliced up green onions (about 1/4¼" long) and the kids placed one per egg smack in the middle to stand as the pumpkin stem. 

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• Dash of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Yellow and red food coloring 
• Green onion stems
• Paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. 
2. Remove yolks and place in a medium-size bowl. 
3. Fill a separate bowl with lukewarm water and add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring. Mix with a spoon and add empty egg whites to the dye to soak for approx. 25 min.
4. Mash yolks and add all remaining ingredients to the yolks except onions and paprika.
5. Add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring to yolk mixture and mix well.
6. After whites have finished soaking, remove from bowl and place on a clean surface. Scoop yolk mixture evenly into each egg. 
7. Using a knife, make approx. 4 vertical lines in yolk mixture to resemble pumpkin ribs.
8. Slice green onion stems into about 1/4¼" pieces and place one piece in the center of each egg.
9. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. 

Alas, this recipe concluded the first semester of cooking club. But the good news is that Shepherd asked me to stay on for the next semester. Now, I need to plan my next semester curriculum. I have a Pinterest board full of ideas, but there are so many I am overwhelmed! Which ones are your favorite? Or do you have any other go-to, kid-friendly, no-bake recipes themed for fall or winter? Comment on my pins you like best or post your new ideas below, and I’ll let you know which I pick! 

Is this everyone’s busy season, or just mine? As summer has ended, my life has gone into complete chaos mode! My calendar has seen an explosion of red appointments, all deliverables at work are all on fire, and everyone’s birthday is this month (darn you, NYE). I suppose back to school means back to busy, and ‘tis the season. What I need is more energy, but I’m not a huge fan of over-caffeinating until I crash and burn (and this also doesn't work well for kids). So to Pinterest I turn for a healthy, energizing snack to get me through the days and to present to the kids at cooking club, and Pinterest did not disappoint.

Enter delicious, nutritious, no-bake energy bites. These are a big winner on taste and energy, but beware: they leave quite a mess. When I think messy, I think perfect for kids; however, this group of kids I’m teaching is a special brand, because they inexplicably do NOT like messes. If I thought the gooey-banana reaction from last week was bad, I had another thing coming. So once again, if your kids fall into this category, you might want to invest in some food preparation gloves.

Unlike the fruit snakes, this is a one-bowl recipe, so we all sat in a circle and took turns filling measuring cups and pouring in ingredients. Trying to incorporate reusable skills when I can, I taught the kids how to level off the oatmeal, coconut, and flaxseed in measuring cups using a plastic knife. This is where the mess began. In anticipation of this, I lined the table with parchment paper, which helped only marginally.

 Next came the sticky substances, which was also the point when the kids went crazy. Apparently, honey, sunflower seed butter*, and vanilla extract are “totally gross,” and as soon as we opened them, a chorus of “Ewws” drowned out all instructions I attempted to provide. Multiple hand-washing trips promptly accompanied any physical contact they had with these “disgusting” ingredients. In fact, the only ingredient the kids didn't make a fuss about was (no surprise) the chocolate chips.

After we mixed everything together, made 4 trips to the bathroom to wash 24 hands, and rolled out fresh parchment, I dished out large spoonfuls of the mixture to each child, and they rolled it into small balls. Each of my 12 kids ended up with at least 3 energy bites, and some many more, depending on how small they rolled the balls. When it was time to eat, the kids completely changed their tune and loved every bite. Many took their extras home so they could have them for an energizing snack the next day.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry oatmeal

• 2/3 cup toasted coconut

• 1/2 cup peanut butter or sunflower seed butter*

• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup honey

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

1.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. 
2.  Roll mixture into balls. Yields about 3 dozen.

*Note: One of my kids has a peanut allergy, so we used sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe’s instead of peanut butter; it was a littler messier, but it tasted great and bound the ingredients together just as well as peanut butter would.

Although I don’t have kids, I do love cooking, and as part of my “What do I want to teach the world?” mission, I decided that this is a worthy passion to pass on, especially to the next generation. However, kids don’t typically read blogs, so I’m approaching this from a more proactive angle. This week, I set out on a children-oriented cooking journey at my favorite charitable organization, Shepherd Community Center.

Shepherd has one simple goal: breaking the cycle of poverty. One of their main tools in tackling this mission is a private, Christian school with next-to-nothing tuition for grades K-5. The students from the surrounding inner-city community just started their 2014-2015 school year and signed up for after-school clubs. This is where I come in!

Over the next 6 weeks, I will be leading a kid-friendly cooking class for Shepherd students in grades 1-3. I’m focusing on presenting healthy foods (discernable to them as God-made versus man-made) in a fun way and creating sanitary kitchen habits. We started this week with a slimy yet succulent fruit snake.

The Pinterest-inspired concept was simple enough. Each child received a banana and a few strawberries to begin. After the important task of washing both our hands and our fruit, we peeled and sliced everything into thin pieces (using plastic knives, of course) and placed alternating banana and strawberry slices in a curling line along our plates. Most kids got this without an issue, although some complained about the “gooeyness” of the banana. Tip: Have food preparation gloves handy in case your kids fall into this category.

The hardest part for the kids was the head. We needed to cut a triangular slice out of the pointed end of a whole strawberry. This proved almost impossible for the kids, so Miss Victoria happily cut 12 snake heads. We thinned out the strawberry scraps from the mouth slit to make the tongue.

The best part, surprisingly, was the finishing touch: blueberry eyes. We placed two toothpicks in our strawberry head, stuck a blueberry on each end, and the screams started. “Eeeeewwwww!” “Gross! Look at the googly eyes.” “Ahhh! It's is a real snake!” The kids were delightedly disgusted with this final step, I suppose because at that point it did, indeed, resemble a snake. 
Note: Most of the toothpicks were a little long, so I would recommend cutting one toothpick in half instead of using two whole toothpicks.

If you are looking for a way to encourage your kids to eat healthier foods or just a fun activity to do on a Saturday afternoon, take a shot at this easy fruit reptile! For the duration of the 6 weeks I’ll post each new kid-friendly recipe we try with tips and ideas on improvement.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 3-5 strawberries 
• 2 blueberries
• 1 toothpick, cut in half

Directions:

1. Slice banana. 
2. Set one whole strawberry aside. Slice remaining strawberries.
3. Place strawberry slices between banana slices, alternating every other one. 
4. Remove strawberry hull from remaining strawberry. Place strawberry flat side down and slice a triangle wedge out of pointed end. 
5. Trim this wedge into one thin line, and place perpendicular inside strawberry opening. 
6. Place a blueberry on the end of each toothpick piece and stick the exposed ends on the whole strawberry above mouth slit.