Happy Easter!

Seriously, how many blogs celebrate both Passover and Easter? My guess is not too many! Around our house, Easter is an opportunity for me to make each child a new outfit and to have the Easter Bunny bring our children a little something! They usually get a few edibles, but they also usually get some kind of small toy, book, socks, etc. This year Jessica is getting a larger gift than usual. Several things went into that decision: 1) Baby John is set to arrive in less than 2 months, and she might enjoy something new to occupy herself 2) The weather is beginning to get nice outside and something that could be enjoyed on our screened in porch would be nice 3) Jessica is a very sensory-oriented child and would probably enjoy a few more sensory-oriented toys 4) and Finally there have been several times I have wished we had a sand/water table for preschool. Yes, you guessed it! Jessica is getting a sand/water table from the Easter Bunny!


David built it, and once again over engineered it, so our creative daughter would not be able to knock it over or hurt herself in any way! He used a plastic box from under the bed and some pine. I think it turned out very nicely! He also put several coats of polyurethane on it so that it would stand up to water better. I dyed over 20 pounds of rice yesterday in Easter colors to put in the sand/water table (tutorial to follow). I plan to fill several storage containers with things like sand, rice, bird seed, etc for Jessica to enjoy in her sand/water table! The tools were from a cheap little Wal-mart set. We already have little animals, cars, etc to hide in the rice.


At first I wondered if building it ourselves had saved us any money as David had to buy the wood ($15) to make sure it was very, very sturdy, the box was fairly new ($7), and I bought 20 pounds of rice ($5). After looking up sand/water tables online, I now realize what an incredible deal this is! The cheaper sand/water tables start out at $50 for a cheap plastic one that could easily be pushed over or destroyed by my child. They go up in price from there all the way to about $500 (which is comparable to what we ended up making). The sand/water table should make for hours and hours of fun both at home and during preschool and last for years and years to come!


Also, here is a picture of Jessica in the dress I made her for Easter. I made it in a size 5 so it should last for years! I also made one for the little girl down the street. I'll post a picture of them in their matching dresses later (so you can actually see more of the dress) with an explanation as to how I was able to alter it from a size 5 to a size 2! Finally, here are some pictures from egg hunt and picnic after church! Happy Easter!!