I'm Lindsay Ferrier, a Nashville writer with a passion for family travel, exploring Tennessee, and raising kids without losing my mind in the process. This is where I share my discoveries, along with occasional deep thoughts, pop culture tangents and a sprinkling of snark. Want to get in touch? Use the CONTACT form at the top of the page.
April 17, 2006
>Teenagers and Easter just don’t mix.
In our family, we hide a small present in each room for each of the girls to find and put in their Easter baskets. Traditionally, the girls have woken us at the crack of dawn, ready to search for their presents. This year was different. Way different.
Hubs and I woke up with the baby at 7:30 and spent the next two hours preparing and hiding the presents we’d spent the last two weeks buying. At 9:30, we woke the girls up with a rousing, “Happy Easter!”
They were not pleased.
Apparently, they had stayed up until 2 in the morning watching “The Mummy.” They complained bitterly that we had woken them up at all and spent the next 30 minutes morosely shuffling from room to room, looking around for a few seconds and then asking for clues until we all but found the presents for them. “Thanks,” they’d say dully, dropping the candy/lipstick/iTunes card in their baskets and shuffling on.
Grrr.
On the upside, this was the first Easter that Baby could participate in most of the traditions and she had a blast.
She loved the house hunt and was convinced that the stuffed bunny I had bought her the day before had hidden all the presents for her.
Later, we held an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Each time she spied a plastic egg, she’d squeal, point and shout, “What HAPPENED?!”
At the end of the day, I put the bunny ears that she’d made in Sunday School on her and let her look at herself in the mirror. She has been wearing them ever since, walking around the house and saying “Hippy hop,” when she encounters someone.
This morning, she woke up and asked me for her blue Easter dress while I was changing her. “I want treasure hunt, mommy! I want treasure hunt!” she said. I think we’ll be going back outside later today to look for more eggs…
Believe it or not, I’m thankful for this odd juxtaposition in childrearing. Just as my teenage girls have decided I’m the stupidest, most unfashionable person to walk the planet, my daughter has discovered that in fact, I rule. Not only do I appreciate her adulation more, I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it won’t last and I’d better take it while I can get it.
But damn. Sometimes parenting sucks.
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>Hippy hop! How cute! Yes, being a teen stinks. My son is almost 11. At the Easter Fair at church on Sunday, he said, loudly, “This isn’t fun” when making a chicky basket while his sister made a bunny basket. In front of other children. In front of other parents. In front of the volunteers. I could have strangled him.
>Great Easter photos of Baby Girl. Love the spiffy Easter outfit and the bunny ears. And don’t worry. I’m sure someday soon the teenagers will realize how cool you are!
>husband hid easter eggs. zoe and i went for the reveal. one teenager stayed in the house and watched G4ia and the other bopped out with his MP3 player on repeating “huh, what?”
>Well – at least you have the adorable bunny-struck baby to keep the cute factor alive for several years. I’m just left with the disinterested teens. Hey – can we borrow your daughter next Easter for a few hours?
>I know I’ll be one of like six thousand people to comment, “oh how cute!” But I can’t help it. Oh how cute! Truly. And dude, your teenagers will come around soon enough. What’s that Mark Twain line about “knowing” everything when you’re young?
>I love your mom “voice” – both here and at your column over at Mamazine (side note: I’m not stalking you, but seriously, we are always in the same place on this crazy blogosphere… I’m honored).Anyway, the challenges of new mothering a young one and two “older ones” – combined with step-parenting and all that comes with that is fascinating.And seriously 1 out of 3 isn’t bad… I mean, if you have to be cool to someone, at least it’s that little cutie (see, I got in my shameless cute baby comment….) 🙂
>My heart just exploded from the cuteness of Baby. The teenagers, eh, notsomuch. Might want to give up on that battle. Feel free to mail me their gifts. I for one would GREATLY appreciate those kind of things. My husband got me a screwdriver with change out tips for Chrismas if that tells you anything.
>I’m right there with you. I have a 16 year old girl and a 3 year old boy.The good thing is that the girl hid the eggs for the boy and just adores him. However, the appreciation for gifts is very different. She looked her jewelry and went, yeah, it’s nice.He played with his cars ALL DAY LONG.
>what a doll,… she is so CUTE!
>Beautiful photos! She is such a cutie. (hey, I think we have that exact Dora figurine) I just have two young daughters (3 and 13 months), but sometimes I pause to thank God they are still at that easy to please stage.
>It really is an odd juxtaposition – having teens and toddlers in the same household at the same time. I don’t know if the weirdness of it ever really goes away. The nice thing about it is that somebody always thinks you’re awesome! 😉
>It can’t be said enough: your daughter is adorable.
>Yes– the spacing of ages here is really good for making you appreciate those that can clothe themselves and those that follow you around. Different stages; equally delightful and hard.Beautiful pix!
>Baby is just too cute!!!! I love the ears. We can’t have an egg hunt as the dogs would eat them all, but my Toddler was very excited to see her Easter basket. “Wow, lookit THAT!” I also have a Teen, and she grunted, gathered her chocolate and waited for me to drive her to work. Meh…
>It isn’t easy, the older they get, that’s for sure. I figure we have another year or two tops, before the reality of every holiday hits the twins.
>I love seeing her face! She is just scrumptious!
>Aw…look at that cute little bunny! The older girls are just going through a phase…I remember going through one similar to that in my teenage years. One day…when they are all grown up, they will look back and kick themselves for not treasuring you. You sound like an awesome step-Mom!
>This is lovely, Lucinda, just like the little kid.And parenting (by you) DOES NOT SUCK. It is the best that no money can buy.
>I wonder, especially when I feel smothered, if I will someday miss all the constant love, need and devotion from little Eli. You do have a good thing with teenagers and a young one. They can both remind you of what’s to love about the others.
>Love the pictures! Yeah, I would like to know the actual age at which I stop being the most fashionable, all-knowing woman in my girls’ life, and become the most reviled, moronic stranger in their lives. Any day now. I just just wish I knew WHEN!
>Charlie would like to propose to Baby. I think it was “hippy hop!” that got him. Or the bunny ears.
>Too bad about the whole ungrateful teenager situation. At least somebody enjoyed themself!”What HAPPENED?”
>Oh, life’s always giving us the good with the bad, isn’t it? Yes, it is a lesson in appreciating that unconditional little kid love. She is Absolutely Adorable!!!
>Your daughter is beautiful. Enjoy her! You’re kinda scaring me with the teen girl stuff. My oldest daughter is 11…I’m just beginning to be embarassing….
>It sucks not to be appreciated, but things do change. Teenagers should think their parents are lame – they’ll be back, and when they are, they’ll appreciate you and everything you’ve done. They’ll just have to be a little older to do so.
>That sounds a lot like the Easter here, minus our horrifically stupid sunburns. The Boy was not interested at all.Thank God for the babies! Woot!
>Yeah, the babies rock at Christmas, Easter and birthdays. They’re the only ones to get as excited as we are to make it something special for them. I am so not looking forward to the teens.
>I have that strange mix going on here as well. It’s nice to always be somebody’s hero. What if we only had one 16 year old…yikes!BTW- that is the cutest little bunny on earth!