Jesus Christ is Risen Today (Alleluia)

Happy Easter!!
In the Episcopal tradition, the Easter service starts with the celebrant stating, "The Lord is Risen" and the congregation responds, "The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!"
This incredibly early morning (it is 5 AM in my corner of the world)I need to finish a few things before church, including my little man's Easter eggs for our hunt at home as well as his basket. The house needs to get tidied up, and I need to do my nails. I also have to finish turning our cupcakes into Easter basket cupcakes, which should be fun.
I was plum tuckered out after yesterday.
In the morning, I made lasagna for dinner today as well as the cupcakes and pizzelles. The big man said the pizzelles reminded him of home, which I take as a compliment. Especially since a whole bunch are missing :)
The Outdoor Campus, a local nature educational facility, sponsored an Easter egg hunt which was a lot of fun. Unlike most that mass chaos, this was organized and we had to use our map, animal ID and reading skills to find the eggs. Plus we made 3 crafts-a buttefly, a decorated egg bag and a bird made out of nilla wafers, frosting, candy corn & chocolate chips. Afterwards, we went to go play in Sertoma Park (on the new playground equipment to boot!) Little Man had a great time running around in the fresh air, and the puppy dog enjoyed it too!
Today, we have an Easter egg hunt at church, church itself, then home. The princess and grandmah will be over around 2, so that gives me a chance to make the salad & dressing, do some laundry (despite it being a holiday, life does go on) and relax a little bit. Most importantly, I want to spend time with my family (most especially the little man, because he's so darn cute!)
My guy is at this really fun age now, where he's totally adorable, and he knows it and knows how to work it. He's also incredibly smart, which is both a blessing and a problem-since he's so smart, he can out-think us sometimes. He can use logic & reasoning to try to get out of things, like cleaning up after himself (I am looking at a lego explosion on my living room floor right now)
I need to get him into this checklist thing full on now. I really need help in keeping up the house and everything. Its hard working full time and having a busy life, to do it all (or even partially!) without a little bit of help here and there. The big man does a lot, and I am very grateful for that. I complain about it sometimes, because I feel like less of a homemaker because I do need the help. But, the older I get, the more I realize I'll take all the help I can get. I need the little man to help me pick up the living room and his bedroom every day before bed. I also need to keep myself on task with the kitchen and our bedroom (and the art studio-a work in progress)to keep those rooms presentable. The few nights that we did the checklist, we got the living room tidied up, the bedroom tidied up, all the clothes made it into the hamper, had time for a snack and a story, and it was just glorious. No mad mommy bossing around, just smiles and laughter and hugs and kisses-the way it should be.
I will admit that I am a screamer. I come from a long line of screamers. I have a very low frustration threshold most days. Especially if there is someplace to go, and we need to get ready. I get angry because no one else ever seems to want to get ready to go wherever we need to go with the proper time table intact. I get angry when I ask that x gets done, and then it doesn't and I have to do x myself. I also get frustrated with myself, because I want to do so much more than I do and I feel like I fall short all the time. Like I think that my son should have these beautiful scrapbooks but he doesn't-I barely scrap anything it seems-and that I am literally years behind on my scrapping. Like I should be doing more yoga because it makes me feel better overall (physically, mentally, spiritually), or working out more, because I enjoy that too. I seem to not do what I enjoy most-that there's some sort of weird punishment thing going on in my world, and frankly mr. shankly I am tired of it all.
I know I keep making myself promises about working out, eating healthy, drinking more water, getting enough rest, keeping the house clean, and I don't seem to ever keep those promises. I put an incredible amount of pressure on myself, and there are times when I think I am setting myself for failure. And when I feel like I failed, then my whole family suffers.
But today is a day to celebrate the glorious. To remember that there is new life, and to celebrate that. That spring has sprung, and to enjoy warmer temperatures and sunshine (and allergies! that means no more snow!!). Most of all, to enjoy time with my family and eat lots of chocolate! (I will try to resist temptation from sneaking it from the little man's basket)