Strokes of Genius-the rest of the story

Happy Easter Morning!

The Bunny did indeed find us here in Istanbul!

He was also delighted to see this year's updated Easter Basket System.

My first stroke of genius for this blog post-

Easter baskets are always tricky. You have two main options. Big enough to hold things, meaning it usually takes up a good bit of space and has a large handle as well making it hard to store.

Or, the Bunny just places things around a smaller basket and maybe puts some treats in.

Either way, if you go the traditional basket route there is far too much wasted space in the storage of said baskets for my taste. Up until now, our easter basket stash takes up one whole storage bin. Not my idea of convenient in this life style. Enter new idea. Since we added a new child this year, and the old baskets were getting hashed and didn't really coordinate I decided we needed a makeover. One that works well for life in the Foreign Service.

I personally am a fan of being able to fit all "bunny items" IN the basket. Don't know why. Just am. I know it shouldn't really make a difference. That's just my preference.

So, I started searching for just the right balance of cute-yet masculine, functional and space saving, and big enough to actually fill with goodies without being too big.

After lots of searching I found these awesome bucket/bin things from Land of Nod. (I'm honestly too lazy right now to link to them, but they are easy to find if you go to their website!)

Anyway, they had lots of colors to choose from and are really great quality. They are my absolute ideal size, they were super affordable- I think like 8 bucks each? they should last for years,

AND, here's the kicker-

They fold up totally flat! They will be a cinch to take with us wherever we go, taking up hardly any space at all in a storage bin! woohoo. I'm a genius I tell you! Now lest you think I had not thought of a plan for egg hunting (in which you need to carry a basket/bucket) I also had a plan. Since these do not have handles to tote around, I decided that the kids can just use their sand buckets! We do have these with us (and will even in DC for all the sand pits and beaches we have been/will be by). So they are covered.

I loved how it all turned out this year. The boys seemed equally as thrilled. So yes, I realize this might not be a system for all-but for us it is perfect! Yay new Easter tradition! I'm looking forward to see these cute buckets every year now in the future!

ok, now since you all probably didn't really care about my big epiphany, here are the pics from the morning of adventures:

They were all thrilled, and enjoyed their fun treats

This Egg toy has been a huge hit for both Miles and the big brothers-

Miles will get some extra photo time now, because after all, it is his first Easter.

And he's so dang cute!

Lovin on his Easter basket!

Looks like it's a hit if that smile is any indication...

It's all fun and games until some grass gets stuck in the toes-

what to do, what to do?

(he wasn't as big a fan of the grass when this happened!)

Now for the other stroke of genius-

Crocodile Creeks makes great educational puzzles.

We have some other ones, and my boys love them.

Turns out they also make these AWESOME little "travel puzzles"!

They are good legit puzzles, but just the right size to take anywhere; and they come in these fantastic pouches! My boys, especially Ronan, are BIG into puzzles right now.

Both boys LOVED their puzzles, and will definitely be coming with us to DC.

They were also the perfect addition to the Easter basket. Stocking stuffer next? Sign me up!

Lastly, I also made the boys each a photo book from when they were little-(they love to look at pics of themselves and it is a pain to always drag out the big scrapbook) This way they can do it anytime they want. They turned out darling, and I also made them each an apron to help cook in the kitchen! They loved them as well, and they look darn cute too!

Here we are prepping to help mommy cook!
Anyway, it was a terrific Easter weekend!

We had a lovely time all around, and things went off without a hitch. To quote a favorite A-Team reference, I just love it when a plan comes together!

Love my little guys. Thanks for enjoying the holiday with me!