Oklahoma City family fun feels like a lot to do sometimes.
There are certain weeks throughout the year that feel like they just have to happen before we can move on with family life. Easter is this weekend and it has been a long lead-up to the holiday. A few events have been rained out and some did take place last weekend but it's not too late to find community events if you want to try for an 
Easter egg hunt or bunny photo tomorrow. Find MetroFamily's Easter Guide here. And if you're looking for last-minute Easter basket ideas, our calendar editor, Lindsay Cuomo, has put together this amazing list that's totally doable, based largely on experiences and not dependent so much on what's in stock at the school.
There are also Earth Day celebrations and Heard on Hurd is tomorrow, events that are featured in our Weekend Picks list. If you don't already get those 10+ events delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe. We're getting ready to changes things up with the look and feel of our emails so now is a great time to see what's new if you used to get them but don't anymore or just want to receive family info that's local and helpful.
April is the month at school where I feel like we're always just in a hurry to check all the boxes: events and performances, items that are random but oddly specific, class parties and spring photos. I've sent Box Tops, an assembled photo collage, hand sanitizer, potting soil, a quart-sized jar, two-inch ribbon, felt squares, an 18-inch pre-cut length of cloth, 32 candy-filled Easter eggs, juice boxes, 
Cupcake-flavored Goldfish Crackers, spring-themed plates and napkins and a clownfish costume to school in the past month. We still owe spools of yarn and baking mixes. I am more than happy to send supplies but it takes a lot to coordinate what's needed where at times.
My oldest is in sixth grade and I'm just now getting the hang of how this all goes.
Staying on your A game this time of year takes some doing and May goes even faster, with graduations and year's end ceremonies. I know I need to be aware of what's coming up and do it early; scrambling at the last minute doesn't work for my household. That feeling, like everything is piling on and I'm getting overwhelmed, is what I work to avoid because I know that as a human juggling too much gives me anxiety and that's no way to live. It all sounds like a lot of little things that are not very serious or important until all of them hit at once and I am drowning, which is how a lot of other moms I've met feel too. There's nothing fun about last-minute trips to the store and night-before craft projects and before you know it, you're hot-gluing caterpillar antennae onto clothes pins at 2 a.m. with a mug of cold coffee and your own tears.
So, in the spirit of getting prepared for May and summer's start, are five heads-up type lists for what's coming after Easter:
- Teacher Appreciation Week: May 6 through May 10 is Teacher Appreciation Week. If you're looking for ideas, find them here. I picked up gift cards and hand sanitizer purse clips last week, no gift wrap needed.
- The May family project: If you have a child in an Oklahoma elementary school, you've probably been doing the family project all school year long, the undefined-until-we-send-you-the-instructions craft with report due within a week of receipt. Restock your craft items. If you don't want to keep extra supplies around your house all summer long, turn them in at the end of the school year. Teachers will store them and be good to go for next year; they are actually amazing stewards of resources, as I have found out being a teacher's wife. Each year, my husband is happy to put things away like paint, glue sticks, those yarn pom-poms and construction paper knowing that they'll resurface in a few months.
- Mother's Day and Father's Day: If you usually make plans for yourself, your partner or your parents, it's time to get a reservation or buy a gift. Check out our Mother's Day Fun Guide here. Our Father's Day Guide will be out soon but it's not too early to find a gift.
- Scheduling all the appointments: Eye doctors, orthodontist interviews, those Well Child Checks you've been putting off so you don't have to take a child out of school? I know. Me too. I'm starting to round out our summer calendar for convenient times. Use our Family Favorites list to find the best of the best in local practitioners.
- Summer camp and swim lesson enrollment: If you haven't chosen either yet, there are still spots available at some camps. Check out our guide here. And find swimming lessons that have an approach that works for your family here.
I hope your Easter is restful and all the holiday's mess makes for great memories. May the clean-up be easy and your heart be full before we launch into the school year's end. Happy Easter Weekend!
