Whew! That was close!

So on Friday, I took Sam with me for my annual checkup (which included Sam saying, "Ewwww, Mom, I don't wanna see your butt!"). Afterward, we stopped at Giant and bought stuff to color Easter eggs.

When we got home, Damon said, "So, did you get the candy?"

I was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam and Noah getting the egg coloring stuff ready, so I looked pointedly at him and said, "No, of course I didn't get any candy. The Easter Bunny brings the candy, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right," he said. "I can't believe I forgot."

So we've established I didn't get the candy.

On Saturday, Damon went to the grocery store in the evening to pick up the stuff he was taking to his mom's for Easter dinner the next day. When he got home about 8:30 p.m., he asked Sam why she was still awake because, he reminded her, the Easter Bunny wouldn't stop if she wasn't asleep.

I tossed her in the tub, scrubbed her down -- all the while saying things like, "Boy, I hope the Easter Bunny isn't already at Jaylyn's house and has to skip our house because you're still awake!" -- and as I was drying her, Damon came in to check on us.

"Daddy, did you see the Easter Bunny when you were driving down our road?" I asked.

"You know, I did," Damon said. "He was down pretty far, but he was hopping along."

"YOU SAW HIM?" Sam asked. "Can I see him? I wanna look out the window! Hurry up, Dad! Pull up the blind!"

Daddy pulled it up, and she peered out into the night. "I can't see anything," she said after a few seconds. "It's just all dark."

I've never seen her go to bed so fast. No stories. No arguing. No fuss. Just a pile of covers on top of her, two kisses goodnight, and she was out in minutes.

About 9:30, Damon and I were downstairs, and I said, "Well, should we do the Easter Bunny stuff?"

"Sure, I guess," he said. "Where'd you hide the candy?"

I thought he was kidding. "I didn't get any candy, remember? Cuz Sam was with me. So what did you get?"

Yes, folks, that's right: We had no candy for our munchkins just a few hours before Easter.

All turned out well, because Damon ran back out and got some loot. We did not, however, have any chocolate bunnies, or Peeps or those egg-shaped candies with the crispy-ricey-things inside.

Thankfully, Sam didn't notice. She was too happy to have candy and to be allowed to eat some for breakfast. And Noah didn't really notice much because he wasn't feeling well and I let him sleep through the morning's festivities.

I'm counting this little episode as Crisis No. 4,318 averted.