"O, how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day!" William Shakespeare

Home all cleaned and freshened up? Clusters of cheerful flowers lovingly placed around your major living areas? Bunnies and chicks peeking out from kitchen corners?

While Spring is not yet evident here in Connecticut, rumor has it that crocuses are popping up south of the Mason-Dixon line; I did, in fact, see a couple of blue jays the other day. Yes. Spring is here! It's time to make final preparations so that the joy of the season is fully evident in your families and in your homes.

If you haven't yet dyed eggs, be sure to indulge in this wonderful tradition before the week is over. Set out your prettiest basket or bowl and load up with real grass (did you plant a few rye grass seeds last week?) and arrange your dyed eggs for your children's enjoyment. Add a silk butterfly or favorite chick or bunny for a delightful centerpiece.

Indulge in chocolates during this week's shopping, making a special excursion for pink and yellow marshmallow chicks, crme- filled and malted speckled eggs, and oodles of brightly colored jelly beans. Have fun picking out the prettiest chocolate-or white chocolate-bunnies you can findone for each child and a few extra for special friends. Looking for dark chocolate? Fret not. Dove makes wonderful little eggs just for you.

Hopefully you've started a collection of baskets, and choosing just the right one for each child may have become a tradition unto itself. Heaven forbid I would mix up the baskets in our household. They were assigned in toddlerhood and will likely follow each child into old age.

Start a tradition of hiding the baskets the night before Easter or early on Easter morning. In our home, the hunt for the baskets is the first event of Easter morning. And as my kids have gotten older, the hunt has become an impossibly frustrating event. My kids scavenge until almost the "I've-given-up-point." It is, after all, no fun getting completely discouraged before one has had her morning orange juice. So when I sense that one of my kids just can't figure it out, I begin to offer clues, holding out for that last "Ah-haa" that still brings me such pleasure.

Bake a few Easter treats with the kids this week to create happy Springtime memories. Special Easter cakes, cupcakes, and cookies go a long way to brightening up the family atmosphere. We make our favorite Christmas cookie, changing it slightly to evoke the freshness of Spring. Again, it's just a Ritz cracker peanut- butter sandwich dunked in chocolate. At Easter, we buy white chocolate melts already colored in Springtime pastels: pink, yellow, blue, and lavender. With a few colorful sprinkles on top, they become "happy sweets" that still put smiles on my kids'faces. And working on them together ensures great bonding time as well as permanent memories of a happy childhood. Arranged in little Easter tins, they make sweet gifts for friends and family. Or put them into cellophane bags and tie with a bright green or hot pink bow.

Last but not least, if you are planning a neighborhood Easter egg hunt, be sure to let the adults in on the fun, too. Help the hostess stuff a few dozen plastic eggs, and bring a few goodies yourself. Typically, we do a Saturday morning hunt, with OJ, coffee, cupcakes, breakfast cakes, and egg casseroles. This year, I was surprised by my new neighbors with their own "block party" tradition; the hunt is held at a house down the street on a late afternoon mid-week, just before the Seder dinner. So my favorite brunch recipes just won't do. Instead of hosting a large hunt and brunch, I'll be cooking Easter dinner at our new home this year.

Wishing you all the blessings of Easter!