Mother's Day

Mother's Day is one of those holidays wherein I dream big; some years it goes as planned, others, not so much. This year was sorta all over the place. As we were in the throws of illness, my first gift came when Brian got up at the crack of dawn with Lucas who had thrown up all over his bed, and cleaned it all up. Then Lucas proceeded to come down with a high fever and spent most of the day sleeping, so Brian and Mason stayed home with him while Connor, Isabel and I went to church.

Then I had to teach Relief Society to all the sisters in the ward, as even those from Primary and Young Women attend RS on Mother's Day. I love my calling and generally feel comfortable teaching, but it was slightly daunting having the room filled with so many amazing women. I gave a lesson on sisterhood, and it seems to have gone well.

In the midst of this, my children gave me sweet gifts (a blue drinking cup for my water as requested by Lucas, flowers from Isabel, and chocolate raspberry cookies from Connor, who had initially requested getting me a new couch; that's still in the works). Brian made a great breakfast of pancakes with whipped cream and fresh berries, and omelets.

I was most touched by the sweet blog post that Brian totally surprised me with; who knew the guy even knew how to do a post? One of the benefits of being married to a writer is that he always expresses himself to me through his writing. What he wrote meant a lot to me, and I appreciate him sharing his thoughts.

I am so grateful to be a mother, and to have a great mother, mother in law, and countless sisters, cousins, friends and more around me who fulfill their duties of motherhood to the highest degree. Being a mom is the hardest, craziest, funnest, most demanding, most entertaining, most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.

I love mothering this one because he is my oldest, my first born, my foray into motherhood. My goal each day is to make him laugh; his laugh resonates with me in a very special way. I love watching our relationship develop as he matures. He is an extremely independent person, but has his little ways in which he shows me how much he loves me. He'll often honor my request for a slow dance, even spinning me now and then. He makes me think about things I've never thought of before. He is thoughtful of me and concerned for my well being. He has taught me patience I never knew I had, although some days it's not even enough. His smile is a gift to my soul.

I love mothering this one because she is full of life, adventurous, and has an infinite amount of things in common with me. I honestly need to do a post someday about the unbelievable amount of ways in which we are the same. At times I feel like I am raising myself. Having her is like having a mirror constantly held up to me, reflecting all of my good traits, and all of the bad ones. It's like a journey of self-discovery. She is fun loving. She loves to shop, and dance, and listen to music. At times she is a demanding little diva, and once again, I learn to dig into that well of patience, and then sometimes, I have to find more where I thought none remained. She is gifted with verbal profusion. Her observance of simple, lovely, beautiful and praiseworthy things all around makes me appreciate the world even more.

I love mothering this one because he is the king of snuggles. And the king of toughness, confidence, stubbornness and temper. Really, he is a fascinating study of opposites. He has bright eyes and a sparkling smile. He loves his mother so completely, even when we are locked in a battle of wills and I want to pull out my hair. He always knows what he wants, and how to get it. He loves to learn and experience new things. He idolizes his older brother. His voice and pronunciations dance in the air like little bubbles of happiness I can enjoy but can't quite grasp. Even on his most tough-guy days, there is a well of compassion that always springs forth. His sick little self broke my heart.

I love mothering this one because he is my baby, my last born, my most recent reminder of this amazing ability I have been blessed with to bring these little ones into the world. My last opportunity to watch the day by day miracle of growth and development; of learning to walk where once there was crawling; of words, where there once was babbling; of developing a personality and interests and dislikes; of the innocence with which we are all born.

They are quite a crew.

Mother's Day

Since Brian and I share the same birthday and usually lame out by just going out to dinner that day, we tend to make a big deal out of Mother's and Father's Day, as it's the one day we get to ourselves. Sometimes I place big expectations on the day. Some years we hit big, some years not so much. So maybe the day wasn't as perfect as I hoped (nothing major, just felt like a zombie all day, splitting headache, serious backache, grumpy, Lucas woke up stinkin' early soaking wet and even though Brian dealt with it I never went back to bed, Connor dropped a tick on me - one of my biggest phobias and I about lost it, have never seen one in CO in 10 years of living here). So I sound like a whiner. Forgive me. I'm 34 weeks prego and miserable. The day really was good. And look at those faces - I am one lucky momma.

We did enjoy a tasty breakfast, Baked Blueberry Pecan French Toast, a recipe I picked out from my favorite food blog, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Love pretty much everything on that site.

Brian and the children gave me a beautiful mini rose plant, the movie The Blind Side, which I love love love-

and a sassy new handbag that makes me happy. Love the pewter color.

Church was fabulous. All the women got chocolate truffles, and Relief Society had a fabulous video and message on visiting teaching, then we got to enjoy muffins, juice and chocolates and just visit. Lovely! I normally teach the 2nd Sunday, but the RS Pres switched with me this month so she could teach on Mother's Day. Worked for me! The kids all made darling Mother's Day pictures/cards for me-

I love the All About My Mom form that Connor did for me. It's so entertaining to see yourself through your children's eyes. I was impressed that he really knows me well! I love #7 :)
in case you need help deciphering, it reads:
1. How do I show my mom I love her: ..... Help her
2. My favorite thing to do with my mom is: ..... Go somewhere
3. Her favorite color is: .... Blue
4. Her favorite food is: ..... Tockos (tacos, in reality anything Mexican)
5. If she had extra time, she likes to: ..... Take a bath
6. When my mom grows up, she wants to be a: ..... Writer
7. My mom and dad first met: ..... Themselves
8. My mom laughs when: ..... I make her laugh
9. My mom is _______ years old: 35 (unfortunately he got it right)
10. What my mom loves the most is: ..... Her family

After church I got to talk with my mom, whom I love so much and is a great example to me. She is a gifted teacher. She always made everything exciting and adventurous when I was growing up, and does likewise for my children. She loves to travel. She loves to read. She values and encourages education. She loves to craft and is an amazingly gifted seamstress. She loves the gospel. She loves her family and sacrifices much for all of us. She is an example of selfless service. She teaches me to be the better person. She encourages and supports and praises me. Everything I know about being a mom I learned from her.

We were fortunate to spend dinner with Brian's family, in the retirement home Brian's sweet Nanna has moved to. Nanna turns 90 next month, and her health is diminishing rapidly, which is so hard to see. She is the sweetest person, and I'm glad we got to see her, as well as Brian's mom Kathy, who loves us dearly, and to whom I am grateful for raising a son who is a devoted and dedicated father and husband. We have some good women in our lives!

Connor is especially sweet with Nanna, giving her gentle kisses and hugs. When she could still walk on her own, he loved being a gentleman and lending his arm to help her along. Connor and I had a long talk afterward about the changes he saw in Nanna and how he feels about that. He asked if her earthly test is almost over, and then asked how many years I have left. It's a lot to wrap an almost-7-year-old brain around.

Kathy with Nanna-

So grateful to be a mom. There is nothing like it. Hope all you wonderful ladies in my life enjoyed the day!

At week's end

Random posts are good, I've decided. I like reading 'em, and I like writing 'em. So, from the week...

-I realized I never blogged my Mother's Day. It was great. Because Brian and I share the same birthday, we have started to put a lot of emphasis on Mother's Day/Father's Day, as it's really the only day we get to ourselves, celebratory-wise. Brian made some delectable culinary creations for me, including a fantastic stuffed omelet with fresh berries for breakfast, and spicy shrimp for dinner (fiery hot, and delicious!):
And for dessert he baked a pan of my mom's famous from-scratch mint brownies. It's a layer of super dense brownie, covered in a layer of mint creme, drizzle in melted chocolate and butter. Brian colored the mint creme layer purple for mother's day; they looked fine in person, better than in the picture. These are one of my all-time favorite desserts:
The kids were so sweet to me, too. Connor told me he was going to be nice to me ALL DAY since it was Mother's Day. Isabel said she, too, would be "nice to me for Mudder's Day, without any fuss and without any fight." Seriously. And it almost happened, too.

I also got a little gift from each of my family members. Connor insisted on a candle for me (surprise surprise, Mr. Candle Boy). Lovely new scent, White Citrus:
Isabel wanted to get me some "pink flowers mixed with red roses" and this was accomplished:
I got a great family crafts book from Lucas, and a new atlas from Brian. Seriously, I am a geography nerd. I read maps and atlases for fun frequently, so this was a very thoughtful gift.

- Is there anything cuter than a little boy in overalls? I think not. Especially this little boy.
They hold up even when they're hard at play-

- I am rather pleased with the lineup for the American Idol final. It's been a good season, methinks. However, and I know I am going to sound really old here, but what is up with acts like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry? I simply don't get it. You?

- New York and Company has some mighty pretty baubles right now in lovely colors - and I am a color girl. Here's a sampling:
I'm not generally a pin girl, but this could persuade me-- I have been listening to my Fleetwood Mac 25 Years The Chain box set all week. LOVE Stevie Nicks and the Mac. Love. Really, I love most 70s-ish singer/songwriters: Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, John Denver, CSN, and so on. But Stevie and the Mac have always ranked very highly with me. Brian and I saw Stevie solo in concert right before we got married, and then went to a Fleetwood Mac concert shortly after Connor was born. But, oh, to have seen them in their heydey.
- Isabel is gearing up for her dance recital on Saturday. Today, they had a dress rehearsal performance for some senior citizens. This is their "It's a Small World" number, wearing some sort of heritage costume (Isabel is Irish)-
And a sneak peak of her costume for "On the Good Ship Lollipop" (her favorite):
Seriously, the girl loves an audience. She is a performer at heart. She is all smiles during her recitals, can't stop talking about how much she loves that big stage. Today she told me that she would love someday to get some "big huge pom poms and dance on a stage for everyone." Truly, I don't even think I've told her that I used to do that! We must share the same performance soul.

- Field trip fiasco: Connor had his final kindergarten field trip today, to the zoo (I couldn't chaperon this one). Shortly before they were to leave, I got a call from the school nurse. She starts off saying Connor is fine - always love that introduction - but his teacher (Mrs. P we'll call her) was showing the parent who would be responsible for Connor's group, how to use the EPI Pen in case of emergency. Well, Mrs. P thought she had a training EPI Pen instead of the real thing, and inadvertenly injected herself with it! Mrs. P, who was on only her 2nd day back after maternity leave, had to go to the doctor to get checked out, and the school had to send an attendance clerk on the field trip in her place, which delayed the start of the trip a bit. And I had to rush our EPI Pen from home to school to get it to them before they left. And now I have to drive Connor to and from school for the rest of the year (to be fair, we have one week left of school) so I can sign our EPI pen in and out each day and share it with the school. Mrs. P seems fine. I do hope that lovely quarter-size blood stain on the thigh of her pants comes clean.

Blessed

To be a mother to three terrific kids.

And to have a mother and mother-in-law whom I love and have sacrificed so much for us.

Hope you have had a wonderful mother's day!

Mother's Day 2008

Happy Mother's Day all you moms!

I had a great Mother's Day - thank you Brian for working so hard to give me a day off! He cooked, cleaned, bought thoughtful gifts, etc. I love shrimp, so for dinner he made grilled shrimp and scallion skewers with grilled red pepper dipping sauce. Yum, yum, yum. It was delicious!

After dinner, we went on a long family walk, one of my favorite things to do. It was truly the most beautiful spring evening. Perfect weather.

I love being a mom, and am so grateful for the three little people who made me a mom. And, thank you to my mom and Brian's mom for all you have done and still do for us. We love you!

Now I'm just waiting for Brian to finish cleaning the kitchen so I can get my annual Mother's Day foot rub...