Mother's Day 2014

We arrived home from Disney World at 3am on Mother's Day.  Though the kids slept in the car, Jason was cashed.  I woke up with John and Marin around 7:30 and took them on a short walk.  Marin picked a dandelion bouquet as a present for grandma and me.

Then we headed to the golf club for Mother's Day brunch.  It was very lovely and a perfect day.  A special way to spend with our family.

That afternoon we enjoyed a quick visit from Auntie Molly and Uncle Bri, who were in town, and then headed to Lake Holiday to Uncle Reed and Aunt Jeanie's.  Emilie and Marin went fishing and Emilie caught her first fish (and kissed it!).   We  loved spending time with Jake and Katy and GG and OG, as well as all the Martin cousins.

It was a perfect day.  Being mommy to these three sweeties is the very greatest joy in life.  Even more than I ever thought it would be.

Happy Mother's Day!

No, I am not in labor.
No, I am not happy about it.

At this point, waiting to meet the baby, and find out the gender, and count his/her toes, and kiss his/her cheeks, is like TORTURE. Two things that I know for certain that I am not good at are: 1. sitting and 2. waiting. Doing both simultaneously this week has not brought out the best in me. Yesterday, I literally ran out of things to do. What are you supposed to do when your to-do list is clear, your house is clean, your laundry is done, your child is sleeping, you're supposed to "take it easy" and you can't stray far from home? I'll tell you what I did. I went a little insane. Then I went shopping. But with strict orders from the man of the house not to spend any money (wah-whuh), even that got old after I'd oogled over the fourth thing I wanted to buy. So, I came home to clean out the freezer, organize under the kitchen sink, and better organize an already organized cabinet. Today I washed the dog, which is always an adventure in and of itself.

But I digress. Today is Mother's Day, one of my favorite days of the year. It's a day that since I have become a mother myself, I have always considered to be more about my children than about me. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for, and definitely at the very tippy, tippy top of that list is the gift of being a mother. It truly is an honor. And it's all thanks to my 1 and 9.75/10 children that I get to celebrate this day. Being a mother is the reason I get to thank God every night for making us a family; no matter how many times Marin has tested my patience, or baby 2.0 refuses to budge from my apparently comfortable womb. To me, Mother's Day is a celebration of the miracle that is our family. And for it, I am forever grateful.

Add to this that I have my extraordinary mother and grandmother to celebrate today, that the sun is shining, that Marin randomly said to me today, "I love you, Mommy! I have a kiss?", and that I started my day with my sister-in-law Katy's to-die-for-homemade-takes-four-hours-to-make cinnamon rolls, and my happy pretty much is running over.

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous moms out there! I truly hope that your day is your own version of cinnamon rolls and baby kisses, and that it's an excellent day with your families.

Now if I can just have this baby...

Mother's Day

Do you ever have one of those days where you just think you are the luckiest woman in the world? I know that it is hard most days- with coordinating schedules, demanding jobs, teething toddlers, and a laundry pile so big that I swear it is growing on its own... but sometimes I stop to realize that the existence of those things are exactly the reason that I am lucky. People to love, a home to care for them in, and jobs to provide enough underwear to put off doing laundry one week. Yesterday, Mother's Day, was one of those days when I couldn't help but be thankful for this crazy life.

Although it was my second mother's day, it still didn't seem real that I was among those that we celebrated yesterday. Isn't this my mom and grandma's day? But as we woke up to Marin's little coos over the monitor and then the "ma-ma-ma-ma's" I was reminded in the greatest way, the reason I celebrate mother's day. Early that morning we snuggled in our jammies together and I thanked her for being the little miracle that made me a mommy. Then Jason pointed out that technically, he's the one who made me a mommy. Luckily Marin's too young to question this.

Jason and Marin made me homemade waffles for breakfast, and then presented me with a gorgeous wooden bench for the backyard. I am already dreaming about reading books in the shady nook in our yard, perfectly suited for my bench. After Mass, where Marin was thankfully very well behaved for about 98% of the time (and screamed bloody murder the other 2%), we headed to my parents house for dinner with them, my grandparents, Jake and Katy and Lindsay. Jake and Katy filled in Jason's gaps and presented me with my baby bling- a blue raspberry ring pop and the world's largest candy necklace. I wasted no time getting starting in on those bad boys.

It was a quiet and beautiful day of celebrating the mother's in our lives and remembering those that are no longer with us. A lot of our house projects were put on hold, schedules were minimal, and although, the laundry did not wash itself, I feel lucky to have slobber stains to scrub and baby bibs to fold. They are signs of a mother.