Mother's Day(s)

Mothers' Day really lasted for two days around here.  It started on Saturday.  Dave worked hard all day on lots of little projects around the house.  One of those projects was to buy and plant flowers in our hanging baskets as one of my Mothers' Day presents.  I just gave him carte blanche and I think he did a better job than I could have!  We've found yet another talent in David Gee's repertoire.

In the afternoon, Mom, the sisters and I went on our second annual "we'd rather go out to eat than exchange gifts" Mothers' Day dinner at Parkstone.  What a wonderful tradition!  We just decided last year that we spend too much time and effort and money on little gifts that just kind of pile up and we don't really need.  What we REALLY need is a break from every day tasks.  It's so fun!  I love the women in my family!  We need Jenny to fly in from Chicago some year to make it perfect.  This year, I had to come home pretty quickly before Quinton got too hungry, but the other ladies stayed and hung out for a while.

Katie S. and Mom

Katie W., Kristin and Kelley

The food.

That evening, after the boys were in bed, Alison and I went for a treat run.  Kneaders Bakery sells the most delicious pastries - but they're expensive.  However, since they are not open on Sundays, they cut the price of EVERYTHING in the store by 50% every Saturday night at 8:00 pm.  It's pretty amazing!  People start lining up about 10 minutes early.  We got there 5 minutes early and we were about 5th in line.  We bought stuff for my Mothers' Day breakfast the next morning - eclairs, fruit tarts, bread pudding, cannolli, chocolate dipped strawberries, a loaf of rye bread, and more.  Then, we drove a few blocks down the road to The Sweet Tooth Fairy (a cupcake boutique) because they were giving free cupcakes to mothers all day.  The smell that hits you when you walk in that store is intoxicating!  Seriously!  You lose all will power when you smell it!  I bought a cupcake for Alison and got my free one.  They were delightful!  You know, you tell yourself, "I'd never pay $2 for a cupcake!  What a rip off!"  But these are not you average cake-mix cupcake.  They're pretty special!

Free cupcake!

So, as you can see, my Mother's Day was pretty awesome before the day even came!  On Sunday morning, we ate our delicious and very sweet treats for breakfast.  Then, the family gave me presents!  Each kid had made something special for me at school and/or at home. David gave me a gift card to Target (poor man had scoured every store in the state looking for glass bread pans, but he couldn't find the right size).   Then, we all got cleaned up and went to church as a whole family for the first time since Quinton was born.

The afternoon was pretty typical.  Then for dinner, we were invited to my parent's house. David made her a double batch of his delicious caramel popcorn for a little gift.  She loves popcorn unlike anyone I've ever known (Dave's a close second.)

This is how I spent most of the afternoon.  Not a bad gig.

Mom said she wanted me to have a break after the baby blessing luncheon the Sunday before, so she invited us over.  Of course, she worked as hard on that luncheon as I did, and now she had to work her tail off on Mothers' Day too.  Let me take a break from the narrative for a second to tell you how amazing my mom is.  I think she must put a lot of time, thought, and prayers into knowing how she can serve and help others.  She just gives and gives and gives all the time.  It seems like she has carried me through the past six months or so of my life.  And I know she helps my other siblings and her neighbors, etc. a lot as well.  I should probably write her a new thank you note every single week.  Some day, I hope to be half the woman she is.

Any way, for dinner that night, my mom cooked bacon wrapped filet mignon, a pesto and roasted vegetable pasta dish, artisan bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in, a huge salad bar, and organic lemonade.  It was outrageously delicious.  After dinner, we chose from a selection of ice cream and sorbet while we watched a video of Polynesian dances from the Polynesian Cultural Center.  It was fun.  The kids especially liked the fire dancers.

Momma duck and her ducklings.  My mom says when she thinks of me, that's what she pictures.  Look, even Cookie posed with us.

We came home that evening just in time to put the kids to bed.  And Quin gave me one last Mother's Day gift - he slept through the night.  Hooray!  What nice Mothers' Day(s) I had!  I love being a Mother.  And I love being a daughter to my mother too!