What I really want for Mother's day..........

I've seen all sorts of posts about the best things to get your mom for mother's day recently. A lot of them appear to be written by moms of young children because they go along the lines of "no, I don't want to take the family to the beach because it's too much work for me" and while I totally appreciate that, I took my family to the beach last Mother's day and it was awesome.

I'm not one for the fancy brunch with mimosas. I'd much rather be served Starbucks in bed (forget about eggs and bacon, bring me sour cream walnut coffee cake from Tully's). I don't really want to go out to an expensive dinner, either. Feast night works great for me - nothing like grazing over an assortment of treats!

I could care less about gadgets and appliances. I already have some awesome purses. I pretty much buy whatever clothes and shoes I want throughout the year, and I have a closet full. But I love gifts from the heart - a sketch, a painting, a scrapbook, a song, a poem. I know moms are supposed to say that, but I actually DO love handmade gifts, or a gift of talent and time.

But a mom can dream, right? So, here's a list of things that I (and probably any mom) would LOVE for Mother's day:
1. For someone to do the dishes just because they are piled high in the sink. And by "do" them, I mean take initiative and load and unload the dishwasher without being asked and/or without rolling eyes or groaning when being asked.
2. For someone to vacuum at least a couple of times a week instead of twice a month, and not only when the dog hair tumbleweeds are the size of grapefruit.
3. For someone to do the grocery shopping. Forever.
4. For someone besides myself and my husband to cook a meal. If, for any other reason, to prove to us that our kids can and will survive outside the household and be able to make a meal with more than one course.
5. For someone to bring me Starbucks every day. My ass will protest, but yum!
6. For someone to take out the garbage before it's tumbling over.
7. For fresh chocolate chip cookies every day, pizza once a week, and for them to not have any calories.
8. For someone to bring me fresh Gerber daisies weekly.
9. For someone to cook dinner. Forever.
10. For a fancy vacation once a year and several less-fancy vacations the rest of the year.

And while some of those things are do-able, and some are just plain crazy, I have to say I'm pretty darn happy with things just the way they are.

I love my home - it's messy and chaotic but it's full of things we love and people I treasure. I love it when all four kids are home and everyone is just doing their thing, but we're all in the same room and it's just average and normal. Because, to me, it's everything.

I love it when my kids are hanging out and we're all crafting, or creating, or the kids are having a jam session and I hear music and voices and laughter. That's the best sound.

I love how ridiculous my family is at times. The silly videos, pictures, funny things said,  forever recorded on social media. Not necessarily for others' entertainment but so we can look back and laugh at ourselves in the future.

I love road trips with my kids. The car is always trashed. We never get anywhere on time. But we have tons of time to talk and watch the world go by. Or not talk and watch the world go by. Either way, it's ok.

So, when it comes to what I "want" for Mother's day, the answer is usually the same. A day spent with my kids, usually at a beach, hanging out, eating snacks and relaxing. No agenda. No big plans. No spa day with fluffy towels and "me time". Sure, that's fun, but maybe another day.

On Mother's day I want to celebrate with the ones who made me a mother. The first born, who fulfilled my lifelong dream of being a mom. The second born, who showed me it was possible to love another child, not "as much" but wholly and completely, just like the first time. The third born, who showed me how to relax and enjoy this fleeting thing called mothering, because he was my last baby. Then, the bonus daughter who showed me mother love wasn't limited by biology and completed our family.

How lucky am I?

I love these dorks! 

Happy Mother's Day! 

Really Amazing Mother's Day!

I had the best Mother's day doing absolutely nothing on a beautiful, sunny day in the Pacific NW. Normally on a beautiful (rare!) day around here, I feel the need to do an outing - to the beach or a park or something outdoorsy and fun in the sun. Yesterday, I was completely happy to just lounge around all day in the sun - and I did! I woke to sun streaming in my window and birds chirping and Jeff made me breakfast to order and Harrison delivered it to me (adding a few special touches). Arlie wrote me the funniest poem (see my FB to read it!), and Hayley brought me pretty flowers! Harrison wrote me a sweet note and Jeff gave me a nice card. Hayley also made me a slide show of old pictures of all my babies when they were little, along with a sweet song to accompany it. Hannah had friends sleep over so she got around to wishing me a Happy Mother's day after they all left! HAHA! I lounged in bed with my computer until noon, showered, and went outside where I lounged in the sun reading, talking with the kids and Jeff and Amy and Julius, who stopped by, and just soaking up the rays. Jeff made pizza for dinner, Hayley made me a cake, and later we all went out on the roof! The kids had a blast up there and Jeff laughed at us for "discovering a whole new dimension of our house"! It was fun and just relaxing. A really great Mother's day!

Strict But Cool, That's How I Rule

The title comes from something I said to the kids whilst we enjoyed lunch at The Rock yesterday for Mother's day. The girls are constantly asking if they can have a My Space or a blog. I keep saying no. What do they need it for? More time on the computer? Please. They spend enough time already. So, they told me I was "strict" and that I needed to lengthen the leash, lest they become "rebellious" later (haha). I reminded them that their friends think I'm the coolest mom, so I might be "strict" but I'm also "cool". I'm happy with that middle ground.

Mother's day was great! I enjoyed Starbucks breakfast in bed, fetched by my husband, then stayed in bed until the kids arrived from their dad's. They came in bearing gifts - from Harrison, a nail set that included everything for a French manicure complete with "jewels" (I did my nails and Hayley called them my "hooker nails"), from Hannah a lovely bath set in pink grapefruit scent (yummy!) that came in a cute pink bag, from Hayley, a decorative sign from Fuego that says "If the Princess ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" and a pack of gum that says "Does this gum make my ass look fat?" (hysterical! I love that store!). She also got me a box of Godiva chocolates. Arlie made me a darling stained glass hanging at school and a cute card that said "You should relax on Mother's day because you do soooooooooooooooo much housework!" From my wonderful husband, I got a Nikon D60 camera with all the accessories! I am SO excited about it, because I've wanted a really nice camera for so long and it even came with photography classes! I can't wait to try it out (the actual camera was sold out and arrives next week). All in all, a lovely day!

In other news, Arlie competed in her first track meet last Wednesday. She came in first in the 50 yard dash, first in the relay, and second in the ball kick! Wow, three ribbons to bring home on her first meet! I will attempt to attach a photo of this event.

Last Thursday, Harrison received the game ball at his baseball game! He made a beautiful hit along with some good plays and they beat their opponent. Not so much luck with the Mets this weekend! Win some, lose some........