Post-Mother's Day Post

Hope you had a delightful day full of realistic expectations and joy in your children! :)

Last year, my creative husband started the tradition of taking all the kids out for some pre-Mother's Day fun in order to give me some quiet time at home. (I have to add that Quiet Time at Home is the greatest gift one can give to a mother, at least in my book.) So Friday evening would be the night, he decided during a delicious pancake dinner. Except that it was supposed to rain and the lawn was looking pretty scraggly. That task really needed to be done, and it only takes about an hour for our little yard. We were expecting out of town company at some point in the evening as well, so time was running out. I decided to go ahead and give the kids a bath before they went out so we could just pop them in bed after the pre-Mother's Day outing. So I stripped Sweet A (you may give her another title after you hear this) down and started the water, but got distracted by Baby T who had decided bedtime was not on his agenda and was screaming in bed. Go in, turn the mobile on, get him quiet, get back to Sweet A. Except by the time I got back to her, she had, how shall I say this judiciously, lost control of her bowels in about four places on the floor. Ugh. Disgusting. I cleaned her up, drained the tub, cleaned the tub, refilled the tub, and called Coop in to join her for a quick bath before the pre-Mother's Day take-the-kids-so-Mom-can-have-some-peace outing. I left Cooper to put himself in the bath (he's almost four, and a reliable first-born) while I rushed around trying to clean up after dinner and finish making the beds for our out-of-town company. I returned to turn off the water only to find Coop had put a wad of toilet paper in the bathtub. In his defense, I don't think he had any idea it would disintegrate into a million little pieces. Doesn't mean he didn't get some correction and instruction in righteousness, either. By the time everyone and everything was cleaned up it was 7:45pm and my thought was just to put everyone to bed. But my husband was determined, and whisked all three kids out to the van superwagon. Apparently he had his work cut out for him with Baby T in the sling (spitting up as he went on his merry way) and a massive thunderstorm to navigate. Not so fun with three kids in car seats.

What did I do with my 40 minutes of bliss? :) If this sounds pathetic then you aren't a mother. Shaved my legs, painted my toenails, cleaned off the stainless steel trashcan (been bothering me all week), cut some flowers for the guest room, and finished getting ready for our guests. It was very brave of my husband to insist on a little quiet for me, even if it was shorter than he would have liked.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, this is what I found:
Notice the dry erase markers and sharpies, which she sported all day on her hands. But how sweet is that (not the markers, but the card-making scene)? They got me a plant, a trash bag for my car, and some Burt's Bees foot lotion (comes with a foot massage). It was all very thoughtful and I know WH is trying to teach them how to celebrate and do special things for me, which is priceless.

We had a big Sunday lunch with all our in town family and even a few friends added into the mix, which made for a grand total of 12 adults and 12 kids. I didn't get any other pictures because the day was non-stop, but I did make this for our (extended) family lunch. It was light, and very pretty, but I wish I had made this instead. There's always next year! (Or next week...why not?)