Category: Family & Friends

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Activities Cole Family & Friends Holidays Mothering Parenting Ryan

Mother’s Day

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day.  This was my fifth one already!  (How did that happen?)

We got up early so we could make it to my favorite breakfast cafe, before the crowd got there.  It is a Creole cafe which serves to die-for beignets (which is like a cross between a sopapilla and a donut), and homemade biscuits among other goodies.  I got eggs, Creole style- which were scrambled with peppers, onions, cheese,  potatoes, and topped with tomatoes and an avocado. This was served with the biggest buttermilk biscuit you have ever seen, topped with homemade strawberry rhubarb jam.  It was delicious, and of course the boys loved the beignets and biscuits.

After breakfast we went to Joe’s parents house, where we had a present for Joe’s mom.  I had compilled all the best pictures during the last year, and made a photo book for her on Shutterfly.  I have to say, as a former scrapbooker, Shutterfly made the whole process incredibly easy, and fun.  The hardest part for me was picking out the photos to use, and cropping them before I downloaded them to Shutterfly.  I loved the way the book turned out, and I was so happy I ordered a copy for us too.  It is a wonderful keepsake, and Joe’s mom was very happy with it. 

After visiting for a while, we went home, where we all took a nap, except for Ryan.  Bless Joe’s heart- he “napped” in the living room on the couch, so he could watch Ryan.  After I got Cole to sleep, I took a luxurious hour and a half nap in my bed.  It was great.  I woke up to Ryan telling me I had a Mother’s Day card.  This was the envelope:

When I asked Ryan if that was him on the envelope, he said, “No, that is just a hairy guy.”  Okay- I guess my son thinks I like hairy guys.  🙂

Cole was still sleeping, and Joe decided to assemble Cole’s birthday present.  Even though it is in about two weeks, we bought last week, and figured the boys should get as much use out of it as possible.  The directions said it assembled in less than an hour.  Uh, right.  We spent triple the time assembling it.  Cole had woken up in the meantime, and I fixed the boys lunch, which they ate outside, while they ‘helped’ Dad.  (I’m going to write more about the present with pictures closer to Cole’s birthday). 

I got a little yard work in, and cleaned the front porch.  When the toy was done, the boys played for awhile, and I told Joe I wanted some pizza from my favorite pizza restaurant-so off we went to a neighboring town, and we had a nice 20 minute drive or so.  I was a little worried the restaurant would be crowded, and we would have to wait, but we got right in, and it wasn’t super busy, until we left. 

When we got home, I went on a long walk by myself.  The weather was wonderful- warm but not too warm, and not cold enough to need a jacket. 

After I was finished with my walk, the boys were ready for their bath, and bed.  Ryan was so tired, but he told me Happy Mother’s Day again, and asked me if I had fun, “celebrating me.”

As I laid Cole down in his crib, he pulled my face in for another kiss, and then just held my cheek to his, smiling.  He gave me a kiss, and rolled over on his side saying, “night night.”  It was the best moment of the day.

I loved today, and even though I know I will have some things to catch up on, I wouldn’t have changed any of it.  I loved having a fun, relaxed, and easy day with my family.  🙂  Here are two pictures, after we arrived home from breakfast:

         

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day, how ever you chose to spend the day!

Categories
Cole Family & Friends Holidays Mothering Parenting Ryan

Happy Mother’s Day

I read a great blog post today From Daily Mish Mash on the commercialism on Mother’s Day, and how it can make us feel when our expectations aren’t fulfilled. 

I admit that I too, had unrealistic expectations of Mother’s Day, when I first became a mother.  I assumed it would be like a commercial, with my husband thinking and planning that “perfect” day for me. 

Fast foward four years, and I have learned.  Mother’s Day is not about just one day of having a perfect day.  For me, Mother’s Day happens year-round, when my four-year old gives me an unexpected hug, or tells me something super sweet, like, “Mommy, you are my best girl.”  Or when the boys play together and actually have fun, and don’t bicker.  Or when they both do something I ask, just because I asked them, or when Cole looks into my eyes to give me a hug, and I see pure love in his big, blue eyes. 

Oh, surprises are nice too- who wouldn’t love a diamond necklace, like Daily Mish Mash mentions?  But I agree with her that expecting these amazing, thought out, well planned gifts, is just setting ourselves up for disappointment.  I have also become way more proactive, and instead of hoping and then getting mad that I don’t get the Mother’s Day I am hoping for, I have started to let Joe know what I would like to do. He makes it happen, and he is happy, because he is doing what I really want to do, and I am happy-obviously.  This seems to work out well for us. 

My husband is not the world’s best surprise planner.  I have learned that about him.  But he will drop whatever he is doing at a moment’s notice to help me with the children.  He will go to the grocery store for me at 11pm at night, if I have a dessert craving, and he will do anything for his family.  I may not get a diamond necklace on Mother’s Day, but I will take the little- and never ending gifts I receive every day, from my family over a diamond necklace any day.

Besides, where would I wear a diamond necklace to anyway?  I suppose the cashiers at the grocery stores would be very impressed, if they manged to notice it over my mom-stained shirt.  🙂

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone.  I leave you with some quotes I like for Mother’s Day.

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn’t.  ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. ~Unknown  

And my favorite, since I am part Irish, and have two boys: 

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.  ~Irish Proverb
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

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Cole Family & Friends Mothering Ryan

Motherhood in a Picture

 This picture is of Ryan, Cole, and myself, about 14 hours after Cole was born.  It was the first time Ryan met and held his new brother.  This picture represents the essence of motherhood for me.  I not only had a brand new life, but also my firstborn, and two brothers before me, who are my sole responsibility.  I am still in amazement that I have been entrusted with these two precious little lives, and looking at this picture reminds me what a miraculous experience motherhood is. 

I am participating in 5 Minutes For Mom’s Giveaway with this photo, on what motherhood means for me. 

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Activities Cole Family & Friends Parenting Ryan

Weekend Outings

Last weekend we went to my neice’s first birthday party.  The party seemed fun- I didn’t really get to hang out at the party, because at the other end of the park there was a playground, complete with a good old-fashioned merry-go-round.  The boys were fascinated by the playground.  Cole loved the slide, and even though Ryan was still sick, he was thrilled with the merry-go-round.  So I spent most of the party watching them play.  Here are a few photos:

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 This weekend, on Saturday, we took the boys to a local children’s museum.  We had never been there before, and they had a lot of fun playing.  The big hit was the bank- there was even the drive-through tubing which worked, but the canister was missing.  The boys loved pressing the buttons anyway, and seeing the door on the tube close.  The museum also had a music room, which was another big hit, and I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

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 After the museum, we ate lunch.  There was a playground where we ate, so the boys got to run around and play even more.  They slept like logs. 

On Sunday both boys played at their grandparent’s house, outside all day.  Ryan went to a birthday party, where he jumped around in a bouncy castle, and played with a new set of toys.  He didn’t take a nap today, and I can understand now where the phrase comes from, “asleep before your head hits the pillow.”  That was Ryan tonight for sure.  Cole was very tired too.  I wish I could wear the boys out like this during the week, but I’ll settle for pure and utter exhaustion on the weekends for now. 

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Family & Friends Health Mothering Parenting Ryan

Party Dilemma

I am very happy to report that Ryan is doing MUCH better regarding his ear infection and ruptured eardrum.  After taking two doses of the stronger antibiotic, I had my happy, carefree, Ryan back.  He is still having a little trouble hearing, but the doctor assured me that will subside as the infection dwindles away.

I had a bit of a dilemma this week.  On Sunday night, the mother of a little boy who has been in music class with us, and also is in the same class at Ryan’s school, called and said her son specifically requested that Ryan come to his birthday party this coming Sunday.  I know Ryan and this little boy play a lot together at school, and he is a very nice little friend for Ryan.

Of course I wanted Ryan to go, but I also started wondering what if he got sick again- right as he is recovering from his double ear infections?  Obviously the more kids your child is around, the greater the chance of him catching something-again.  His immune system isn’t fully recovered from all these illnesses either.   On the other hand, I don’t want to be that mom either.  The mom who won’t let her child go anywhere, or be around other kids, for fear he will get sick.  I purposely didn’t call the mom back right away, because I just didn’t know what to do. 

Fortunately the answer became clear today, as I saw how well Ryan was doing.  He hasn’t complained about his ears hurting since Monday, and his ear stopped draining on Tuesday.  When I asked Ryan if he wanted to go this little boy’s party, his face just lit up and he said, “Yea Mom- I really like (little boy).”  So that was that.  I called the mom this afternoon and explained why I hadn’t called her back right away, and accepted the invitation. 

I thought this mothering stuff would get easier as the boys got older.  How do you know you are doing the right thing?   I realized today that I can’t keep Ryan (or Cole) in a bubble, because there will always be something.  I want my kids to grow up with friends, and having fun- not worrying if they are going to come down with something or get sick.  I can’t expect my children to have that attitude if I don’t have it myself.  If Ryan still wasn’t feeling better, of course I would have declined the party invitation.  But for now, we are both excited he is feeling so much better, and gets to go to his friend’s party.