Mother's Day

Do I care that tomorrow is August 1st and I'm blogging about Mother's Day?  No, I do not.  This past Mother's Day will go down in the history books as one not to be forgotten because my college boys surprised me be driving through the night to show up in time for Mother's Day.  I was expecting them late Sunday night/early Monday morning.  And I was already preparing myself for some serious praying for their safe travel and that the van wouldn't blow up and then they miraculously showed up before I could even pray for them.  God took good care of them anyway.

Driving to church with the whole fam.  Maybe my boys will be reverent when they get married!

Opening presents in my bed.  Randy got me new dishes because it was time.  I love them!

And more Glassy Babies to add to my huge collection, all courtesy of Randy 

More of my collection, minus about ten more that are on other shelves :)

We got to hang out with Marcus for a few days before he flew to Florida to sell pest control.  Ethan was around for a bit when he wasn't with his girlfriend Halle who is from the area.  Henry is almost as happy as I am when all the boys come home and took advantage of having brothers to play lacrosse and wiffle ball with.

We went to TopGolf so we could make some memories and spend lots of money on overpriced food.  It was fun. But I will probably never forget watching the awkward blind date happening next to our bay.  The guy had to be close to my age with the dad bod to prove it and the girl was probably not much older than Marcus and super cute.  It was actually so awkward it was hard not to stare.  

Henry discovered an old favorite Lego game that Marcus and Ethan used to play.  Henry still doesn't like Legos but he sure loves to play games.

We took the boat out in balmy 55 degree weather so naturally I was fully clothed and wearing a coat. 

What a Weekend!

We had summer-like weather over Mother's Day weekend and we took advantage of it.  Randy and I were invited to attend an auction/fundraiser with a bunch of friends on Friday night.  I wish we'd gotten a picture with some of the other couples and people at our table but oh well.  The views from the golf course were beautiful and the fancy dinner was also delicious.  The dress code was formal so naturally I stressed and ordered 5 different dresses and 4 different pairs of shoes.  Thank you Amazon!  I returned everything except for a pair of shoes I bought at Target two hours before the event.  Thank goodness for Spanx so I could fit into this dress that I've had for the last ten years :) 

We got home to texts and photos from friends who were looking at the Northern Lights so I dragged Landon outside at midnight to check it out.  It was worth it!  Turns out the Northern lights are best scene through the lens of a camera but it was still an amazing experience.  It was spontaneous and beautiful and felt like just the right thing to do on May 10th, Lindsey's heaven day.  Miss you Linz!

Saturday was crammed full of sports, church stuff, and Sunday prep.  Then we dropped every
thing and took the boat out for the first time this season.  It was also the first time we went boating with all three boat owner/families.  Luckily Marcus and Ethan weren't there because there wouldn't have been enough room!  We cruised through Lake Washington and into Lake Union where we found a new restaurant to dock at for dinner.  The food was pretty good but the sunshine and setting was even better!

Henry and a few others jumped into the water for a polar bear plunge.  The water was already 64 degrees but that's still pretty cold!  Those long black tubes blow hot air and are the best way to warm up.

Mother's Day was great!  And busy as I prepared a special lesson for all the women in my ward.  Once that was over, I got to relax all day.  My boys refused to cooperate for a picture but they wrote me nice letters that melted my heart.  I'm saving them to re-read on those days when I want to punch them in the nose or when they act like animals.  Randy bought me a huge cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory so I spent Monday delivering cheesecake to several friends.  It was kind of awesome!  I'm used to getting cheesecake for special occasions but I sure would love to have a slice delivered to my door on a random day.  My friends loved it! Also, I miss Mom and Linz.

Mom Life

We aren't done yet!
While the rest of the world is winding down the end of the school year with all the end-of-year events and chaos that comes with it, we are still trudging along with too many days left to even being a countdown.  We are at that place where we could desperately use a break from the daily grind.  The boys are sick of eating the same foods in their sack lunches, they're unmotivated to do their jobs without a lot of reminders and nagging from me, bedtimes keep getting pushed back later and later as the sun stays out longer, and homework is getting sloppier with every passing day.  These are all symptoms of burnout and I've grown accustomed to them as they happen every year but unfortunately for us, we've still got over a month left of school.  Ugh.
And I'm feeling some burnout too.  Yesterday morning was a doozy.  Landon refused to cooperate during his piano lesson, setting records for pushing buttons I didn't know I had, thus resulting in me having to "fire him" from piano.  He will now be taking lessons from some poor soul who he will hopefully be more respectful to.   While I was taking a 2-minute shower after suffering through the worst piano lesson ever with Landon, Henry dumped out half a gallon of milk all across the counter and kitchen floor.  Landon and Parker were yelling as they headed out the door for school as I frantically threw some clothes on, changed a soggy, stinky Henry and dashed out the door to pick up the rental car (because Randy wrecked the Audi) leaving a pile of milk-soaked towels on the kitchen floor.  As I thought about my morning it was all I could do not to burst into tears as I thought about all the things I said that I wished I hadn't said, and all the things my kids did or said that they shouldn't have said either.  I really just wanted to crawl back into bed and ignore the world and everyone in it but instead I had to put on a good face and chat with some stranger who drove me from the mechanic to the rental car place.  It was actually therapeutic to chat as if I didn't have a care in the world or five kids who I wanted to put up for adoption.  Since my friend was taking care of Henry I was able to run some quick errands without a toddler in tow and enjoy what actually felt like some much-needed down time.
Being a mom is tough.  It's thankless.  It's unappreciated.  It's never-ending. But it's also fulfilling, miraculous, entertaining, and unpredictable. 

PS. I wrote this post a week ago and forgot to hit publish.  After a much-needed Memorial Day to reboot, we are ready to face the 22 days left of school.  Sort of ready. 

Mother's Day

Sadly, I never got a Mother's Day pic so this will have to do

It came and went without a lot of sad tears this year.  It also happened to be my mom's birthday so I think I just willed myself into not dwelling on all the should-have-beens so the day wasn't ruined.  Randy outdid himself trying to make everything perfect which I love and also find very entertaining.  By the end of the day he was exhausted and short-tempered which made me feel good because that's how I feel at the end of every day! 
Since I didn't have to do any meal prep or cleaning, I took some time to myself to read through my mom's journal.  She was such a good writer that reading it almost feels like having a conversation with her, and that's such a blessing.  Not as good as a Mother's Day phone call but I'll take it!
Randy bought me some nice gifts, Ethan bought me some beautiful earrings {like from a store, not some homemade art project that I have to wear out of love}, and Landon made me a card with a beautiful, sentimental message inside:

Dear Mom, 

I don't want to go to piano lessons.  Parker can do it instead.

Love, 

Landon

Talk about an outpouring of love and emotion!  Oh well.  He is my middle child after all.  For the record, he went to his first piano lesson after lots of tears and then loved every second of it.  

And now I'll share my most recent thoughts on motherhood.  I always wanted to be a mom but I never knew how much I would love it.  {Except for those bad days like this morning when I begged Randy to teach me how to do root canals so we could trade places for a day.  But those times are the exception, not the rule.} I am constantly amazed at how fulfilling it is for me and I haven't figured out why.  It's definitely not for everyone but for some reason it's the perfect job for me.  I'm so glad I get to do what I love and love what I do. 

I've also concluded that I used to be a really fun mom.  I did spontaneous things with my boys all the time, like bike rides to the store for donuts, dance parties in the living room, or taking the boys on an "adventure."  I never do those things now and I'm pretty sure Parker has never even had a dance party.  It's tragic!  I was telling Marcus my woes and he said, "Mom, we are too busy!  We don't have time for that stuff."  But he's wrong.  My little boys have time for that stuff, just not me and that doesn't sit well.  Although I do have a grumbling teenager who resists doing anything that doesn't involve sports, his social life, or the TV which puts a serious damper on trying to instigate fun and spontaneity. 

So I decided it was time to up my game.  Last week in the midst of driving Marcus and Ethan to scouts and lacrosse practice, I surprised Landon and Parker with a trip to a new park.  Well, new to them but not to me.  I used to take the boys there a ton {back when I was a fun mom} when we lived here before RI but Landon doesn't remember it.  It was a shockingly sunny and warm evening and Landon and Parker were in heaven.  I even pushed them on the swings and the zip line for awhile before retreating to a bench to read a book while watching them have the time of their lives.  They were sad when it was time to leave but I was glad that I could redeem myself, even if it was short-lived.

What a Weekend!

Randy and I got all dressed up for a fundraiser.  I usually hate dressing up for big events because I always feel out of place and awkward but this time was the exception.  Our friends invited us to a big fundraiser dinner thing.  All I needed was a dress so I did what any busy mother would do.  I ordered four dresses from Norstrom {hello, free shipping} and hoped at least one dress would work out.  It did!  Then my boot camp instructor/friend tipped me off about the miracle of the spray tan.  It's so awesome!  It only takes a couple minutes, and bam!  Instant tan.  Well, it's not quite instant but by the time we left for dinner I was no longer pasty white and it was a pleasant surprise to wake up the next morning looking like I'd spent the week at the beach.  I highly recommend it.

Our besties, the McBride's

Randy still has his salute down!  Can you see Seattle back there?

 Anyway, the fundraiser was fun and inspiring.  It all started with a guy who wanted to help the homeless and he ended up creating a shelter for women that helps them get off the streets, off drugs, and back into school, and pretty much changes lives.  Check out this guy here.


The next morning was Mother's Day.  I had a good and random burst of tears over my mom earlier in the week which allowed me to get the sadness out of my system so I could enjoy my own day.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and Randy nearly died trying to pull the whole thing off.  Poor guy!  He spent all day in the kitchen.  At one point the blender even exploded and all the kids were yelling and he was yelling and all I could think was, So this is what my life looks like! 

Notice Landon attacking me with a dinosaur while I opened my gifts.  Apparently Randy wants me to host more parties because he got me a bunch of serving dishes and a basket for my homemade rolls.  All things I've wanted pretty much since we got married.

By 7pm Randy had locked himself in the den, grumpy and exhausted while I put the boys to bed (happily because I'd just had the entire day off).  The next morning I got up at 5am to go to boot camp and Randy was too exhausted to join me.  I was grinning from ear to ear knowing that he could barely last one day doing what I do every day.  It made me so happy and was the best gift he could've given me.

I forced the boys to take a post-church picture with me.  I didn't plan to color coordinate, we just have a lot of blue in our wardrobes.

Mother's Day

Randy's mom flew out to watch our boys while we did the Ragnar thing which meant she was here for Mother's Day.  Talk about a nice mom to do that!  The weather was gorgeous so we walked along the Newport Cliff Walks before eating a delicious dinner.  The next day we met up with Randy for lunch and ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant with the best guacamole I've ever had.  Later that night I raced home after Landon's soccer practice so I could hurry and make dinner and lo and behold, Pam beat me to it!  Seriously, how great to not have to cook dinner?!  It's the bane of my existence.  For family night we went to Brickley's for ice cream {another one of those great places that is only open in the summer} and played at the beach. 

the only picture I got of me and the boys on mother's day.  Hard times.

I'm thankful that we were busy enough on Mother's day that I didn't have time to wallow in sadness about how badly I miss my mom and Lindsey {Her death day anniversary was on the same day as Mother's Day this year.}  I'll have to remember for future mother's days that keeping busy is a great way to cope.

lunch in Newport

Best buds

So typical.  Landon watching as his brothers race off to the water. 

Every time we go to the beach I marvel at its beauty and how after all these years of living by various oceans, I still wonder at how lucky I am to live by the beach.  My boys love it but I don't think they appreciate it the way I do.

We love the beach! 

Mother's Day with Dad

Mother's Day wasn't so bad after all.  Randy went out of his way to make it awesome, shoving me out of the kitchen despite my resistance, and having Dad and Kathy here has been a lot of fun too.  I loved reading the cards from my boys and their love for me motivates me to want to improve myself, to be the kind of mom they need me to be.
I decided that if there is a positive thing about having an angel mother, it is that I think of her all the time--much more than if she were still here. 

Out for a Sunday stroll and the only picture of me on Mother's Day so I had to stick it in

Beaver Tail Park and lighthouse - a must see

Climbing around on a WWII bunker

Happy Birthday, Mom!  {National Zoo, 2006}