Over The Weekend, And A Word About My Mom

I must say, I'm kind of ashamed that I have two weekend posts in a row! It is kind of hard to keep up with the blog now that I'm working more, but I think this week will be better. We had a birthday filled weekend (which was wonderful, I love celebrating the birth of the people I love most). In addition, the weather was nice- if not a little too hot for my taste, and Cordelia was able to spend a good amount of time outside playing- we went through a lot of sidewalk chalk and bubbles. In the first photo Miss C is holding a non spill bubble container that our neighbor got for the kids to play with- it has three wands so they don't have to fight over them. Now only if I could get my kid to not run off with the whole container...when does sharing get easier?

 Saturday was our friend Sarah's birthday party and Sunday was my mother's. I forgot my camera Sunday so I have no photos of Mom's dinner. The photo above is Sarah's birthday cake- she made it, it is paleo, and it is delicious! 

We brought duplos in case Miss C needed something to keep her occupied- she always finds something to play with but, it isn't always something you want her to play with. We are also trying to break the ice between her and Sarah's husband to be. Cordelia is going to be the flower girl in their wedding, and we figured life might be easier if she is into the person she is walking towards. Do you guys have any tips about having a successful flower girl experience? Both the bride and myself understand, and accept, that Cordelia might not do it, she might cry, or dump the flowers on the guests heads, or she might run down the isle like a crazy girl, or walk the whole thing with her dress pulled up over her face. Anything we can do to prevent those outcomes we are willing to do. 

On another note, this party was much more successful, from a mommy point of view, than the last. I'm not sure if it was because there were fewer people? Or because we were in an apartment instead of outside (so I didn't have to worry about cars, or people stealing my baby or anything)? Maybe it was because everyone was happy to play with my kid? Or because we brought dupols? Whatever it was it felt soooo nice to sit and talk with people, and I found that I can, in fact have a conversation with adults that doesn't involve topics such as poop, or sharing. 

I love giving presents. I love searching for, or making the perfect thing, and then watching the recipient open said item while I wait to see if I got it right. I think I got it right this time! I gave Sarah a couple of miscellaneous things and made her a little pen sketch to hang in her kitchen. I'm proud of how the drawing turned out and I'm happy she likes it too. 

My mom and dad have been staying with my grandmother for the past couple of days so it was nice to drive up and see her there. I always miss her when I don't see her for a couple of days. Being a mom is tough for many reasons, and as a new mom (well, comparatively new) one of the things that I think is especially tough is that it's easy for your birthday to pass without a fuss. It took me years to remember what day my mother was born; and if you don't have a supper Na-na in your life like I do, or a super thoughtful Daddy (which we also have in this home), you might not get a cute card or a macaroni necklace. In fact, it's really easy for moms to go unappreciated in general. 

I wish I had appreciated my mother more when I was a kid, sure I loved my mom just like any kid loves their mom, but my mom created all of the rules and always made sure I did the things that were good for me but I didn't want to do (like eating my veggies, cleaning my room, or going to church) which didn't always rate her high on my list of awesome people. I am ashamed to admit, that I never appreciated how hard she worked. I remember being a pre-teen and talking about how when I grew up I wasn't going to have kids, I was going to be "important" and work.

Now, as a mom, I understand just how mistaken I was (and my stomach turns just thinking about how rotten I was). My mother is the hardest working person I have ever met, she had the worlds toughest job and she never let on just how hard it was. Mom was a stay at home mom with four challenging children. She fed us yummy home cooked meals, packed our lunches, made our Halloween costumes, and kept the house clean. She volunteered at our schools, held callings at church, and volunteered hundreds of hours with the County Fair. My mother is a truly kind person, she doesn't say bad things about people, she doesn't swear, she doesn't tease people because she thinks it's mean, she always smiles, and her goal in life is to be happy.

My mother taught me to always expect the best from myself, in both my work and my personal life. She taught me that it's important to surround yourself by good people, and to sympathize with difficult people because they are always fighting their own battles. She taught me that "wet leaves spell danger", and reminded me in middle and high school, when every kid needs to be reminded, to "remember who you are". She encouraged my creativity and let me express myself in my appearance even if she thought I looked crazy and she doesn't judge me or love me less, because of my colored hair, weird piercings, or tattoos. 

Most of all, my mother taught me how to be the best mom I can be, and I can never thank her enough for that. She showed me how to be calm, and loving. She reminds me that I am the parent and that I control the situation even when it feels uncontrollable. She taught me that your kid is your kid not your best friend, and that is ok. She is an amazing grandmother, she can always calm down Miss C when she is being crazy and when no one could get her to sleep when she was an infant- Mom could. Without the example of my mother I couldn't be the mom that I am now- and I especially could never be the type of mom that I want to be. 

So, Happy birthday to my mom. I love you.