Mother's Day

I had a very good Mother's Day this year.  Last year, Matt had already gone to Japan so the kids and I went to the National Zoo.  That's always fun.  The previous two years I had Matt take the kids to hang out with his mom and grandmother.  That was a win-win because they were thrilled to spend the day with the kids and I would get a much-needed break.  (I know it may sound counter-intuitive to not be with your kids on Mother's Day but when you are with them ALL the time, often being a single parent, having a day to yourself is a treat.)

Mother's Day this year started early, on Aaron's birthday (May 9), actually.  The first graders at Leah's school had a "Mother's Day Poetry and Songs" afternoon.  All the kids sang "mommy songs," which were made-up songs like (sung to the tune of the Oscar Meyer bologna commercial) "My mommy has a first name, it's M-O-M-M-Y...."  They also read poems.  Leah had a "solo" poem reading.

Leah with classmates, Ayden and Kyle.

After the songs and readings Leah gave me a booklet she had made with original poems and drawings.  Here is a sample.

My Mom by Leah Rich

 

My mom is sweet.

She is nice.

She likes the color blue.

She looks like an angel.

She sounds like a sweet bird singing.

She smells like mints.

She always loves me.

My mom is lovable.

 

Leah, the poet.

It was really sweet.  Aaron sat and played his LeapPad the whole time.  I guess you had to be a mom to enjoy it. 

On Saturday evening (May 11), we went out to dinner at Chop's, which is the American steakhouse-style restaurant that is on the Main Base.  It was really good and in a shocking move, both Leah and Aaron ordered spaghetti instead of chicken nuggets.  (Not a big deal to most, but for our kids with a small food universe, it's a very promising sign.)

Dinner at Chop's.

On Sunday, May 12 (actual Mother's Day), Matt and the kids (but mostly Matt) treated me to breakfast in bed.  It wasn't "true" breakfast in bed where I got to awake to breakfast and eat in my PJs, but it was impressive nonetheless because I get up at 6am on Sundays to take a shower before getting the kids up and fed so we can leave for church by 8-ish am.  Matt woke up before me so he could shower and make breakfast while I was showering and getting dressed.  Like I said, this is very impressive because Matt doesn't willingly get up early on the weekends since he has to wake up at 5am on weekdays.  The kids helped Matt make pancake batter and I was treated to pancakes and turkey bacon.  It was nice just to be able to sit and eat without having to worry about getting the kids dressed and fed.

Breakfast fit for a queen.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

In addition to receiving flowers at Mass from the Filipino-American Association of Sasebo, Japan (say that five times fast), Matt got me an Expedition Guide Bag from LL Bean, which is what I had put on my birthday list.  It is basically a tiny messenger bag which I now use as my purse.  While it is not in any way fashionable, it is very practical and has lots of pockets for a tiny bag.  Believe it or not, up until now, I was still using my diaper bag which was more like a big messenger bag.  Of course I haven't had to deal with diapers for two years now but the bag was just awesome.  It had twelve different pockets(!) and made it easy to not only be prepared for anything but to easily find it all because everything was segregated.  And it held two full-size refillable water bottles, another big plus and the major negative to my new bag as the water bottle pocket is tiny and doesn't fit any of the water bottles we have.  (It is now my easy-to-access iPhone pocket.)  With the downsizing of the bag the kids are now forced to be more independent and carry their own water bottles, etc.  It's a better situation for all of us and it has been very freeing for me.  Maybe in a few years I will migrate over to a "grown up" purse but for right now this is a good middle ground.  I am all about "form meets function." 

A bittersweet farewell to the Skip*Hop bag.

Matt had to be on the ship at noon in advance of his ship's big INSERV inspection which began at 2am on Monday so that was about it for my celebration but since it was all above my expectations to begin with, that was fine with me.