Celebrating Mother’s Day

Although simple, I think this may be one of my best mothers days to date! When the kids were young, I often felt disappointed on Mother’s Day. It was just another day… The kids got up before seven there was a lot of crying, it was busy, it just didn’t feel special. But as the kids have gotten older and started making their own gifts it is a day that gets better each year.

This year, the day started with a Second Cup latte and it was the perfect gift since I haven't had a latte since the office closed 2 months ago. For less than five dollars and a quick trip to Second Cup, James made my day! Not only did he get me a latte, but he got me a large! I never buy a large, and let me tell you I enjoyed every last drop.

At first, I thought this was going to be the best part of my day, I was wrong.

We started a Mother’s Day book, more than five years ago. Every year the kids draw a picture and we post it in the same book so we can look back over the years and see prior year drawings. Grady’s entry this year nearly made my heart stop.

The drawing he did of me was amazing. Then to read what he wrote... I just have no words. I still have no words when I think about his gift. It makes me so proud of him. We’ve had our struggles, and he can be a challenge, but end of the day he is the sweetest boy, and I’m so proud to call him my son.

I love Cooper‘s drawing as well, but he is just a different kid.

He doesn’t like to hug, he isn't super emotional, but I love him just the same. And on Mother’s Day, he gave me a great big hug and kiss because he knew that’s what I wanted from him.  I can usually score a kiss first thing in the morning and at night, but no touching in between!

The rest of the day was spent doing yoga, reading, going on a very cold spring walk, and ordering my favorite pizza from Spiros. It was a simple day, but a good one.

Weekend Throw Back

When I told the kids I was going to Saskatoon for the weekend they wanted to know if they were coming.  They were disappointed to heat that this was just a trip for Mom. It was super quick trip to celebrate Dee's birthday and to visit with my family.  Most importantly, I got to meet this my new little nephew Jackson.

I must admit I felt sad when all the kids were lined up for their cousin picture and my kids were missing.  But I got over it pretty fast.   They'll have YEARS of cousin pictures...

It was great to sit around with my siblings and visit with a bottle of wine (or beer) and no parents.  Risky, I know. One of us was happier about the selfie then the other.

After a quick catch up with the family, I met up with my friends Saturday afternoon, who are apparently homeless??

Just kidding, we were having our photos taken down a back alley as a part of Deena's birthday celebration and the flower shop had just done a big dump at the end of the day.  The girls put together a tiny bouquet for our birthday gal.

It was a perfect night running around Broadway and the river bank with a photographer like we were celebrities.  Ha!  Saskatoon really is a beautiful city.  The gals suggested I should move back.  I'll work on James....

What a great night it was celebrating a great friend.  After dinner, we went to our hotel room, put on our PJs (or bicycle shorts!) and Britney tees for a little trivia fun.  One was Britney trivia and one was all about us.  Both homemade games that had us in tears laughing.  My tummy seriously got a workout.  Almost as good as a lagree workout!

This girl.....  Dee and I have been friends since before I can remember.  I literally don't remember a time in my life when she wasn't in it, Nor do I think there ever will be such a time.  I feel very lucky to have called her a friend for the majority of my life.

After a great night, we woke up together on Mother's day morning in the hotel room before rushing different directions to spend the day with our families.  I loved starting the day with the women that shaped me into the person and mother that I am today.

The next leg of the trip was breakfast with my Mom and Sister in Law cooked by my brother. I haven't been with my Mom on Mother's day in years and what a treat it was.  After egg sandwiches the ladies hit up a few stores, I was very impressed with myself for not buying a thing.  But let's fact it, my carry on suitcase is pretty darn small.

It was a quick but great trip.  It was a spur of the moment trip (for me) planned only a month before.  I deal with a lot of Mom guilt when I leave for the weekend.  There is no reason for it, James does a great job and encourages me to go away and take a break.  I'm so glad that I put the guilt aside and took some time for myself to see the people I love and don't get to see as often as I'd like.

Maybe I should do it annually.....

My Thoughts on..... Mother’s Day

I'm just going to put it out there. Mother's Day is not my favorite day.

For me, it is a day that comes full of expectations that don't exactly equal reality.  Let's face it, I have 2 young children who just aren't that into pampering Mom one day of the year.  I do get a happy mother's day but they are too young to understand the meaning of Mother's day.  Though I did get a gift full of toys from Grady's room which was sweet.  Neither of the kids did much of anything in school this year so I can't say I blame them for being a touch clueless.

For me, it seems that everyone is posting on social media about their perfect Mother's Day, their perfect kids along with their perfect husband.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family and husband, but at the end of the day, Mother's day is just another day in our busy life where, if I'm lucky, I don't have to cook supper.

It just seems to me that seeing all the 'perfect' posts on social media leads to unrealistic expectations that ultimately don't even come close to the reality of our day.

Expectation:  A sleep in.
Reality:  I actually got to sleep in this year.  I didn't hear the kids until almost 8 and they didn't come wake me so I didn't get up.  That was a pleasant surprise.  I'll take it!  I didn't surface until after 9am after having a quick chat with a great friend.

Expectation:  Time spent with my Mom.
Reality: Unfortunately, we don't live in the same city so had to settle for a chat over face time, which was honestly kind of nice.  I drank a cup of coffee with my sweaty mom that had just finished a run.  Because, that is the way we roll.  I miss not being able to celebrate with my own Mom.

Expectation:  A nice bike ride with my family was the only think I asked for this year.  A simple request, non?
Reality:  James' back hurt, Grady's knee hurt, and Cooper didn't want to bike ride at all.  We went anyway and the ride was longer than expected.  It was a 20k return trip.  Maybe a touch aggressive for our first ride of the season.  It was about 30 minutes too long for Cooper and at points I wasn't sure we were going to make it.  I, of course, was stuck at the back convincing Cooper to keep on pedaling.  Note to self, next year do the long bike ride solo!

Expectation:  A stop at the half way point to grab a quick coffee and snack.
Reality:  Everyone else had the exact same idea and the line up to the bakery was 30 minutes long.  We forgot our bike locks so James had to wait with the bikes.  After waiting and ordering, they missed James' coffee and gave us the wrong pizza for Grady.  They gave us a free coffee without having to hit up the line again but Grady lost his mind about the pizza and after settling down insisted that I remove every single tomato by hand.

Expectation:  A blizzard, the only day that I binge and eat an entire blizzard to myself guilt free.
Reality:  Our bike ride ran overtime so there was no time left to go for ice cream.  I made up for it with left over brownies and ice cream and an xlarge chocolate peanut butter egg leftover from Easter after the kids went to sleep.

At this point, my expectation for the rest of the day was bad.  And ironically, the second that my expectation plummeted, the day turned itself around and got pretty darn good.

Expectation: Set up the new patio set and enjoy an ice cold beer and clam
Reality: The patio furniture got set up in record time and I enjoyed two beer and clamato juice.  I've been waiting weeks to enjoy our new patio set.  We did some deck renos this month and when the stucco guy showed up this morning to finish the job I was thrilled. 

Expectation: To enjoy the evening sunshine on the patio
Reality: Enjoyed the evening on the patio watching the kids play soccer in the field with James.  Marla came over for a Mother's day dinner of pizza!  Good thing its my favorite!  WE didn't have time to go to the BBQ store to get the new cord extension so pizza it was!  Pizza and beer are 2 of my favorites.

This year, despite the rough start, I really enjoyed the day. No, it wasn't perfect, but it had its highlights.  The sun was shining, the kids were (mostly) happy, our deck is ready to enjoy, I got some cards from the kids, and I got to eat pizza!! 

If I had only a few more hours to the day I would have read my book on the deck, but thankfully, there is a whole lot of summer left to enjoy the deck.

I need to remind myself that to look past the imperfect part of my day and focus on the gestures that show me that my family loves and appreciates me every day and not just on Mother's day.  I am so fortunate to be surrounded by great Moms, step moms, mother in laws and friends that have always supported me in this gig they call parenting.

Happy Mother's Day!

Celebrating Mothers day

In my dream world, on Mother's Day we would sleep in until 9am and then the kids would be on their best behavior and tell me they love me all day and want to give me endless hugs and kisses.  Alas, that if not what happens.  We spend the day just like we would an other day.  We got up in the 7s, I make my coffee and called my mom who had already opened her Mother's Day gift because she couldn't wait.  Ha!

I got this photo of her on Friday wearing everything I had sent her.  It was a running theme since we are running a 5k together in September.

Then we went for brunch with Nana and James' brother and wife.  Brunch is a treat, so even though the food was mediocre, the company was fantastic.  I made the kids stop and take a photo as we left the restaurant.  It is scary how tall Grady is getting.  How can I be old enough to have an almost 9 year old??

 

While we were at it, Marla wanted a picture with all her boys.  A very good picture if I do say so myself.  A very good lookin' group!

 

After brunch we swung by the new house to check out the paint colors that went up this weekend.   Grady chose red.

 

When he first saw it he was so disappointed that he only got 1 red wall and not 4.  I told him that if he chose red that he would only get 1 wall but apparently he blocked that part out.  I think he is coming around though.  He doesn't know that for his birthday he is getting a bunch of Chicago Blackhawk bedroom decor, I am pretty sure he is going to love his new bedroom in a few short weeks.

Cooper loved his room immediately.  Ironically, it looks like Grady's room in our current house.

 

After that, there was a lot of packing.  I packed a box and would leave it for James to carry downstairs.  On Saturday morning I hurt my back carrying boxes.  It is so disappointing since I was supposed to go my second training run on Sunday morning and I couldn't.  It hurts to walk and to carry things.  I am hopeful that it will get better soon as I have a lot of running to do.

I ended the day with a long walk with a friend.  Both moms, both doing what we love on mothers day, exercising and catching up.  So while I didn't get my 7km run in, I did walk over 20k steps and that made me happy.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

Mother's Day and Mombies Unite

I am so honored to be guest posting over at Grumbling Grace today.  Abbie recently became a regular contributor to the Blended Blog and she is an IRL (in real life) friend of my IRL BFF Deena.  Any friend of Deena's is a friend of mine.  I love Abbie's blog. She has 2 young daughters and is always keeping it real.  Even though I have been through the stage of 2 in diapers, sleepless nights, and the terrible twos, I can still relate to everything post Abbie writes like it was yesterday.  If you have young children, you will love her ability to see the humor in the things that inevitably go wrong with 2 young babes in your presence all the time.

Today, I am posting about putting yourself first.  On making me a priority.  Do you ever feel like every thing you do is for someone else?  Your kids?  Your husband?  Your job?  It's time to make time for yourself.  Pop on by to Grumbling Grace to see some of the ideas I have for making time for yourself.

It is fitting that my guest post was chosen for the day after Mother's Day.  A day when your kids take the time to thank you for all you do for them.  A day that your husband cooks for the first day in weeks, or in our case, makes a reservation so I don't have to cook.  A day where your friends text to wish you a Happy Mother's Day because they are thinking of you.  A day that a Mother is made to feel special.

Or... a day where you spend the day being a Mom.  Yesterday was a typical busy day around our house starting with art class for the kids while James and I went for a run, followed by brunch with Nana, Grady's last hockey on one end of the city, and finally a birthday party at the other end for one of Cooper's friends.  It was a typical day in the life of our family, or maybe even busier.  While some years this may have bothered me that we didn't have the perfect celebration or even time to take a nice photo of me and the kids, this year I am content.

I feel blessed to be a mom, to have a mom, a mother in law, and a step mom in my life.  I have the best support system of friends in my life to help me navigate through parenthood while laughing, crying, and drinking copious amounts of wine.

My kids made me homemade gifts at school and my husband bought me flowers at Safeway when we were together grocery shopping because there was no point coming back to the grocery store later because we are here already.  Typical attitude of a busy parent.

Grady made me these felt flowers which I just happened to be at school when he made.

I also got this card, which may have been my fave by the way.

Makes the best chicken nuggets

Only one that gets me Gaterade

Tries to be a good Mother

Helps me with minus homework

Excellent at math

Really nice and generous.

Cooper drew a picture of me.  I do have a very faint month that doesn't show up in the photo, but look at my eyelashes, if only I those in real life.

Someday my house will be clean, quiet, and I'll have all the time in the world to relax but it won't be filled with the chaos and noise that currently lives in my home.  And you know what?  I like it just the way it is.  It doesn't take a special day to celebrate motherhood.  I celebrate it every day.

Currently Snap Chat addicts.

Mother's Day 2015

Being a Mom of young kids is often a thankless job.  Who are we kidding, kids are demanding and often thankless.  So on Mother's Day I think most Mom's just want to feel appreciated and loved.  Well at least I do:)

I've learned over the course of my seven Mother's Day that if you are hoping for something, be very specific or just buy it yourself.  This year I asked specifically for a Flames jersey and I came home from work on Friday to find a jersey from my boys.  I proudly wore it on Friday night for the game even though they lost.  Even though that is what I asked for, I was surprised as they were sold out across the city!  Sadly, the flames lost last night after a great season.  Can't wait to see how they do best year.  Go flames!

On Friday morning, Nana and I were treated with being served lemonade that Cooper insisted we share.  He went on to drink much of it himself.  When the food came out, he asked me to get him some.  What a guy!  He was very excited for the Mother's Day tea and surprisingly very shy when he was singing his song.  I just love his little personality!

Cooper drew a picture of me which is proudly displayed in my office, even though he told me he wanted to keep it at home.

Grady couldn't wait to give me his card and plant.  I heard Grady explaining to Cooper that Mother's Day is kind of like your birthday with fewer presents.  I told him that it was really about appreciating your mom and telling her thanks for all he does.  And he added that sometimes you get presents.  Yes buddy, sometimes you get presents.

My favorite parts of his picture is where he says he loves me because I came out of his belly and when he is sad I give him medicine.  Gotta love kids!

Moving right along to yesterday, I started the day with a hot barre class.  I love my Sunday morning barre and I wanted to start Mother's day right.  After all, all I wanted for Mother's Day was a blizzard.  I haven't had one in ages and somehow it always reminds me of home.  We always have blizzards when I am in PA.  It just seems to be our things.  Then my brother has gas all night because he doesn't tolerate ice cream very well.

Well the kids were acting up and James kept threatening no blizzards.   What do you mean no blizzards???  It is Mother's Day and I want ice cream!  Needless to say, we went anyway.  I had birthday cake oreo and it was super yummy.   We followed up ice cream with a trip to the park.   Truthfully, it was boring, but the kids really wanted to go and I got a picture out of the deal.

Grady was super cuddly today.  He is always my cuddly more affectionate kid, along with being the more difficult one, but today he was especially so.  He even told me I could pick his outfit for dinner which is unheard of!  I only got Cooper in his half his outfit and I gave up.  I chose outfits that matched my necklace :)

Notice I am wearing my romper. 

Pictures with my men (big and little) make this momma happy on Mothers day.  My favorite is the photo of Grady and I, courtesy of Cooper.  His smile is so genuine and he insisted that he sit on my knee and give me a huge hug. All the misbehaving of the day was forgotten with that simple request for a hug.

By no means was our day perfect, but it had perfect moments.
We finished the day with a Greek meal with Nana full of Moussaka (all 3 of us got) and some wine.  Perfect ending to the day.

I was talking to a wise friend this weekend as we talked about expectations of Mother's Day what you want vs. what you get and how plans are made.  She said that we should be grateful that we have so many Moms to celebrate.  I loved this piece of advice.  On that note, I want to take a moment to thank my Mom, Marla, Grandma, and Sheila for being great influences in my life and the kind of Mom that I want to be.  I am fortunate to have you all to celebrate.

In addition to that, Happy Mother's day to my friends who have supported me through sleepless nights, tantrums, the terrible 2's and the effing 4's.  Who have provided girls nights out, wine nights, an exercise date, or a phone call.  I couldn't get through this mothering job without you.

So this Mother's Day I am happy that I have so many Moms to celebrate!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day

On Mother's day, I celebrate my own mom and try to make her feel special and loved even though we don't have the pleasure of living in the same city. Thankfully my brother took good care of her in Saskatoon.

I also take the opportunity to celebrate the 2 little boys that made me a mom.

If you look closely at my necklace, it is homemade one from Grady.  Last week we went to  4 Cats to do make some Mother's Day gifts.  They started out being for Grandma and Nana.  By the time we left, Grady was keeping his since he made it with Flames colors and Cooper was giving his to Jasmin.  Grady let me wear his since it was Mother's Day.  I was honored.  Sorry Grandma and Nana!  Ha!

We started Mother's Day with pedicures.  As much as I love spending the day with the kids.  I like to have something planned where I can take a Mommy break and just relax.  Bo and Marla joined me for an hour escape.  It was heavenly.  If I can't spend Mother's Day with my Mom, the next best thing is my MIL who raised me a mighty fine husband!

From there, we headed to Bo and Dave's for lunch.  It was a super yummy Wife Saver.  After we finished eating, Dave informed us he forgot to put in 3 cups of milk.  I seriously didn't notice and thought it was so tasty!

After a quick brunch we spent the afternoon at the rink, like usual.  Today was Cooper's last day of parented lessons so I dragged the big camera with me and got some great shots through the glass.

Cooper starts unparented lessons next week.  I have no doubt that he will be fine.  It can't be worse then swimming after all.

We spent 2 hours at the rink watching random hockey games and playing mini sticks in the hall.  It was a long 2 hours.  Then it was Grady's turn to hit the ice.

I swear this kid is non stop smiles from the time he gets on the ice.  I love his passion for the sport.  They were also told last week that they would get to play a game this week. I was concerned that he misunderstood and that there would be no game.  I was wrong.  Everything was set up when we arrived for 2 half ice games and they played the whole hour.  They had shifts and went to the 'break bench' when they weren't playing. He was super pumped.

We had planned to go for dinner after skating but opted to order in pizza instead.  The kids were spent, and truthfully, so were we.

Grady had told me earlier in the week that he 'wanted to take me to My Favorite Ice Cream Shoppe so I can play Pac Man'.  We also opted out of that.  The kids were in bed and sleeping before 8 and that wouldn't have happened with the above 2 activities.

While it was Mother's Day, it is just another day.  We can eat out another day, we can go for ice cream another day, our sanity of making it through the day became more important!

We ended the day with a family game of mini sticks.  The Penguins,

Vs. the Flames.

For the record, the Flames won.  Trust me, it had nothing to do with me!

I enjoyed my day.  It was a typical day, but it was special.  I got exactly what I asked for Mother's Day from James and the boys, I got my toes painted, enjoyed watching the boys do their thing on the ice, and enjoyed my pizza dinner.  It may not have been an extravagant day, but it was good Sunday!

I leave this post with a video of Grady scoring one of six goals in his game.  He was a rock star out there.  This one is for you Nana.

Password is score.

PS - Grady is wearing a blue jersey, has green laces, and is number 13.


Hockey game from Christy R on Vimeo.

Mother's Day

Each year on Mother's Day I find it anti climatic.  I get my expectations so high of how we are going to have this perfect day enjoying each other when really it is just another day.  Another day full of whining, crying, early mornings, cooking, cleaning, and the list could go on.  And on and on and on.  I'm sure I am not alone in thinking this.    My boys are to young to understand the meaning of Mother's Day or to do something a little special. Just for me.  I know this is a phase and before long I will be showered with homemade gifts that the kids made at school and maybe even breakfast in bed.  This year I got my first glimpse of what is to come.

I was invited to a Mother's Day tea at school.  Just me and Grady, a mother son date and I couldn't have been more excited.  Then the day arrived and we had a big fight minutes before we left because he hit Cooper in the face with a toy.  I had to put him in his room and was not happy that he wouldn't give Coop the apology is deserved.  Not that Cooper cared really.  But it was principle!

We pulled up at the school with a few minutes to spare and I snapped a few pictures of G and me as I knew it would be chaos as soon as we stepped inside.  And it was.

This was my first Mother's Day tea and I was so happy to be a part of it.  It was interesting to see that all the moms dressed up and put makeup on for their 'date' with their child.  As did I, but technically I had to work after so I didn't have much of a choice!  What was interesting is what some of the Mom's thought was preschool appropriate.  Yowza!

The kids lined up and sand some songs, they served us iced tea and cookies, and in the end presented us with a little gift.

It was a great way to spend a Friday morning and get into the spirit of Mother's Day.
Despite having different expectations on what the day could be versus what it will be, I always feel so lucky to be a Mom.  I waited for this for so long and really it was the only thing I ever wanted to be when I 'grew up'.  These are the years that I looked forward to since I was a little girl playing with her dolls.  These are also the years that I will always want to return to when I am older.  This is it.  These are the best years of my life.  No, the days aren't always perfect, but I have to remember that although entire days are not perfect, there are perfect moments within each and every day.  Even the ones that I feel are the worst days.

For me, the Mother's Day tea was one of those moments.   A moment I will never forget.  Not only do I feel blessed to be a Mom, I feel blessed to be a Mom to my 2 boys in particular.  They give the best hugs and kisses, they love to make me surprises when I come home from work, they fight to have me put them to bed, and they tell me they love me often.

Should I be concerned that my day today will not be perfect?  No.  Will I take every opportunity to enjoy the perfect moments within today?  Yes.  And it enjoy it I will by playing outside and roasting hot dogs with a friend and her family. Details to follow.....

I'd also like to give a shout out to my Mom Mothers day. I only hope that I can be a parent like her.  My mom is after all my best friend.  She is the first person (after James) I call when I have good and bad news.  I talk to my Mom everyday.  Every day.  And I really don't know what I would do without her.  I hope that one day my kids look at me the way my brother and I see my mom.  We have great childhood memories and a Mom that supports us in everything we do.   I strive everyday to be just a little more like her.  I wish we were spending the day together.

Also, I don't want to forget about Marla...  With 2 boys, I have to learn how to be a great mother in law to the boys future wives and she is setting a great example.  I really lucked out in the in-law department :).

I hope all the Moms out there enjoy a great day and a little relaxation, you deserve it!!
Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day

Today I am thankful to be a Mom. 

I love my littlest boy that only wants to be held by me.  His giggles make my heart melt.

Cooper

I am thankful for my oldest boy that made me Mom almost 4 years ago.  He give the best hugs and kisses.



Grady

I am thankful for my Mom. She is exactly the kind of parent I hope to be.

My gosh we look alike in this picture

Today I am celebrating being a Mom... Happy Mother's Day!

An Early Mother's Day Surprise

Today, James got off early and picked the boys up from Daycare.  We happened to pull into the drive way at the exact same time.  I went over to car door to let Grady out and I had barely opened the door and he was yelling Happy Mother's Day with the biggest grin on his face. 

He had school today and they made Mother's Day presents.  He reached over and gave me the card shown above.  I was so happy.  It made my day.  My week.  Maybe even my month.  He was so proud. Once I got him out of the seat he reached into the front to get me my candle holder.  The smile on his face was so big.

Just when you think you are about to explode from a to do list to long, lack of sleep, and frustration, your kids do something that revives you and reminds you why you wanted to be a parent in the first place.

It doesn't matter that he was a few days early, he meant it from the bottom of his heart.  

Thank you for making my day a little brighter Grady!

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, I asked Cooper for a full night's sleep and I asked Grady to sleep until 7am which is 20 minutes later than the usual 6:41 the 'sun' usually comes up at.

Grady met me in the middle at 6:52am and Cooper got up twice. James compensated by letting me sleep in. I slept in until 8am. My oh my how things change after kids!

When I woke up and came around the corner, I heard a little voice wishing me a happy mother's day and handing me a card that he had drawn on. Music to my ears.

The rest of our day was spent doing the usual. A mocha coconut frappacino from Starbucks, a trip to Indigo, and to Zeller's. I just wanted to spend the day enjoying my kiddos.

My favorite moment of the day was not the sleep in, the delicious coffee, the dinner that my handsome husband made without asking for my help, or even the 30 minutes I took to read during nap time, it was just an ordinary moment. I was rocking Cooper to sleep and Grady came in and crawled on my lap and we rocked while I sang to them. Some may laugh as I am a horrible singer. But this moment made my Mother's Day perfect. Me and my 2 babies in one chair rocking in almost silence. One day when the boys are older I hope I remember what it was like to have them both sit in my lap. Now that was a perfect moment.

The thing about being a Mom is while it is nice to celebrate being a Mom one day a year, we are blessed every day with the special things our kids do to make us feel loved.

Happy Mother's Day!