Mother's Day... and other things

Yesterday, Saturday, was a day that started well, gained momentum, slammed into a brick wall and then ended... nicely.  Ben had a level 5 meltdown before his nap- the full on kicking, screaming, hitting, attempting-to-strangle-me kind. Super fun. Needless to say, the 45 minute charade put a major damper on my spirit. Eddy came home from a coaching interview with a local Soccer Club to a not-so-happy-momma. And we all know, if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. (which is actually very true...) And with that, we decided to call on a friend to watch the kiddos after night-night, and go out. Yes. Leave the house. Without kids. Glorious. And our dear friends, Rhoda and Sue, sacrificed their Saturday night for us! Bless you ladies!

Fun with a Tillamook Cheese Factory Lollipop...

Eddy and I ended up going to a local pub and enjoyed listening to some live music- Johnny Cash style band. Sipping on a microbrew and nibbling on cajun tater tots seemed to lull away all my angst from the nap time fun. Nice!

This morning we had some guys over for the Premier League Final of Soccer; We had double screens, bagels and cinnamon rolls.  It seemed to be a good game, although I spent most of my time tending to the kiddos, making food and cleaning. Which, I recently realized, makes me happy. I like taking care of my family; I like having people over and feeding and tending to them; And, I really like a clean house.  I can't relax if the place is messy, or if there are dishes in the sink, or, the absolute worst, there's junk on the floor that I step on, like sticky rice. Petty; yes. But irritating as all get.

The yummy outcome...mmmmmm...

And I also realized, that I learned this from my mom. Well, not the being irritated with rice on the floor, per se, but with loving her family through service and sacrifice; Through hosting people with kindness; And through her desire to be with us, spend time with us, love us and enjoy us. So, as I spent my morning making cinnamon rolls, washing dishes and hanging out with Ben- playing with his toy trains, arranging his Thomas puzzle for the ump-teenth time and watching countless episodes of Kipper with him- I thought of my absolutely amazing, fabulously adventurous, hysterically funny, incredibly humble mother. And how I hope and pray that I am just like her. I love you, Mom!

My lovely mother- at Iguacu Falls, Brazil/Argentina