Random update #129

So, it's finally been nice enough weather to get out and do some gardening, planting, hang out outside...it's a super busy time of year with the spring sports for the kids, finishing up school / end of year activities, outside yard work, busy times at work for both of us and sick kids...Si and Ella have both recently had a pookie bug.

Last weekend was my lovely book group and it was our first gathering of the season in the gardens at Susan's.  I could go over there weekly and never tire of taking pictures of her wonderful garden.

I'm finding that May is routinely becoming a very busy month.  This year I did the Race for the Cure again and it was an incredibly beautiful morning.  We had SO much fun. And we stopped afterward and had a yummy breakfast at great little cafe in the Arena district.

(Sarah's - I would never eat such an atrocity of calories! ;)

Emma Lou (Beth's mom) and Margie at the walk

Cool video clip of the race here

This week started some of the final count down stuff at schools.  Ella had crazy hat day on Monday.  She pulled out the perfect hat.  Tuesday was mismatch/backwards day and she wore striped pants and flowered shirt - both backwards. But i forgot to take a picture of that.

This week has also been "first corn on the cob eating" week.  Yay for Florida corn!  It was yummy and made Silas very happy (something that has been very hard to do these days...)!

And speaking of corn, we also planted our own this year.  When we first plant the garden it's so disappointing - how barren it looks. But I know within a month it will be absolutely bursting.  We planted some corn, 3 kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, beets, snap peas, lettuce, some herbs...and we have a rhubarb plant the size of Texas. Looks like a big weed!

I was able to sneak out last week and take a few pictures - lilies, a bull frog hiding in the grass at Tara's, 

we have a nest and eggs in our shrub, some gorgeous roses have been blooming and I finally planted some pots and hanging baskets.

I'm ready for summer - bring it on!!

Spring Sports

This spring all 3 kids are in sports - makes for some hectic running around but it's fun to see them all doing different sports.

Mason ran track and did great for his first year (especially since he wasn't a runner before practice started). He beat his goal of under a 6 minute mile.

Ella is playing soccer and Justin is coaching again.  She does a great job of going after the ball and elbowing her way in on plays.

And Silas is playing t-ball this spring/summer.  Justin and I are coaching and it's QUITE an experience!  I came home black and blue after the first practice, as bat control is not in the skill set at this early stage in the game.

Doing some base running...

And some batting practice - this time he hits the ball and not me!

Mother's Day

I woke up early this morning. Silas James came and stood by my side of the bed, looking at me - "mama?".  I pulled the covers back and said "hop in bud".  He wraps his arm through mine and we both fell back asleep until around 8:30, at which point Si began the non-stop chatter that I know won't end until I give in and converse with him, or convince him to go down and see what daddy is doing. 

I never have high expectations for Mother's Day. Not because it disappoints, but because like most "Hallmark" holidays, I just don't get excited about them. I still think of Mother's Day as a day for other moms. My mom, Justin's mom, new moms.
I give myself a few liberties - I read in bed for awhile, I sniff for the smell of fresh coffee. I just lie in bed enjoying the moment.

Ella brings me banana bread in bed (say that 3 times fast) and I get my coffee.  I get a craft from Ella that reads:

M - My Mom loves me

O - Oh the times I get in trouble you still love me

T - Tells me things a lot

H - Her job helps others

E - Every night she tucks me into bed

R - Relly (really) good at love (I like this one)

We go to get flowers at the nursery to put into the pots that the kids painted for me last year. I start to settle into the day and think that this is a tradition that I love - the flowers, the handmade reminders of their childhood...and the mimosas.

Mason and I go to the store to get potting soil and Mason tells me to come look, he's found something that I'll like.  He's right.  He found a great hammock and stand. I have missed my old hammock since we moved and this one is perfect.  I feel spoiled and self-indulgent when I call Justin and he says "it's Mother's Day - get it" - but I do with a bit of giddiness.

We go to Ella's soccer game, we go to see my mom and dad, we stop at the store to buy an impromptu dinner (steaks to throw on the grill). And then finally, I come home and test out my hammock.

We eat a delicious dinner of steak, grilled asparagus, salad and red wine. It's chilly out but I take my book and mimosa back out to the hammock and climb in. Justin brings me a cozy blanket and I spend the next hour reading, looking up at the sunshine through the splay of tree branches and watching between the fence slats as the kids play with the neighbor kids next door. I see their feet running, I hear them laughing and I know that this will be one of those moments in my mind that I will remember with every sense. It's a perfectly content moment - to be happy and know that my children are happy. I close my eyes and thank God, and then continue to bask in this moment of appreciation as I pick my book back up and sip my mimosa.

I am a blessed mother and I am blessed to have so many wonderful mothers in my life that teach me along the way. Thank you!

Timing is Everything

I was going through some of the pictures and saw this one.

I should have been a bit quicker in snapping my picture...

The second before I took the picture, Ella exclaimed that she had to go to the bathroom - and then smiled, business as usual...