Memorial Day Weekend

What a BUSY and FUN long weekend - it was a great mix of fun, productive, family and friends!

Friday was Silas' last day of preschool - as you can guess, it was very emotional for me!  They had a clapout at school and it was so sweet.  He is ready and excited for Kindergarten...he wanted to start this week!

Wednesday night will be the "official graduation".

Saturday night Justin and I went to a concert (The Avett Brothers) with Sarah, Brian, Donna and Lee. It was a PERFECT evening for an outdoor concert...warm & breezy. Justin even got to to take a little mini-nap in the middle of the concert.

Sunday the garden finally got planted and we got the flowers in the front beds and baskets.  Just in time for the 90 degree heat!!

Ella is very much like her mom.  She told Justin that "she wished everyday could be like today".  When he asked why she said because she "got to lay in the hammock and read and eat watermelon" :)  My little summer girl!

Sunday afternoon we went to a family cookout and then got to spend the evening with the lovey neighbors at another cookout. Delicious food and great company at both!

Today was blazing hot and the kids got their bathing suits and sprinkler out. Si decided to try out Ella's grass skirt :)  They ran around and got the squirt guns out and had a good old time, which was much better than the morning when they were fighting like cats and dogs!

A couple weeks ago we got Si a new bike.  He was way too big for his other one and we decided to go up to an 18 inch.  Problem is, they don't have training wheels on that size, so now we are trying to teach him to ride it without them.  We went to the school and after a few wobbly minutes, he was actually getting the hang of it, except for the sharp turns he'd decide to randomly take.  I think if we practice a few times a week, he'll have it in a couple weeks!

It was a great weekend with a lot of cherished time just being together.  Perfect. But what I didn't get much of this weekend was REST...I need to go get that now!

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!