Mother's Day weekend

As usual I have blogged a LOT less than I'd planned. I have no idea where time is going but magically it gets away from me. I even have pictures on my camera from Christmas that I haven't downloaded onto the computer yet.

We are at the end of what has been a wonderfully fun but rather busy Mother's Day weekend. Friday morning I got to take David to school 40 minutes early for "Muffins with Mom" organized by the 1st grade classes. In his classroom are groups are 6 desks pushed together and called a table. Each table was covered with a plastic tablecloth and decorated with assorted projects that I soon learned were gifts for us moms made by our kids. David and I sat at his desk where he presented me with a paper corsage and tied it on my wrist. Then he gave me a portrait of me he had drawn himself. And last was a book he had made. It was called "Mom's Jobs" and had a hard cover on it and looked very professional. At least as professional as a book done by a 7 year old can look. Each page had a picture on it and a different job that I do. According to David, some of my jobs include chauffer, police officer, maid, chef, housekeeper and linen service. I had to laugh. It is very cute and he was very proud of his work. So then we got to eat a muffin and drink some juice together. Just hanging out with David one-on-one doesn't happen very often so this was fun and very special. Then all the 1st graders and their moms headed downstairs to the gym where the kids got up on stage and sang a couple cute Mother's Day songs for us. The only one I remembered started out "She's a V - I - P, a Very Important Person." By now the busses were arriving with all the other students so the moms left and the kids headed upstairs to begin their school day.

Saturday was a rare day with nice weather - we've gotten so much rain lately that I'm seriously considering building an ark! What to do on such a nice day? Rose suggested we goto the zoo. Great idea! I packed up the 4 kids and some snacks and headed out leaving Phil at home to nap and mow the grass (in that order). This was one of our first trips to the zoo without a stroller. What a concept! It's amazing how different it was. My hands were free - no stroller to push or diaper bag to carry. Yeah!! And we could go anywhere. There are a few places in the Cincinnati Zoo that we used to avoid because they aren't terribly stroller-friendly. But no more!!! Matthew was actually well-behaved and didn't run off. He stuck with us and obeyed me really well. It was a genuinely fun day with my kids. I came home with sunburnt shoulders and aching feet, ready to rest.

Alas, rest was not on our agenda for the evening. An hour later after cooking dinner, kissing a couple random boo-boos and taking 1 kid potty (Matthew, who at the age of almost 4 is STILL potty training) Phil and I left the kids with Brett and headed down to the river to meet some college friends of his. These are friends he has recently gotten in touch with again but hasn't seen in probably 15 years. We all saw the new Star Trek movie together then went out afterwards to talk and hang out. The movie was a prequel to all the other movies and featured a younger Captain Kirk and crew before they took command of the Enterprise. I really enjoyed it!! Great movie and awesome effects, especially on the huge IMAX screen!! It's a good movie to see even if you're not a fan of Star Trek. Phil really enjoyed catching up with some old friends. I hadn't met any of these people before and was a bit nervous but ended up having fun. We got home late and stayed up late talking and reading in bed.

Sunday morning was church. Then Phil and the kids wanted to take me out for lunch. I didn't feel like battling the huge crowds that were bound to be dining out also so we ended up taking sandwiches from Penn Station home and having a picnic together. I just love their food but don't get it too often. The kids had made me cute cards and gifts at school and church which they presented to me. I just love the homemade stuff rather than something store bought. They were so proud of their gifts and I loved seeing their smiling faces. I love my kids to pieces!!! But that didn't deter me from taking a nice long nap that afternoon. I woke up rested and refreshed to the smell of someone grilling. Brett had bought ribs, hamburgers and hotdogs plus all the fixings and was cooking dinner. I just love hamburgers off the grill. Yum!!!!! Of course Brett and Phil got involved in conversation, leaving me to clean everything up, but that's not a real big surprise! All in all, it was a wonderful relaxing day spending time with my loving family. I love being a mom!