A Mother's Day

 

Today was one of those days where my "mom-ness" was very tangible to me.  Which probably doesn't even make sense, but I don't know what other way to describe it.  My day was a series of fortunate events that delved deep into the realm of mom duties and motherly moments -- like most days do -- but today I just felt it more.  Join me as I walk you through my day... 

The day started off in chaos as we all got up late, Grace was in a "mood," and there was nothing to pack for lunches.  {Not to mention Alex has been in a perpetual state of grump and malcontent since about Thursday when he napped for the last time before a 3 day strike.}  And since I didn't really have time to make breakfast, we scrounged up some leftover pancakes from our dinner last night and threw some cereal in the mix as well.  While trying not to upset the delicate balance of calming Grace down while still making her get a move on, I gave in to practically every demand, whim, and fancy of each and every child and as a result the candy bucket was passed around before school {with plenty of double-dipping} and I'm guessing that for each of them, the lunch they packed was half-comprised of candy as well. 

The rest of the morning consisted of me running behind on everything I was doing because I kept getting sidetracked and distracted by all kinds of projects and tasks.  The kitchen took longer to clean because I got sidetracked by trying to upload some pictures to the computer, our trip to Wal-mart was delayed because I decided I really needed to test out some more paint colors in the kitchen, and then, after dropping Jane off at preschool, I ran out of time trying to make myself presentable for the Mother's Day Program at her school because I decided I should go ahead and start making some bread before jumping in the shower and getting dressed for the day.  The end result was what felt like a frizzly, frazzly, not-quite-dry hairstyle and a mad dash to make it on time before the program started.  {And I do mean mad.  It's a solid 5-minute drive to the preschool and I made it today in about 3 1/2.}

 

 Precious.  Although to be clear, she DOES know I'm 34.  She just pronounces 30 and 40 exactly the same, so I'm sure that's what her teachers thought she said.

 

Walking in for the program!  So exciting!!

Modeling that darling hat.  :)

Once there, I reveled in my role as mother as I watched with affection the adorable little songs her class sang while I sat wearing the adorable little hat that she made for me.  It's at times like these that my heart swells and I'm cognizant of the fact that my job is the best job on earth.  There might not be any other job on earth that is as all-consuming, but on the flip-side there are certainly none other that bring such powerful potential for reward. 

Look how adorable her outfit is that she picked out by herself! :)

Chowing down on the cupcakes.

A girl after my own heart.

 

 My Mother's Day gift.

 

 Oh Jane.  I just love HER to pieces.

 

 

 Taking a turn with the hat.

{I now present a series of pictures where Jane and I are posing/smiling EXACTLY ALIKE in every single one!  Seriously hilarious.  Scott took the pictures for us, and as I scrolled through them after our "photo shoot" was done, I was laughing out loud as I saw that in almost every single frame we are doing the same thing.}

 

 Head tilt with a closed-mouth smile seems to be our go-to move.

 

 Although sometimes we like to tilt our head down.

 

 But usually it's just tilted to the side.  Hahaha.

 We had even BLINKED in the same picture!

And we're done.

The afternoon was capped off when the big kids came home from school and did their chores without really being forced {?!?!?!} and Lover Boy made ALL of us happy when he woke up refreshed and delightful from a long afternoon nap.  And one more mom victory for the day occurred when I successfully defused another meltdown from Grace by agreeing to take her to the store to pick out some chips for their lunch.  What can I say?  I'm a softie.  It's the last month of school so I decided to go ahead and surprise them by buying a bunch of junk that I don't usually get for extras.  They were all shocked and delighted.  Perhaps that's why the chores were done without too much fuss... Hahaha. 

Dinner time was pleasantly uneventful {aside from Grace and Sophie eating their dinner as if they were dogs, complete with a water bowl by their plate} and FHE was a surprising success as we talked about how to pray by building a prayer sandwich {complete with poorly drawn out pictures of sandwich ingredients}.   No one put up TOO big a fight when it was time to go to bed and now that the day is over, I'm sitting here feeling a good kind of exhausted.  It's been a nice day.  Even WITH the few moments of chaos.   I think I'll sleep well tonight.  :)

One more mother-daughter shot for the road...  Hahaha.