Banana and a Peanut Butter Cookie and a Heap of love on Mother's Day

Kevin does not get the whole fascination with eating breakfast in bed, but it's less about eating in bed and more about the novelty and fun of it all. So for most of this week, I had been telling Kevin and the kids that I wanted breakfast in bed on Mother's day. I mean, how hard is it to bring someone a banana?

I was instructed last night before I went to bed by Kevin, to not get out of bed in the morning until the boys had brought me breakfast in bed. Well, I woke up at 5 am after having a terrible nightmare and did not want to go back to sleep. But, I had to follow instructions and stay in bed.

Of course, the one day I couldn't get out of bed was the one morning that the boys slept in until almost 9:00 am!! But, it was worth the wait.

They brought me a banana, a peanut butter cookie (home made by Jordyn), and a glass of milk. They also brought me a heap of love and some gifts that I wasn't expecting.

Recently I've been mentioning to Kevin how much I love Magnolia trees (they're in full bloom right now, don't ya know). But I wasn't expecting him to get me one! Well, he and Owen went to WoJo's on Friday attempting to buy me one, but there are a bunch of varieties and he had no idea which one I would want. So they got a gift card to WoJo's so that we can go back and get one!!

I had left a list of small things that Kevin could get me, but more in the $20 price range. I surely wasn't expecting a TREE! But I'm super excited about it.

Liam gave me a recipe book that his class had made with all the favorite things their moms cook for them (HELLO! I rarely cook for the family). Liam's favorite dish is when I make mac and cheese in the mikerwave. (The only thing I can think of here is maybe I re-heated some mac and cheese for him once upon a time!)

Owen gave me a flower with his picture (from preschool) along with a fill in the blank card. Some of it said - I love when my mother...."kisses me" and My mom looks prettiest when..."all the time". How sweet is that?

Afterwards, we went to lunch at my parents house. Holy cow - what a spread! London Broil, Salmon, Quiche, Yummy Salad, Fruit, Corn on the Cob, Potatoes, Meatballs, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate-dipped Strawberries, mmmmm.

Jordyn gave me her present while we were at my parents. She had made an autobiography in Language Arts with tons of information all about her. What a GIFT! Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

• If I had one thing to take out of my burning house it would be my blanket because it's very valuable to me.
• The most difficult problem I've faced in my life is being the only biracial person in my family. I try to forget about it but it helps most of the time and I know my family will always love me.
• I think I will become a very young and loving person. I will also become a mom because that is one of my main goals in life. I would also like to become a very hard working adult who will never give up and keep trying their best.
• My most treasured memory would have to be my moms wedding to my dad Kevin. I love this memory because it brought me into a new family where I knew I would belong. I also like it because it meant a lot to my mom. She finally found the man of her dreams and my new daddy.

OK, I could keep going, because there are so many more things that I love about her autobiography, but I'll stop there for now.

Being a mom, is, in itself, an awesome gift and I am so very lucky to have these children in my life.

My Family -

My Sister's Family -

My Parents -

The Moms -

What a GREAT day!

Happy Mother's Day!!

ps - my favorite gift of the day is the one I gave to my mom.

Vitamin O

O - "Mom - Do bees like Doritos?"

~~~~~

Me - "Owen, go get a wash cloth to wipe your face." (as it was covered in Doritos cheese, no less)
O - "OK. So I don't look like a dork."

~~~~~

Kevin told the boys to enjoy their dinner tonight because he had made their brats with lots of love.

Upon "finishing" his dinner, Owen found Kev out on the deck and, seeming perplexed he said, "Dad, did you really make our hot dogs out of love?"

Kevin responded that, yes, he took a lot of care in making the hot dogs and made them with love.

Owen then asked Kevin not to be mad at him, because he didn't eat all of his hot dog.

Kevin told O that he wasn't mad, and that, really it was just an expression. That there, in fact, was no actual LOVE inside the hot dog (yes, it was a brat, but O calls it a hot dog).

Owen quickly replied, "Oh, so you lied, then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen (pointing to the American flag - next to German, French, and Spanish flags - on the back of a book) - "Mom, is this the state where we live?"

Quarters for Gumballs

Kevin, Owen, and I went to lunch today at one of the local coneys. (and it was 99 cent coney dog day - BONUS!)

Anyway, Owen wanted to buy a 25 cent gumball, but neither Kevin nor I had any quarters.

Kevin explained to Owen that after we paid the bill, we might get a quarter back, but that he didn't have a quarter for him right then.

Then Owen asked Kevin if the reason he didn't have a quarter was because he didn't have a job.

Yes, Owen...Dad doesn't have a quarter because he doesn't have a job.

Owen, in his infinite five-year-old wisdom came up with some suggestions for Kev's job search (ulterior motive - quarters for gumballs).

"Dad, I know what you could be for your job! You could be an on-tv person. Or a dinosaur museum guy. No, an ASTERnaut! Or a pizza maker. Oooorrrr, you could be a MOM."

Stellar suggestions, Owen.

I would love to live in Owen's world where you could have whatever job you wanted to have, simply by stating your desired profession over a couple of chili dogs.

Cute or Creepy?

You be the judge.

My OMEN is FIVE

My Omen, (yes, my Omen, since that's how Owen writes his name!!) is turning five today. FIVE!

He's my BABY!! And he's FIVE!!

A lot of moms get all teary and nostalgic when their kids, especially their babies, get older.

But not me. It's not that I'm not sentimental or emotional.

It's just that for me, it's EXCITING to watch them grow up and turn older. Definitely worthy of celebration and joy, not tears and regret.

I mean, look, when your five year old has facial hair, that's really SOMETHING!!

Happy Birthday Owen!!

Amazing Grace

Owen sings Amazing Grace.

(Mom, this is for you.)

Still

Saw this concept on Lisa B's blog and thought I'd give it a whirl.

This post is all about the word Still as it relates to my life right now.

Still employed.

Still hoping Kevin will find another job.

Still in denial about the demise of the economy.

Still hoping that Michigan (and Detroit) will survive when the auto industry behaves like a Shrinky Dink.

Still taking at least one picture every day for my own version of Project 365.

Still blogging.

Still reading other people's blogs.

Still completely in love with my three kids.

Still not convinced that we're done having babies.

Still having fun with my husband.

Still scrapbooking.

Still trying to catch up to the ScRap SiStaZ challenges.

Still not eating right.

Still not exercising every day.

Still loving summer the very best.

Still waiting for Spring to spring.

Still loving the Tigers, and Major League baseball season in general.

Still wishing I had tickets to Opening Day today.

Still wishing I had the winning Mega Millions ticket.

Still not talking to my childhood best friend (it's been 8.5 years now).

Still.