Mother's Day weekend

Mother’s Day weekend was fantastic!  Here’s the breakdown:

On Friday morning, the whole family went to Ecton Park to meet up with Dallas’s preschool class for a play date.  It was hilarious to watch the kids play near each other but not quite with each other.  Trevor stayed with Dallas at the park for the rest of the morning while Lottie and I left to go to “Muffins for Moms” at school.  The kids served all the moms blueberry muffins, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and lemonade.  Lottie ate all of the chocolate off my strawberries and left me two bites of a muffin.  The moms were serenaded with some songs about how much moms rock.  There were even presents!  I got a heart-shaped keychain with Lottie’s sweet face in the middle of it, and Lottie made me a pipe cleaner bracelet that she decorated with beads.  It rained Friday afternoon, so the kids played in the basement while I packed up some of their outgrown clothes.  Bourbon N’ Toulouse, a great Cajun restaurant down the street from us, was collecting clothing, toiletries, and food to drive to Tuscaloosa to help the victims of the tornado.  I explained what I was doing and why I was doing it to both kids.  Dallas stared at me for a second, and then he asked to watch TV.  Lottie really took it all in.  I was worried that she was going to start freaking out about a tornado hitting our house; I know how her mind works.  Instead, she started to beam and said, “Mommy, we have lots of bricks in our garage.  Let’s send those down so the people can build new houses!”  I had to hug her quickly so she didn’t see the tears in my eyes.  She’s truly a sweet girl. 

On Saturday, I got a nice surprise at breakfast.  I told Trevor weeks ago that I didn’t want anything for Mother’s Day, and I really didn’t.  Trevor got me something anyway, but it was something for our whole family.  He signed us up for a family membership to the YMCA.  Lottie takes swim lessons at the Beaumont branch in town, and the facility is incredible.  I mentioned to Trevor once that I would like to swim while Lottie is in her lessons, but since we weren’t members, I wouldn’t feel right doing that.  I love the fact that Trevor knows me well enough to know that a gift for our family is exactly what I would want.  My other Saturday surprise was a delicious meal that Trevor made.  I hung out with the kids while he cooked; it felt decadent!  He made lamb chops, grilled eggplant, an Indian dish with chickpeas and eggplant, roasted brussel sprouts with anchovies, and fresh strawberries with ice cream for dessert. 

Mother’s Day itself was a wonderful day.  I got to sleep until 8 AM (!!!!!) and had a fresh donut from Magee’s for breakfast.  Since Dallas can’t have donuts, he was allowed to have fruit snacks with his breakfast.  I got some very sweet cards from the kids, and a confession from Trevor that he would never take both kids shopping again at the same time.  Welcome to my world, buddy.  After breakfast, we took a family jaunt to Lowe’s.  Family time at the hardware store is always a good time!  When we got home, Trevor worked hard on digging up some sod to transfer from beneath the new sandbox to where the old sandbox used to it.  We dumped the bags of sand we had bought at Lowe’s in the new sandbox and realized we had misjudged how much we needed….by about ten bags.  Trevor graciously made the return trip to Lowe’s and came home with ten more bags of sand, 500 pounds worth.  I think we could use a couple hundred pounds more.  Trevor’s parents came home early from their camping trip and wanted to see the kids.  I (happily) dropped the kids at their grandparents’ house for a visit and returned home to help spread the aforementioned pounds and pounds of sand.  We mowed, trimmed, and blew away the grass clippings.  It was a lot of work, but it felt great to be working and sweating in the sun.  I was lucky enough to have another brilliant meal cooked for me after all the yard toil.  Trevor made short ribs in the crock pot with beef stock and red wine, roasted fingerling potatoes, and broccoli rabe cooked with lots of butter and ham.  I don’t think we spoke to each other too much at dinner.  We were busy enjoying the delicious food and reveling in the silence: no one spilled any milk, no one dropped a fork, no one said any part of the meal was yucky, and no one cried. 

I feel so lucky to have my family.  They make my life busier, crazier, and far more colorful than I could have ever imagined.