Mother's Day

I know I have many many things to update from the last couple of months, but I wanted to add this in, and be up-to-date on something: my Mother's Day. I'd add pictures, but we currently can't find our cameras . . . hmmm.
6:30 am - I get out of bed, prepared to get myself and the kids ready on my own for 9:00 church, since Chris always has early meetings. Chris informs me that he only has one meeting, so he doesn't have to leave for another hour. Yesss . . . I take an extra long shower while he and the kids make me breakfast.
7:00 - I eat my toast and omelet in bed with the kids bouncing around me. Presents include a big handmade card, a handpainted flower pot with marigolds in it, and a picture frame full of shots from a recent vacation. Chris soon leaves for his meeting and we finish getting ready for church. As we are driving to church the boys are fighting, as usual. Annie tries to get them to quit, but to no avail. Even my comments of "Wow, your fighting is sure making my Mother's Day nice" didn't help. I'm not sure why; sarcasm is always a great tactic with young kids.
9:10 - We arrive late for church, and Sacrament meeting is a doozy. Hudson has decided that that he will no long stand for the confines of a pew. I spend the meeting up and down, and in and out of the chapel, with him yelling and flailing in my arms. The words of my grandma run through my head, "If you take your kids out of sacrament meeting, don't you let their feet touch the floor, or they'll learn that all they have to do is yell, and then they'll get to run around the foyer." Those words kept running through my head as I follow Hudson down the hall. They are still milling about as Hudson finds a basketball in the gym and rolls it with his head as he crawls after it. Great, I think, he's ruined. On the bright side, the parts of the talks I do hear are excellent, and all the moms get chocolate bars afterwards. And these are not just Hershey bars, they're Lindt, and mine is dark chocolate with orange and almond pieces. YUM. I eat half of it while I sit in the foyer (yes, Grandma, the foyer - I'm sorry) during Gospel Doctrine feeding Hudson cheerios and raisins. Relief Society starts out great - we get wraps and chocolate dipped strawberries to eat while we listen to the lesson. But it basically has the same ending as Sacrament meeting: me in the hall with Hudson. Lest you think that Chris is a deadbeat church dad who doesn't help, you must know that he was giving out callings and helping out in primary. That's why I was in charge of the 1 year old.
2:00 pm- After getting home from church and eating lunch, Chris says, "You go do whatever you want, I'll watch the kids." Those words are the best present he could possibly give me. I sit up in bed, reading the latest conference issue, until I nod off. I wake up a little while later to the sound of Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, on NPR (I love laying in bed, listening to NPR!). I then go downstairs and make a feeble attempt to catch up on some scrapbooking while listening to my book on tape. I also eat the rest of my Lindt chocolate bar, feeling only a little guilty for not sharing it with anyone. Throughout the day, I keep hearing the kids say, "Mom, you shouldn't do any work today." They're so sweet.
4:00 - Chris leaves with a friend to try and start up his dead car, which is still at the church (that story is for another post). He doesn't get back until after 5:30. He and the kids want to make dinner, but there isn't a whole lot of time, and we are low on a few staples. So we end up with a rag tag dinner of a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghettios, tuna and crackers, and carrot sticks. I loved it because I didn't have to make it! My day ended with talking to my mom, and catching up on some blogging.
So there you have it, with probably more details than you needed. Thank you Chris, Annie, Noah, Brigham, and Hudson, for making my Mother's Day so lovely, so memorable, and so . . . real. I wouldn't change a thing.