So...

how was your Mother's Day? Mine was great. I feel like we celebrated all weekend long. It started on Friday with a Mother's Day Tea at Kyla's Preschool. She was so excited to go to school. Not only did she get to wear "dressy" clothes, but she also knew that Mommy was going to spend the day with her.



She tried really hard to convince me to open the many gifts that she had made...the very same gifts that the teacher and her had to hide from me each time I picked her up from school in the days leading up to the Tea.



My niece, Kaleigh, was really proud of the gifts she made for her mommy.



And it was so nice that my sister could take a late lunch and enjoy this special time with KK.



And after countless shots, Kristie was finally able to take a good one of Kyla & I...even if it is a little off center...Just kidding Kris! :0)



I spent most of Saturday training for my new "work from home" job...but I was still able to squeeze in some great female bonding with my girls. We went shopping and had dinner out...Ladies Only!

On Sunday, my Baby Pumpkins and I picked up my father-in-law. The four of us went out for a nice breakfast. It was so nice to spend some time with him. He is such a wonderful man. My wonderful father-in-law is the greatest Mom Mom & Pa Pa...all rolled into one! Not only is he a grandpa for my girls, but he is also making sure to fulfill the hopes and dreams that my late mother-in-law had about being a grandmother. She unfortunately lost her fight with breast cancer before any of her children were able to give her the grandchildren she so dearly wanted. I know that she would be so proud of all of her beautiful granddaughters...all five of them! And she would also be so proud of her husband. How lucky and I that his son is just like him!

After breakfast, we headed to the airport to pick Brad up. He was out of town on a business trip, but made sure that he was home for my special day.

When we finally made it back home, the rest of my family came over for a cook out. We had grilled beef tenderloin, blue cheese potato salad, tomato & basil salad, and a wonderful white chocolate mousse. Everything was so yummy! The tomato & basil salad was so pretty that I had to take a picture...



I will try and post the recipes for the blue cheese potato salad and the white chocolate mousse in another post. Both of those dishes were devoured before I had the chance to take pictures!

Then we opened gifts. Kyla was so excited that she was wiggling like a puppy!



She made this rose all by herself. It was painted her favorite color...pink...and then she cut and glued it together. The flower even smelled like the real thing.



And this is my handcrafted Kyla Card. Again, she cut and glued everything by herself...even wrote a little special something inside...just for me. Very impressive...



This little treasure is her sweet little hand print. Not sure what I am going to do with it since the gift is too pretty to use as a stepping stone. Might have to find a plate holder and display it in my "new" work-from-home office! (Once I actually create one...right now I am set up in the eat-in-kitchen area...very messy.)

They made up a cute certificate. Not sure if you can read it, but she says that the reason she loves me is because I am a princess and like to eat apples! She knows me so well... :0)



This was a questionnaire that she had to answer. You will get a laugh out of some of her answers...and she was "technically" correct with all of her answers...even if I didn't like the way it came out.

When asked how old I was, she replied, "bigger than KK's mommy". Now KK is my niece and her mommy is my "older" sister....so that statement took me by surprise...then I looked at it from her point of view. When you are a child, all of the older kids are taller than you. So, because I am taller than my sister, in her mind, I am older than her too. And I also have her trained well about reveling a woman's age...that is a big "no no" in my house!

She was also asked what my favorite thing to do is...and her reply was "laundry and cooking"! How hysterical is that!!! I think she overheard me joking around with Brad about how much I "enjoy" spending my days cooking and washing all the loads of dirty laundry!



And how cute are these cards. Each of my precious angel babies gave me a card that made me laugh at the front and cry from the inside. I just love having girls! It is like I will never have to completely grow up!



My thoughtful husband gave me one of the best gifts that he has ever come up with. I had asked for some "practical" gifts...an child's seat for my bike, so Bryleigh and I can ride together when we take Kyla to school in August...or the outdoor living furniture that I want for the courtyard that we are going to be completing. Instead of those...he gave me the gift of his time. My "work-a-holic" husband purchased a purse-sized calendar and made the promise that at the beginning of each month, the two of us will sit down together and plan two date nights, as well as 6 days where he will come home "early" from work. All I can say is that he was really listening all those times that I told him that his time was more valuable to me than a huge bank account! Can I love this man any more than I already do?!?!?



Now this last picture is why I love being a mom. My two girls are so very precious to me. The sight of their smiling faces each morning is a joy to me...and their melodious laughter is a treasure that I keep in my heart. How very lucky I am that God blessed me with these two babies to love and lead.

I think there needs to be a National Holiday to celebrate our children, don't you?