Happy Mother's Day.......

My kiddies gave me my mother's day present early, they each had a plant for me that they planted at school. And my little man says, "is it the best mother's gift ever?" and I of course, said yes. And then I said, "do you really want to know what the best gift ever is...." and his curious eyes widened and he said, "yes, what, what...." "you and sissy," I said. He smiled and gave me hug, and that is one reason I love being a mom. It is those innocent and simple moments that I cherish the most.
So of course it made me reflect on the day I first became a mother. I remember when I was pregnant that I had so many fears...would I be a good mother, would I know what to do...I had no motherly instincts would those kick in?
And of course, those instincts did....I don't know when it happened and perhaps it is just as you grow as a mom...from the first feedings, changing the poopy diapers, the first time they gaze into your eyes and squeeze your finger, to the first time they are sick...all of these moments adding up as you gain confidence in yourself. And then slowly with time, you change as a person...you grow from the individual you were before your children to the person you become after....and maybe it doesn't happen for everyone, but I can say I am a much better person after I had my children than I was before. They've taught me patience and my children make me want to be the best person I can be. I have more confidence in myself since having children, weird as it seems.
I'm not a size 6 anymore and I doubt I will ever again be that size again. I put my career on hold so I can raise my children and in turn had to make sacrifices, we changed our life for our children, but I've given birth to two most amazing, beautiful children who have changed my life for the better and I wouldn't change a thing.
I'm happy and proud of who I have become....I am a mother and I never fully understood certain things until I was blessed with mine. And I remember calling my mum one day and said, "I get it now....I didn't before, but I get it." So for me this day isn't a day for me, but rather a moment to reflect on what a privilege it is to be a mom....thank you to my babies for changing my views and me....I love ya!
And I can't really have a post without a special shout out to my mummers.....she has wiped my tears, given me kisses, scolded me, laughed with me, held my hand, shared stories, and much much more. I love you mom!

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." ~Sophia Loren

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." ~Barbara Kingsolver

Digging in the Dirt....

So, we took a risk and planted some of our plants late this afternoon...we've still been having some colder nights, but the forecast is suppose to be relatively nice. We are redesigning a portion of our front yard and so all our new plants are going there. We planted eight lavender plants and three hostas so far, I still have about 10 more plants to place in the ground, but considering we didn't start till after dinner, we were tuckered out.
We are also making wine bottle torches for the backyard and creating a wine bottle border in the front....I've put a request out for wine bottles...I estimated that I will need about 80 bottles for the ring around our tree and depending on how that looks we may extended it elsewhere. It will be time consuming because I will need to take the labels off the bottles and push each one into the ground without breaking, so it could get tricky, but I can't wait till we are all done with the front. We are also going to extend the little deck we have that is out front just by another five feet...so many landscaping projects this spring/summer, but I can't wait. I love digging in the dirt. I also can't wait to get our garden going, we have lots of lettuce, spinach, squash, peas, strawberries, and various herbs....I love this time of year!!!!!
Our community is having a plant exchange coming up, so I need to get some plants that we have dug up and put in some containers to exchange with others....such a great way to diversify your landscaping.

"You can bury a lot of troubles by digging in the dirt" - Unknown

Chicago in Spring

My friend invited me on a girls weekend getaway to Chicago to help celebrate her birthday. I was hesitant in going, not because it wasn't going to be fun, but it seems like there is so much to do at home and the simple fact that I would miss my little ones. Then I thought, my hubby has just gotten back from spending 30 days in New Zealand while I took care of things at home and the kids, why not and so I packed a weekend bag and off to Chicago I went.
We stayed right in the midst of downtown on Michigan Avenue and the weather was great. We relaxed in the hotel, ate good food, and then strolled to downtown shops and walked to Navy Pier. And I have to admit, Chicago was blooming, the city was beautiful. I can't wait to return.
The first thing I noticed was gas prices, it is already over $4.60 there, which is about a dollar more than here....it is shocking, however, the strange thing is that the media is not reporting anything on how high gas prices are shooting up, but I suppose when you are in a city such as Chicago, you don't need a car.
It was nice to get away even for a brief time, but like always it is nice to return home....even if the house was not as clean as I had left it.

"I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun." - Katherine Hepburn

Eggs, Sangria, and Fun

It was a wonderful weekend indeed. We picked up some plants for the yard, we got eight lavender plants, which I can't wait to plant. It has been pretty chilly still, so we didn't plant anything, I'm itching to get in the dirt and go at it.
We took the kids to the local easter egg hunt and I was so proud of my little ones. The hunt starts right at 9:00 am and as people were leaving, a mother comes with two little boys and they were five minutes too late. So, my kids asked if they could give some of their eggs to the kids and I said sure and so they did. I was super proud of them!
Today, we celebrated Easter at my father-in-law's house and my parents came. It was a wonderful time, we ate so much food, drank sangria, and laughed so hard. The kids had fun with another easter egg hunt and then have a go with the pinata, it was so funny to watch the kids. Afterwards, we stopped at my mother-in-law's for another easter egg hunt and we saw an owl as we sat around the fire.
It was a fun-filled packed weekend and in need of another weekend to recover. I'm thankful for these moments with my family!

"Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless." ~Charles M. Crowe

A story for her daddy....

My sweet pea read me the story she wrote for her daddy. It is titled, "Wen you wer gon" or "When you were gone." She has not conquered spelling, but then again she has only been six for about a month now, but I can read what she is intending to say. She is so excited to read it to him and it is so heartfelt, which is one of the many reasons I love my children. They are still at that age where they are not afraid to display their affection or emotions and I hope that doesn't change.

My sweet pea was informing of an incident that transpired at school and how hurt her feelings were, I told her she needs to be honest with her feelings. I said maybe that wasn't what she meant and so if you don't ask or tell them that it hurt or was bothersome then how is she to know? Of course, all advice I'm trying to conquer myself ;)

Anyway...back to her story...I will spare the misspellings and just type what her story says, so without any further thought interruptions, I present "When you were gone" by my sweet pea

"This is the day we were sad. And our hearts were empty without you.

We missed you when you were in New Zealand. I hope you had a great time in New Zealand.

I love you so much. You're the dad I love the best. I do not want to ask for another dad.

I love you more than a person loves a kid."

The End

So, that was her story....I asked her if she was trying to make her daddy cry and she said, "of course, I cried while he was gone." And I laughed and said, I suppose it is only fair. I will give her credit, in her notebook, she spelled New Zealand as Noosilind...gotta love it!

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." - JM Barrie

Lavender buds are a blooming

I was picking up some leaves and sticks in the yard and saw some new buds and the color coming back to my lavender plants. I'm definitely looking forward to the fresh smell of lavender and making the lavender sugar scrub and lavender cupcakes.

Yes, Spring is here...thank goodness Spring is here! Seeing all the new blossoms and rebirth of plants and trees is so awakening. I took the kids for a picnic and as we walked, we would try to see which plants had buds.

After we had our picnic, we came home and my sweet pea asked if she could have a "tea party" with us, so my little man, the dogs, and I huddled around her little table and it was just a wonderful moment.

I am so blessed! It is easy to caught up into everyday life and all the negative things going around that you forget all your blessings, especially with all the tragedies as the earthquakes, local shootings, and other media events, you have to be thankful for every moment you have. And with Spring in bloom, I'm going to restart the Random Acts of Kindness Campaign that I participated in last year...so tomorrow will be the start, not sure what I will do to kick it off, but I will think of something.

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." Angela Monet

The Countdown is on....

So, we are officially counting the number of days left till my hubby returns. The kids are excited when I tell them the number, their smile turns into a huge grin of excitement and they talk about how they are going to make a whole bunch of signs.

I've definitely adjusted to his absence, but it doesn't lessen how much I miss him, which I do, there are times when I feel somewhat apathetic, but on the whole I can't wait for his return. The kids and I have been staying busy, which helps. I have no complaints, the kids are great, there is the occasional fighting and bickering, but overall I'm such a lucky mom. I've got two of the greatest kiddies ever! And I tell them all the time, how proud I am and how helpful they are since daddy is gone. We planted our herbs (they are indoors right now) and I think this week we'll grab some veggies and try to get a good head start on the seedlings that way when it's time to plant them outside we have plants vs seeds.

This weekend was super busy with play dates, speaking at a conference, travel to Iowa City to see family, and then more play dates. I was asked by the Transplant Coordinator by one of the hospitals to speak at a conference they had - I was the kickoff speaker to the event and I think I spoke for about five minutes and then they played the digital story I created during my MA program. I was a bit nervous and considering I didn't really know what I was going to say till the night before, I think I did well and didn't have my nose pressed to my notes. After, I spoke and they played the story, everyone clapped and some stood, a lot were crying and as I left, the transplant coordinator, just squeezed me. It was a neat experience and I was glad I did it, I'm honored they thought to ask me, especially when I feel like what I did wasn't anything that grand, there are stories like ours everywhere.

I'm hoping to hit the Omaha zoo with the kiddies before the hubby return as a special getaway treat, I just need to figure out when, so that will be next on our list.

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." - EB White