Mother's Day

I think Mother's Day is the most rewarding day of the year. I always feel so special and I couldn't imagine my life without these beautiful kids.

On Thursday, Chad told me he wanted to do something nice for me every day of the week but forgot and wanted to start right then. I told him I didn't mind if he continued it into this week so he gets a full week. He obliged! I think my favorite day so far was Friday. I came home to 3 walls of paper hearts...each telling me something different he loved about me. My favorite might be..."I love you for wiping our kids butts." He changes diapers all the time. But he avoids taking Carter to the bathroom like the plague. It made me feel pretty good.

I tried out some crepe recipes earlier in the week because Owen seemed ok when I cooked with eggs in banana bread. Nope, he struggled for a few days with eggs over the skillet like that. I was really trying to avoid having Chad bring me Rice Chex and Rice Milk in bed on Mother's Day. Luckily, I found a fast cinnamon roll recipe (substituting ingredients I can eat) Saturday night and whipped that up so I could indulge in something.

So, Chad served me cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit and OJ. It was good.

We had dinner at my parents house. Chad was quite impressive. Making some incredible guacamole (everyone was asking who made it), providing the rice, and juggling babies so the Mom's could eat first. He's made this week special for me and I appreciate it so much.


I try every day to be a better mother. Some days I succeed. Some days I fail.

Sometimes I ask myself or others ask me...

How can you find the strength to keep on this diet? How do you go through a 10 hour work day, feed my family and my baby, go teach a temple prep class, then sleep a total of 3.5 hours only to go back to work by 6:30 the next morning?

My answer: I look at the example my Mom has been to me and I know I can make it. I may not look pretty. I might still be in my pajamas with greasy hair and sunglasses on hiding the bags under my eyes when I pick Alexis up from school in the middle of the afternoon when all the other mother's have worked out, showered and look their best.

My Mom is an inspiration to me. I know most kids say that about their Mother's, as they should. But, recently, I've been wondering how my Mom did it. How did she have a handicapped daughter and go through a year of Doctors telling her there was nothing wrong? They prescribed my parents sleeping pills to sleep through her screaming. Even after the diagnosis...she continued on being a great mother. She had 3 more kids after that. Then her 6th baby died 2 days before her due date. TWO DAYS. She made my Dad get off work because she felt something just wasn't right. She had just been to the Doctor a few days earlier and heard the babies heart beat. My dad thought she was nuts. But the Doctor told her to come in any way. The babies cord got wrapped in a knot cutting off nutrition to the baby. Back then, they didn't induce you so she had to wait to go into labor. She went to the grocery store after finding out her baby had died only to have people ask, "When are you due?" She'd answer "two days" even though she wanted to say so much more. Then after getting through that...she still had two more kids. (The last one being me.) And was still an involved, supportive and pleasant mother.

On the hardest of days...like this last Wednesday (mentioned above)...I drive myself over to my Mom's house and literally CRY on her shoulder. She always makes it better.

Today she wrote this in my Mother's Day card:

"Hang in there as problems come your way. Pay day is great when it comes. All my love, Mom."

The thing is, I know I've had a pay day. More pay days' than I can count. They may not come in a monetary form. And I may prefer it that way. I'd much rather, in the end, have my pay days come in the form of feeling and knowing I am blessed more than I will ever realize. I really feel like I won the lottery of life to have such an amazing Mother and to have the chance to raise my incredible children. But it wouldn't be fair not to recognize the fact that I have a supportive husband who is by my side every step of the way! I couldn't do without him either.

Here's to may more pay days. Because, today, was a good one. Happy Mother's Day.