Mother's Day Weekend

Years ago, I would have told you what I thought I would feel as a mother.  I would have told you that it was a similar love that I had when I adopted in my fur babies.  I still will contend that I love my cats and our dog more than anything and will do whatever I can to make them have the best life they can in the years they are with us.  However, I will also say that the love I have for them is so much different than the love I have for my children.  The love didn’t change, it is just different, a piece of my heart opened up and exploded the minute I held Thomas’ small body in my arms.  My heart was not prepared for the immense amount of love and out of this world passion I have found for being a mother. 
I very recently have a slew of friends who are pregnant or are having babies.  They are everywhere and I have found myself saying my uterus is burning again, yearning for that new itty bitty baby smell and snuggles.  It is also because my little girl Elin is no longer a baby and has very quickly become a walking talking toddler.  My best friend Tiffany said it best when we were talking and she called Elin a “blink and you miss it baby.”  Couldn’t agree more and I continue to savor every little itty bittiness she has about her as I love love love the little girl she is becoming.  Anyway, getting back to all the babies I know and the mamas that I know who are just about to enter the world of Motherhood.  My piece of wisdom that I like to share is to savor it, wrap yourself in the good and the bad because it all is over just as quick as it began.
Every mother will tell you that motherhood is one of the best, yet equally challenging jobs in the world.  You undoubtedly will be tested as a person more than you ever have, answers are not “text book” and along with being compassionate, nurturing, and warm; on a dime you will need to be able to switch into the person who can give guidance, sometimes direct and teach some of life’s hard lessons.  The balance and patience is a challenge and one I am constantly seeking reassurance and guidance on from other mother’s in my life and literature to help keep it all in perspective.   Anyway being a mother has been thus far the most fulfilling things I have done in my life.  I beam with pride when I talk about my kids, brag about them daily, and can not get enough of just how perfect, even in the most irritating ways, they both are.  They are little blessings that I am grateful each and every day I am able to be called their mother. 
This year I really felt the love as we celebrated Mother’s Day the whole weekend.  We started off by heading over to the park when Mike got home from work.  Thomas loves riding his bike in the circle.  I just happened to have my camera in the stroller from soccer earlier and grabbed a few pictures. On Saturday morning we headed out the door on an island adventure.  We had talked about going up to the San Juan islands but then decided to tone the trip down to a day trip and headed to Whidbey Island.  This was a good move as the driving and car seat part of the morning got a little long for both the kiddos.  We took a ferry over to the island and then continued our drive towards our final destination, Oak Harbor.  Mike had checked it out and thought that would be a cool place to check out.   We arrived in Oak Harbor and realized that places to eat aside from fast food were few and far between.  We did find a little café and had a nice lunch before heading to check out low tide in the harbor.  Too bad the salmon were not running because a sign said that when they are they very often have Orcas dining in the harbor.  Sad, it is my dream to see whales while we live here, and we are hoping to make that happen this summer. 
After lunch and exploring we headed to Deception Pass State Park to check things out.  We got to the park and were just about to pay when we double checked and both our kiddos were asleep.  Ahhh, so we drove over this beautiful bridge and sucked in the beauty as quickly as we could and headed home with 2 sleeping kiddos and one tired giant pup. (image from google images)
Once home we started to work on the yard and got the grill going.  We knew that the yard was going to take a bit of time to finish as my goal was to have the flower beds in the front completed by weekends end.   Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast before heading up to the nursery to pick up some flowers.   It was a cool morning and the nursery was not busy at all, very nice when we have the two little ones along. 
After the 1st nursery the girls and guys split up.  Elin and I headed to the grocery store and 1 other nursery quick and the guys started to work at home and then hand to make a quick run to another grocery store.   We reconvened at home for lunch and then Elin took a nap while Thomas and I started the yard work.  He and I spent 4 hours outside, digging, planting, and picking weeks.  It was great therapy and I’m very pleased with how the yard looks.  While we did that Mike got his yummy ribs ready for Mother’s Day dinner.  After getting an over tired little guy into the house and calming down a huge melt down we had dinner together. 
I then asked Mike if he would get a picture of me with the kiddos, as you can see getting a myself, a giant pup, Thomas, and Elin all to be looking and smiling is a tricky task, but it is the normalcy of our chaotic world.  It was a perfect weekend , as a family doing nothing too extraordinary, and the typical ordinary that I love my family so much for.   Now if only a cleaning fairy would have shown up to deep clean the house, wash all the clothes, fold and put away all the laundry, guess it is back to reality!