I have to say, I feel really, really lucky every single day of my life to be a mom to Ollie and Maddie and to be married to Andy. I think of this so often... so Mother's Day is sort of like a normal day for me, but with frosting on top.
On Mother's Day EVE this year, the boys camped out in the backyard. Ollie has soooo much fun putting the tent up with his
dad, dashing this way and that to get the different bits and put it all together. Then they pack up their supplies into Ollie's Thomas the Train backpack - these generally include a flashlight, warm socks, and some granola bars and treats, in case of emergency. One of my favorite things ever is standing in the kitchen and watching the flashlight flicker inside the tent, and listening to their little whispers.
The morning was amazing - Maddie slept until 7am for the first time in AGES (this may never happen again, it seems). Pretty soon after that, Ollie came trotting upstairs to announce cheerfully, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" Big smiles. Then I came downstairs to find an "I love mommy" gift bag on the table, which Ollie had made at preschool. Inside was a beautiful handmade card and a painted vase that he'd made himself. Happy mommy. There was a little gift bag from Andy as well, with a Glee cd in it.... just so seriously cute, since he knows I watch and enjoy the show (guilty pleasure) - ever since we got it, Ollie and I have been belting out songs on it in the car. His favorites are "Can't Stop Believin'" and "Bust-a-Move." So, after I opened that, Ollie exclaimed, "and Daddy got you flowers!!" which he apparently had promised not to tell me... but he was just so excited, what can you say?! So we all found the beautiful hanging flowerpot Andy had hung outside the kitchen window - just soooo pretty. I'm hoping to keep that alive for longer than my average....
Pretty soon Andy headed out towards Sparta on his bike,
and we met him there at the boardwalk at around 9:15 for breakfast at Il Porto - we beat the crowd! Lots of people had reserved tables, but not till a bit later in the morning. It was absolutely gorgeous outside - sunny, a light breeze, perfect temperature - and we sat at a little table right on the boardwalk, overlooking the lake. The kids spent half their time strolling around the boardwalk, chatting with kids, grown-ups, dogs... anybody passing by. This is one of our favorite things about Il Porto, now that the kids are bigger - we can actually *encourage* them to leave the table. The food, as always, was wonderful. We had cup after cup of yummy coffee, and I had eggs benedict, mmmmm. Andy had a western omelet, and the kids shared yummy chocolate chip pancakes with a side of sausage. The kids were great, just especially lovely.
We went down to the water to feed the fish after breakfast, but I think they tend to prefer dining in the afternoon... they just weren't biting! Sometimes we see so many of them, and they actually jump out of the water to snatch the bread that's just hit the surface. So we gave up on the fish and headed down to the nearby playground, which was surprisingly empty for such a beautiful morning. After a bit, we walked back to town to the ice cream shop and got a bowl of raspberry chip to share. Everyone indulged me by agreeing to walk back to the boardwalk to eat it on a bench overlooking the water, so much nicer than sitting in town with the cars driving by. Then we drove home, singing to Glee all the way. Maddie had a nice nap when we got home, and I headed out for some kid-free shoppping! And even better, I actually FOUND a few things! Amazing. A pair of jeans, summer pants, and a few tops. Wow. Later in the day, the boys headed out for some groceries while I puttered around at home with Maddie, and we had super yummy minted-lamb burgers for dinner, my favorite. Now I ask ya, does it get any better than that? A heavenly day, start to finish. I am blessed, and I know it, every minute of every day.
We were lucky to be in Maine for Memorial Day this year, partly because we got to enjoy the nice parade that weaves through our little town, Tenants Harbor, and also because we happened to be in Maine during a massive heat wave back in NJ... I'm just so glad we missed it. On the morning of the parade, Grandma, Granddaddy, Ian, Suz and Eli all came to our house and we went n
extdoor to the Masonic Hall for their Memorial Day pancake breakfast. It was quite busy there, but we did get our breakfasts in time to finish them up and stroll to our friends Anne and Tony's house down the road who have a prime (and shady!) location on the parade route. I think everyone will agree, the fire trucks were the best part - Ollie certainly li
ked them! After the parade we listened to a band perform outside the VFW hall and loads of little speeches there, and then we headed back to our house. Later in the day we had our first ever family outing to the cemetary where Greenie and Granddaddy were buried; just weeks ago the gravestone/bench was completed and installed, and it's lovely, nestled under a shady tree i
n the spot we chose. It was nice to go there all together on Memorial Day, and it will be a regular thing, I'm sure - visiting Greenie and Granddaddy and telling them all the latest news. 
