A Team Week 190: Motherhood

Can I just say that I LOVE being a mom?  Now that doesn't mean that I enjoy every single second of motherhood, I don't.  I do, however, love the act of motherhood.  There is not a second that goes by that I am not grateful that God chose me to be Asher and Avery's mom and that He has entrusted them to me to love on, laugh with, care for, wipe away tears, bandage, mentor, correct and more.  It is an exhausting job but one that I would not trade for anything you could offer.  That said, guess what...this week was Mother's Day and to commemorate the day here is another glimpse into my life as a mom...

Early in the week I got a surprise from our adorable neighbor Marge.  Honestly with no family in the area and almost no friends our age to lean on, it is pretty heart warming to know that there is someone else close to us that cares for and watches out for our family...

One of my roles as a mom is working.  It provides for our family and helps keep me sane.  I love being home with the boys, but I need a break here and there and work provides me (some of) that.  ;)  On Monday night I had to work late to finish up a project, so Eric was in charge of feeding the boys for the night.  Now when I have to care for them on my own we have a tradition of cooking up Brinner (usually scrambled eggs or omelets), but Eric tends to lean toward an even easier option of taking them out to eat.  On this particular evening they were going to grill hot dogs for dinner but realized that we had no buns.  They could have ridden their bikes to the nearest gas station for buns, but Eric decided that if they were going to do that they might as well just get the hot dogs there too.  Thus they rode to Speedway where they had milks and gas station hot dogs for dinner. (Barf).  The boys could not wait to tell me about it when I got home.  They thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  I wasn't as convinced, but they were fed and happy so I'll count it as a win.  Several weeks later Avery still points out the gas station where he had hot dogs with Daddy every time we drive by!

This week I was also surprised with the opening of our tulips.  I had planted these several years ago and the boys have since added more and more to surprise me.  With the tulip being my favorite flower I anticipate their arrival every year and yearn to see them bloom.  Every year though I find myself deeply disappointed as many of them do not bud and the ones that do are ALWAYS destroyed by the squirrels.  This year, Eric and I discussed taking action and before I thought about it a second time he had surrounded them with fencing and sprayed a squirrel repellant on them.  For the first time in a long time, I actually got to see them bloom!  :)  Makes a Momma happy!

One of the hardest parts of motherhood with multiple children is making sure each of them get some one-on-one time with me, but on Thursday I got to go to school with Asher for Muffins with Mom before school.  It was fun to have a little one-on-one time with Asher...doesn't happen much these days.

On Friday Avery and I got our own one-on-one time as we spent our morning home together.  It was a rainy day and he wasn't feeling very well (the season of sickness rages on), so he got in some cartoon time while I worked to clean up the house.  Since Asher was away at school, I first focused on his bedroom (it's always easier when he isn't around).  As I picked up laundry, legos, paper scraps and more I was delighted to find some cute drawings hidden away like Easter eggs in the room.

This one is my favorite.  :)

Once Asher's room was clean, Avery and I enjoyed some snuggles, Facebook faces and play doh. 

(2) Videos: Bouncing in Bed

When the weekend came our Mother's Day celebrations began.  Eric gave me some great gifts on Sunday but the best gift of all was that he took the boys out of the house for a few hours on Saturday morning so that I could have a nap and some time alone.

One of the things the boys did was go to Barnes & Noble where Eric let each of them pick out a new book. They also got a book for me which they gifted me on Sunday (How to Raise a Mom).  Then they each colored a card for me and then picked out a couple treats to bring home for me (Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake, a chocolate mousse dessert and then chocolate covered strawberries at Pick-N-Save...they apparently want a fat Mommy/Wife!).

When they got back home I have to admit I wasn't exactly the mom that they needed.  I had just woken up from a nap and they were very excited to tell me all about their adventures.  Asher in particular would not stop talking and was hanging all over me.  I needed a little more space and time but he wasn't willing to give it to me.  I love my boys but in the moment I felt a lot like this:

So yeah, I am a mom and I love being one but I am by no means perfect at it.

While the boys were out that morning they had gone to Pick-n-Save which was having a tent event outside.  They ate a ton of free samples so when they got home no one was hungry for lunch.  Later in the afternoon though Avery was hungry for a snack and wanted cereal.  I got him some cereal and he decided to sit on the floor and eat it even though I told him to eat at the table.  When he turned his back for a second to talk to Asher, Emma saw the opportunity and went for it.  When he turned back and saw her eating his cereal it was apparently devastating.

FB Post: That moment when the dog eats your cereal. 😓 #endoftheworld

Once he had recovered from the horror of losing his cereal I decided that we needed to go out and do something as a family.  Since we didn't want to go far and have never been bowling as a family we decided to give it a shot.  It was pretty fun.  We all had a good time and the boys keep asking to go back and do it again.  Avery enjoyed using the ball ramp and Asher on the other hand insisted on doing it all by himself.  Thank goodness for the bumpers!

(2) Videos: Bowling

Final Scores.  Everyone got over 100!

When bowling was over we finished out the evening with dinner at Birchwood Grill.  Asher, Eric and I filled up on the buffet (Asher ate a RIDICULOUS amount of food!), but Avery just wanted a cheeseburger (which turned out to be as big as his head).  He was happy with that decision, but was a bit jealous of the fruit that we got and then Asher's chocolate pudding so we did share a little of what we had with him.  When he realized he could dip his strawberries in his pudding he was quite convinced it was the best thing ever.  He had a chocolatey smile from ear to ear and kept giving us the thumbs up as he ate his dessert.

The epitome of Mom Life: Saturday night bedtime conversation with Asher after I had apparently folded a paper incorrectly:

Asher: Mommy you don't do anything right.
Me: :( I made you didn't I?
Asher: Actually, God made me.
Me: .... 

#schooled

On Sunday morning our Mother's Day Celebration continued as the boys allowed me to sleep in and then surprised me with breakfast in bed: strawberry Belgium waffles, orange juice and a tulip from the garden.  I am one lucky mom!

As soon as I'd eaten my breakfast they boys were begging me to come downstairs so that they could give me the presents they had for me.  Once I obliged they presented me with the book they got me, their cards, a mother's necklace with their birthstones on it and a few sweet treats.  As I said...a very lucky mom!

Video: How to Raise a Mom

We headed to church that morning and then went to Mod Pizza for a work-free lunch complete with free cake for the moms!

Finally, we ended the day and week with some quiet time at home.  The boys played outside while I worked on my bible study workbook and then did a little coloring in my bible.