Mother's Day

Monday I had a good mom moment.  Peach had dance pictures after school.  She had individuals at five and group shots at 5:45.  I knew it was going to be a challenge.  The olders don't get home until 4:10 and the photography studio was a half hour away.  I started prepping at 3:00.  I gathered up a ton of hair products.  The thing with dance is that hair needs to be up away from your face.  I just started being able to put Peach's hair in a pony this last month, but it is a pony with tons of fly aways.  I packed a brush, a large tooth comb, a small tooth comb, five pony tails, a handful of bobby pins, leave in conditioner, gel, and hair spray.  I knew the kids were going to be hungry so I cooked up some cheese crisp and I sliced apples.  I got Peach and Cheetah in the car.  The olders go home, "Go potty, get a drink and head to the car I told them."  We pulled into the photography studio with five minutes to spare.  Cheetah and Peach had fallen asleep but I had my mountain buggy and loaded it up with two sleeping kids, an ipad, an itouch, some apple slices and all the hair products.  We walked into the studio and meet Peach's teacher who had her costume.  Within five minutes I had Peach awake, in costume and with hair done.  It was worth it when she looked at herself.  "I'm a princess."  Yes darling you are.  She had her individuals taken and then we had thirty minutes to wait until the rest of her group was there to take her dance group picture.  The kids were amazing and it was such a relief. I was one mom with four kids.  Only one other mom had two kids to watch and more than one group was two parents to one kid.  It was a recipe for disaster but I had come prepared and my kids were having a good moment and they shone.  Thank you children for helping mom not look like a crazy woman :)

It was a good way to cap Mother's Day from the Sunday before.  I know some people feel guilty on Mother's Day because you get stuck listening to all these great stories about great mothers.  I don't feel guilty when I hear people brag their mom's up on Mother's Day, because if you can't do that as a child then you aren't worth your salt, but I do feel guilty pretty much every other day of the year because I know I could be a better mother and where maybe I wouldn't feel guilt over not putting in 100% on doing laundry or my homework, when I think about the fact that my product is my children I do feel bad when I don't give them my best.  Luckily for me my kids aren't perfect and they don't expect perfection from me either.  So we just keep limping along doing the best we can and luckily we have love to cover up our imperfections.  This year I got a million cards for my special day.  Gigi alone had made five.  They were queenly aware of the day and tried their very best to make it a good one for me, well except Peach who got lost at church.  But even that tied in well.

I was in Young Woman's listening to the lesson when three of the woman from Primary came in to tell me that Peach had gotten lost on the way from the bathroom to the primary room.  They said they'd look everywhere and they couldn't find her.  They told me they'd already told Dr. J.  It sent me into panic mode.  I walked into the bathroom and started praying.  Then I walked to the back of the building.  I looked out of the parking lot.  No sign of her anywhere.  I walked to the other side of the building.  Still nothing.  My friend was rounding the building on the other side and started looking out on the main rode.  I turned back to the building.  I walked in the front door and looked at a classroom on the left side of me.  The door was slowly swinging.  I thought, "I wonder if Erin just looked in that room."  Then I pushed the door open.  It hit resistance.  I looked around the corner and saw my three years old curled up on the floor.  "Peach!" I yelled out as I scooped her into my arms.  I walked out the church doors to tell my friends on the road that I had her.  I walked back in and saw Dr. J.  We squeezed her in a big long hug.  I had a little cry.  Being a mother can be exhausting but my children are my heart and with their birth I became so much more vulnerable then I ever believed possible.  She was never in any real danger but the feeling I had when I thought she was.  It was indescribable.  It was a good reminder to me of how much I value my role in their lives.

After church we went to the park where we played on two separate playground and took a walk in the woods.  It was sunny but their was a cool breeze.  We had a great time.  Then we came home and made steaks in a group project for dinner and while eating strawberry ice cream Facetimed our moms :)  One thing I didn't do...Laundry :)