Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Mother’s Day without my husband

~ Etc.

Jay was in Hawaii the past 5 days for his best friend’s wedding, which happened to fall right on Mother’s Day weekend, so we celebrated without him.  Jay felt really bad(but not bad enough to stop him from sending me pictures of him happily devouring all the delicious food he ate!), but I always thought of Mother’s Day as a day of celebrating my mother, and I was happy Jay got to spend it with his mother since it’s been about 10 years since he celebrated it with his mom! My mother and I live within 5 miles of each other, so I was able to celebrate it with her and we had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.  My parents and my girls and I went out to eat on Saturday and on Sunday I received these gifts from my girls.
With the help of daddy, they made adorable cards for me as well.  So this was what they were working on the night before Jay left and they turned on the music out loud and wouldn’t let me go near the living room for an hour!
❤Card from Ana:❤

♡ how do you know mom loves you?  
❤ she kisses me even when she’s mad
♡ how are you and mom different?  
❤ short and long hair.  other than that, we are the same.  we go potty at the same time a lot.
♡ how are you and mom the same? 
❤ we both like butterflies
♡ where is mom’s favorite place to go? 
❤ fun center with me
♡ what do you and mom do together?  
❤ go to classic fun center
♡ what is your favorite food that mom cooks? 
❤ toast with white powdered sugah
♡ what cartoon character would mom be?  
❤ a music one cause she sings good
♡ what does mom do for work? 
❤ hard stuff
♡ what is mom’s favorite food? 
❤ any dessert!
♡ what makes you proud of mom? 
❤ she is my favorite mommy
♡ something mom always says to you?  
❤ don’t whine or cry
♡ what makes mom happy? 
❤ if I stop whining and crying
♡ what makes mom sad?  
❤ when I be mean to Adi
♡ how tall is mom? 
❤ just a little medium
♡ how old is mom?  
❤ 16
♡ what is mom’s favorite thing to do?  
❤ nap
♡ what does mom do when you’re not around?  
❤ look for me
♡ how does mom make you laugh?  
❤ farts and tickles me
♡ what is mom really good at?  
❤ she’s good at making baby in her belly
❤Card from Adi:❤
♡ something mom always says to you? 
❤ to listen when she tells me one time
♡ what is your mom’s favorite thing to do? 
❤ nap
♡ what does mom do when you’re not around? 
❤ look on boring computer and boring phone
♡ how old is mom? 
❤ 11
♡ how does mom make you laugh? 
❤ tickle my neck
♡ what makes mom happy? 
❤ if we listen to her 
♡ what makes mom sad?  
❤ when we don’t listen, she gets strange and stuff
♡ what does mom do for work?  
❤ clean the whole house and cook and nap a lot
♡ how tall is mom? 
❤ medium, just little taller than me
♡ what do you and mom do together?  
❤ hug, kiss, cuddle, take pictures and watch movies
♡ what cartoon character would mom be?  
❤ Rapunzel cause she’s my favorite and mom’s my favorite
♡ what makes you proud of mom? 
❤ I just love her
♡ what is mom’s favorite food?  
❤ saimin cause she always eats if and even when I wake up in the morning, I find saimin bowls
♡ what is mom’s favorite place to go? 
❤ new york
♡ how are you and mom the same?  
❤ we both have black hair and I fit her clothes since we’re same size
♡ how do you know mom loves you? 
❤ she gives me choke hugs and kisses and even if she doesn’t say it, I know!
♡ what is your favorite food that mom cooks?  
❤ spaghetti, and when she lets me drink juice
♡ how are you and mom different?  
❤ she cooks and I don’t.  and I have shorter hair and she has bigger boobs.

After reading the card out loud with the girls and laughing, I said to them, “Do you know what else I want for Mother’s Day?  Choke hugs and kisses(choke=hawaiian for many)!!!”  And Adi exclaimed excitedly, “THAT’S WHAT I LOVE!!!”  as both of them piled on me to give me many hugs and kisses.  I love spending my life with these girls.  They make me so incredibly happy.

The perfect Mother’s Day gift

~ Etc.

photo by Jessica Peterson

Growing up, I always wished I had more money around Mother’s Day so I could buy my mom fancy gifts and things she really loved instead of my lame homemade card or a small, simple gift.  I felt a little foolish for only being able to give something so little to my mother who’s done everything for me and thought, “Oh how she would love to receive a fancy new dress instead of this journal I got for her!  Or an expensive handbag!  One day when I get older and have more money, I will be sure to spoil her with all those things and give her what she would really want for Mother’s Day…”  

Now that I have my own children and I’m older & do spoil my mother with things, I realize how wrong I was!  The perfect Mother’s Day gift is a homemade card or a small, simple gift.  That is all I ever want for any occasion of mine whether it’s a birthday, Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, or an anniversary.  Spending money is easy and doesn’t require much time, but a thoughtful Mother’s Day card or a small thoughtful present(homemade is the best and my personal favorite from my husband- a poem!) telling me how much they love and appreciate me?  No money could ever buy the happiness, satisfaction, and pride I feel from receiving those gifts.
Both of my daughters made me something in Preschool and while their teachers told them it was to be a surprise, my youngest couldn’t contain her excitement so she already let me get a sneak peek and I am so excited to receive it on Mother’s Day!  It’s a peacock she painted using her hand print on a white tile and in the back she wrote why she loves her mommy.  It’s the perfect gift and I can’t think anything else I’d rather have.  Well, besides plethora of kisses and hugs I would love to receive on Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and my mother in law, and happy Mother’s Day to all the women in the world!  I believe this holiday is not just for women with children, but for every single woman because we are all mothers in some way, always nurturing, teaching, and helping someone outside of ourselves.  May you have a beautiful Mother’s Day.