I'm a Mother! And, I love it!

Warning: brag post ahead! 

This Mother's Day weekend was pretty perfect. It started out with my parents coming into town (after having my brother stay with us for the week).  Friday night, the boys headed off to the annual Father Son's camp out (minus Wyatt)... even my dad & Matt went, which was impressive considering my dad's idea of camping usually involved a travel van with a TV and bed in the back! I must admit, this weekend is a highlight for me!  One advantage of having all sons! While the boys camped, ran around with their headlamps, swam & played at the beach, my mom, Wyatt, and I went to Cafe Rio and then shopping!  I had wanted to update my key shelf, and we found cute knobs & then fabric to make maxi skirts... which are two things that I have been longing to accomplish forever! The next day, we worked on the shelf and then more shopping (where I picked out a few Mother's Day gifts for myself)! The boys returned exhausted, and the little boys were just so excited.  It was so fun to see how much they LOVED it.  They are lucky to have such a great dad.  My mom kept asking me questions about what they would be doing on their trip, and I just kept saying, "I don't know.  All I know is that they will be gone."  Shawn is so amazing at just taking care of thing (although, he did not take ONE picture... and they left in such a rush that I didn't get one before they headed out!)

My parents left Saturday night, and the next morning the boys started Mother's Day off with breakfast in bed... French Toast with whip cream and strawberries.  The best part of this for me is not the food (although it was amazing), but the look on my boys' faces when they bring breakfast to me. They are just beaming. These are the moments as a mom that I want to just bottle up and keep for later. 

The boys then sent me on a scavenger hunt to find my gifts.  Having previously purchased some gifts for myself & helped the boys wrap them for me (which Ory noted that it wasn't very fun that I already knew what I was getting... maybe I'll just let them surprise me next year?!)... I figured that I was just going to find those gifts.  Orin & Brody gave me clues like, it rhymes with play, meaning it's in the playroom. Umm, okay.  But after finding the shoes and dress, there was still more! See's candy with my favs, chocolate almond & California Brittle, and a bike! I'm always talking about wanting to get bikes for the family, so this was very thoughtful!  After the presents, it was a whirlwind to get ready for church.  The boys went up to sing with all the other primary kids, which is always so cute & often funny... especially when one of your kiddos is picking his nose.  I taught the primary children about prophets and their mothers, and then got a break from teaching and sat in the women's class... which is where I consumed most of my Dove chocolate that was passed out to the mothers.

 

 

After church, we had a simple lunch and then I let Shawn take a nap first since he hadn't recovered from the sleepless camp trip.  The older boys played left-right-center with me and then I was able to talk to my brother via Facetime!! The timing was perfect and it was really fun to see him. 

Shawn tagged me for a nap. Yay. Some hours later, I awoke to an amazing smell!! Tri-tip, mashed potatoes, salad, Texas toast. YUM! We ate, and then went for a family walk.  The night even finished off with watching one of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time.  

So there it is.  An incredibly detailed description of a pretty perfect day.  

As a mother, not everyday is perfect, but the love I have for my boys is... and that's enough.

A Kiss...

...to hold onto!

As my children are growing older, as more are added, and now that I'm a stay-at-home mom, these motherhood quotes pretty much sum up my life as a mom...

"Motherhood is not for sissies!" 

"There was never a child so lovely but his mother wasn't glad to get him to sleep."

 -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Mothers are all slightly insane." -J.D. Salinger

"Being a full time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs- since the payment is pure love." -Mildred Bremont

"There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one." -Jill Churchill

"The mother of boys work son up to son down."

"Mother is a verb, not a noun."

"All mothers are working mothers."

There are days that I just feel done: exhausted, patience sucked dry, feeling inadequate, frustrated, helpless, & directionless, physically abused (Wyatt has a mean whack & kick), mentally abused (as I am told, "I don't like you, Mom! You are a meany! I'll never listen to you!" )

And yet...

there are so many moments during the day where I just stop and think how lucky I am to be a mom. The kiss that Ory blows me when I take him to school, the cute conversions I get to have with Brody (today he was telling me all about the farm animals he wants to get for the backyard), the sponteous hugs I get from Wyatt all day (even a kiss if I'm lucky), all make it perfectly imperfect.
Definitely worth it.
I love them more than words can describe.

And, they are all asleep. 

Which makes tomorrow seem possible!

Time-Out

I put myself in time-out!  As I watched my boys throw their dinner (mostly Wyatt), and then smash in into my freshly mopped floor, I started to yell.  Having just recommitted to not yell in my home, I announced that I was going to my room for a time-out! 

Immediately, I felt better.  I hopped onto my bed and just laid there thinking that it might take some coaxing to get me out of time-out.

Just then, I feel a little arm around me and the words, "I love you, mom."

There was Ory.

I had been only been in time-out for about a minute, and he came in to check on me.

He then proceeded to tell me some jokes.

"Why did the duck cross the street? To prove he wasn't chicken! Silly!"

It was a cute moment and one I wanted to record...

As a reminder to me that my children do indeed love me (even though they have been telling me the opposite lately),

That it feels nice to have some one come in and tell you they love you when you are in time-out,

and

to remember that when I feel like I can't handle them or I'm going to yell, 

it's okay to remove myself... go to time-out, or count to ten, take some deep breaths, whatever it takes.

The faces of my little men aren't going to stay little for very long, and yelling isn't going to teach them. (Cleaning it up would... which is what their dad did. Yay)!

I thought my mom was mean...

... until I became a mother.  

I love my mom!  She's always been my best cheerleader, guiding me, and listening to me (which I know takes a lot of patience).  I have always felt close to her.

However, there were times I thought... geez, what is her deal!

Here are a few examples of my pre-parent thoughts.

"Why does she say she needs at least a few hours of not talking to children before she goes to bed? Doesn't she love talking to me?"

"Why does she say, 'Stop using my name in vain! You have two parents.' Umm, she's the one I need to talk to."

"What's with her not wanting to share her water and food with me?  Doesn't she like to share everything with me? All the time?!"

Well, now I'm a mother.

And a mother to three. Boys.

Now, I understand that my mother was just a mother.

And being a mother isn't a easy job.

My mother minded self can now relate and thinks...

"Wow! It's been a long, non-stop day of serving, and I need some time to breathe and gear up for doing to all over again tomorrow."

"Hearing your name being said over and over, with a request for something, gets tiring."

"Can't I just have a drink free of kid backwash! Is that too much to ask?"

So, mom, I am starting to realize what it takes to be a mother.  I am sure glad I have you to look to and talk to!  You have done a great job and continue to be a great mother (and grandmother).

And don't get me wrong, I love being a mother. I love my boys.  I wouldn't trade it for the world,

but I don't think there is anything that can prepare you for motherhood.

The feelings of inadequacy, the amount of patience required, the selflessness, but also the love, the joy of seeing their little smiles and watching them learn and grow.  

Hearing them say, "I love you, mom!"

It doesn't get much better than that!

(The only way I could get a pic of these three was to literally hit myself on the head with a toy... it's the only thing that seems to work! Stinkers! :)

Here's reality...