My First Mother's Day

Maybe because I wanted to become a mom for sooooo long, I eagerly anticipated this mother's day more than I should have. I usually downplay holidays. Birthdays are not a big deal to Jay and I. We have a nice dinner and that's about it. I was ready to celebrate being a mom though. In my mind I envisioned breakfast in bed, a touching church service followed by a relaxing mimosa filled brunch, lounging on a blanket in the park, lots of snuggles from my super cooperative happy children, a husband who wrote me a sweet card about what a wonderful mother and wife I am...

7:15am- Thanks for sleeping in an extra 15 minutes Holden! I kick Jay to get out of bed and tell him to go get Holden before he wakes Emma Cate. I tell Jay its mother's day and he should let me sleep. He brings Holden back to our bed, I nurse and we play while Jay gets Emma Cate gets up and ready. I nurse her then we are up for the day.

8:00am- I make the kids breakfast and steal a few bites of cheese-y eggs.

8:45am- Kids go down for a nap. Jay showers. I iron and lay out outfits for church and do some work for Tender Love and Cloth.

9:00am- I start to get ready and Jay packs the diaper bag. I ask him to please have kids ready to go by 9:15 (diaper bag packed, bottles made, etc.)

9:15am- I'm ready to go. Holden is up, dressed and in car seat, Emma Cate is still asleep. Bottles are not ready to be packed.

9:30am- We are walking out the door for a 9:45 church service. I lecture Jay about being responsible and getting the kids ready on time and how I am NOT having the picture perfect mother's day.

9:45am- We arrive at church and race to get the kids checked in at the nursery and find seats. Somewhere during the service I feel guilty for getting upset with Jay and vow to forgive him and move on with the day.

11:00am- We have a nice brunch out at 131 Main. We did have a great time eating outside and watching all the traffic on East. It kept the kids occupied and we enjoyed the meal. We went upstairs in the building to visit my sister and change the babies diapers.

1:00pm- Kids fall asleep on the way home and we unsuccessfully transfer them to their cribs. I spend the next hour watching them on the monitor and making trips into the nursery to soothe them while trying to watch Grey's Anatomy and relax.

3:00pm- Holden is up from his nap and I asked Jay to feed him his bottle and late lunch while I menu plan for the week ahead. Ends up Jay piddling around in kitchen and Holden trying to attack my laptop while I scour pinterest for recipes.

3:30pm- Emma Cate is still asleep so I load Holden up and we run errands to best buy and the grocery store. While there I am a bit jealous of all the dads I see toting kids around and shopping for the mother's day meals they plan on making their moms.

5:40pm- Holden and I arrive home to a clean house and a happy and bathed baby girl. I am in a better mood and thankful for my husband. We open gifts as a family and I got a bit spoiled but missed receiving a sweet card or hand prints from the kids. We played with the kids for a little and then made them dinner.

7:00pm- Bedtime for babies.

7:30pm- Chinese takeout for us .

8:30pm- I am asleep on the couch.

I began to think about Mother's Day when I sat down to recap our weekend. I even called Jay and said, I'm writing a post about our mother's day and his response was "um. oh. really?" I started to think about why I envisioned mother's day the way I did. I have an amazing Dad. A Dad that always makes my mom feel special, appreciated, loved and cared for. He knows that her job is the hardest in the world. He truly is outstanding. Where do we learn to do the things we normally do on Mother's Day? From our Dad. They help us cook breakfast in bed and buy us flowers and cards to give our moms. What happens when you are raised by a single mom? Who teaches you these things?

Jay and I grew up in two very different households. Most of the issues we mashed out during our first and second year of marriage (how to load a dishwasher, how to fold towels, etc. :) ) but it still catches me off guard when we cross a new bridge or milestone in our marriage and don't have the same approach to handling it. After almost 10 years of being together, we are still working things out. We are still learning and growing and that is so important to a relationship.

So was my mother's day picture perfect? No. Was it something out of a movie? No. Am I going to rock the hell out of Father's Day and show him how much we appreciate him? You bet. Even though Mother's day didn't play out the way I thought it would, this Mother's Day was perfect to me; I got to be a mom this year and spend the day with my family. The thing that matters the most.