HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU, TOO

Kendrie -- Day 150 OT
Blaine -- Still hanging in Seattle, but not feeling quite as perky as he was

I was so encouraged by the comments in the guestbook from the other parents who chimed in on “loving one kid more or at least claiming to on a regular basis” from Friday’s journal entry, and I’m happy to know my kids will have lots of friends in therapy some day. Ya’lls guestbook entries always make me smile …. I think I get a bigger kick from reading those, and hearing from you guys, than I get from actually writing the journal entries some days. Most days, I get a fair amount of hits on this site (well, "fair" by my standards, anyway) and not very many guestbook entries. So thanks for letting me know!

Today, as you know, is Mothers Day. Invented by {insert historical characters name here, I don’t even know who} and marketed to death by Hallmark and FTD. My day has actually gone pretty well. I was awakened by giggling children … no, scratch that. Technically, I was awakened by an insane dog who apparently had to go outside to use the restroom three times between 6 and 7 am ……. making me wonder if grabbing a hacksaw and cutting an impromptu doggie door between my bedroom wall and the backyard would greatly depreciate the value of the house.

After that, I lay there and pretended to be asleep, as per the instructions I received from my children last night, in preparation for whatever “special” thing it was they had planned. So, the day began with them bringing me breakfast in bed, a gourmet meal that would surely have Martha Stewart sobbing in jealousy; cold toast served on a paper plate and lukewarm milk. I professed my greatest appreciation and choked down a few bites, then we proceeded to the living room where I was bestowed with gifts worthy of a queen: several hand-painted candle holders and a new sleep shirt decorated with magic markers, courtesy of the arts & crafts building from Camp Sunshine a few weeks ago, a purple vase that Kendrie apparently bought at the dollar store (thank you, Renee’, for taking them, that was very nice of you. But next time …. Pier One, maybe, or Crate and Barrel???), a necklace that Kellen bought direct from the Mr. T line of Jewelry for Beautiful and Gaudy Women, which will come in handy the next time I star in a 50 Cent video, and the final gift, two books Brayden purchased with her own money from our School Book Fair last week ---- two of the books I had actually DONATED to the fair myself.

So there you have it, proof positive that my children love me beyond measure and harbor little to no resentment for all the yelling and fussing that has gone on lately. So far today, I managed to remain calm when Brayden spilled not one, but two glasses of milk on the rug (and then she acted offended when I suggested perhaps she should go back to drinking from a sippy cup!), when the kids fought over what movie they wanted to watch (Hello??!?! Whose day is it, people?!??! Someone check the calendar!!!) and when I vacuumed the rug, only to have it littered with granola bar wrappers, goldfish crumbs, and empty Capri Sun drinks not ten minutes later.

I did not, however, remain calm when the kids tried to watch old home movies while I was attempting to take a nap. (I know, what was I thinking?) Apparently the tape got stuck and while trying to cram, force, gently insert it into the camcorder, the entire top of the camcorder popped off, completely unfixable and all three of them insisted on waking me from my nap to swear *they* were not the one who did it.

Never mind that Blaine and I have had that camcorder for ten years and it’s probably the only one on the planet that still uses 8mm tapes. We’ve been talking about buying a new one for a few years ….. so even my griping then about how come nothing ever stays nice around here and everything always winds up broken or dirty or in a million pieces, was a little half-hearted.

Well, I had planned to make Shrimp Fried Rice for dinner tonight, but its 4pm and Kellen is bugging me to go to McDonalds, so now I’m thinking I’ll let Ronald cook for me this evening. Even if it’s only a McFish Filet, at least I wouldn’t have to fix it, right? Which is the beauty of Mothers Day, cold toast and all.

Happy Mothers Day to you, too!