“Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You’ll realize this as soon as they’re born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.” -Ray Romano

This quote made me laugh, even though I can’t really say I’m living that reality anymore since Meredith, being the star baby she is, has been sleeping 10+ hours at night for the past month. The twins only did that a handful of times their entire first year!

This Mother’s Day all I really wanted was 48 hours to essentially not be a mom. No one asking me to wipe their bum. No changing clothes for the fifth time after a blowout. No ruthless cycle of meal prep, getting through said meal without clothes smeared beyond repair with food, clean up, and starting the cycle all over again (you’re hungry AGAIN?)

And I got just that. I hope my own mom got a few breaks like that here and there when we were growing up, because the more time goes by, the more I’m amazed and grateful for her hard work and sacrifices. The mom gig is not for the faint of heart and because she did it, that gives me hope I can make it too! I’m not sure I can ever repay her, but hopefully she can at least feel some reward being a Grandma and getting to do the (mostly) fun stuff with the grandkids/laughing at all the annoying things the girls do to me that I probably did to her at some point. Karma!

While I was mostly off the clock on Saturday, Jake and the girls had a blast (no pun intended) at the annual Boeing Rocket Launch contest in Huntington Beach building and launching rockets from soda bottles. Their rocket had one of the longest hang times there… future astrophysicists?

I had a gloriously peaceful weekend going for an extra long early morning run, lots of novel reading, mani-pedi, lunch with friends and extra time to get projects done at home. The girls were excited Sunday morning to surprise me with crepes, cards and chants of “Happy Mother’s Day” all day long.

Jake did a fine job tending to the motley crew, even though I couldn’t resist jumping in a few times when I knew something was headed for disaster (e.g. trying to throw together a three-course meal with three cranky kids after an afternoon of no naps due to church… pizza at the park it is!)

Please come back on duty, Mom!

However relaxing it was to not deal with much of the mundane work of mom life for a few days, there were plenty of details I missed. The random thought-provoking questions about life peppered throughout the day (What does “Let it Go” mean, Mom?) The baby coos and gurgles. The sense of pride watching them hold hands all the way to the park, knowing that despite all the squabbles, they love being each other’s best friends.

These are the things I would miss out on if I weren’t their mom. And I’m so glad I am. You are my people; I love you!

Lots of love,