Let the Mother’s Day festivities begin!
In Samantha’s classroom for her Mother’s Day Breakfast. Thank you for the card and flower present, Samantha!
Popping by next door for Amelia’s Mother’s Day Breakfast and to receive her beautiful card and cute flower pot present that she had been so excited to give me all week that she had already told me what it was.
Mother’s Day Tea last year:
On Friday during Meredith’s nap time, the doorbell rang, and while I normally don’t answer the door at that hour, I luckily looked through my Ring app to see who it was and saw two guys who looked like movers with a truck. Thinking they had the wrong house, I opened the door and they handed me an invoice to sign for a piano. Before I could tell them they must have had the wrong address, they were sprinting to their truck to haul the piano out and I was scanning the invoice, which apparently did have my name on it!
Confused, I pointed out where to put the piano and apologized for not having a tip since I had no idea I was getting a piano! “Ummmmm…. did you buy a piano?” I texted Jake. Apparently, the movers weren’t supposed to deliver the piano until after he had gotten home from work, but they came early and even though they called him to give him a 20 minute warning and he left work immediately, there was an accident on the freeway and he was stuck in traffic, missing the movers by minutes. He was SO disappointed to have missed my reaction!
We had picked out and had been looking for a deal on a few different Yamahas we wanted in the fall, but had tabled it because we had so much other work on the house to pay for. Props to Jake because I am very hard to surprise and I was in total shock for a while! The twins had mentioned something that morning about my present being something musical, but I figured they were going to play me some kind of song on their harmonica or sing; amazing they didn’t completely spill the beans! So happy to have a piano again and thank you, Jake for a great Mother’s Day present!
All the girls were SO excited to have a piano and wanted to “practice” on it constantly. Capitalizing on the twins’ enthusiasm, we started piano lessons with Miss Jenny right away. They are so quiet and compliant during lessons that Miss Jenny always remarks on what good girls they are (little does she know how loud they can be!) Meredith is usually running around like crazy and it’s been a challenge keeping her quiet and occupied during lessons, but she loves to listen in.
The first few weeks went great with practicing, with the twins eager to be the first one to practice. After the initial excitement wore off, however, their enthusiasm for practicing has started to wane. Amelia almost always volunteers to go first and seems to be picking it up easier and with more excitement than Samantha. At first, I wondered if I should be paying for lessons given that at this stage, I could teach them myself, but after a few practice sessions and seeing the difference with how they are with Miss Jenny vs. Mommy, I am so glad we started them with a teacher! They are goofy and complain with me; even at this beginner level, I get so frustrated! I am grateful to have Miss Jenny be the reason I bribe them to practice since they want to do well for her (plus she brings them Goldfish crackers!)
Back to Mother’s Day… gluten-free crepes and a smoothie for breakfast. Samantha looks like she sampled a little bit on the way up to deliver!
They’ve been making crepes for years! Mother’s Day 2015– these were almond flour/coconut flour crepes:
Thank you for all the beautiful presents, girls!
Not sure what half of this means… Jake said everyone was super silly while he was doing this interview.
Meredith apparently didn’t see much point in the interview and just wanted to color.
The beach is my happy place… when I don’t have to get anyone ready or pack/unpack the car! I literally handed Jake my beach packing list, complete with food items, and practiced a new song on the piano while he and the girls cleaned the kitchen after breakfast and packed up our beach gear. It wasn’t until everyone was buckled and the car was idling in the driveway, that I got in the car. Relaxing! We walked around the Montage in Laguna Beach and it was a beautiful day.
Down on the sand, Jake set up my beach chair and I relaxed while he ran around with the kids, fetched snacks for them every two seconds, and attempted to keep Meredith from throwing food at seagulls. After the clouds burned off, it got HOT fast and while the girls played for a good few hours, they burned out fast. We trekked back up the hill with three screaming girls, and I’m sure people were feeling bad for pregnant mom/tired dad and wondering why we were having a 4th! Even with the sun-induced meltdown, I was so relaxed from not having to do anything that morning that I was still in a good mood. Amazing what a little extra energy will do for you.
Past Mother’s Days:
2013;
2014:
2015:
2016:
2017:
2018:
While Jake and the kids were at the far end of the beach climbing rocks, I read a book and watched from afar, only mildly concerned when I heard Meredith screaming since Jake looked like he was handling it. She returned with bumps and scrapes everywhere!
Surfer girl Samantha.
After a nap and church, Jake and the girls made a delicious steak dinner with a strawberry icebox cake for dessert, as per the menu I had given him the week prior to figure out (things go a lot smoother when he and the kids have some direction!) I also played the piano and forced the girls to sing a Mother’s Day related primary song since for some unfathomable reason, the primary didn’t have the kids sing any of the six Mother’s Day related songs during their program…not that the lyrics to any of the Mother’s Day songs are the greatest, but it only happens once a year and it’s cute! The weekend was not without its meltdowns, but I felt appreciated nonetheless– thank you for a fun, relaxing and lovely Mother’s Day!
Lots of love,
