Blog first, email later?

It's been a few (5) days since I've popped in here.  Not for a lack of having things to write about, but I swear every time I've sat down at the computer in the last week, I got sucked into the massive amount of emails about baton, 5th grade promotion, retirement receptions, luncheons, and assemblies that all happen in a 8 days span and I have some level of involvement in. 

'Tis the season.   5 1/2 more days of school, y'all.  

So let's back up to last week . . . 

On Friday, there was the last big assembly at the middle school.   One of the highlights was a member of the Nashville Predators coming to school to thank the kids at school for collecting 80 zillion pounds of candy for the troops  after Halloween.  It was a joint project between school and the Preds.  Matt was one of the student leaders, so he got to go up when the school was presented with an autographed jersey by Kevin Fiala who is a winger for the Predators.  

Unfortunately, the Kevin isn't enjoying the playoff run with the team because he fractured his femur at the end of last month.  Quite frankly, I can't believe he was up and about as much as he was!  But he was a super nice guy and Matt was thrilled to meet him.  

Gracie had her end of the year baton recital.   Biased mama here, but she was the best one there!  

Despite missing both of her two turns during her solo, her routine was a complete crowd pleaser and they oooh'd and ahhh'd in all the right places.   And after a disastrous dress rehearsal last week, her middle school team pulled it together and had two good routines, too.   Great night for twirling!

By the way, Matt skipped the recital and went to the Farewell dance at school.  2 weeks ago, he wasn't so jazzed about attending, but when given the choice of the dance or baton recital, he managed to find a gaggle of pals attending and joined them.

And of course Sunday was Mother's Day.   Bassam cheffed up a lovely meal and we had dinner with both sets of parents and his brother.   Biased daughter here, but my mama is the best one. 

So those are the highlights.   Tomorrow is the 7th grade honors assembly and band banquet and Thursday I'm helping host a retirement reception.   I should be chock-full of things to write about it. 

I just need to write before I open my email!

Happy Mother's Day

Well, Mother Nature definitely did her part to make Mother's Day a beautiful one in middle Tennessee.  Sunny, breezy and in the low 80's.  Practically perfect! 

My own mom was out of town, so we had to send her Mother's Day wishes over the phone, courtesy of Ma Bell. 

After church, we went to Bassam's brother house where he cooked up a huge dinner for us, B's parents and two of his uncles.  So delicious!  Afterwards, we stopped at Centennial Park for the big spring craft fair.  It was really crowded and I had 2 completely disinterested and 1 mildly disinterested people in tow, so we didn't stay long.  Still, it was nice to be outside!

The rest of the day was spent finishing homework, going for walk, playing outside and taking a nap.   So as Sundays go, let alone Mothers Days, that's not so bad.  

Wishing Moms everywhere a wonderful day!

Word to your mother . . . .

Today the sun was shining, it was 90 degrees and it was MOTHER'S DAY!

We celebrated tonight with my folks, B's parents and his brother.   Bassam grilled up lamb and chicken, corn on the cob and made my favorite ramen salad.    

So grateful for these sweet kids who call me mom (and Charlie, who doesn't call me anything!). 

To all the mamas out there, especially my own Mom . . . . HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day!

A beautiful day in Nashville on this Mother's Day! 

My day started late, when my kids let me sleep in until almost 7:30.  Yes, 7:30 is sleeping late in these parts.   Bassam is on call this weekend, so the kids and I went to church on our own.

After church, we were off to my parents for lunch.  They invited B's parents and brother, too, so we all spent Mother's Day together.  So blessed!  Yes, I felt totally guilty about my mom cooking on Mother's Day, although she was quick to point out she did all the prep work yesterday and everyone brought something. 

Tonight, it stopped being about me (rats!) and I took the kids to the Swim Team kickoff party.  Can it really be time for summer swim team to start?  My mind says no, but sadly, the calendar says yes.  The kids are out of school in a week and a half. 

 

Sigh.

 

I can't really think about that now.  I need to soak up every bit of Mother's Day I can because tomorrow it will be over.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas reading this . . . . especially mine!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day.  And with that wish, I share with you one of my favorite quotes.  

"And remember that behind every successful woman......is a basket of dirty laundry."

                                                   -Unknown

Musings on Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day!

The kids asked me last night why we have Mother's Day and not "Kids Day."  I'm fairly certain I had the same question as a kid. I wonder if Woodrow Wilson's kids asked him that when he made it an official holiday?   Did Woodrow Wilson have even have kids?   Did Mrs. Wilson have to twist his arm to sign the proclamation? 

Surely I can have more productive thoughts on motherhood and Mother's Day than this . . . .

I think that it goes without saying I love being a Mom.    I love my kids with all my being and would do anything for them. It is a true gift--and a kind of love I'm convinced I could not have understood  until I first held Matthew in my arms (although at that point he was still "Bubba" . . . we struggled with baby naming both times around).

I think I knew I'd always be a mom. Admittedly, younger-Kris didn't always know she'd be a stay-at-home mom.  I'm guess I'm still navigating my way in that adventure.  I do know it is a true gift and privilege.  And when I think about the hundreds of hours spent in therapies when Matthew was age 2 to 6--I don't know how we'd have done it if I had been working outside the home.   I love the countless weekdays the kids and I have been able to spend at Cheekwood, the zoo, museums, making art, playing with friends and taking classes.   I guess that's part of why "stay at home mom" never seems to describe what I do. We're never home.  And I have the dusty bookshelves and piles of dirty laundry to prove it. 

Matthew sometimes asks why he can't be a "SACC kid."   SACC is the after-school program at Kenrose.   I'm not going to lie, I'm always floored when he asks.  Does he not appreciate that his Momma is there when he gets home after school?  No there are never fresh-basked chocolate chip cookies waiting for him, but I enjoy that time we have talking about his day (less so doing his homework, but it's part of the package!) and unwinding from school.  

Don't get me wrong, I know the kid loves me.  Matthew is a mama's boy with a capital "M."    Last month we were watching The Phantom Menace.   I'm not a big fan of the Star Wars prequels and prefer 4, 5 and 6 (staples of my own childhood), but the kids were dying to see it so we had a movie night.  At one point, Anakin says goodbye to his mom and goes off to become a Jedi.  I looked over and Matthew had tears running down his face.  When I asked him what was wrong he said, "Ani is leaving his Mom.  It's so sad."   Then he crawled over to where I was sitting and cuddled in to next to me. 

Okay.   My heart melted.  I started crying. 

I should mention, Gracie was completely unaffected by this scene.   Maybe she just didn't get it.   Or maybe my little independent spirit thinks that all kids spread their wings at a young age to become a Jedi.

But then Friday, as we endured a never-ending stay in the doctor's waiting room (5 year well check, no worries), she was watching Dumbo and I saw her face crumple in the scene where Dumbo is separated from his Mom.  "That's sad that Dumbo can't be with his Mommy. He needs her."  

I've decided the Phantom Menace was just over her head.   She gets it.  

She doesn't however get that I once had a job besides being a Mom.  The other day she noted that Daddy had gone to school longer than I had.  "I guess you don't need that much school to be a Mom," she said.

Okay, I have a stinkin' master's degree!

I tried to explain to her my former life and careers.  She gave met that sideways glance that told me she was thinking about what I was saying, but either didn't get it or didn't agree.

I let it go. 

Let's switch gears for moment . . . .

Most of you reading this knows my Mom.  She is an awesome lady and a great mom.  We scrap at times and occasionally irritate each other --but when the day is done, I know she's got my back and I have hers.   As a kid you don't appreciate all the stuff your Mom does for you.  Clean clothes magically appear, empty shampoo bottles are suddenly replaced with full ones, my ideas for Halloween were transformed into a beautiful homemade costumes, delicious meals were on the table every night (minus the broccoli and some yucky dish called Dr. Martin's Mix), dresses were made for graduations and dances, she hauled Amy and I to the library, church, practices and everywhere else we needed to go.  And I can't think of a single track meet, basketball game or band concert that my mom was not there for.  Not one.    The only thing she couldn't do was solo band competitions. They freaked her out.  Yes, I'm serious.   I do have a good Dad story related to band competition, but will save it for Father's Day. 

When I was working, I remember thinking that my management style was shaped by the bosses I had over the years.  You take the good qualities from them, fix the ones that you didn't like and develop a style that is your own.  I think motherhood is like that.   I've been able to take a lot from my mom.  And it warms my heart to know that some of that came from her mom.   

This is probably the longest post I've written in a very long time.   I'll wrap it up and say Happy Mother's Day to my awesome Mom, my sweet mother-in-law, Tata, and all my mom friends out there.

A special note those who are missing their Mom's today.   As I have posted before, Gracie has all kinds of ideas on death --from Jesus to Martin Luther King to Tammy's dog, Memphis.   As we were putting cards in the mail for my mom this week Gracie asked, "Where do you send cards to if your Mom is in heaven?"   After explaining that there's no post office in heaven, she declared, "I bet God will have a big Mother's Day party for all the moms up there -- with chocolate cake!"

I'm thinking of Gretel and Grandma enjoying some cake right now. . . . and it makes me smile.   My friend Dana's mom is at the party, too.  And even though it's a party for Moms, Linda  probably is the one who decked the place out, because she had an awesome sense of style and flair.

Love you, Dana!

Happy Mother's Day

First and foremost, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my own Mom, Mother-in-law, and mommy friends and relatives! Hope you are having an awesome day!

The sun is shining, it is fabulously mild (maybe 67 degrees) and my cool husband is cooking dinner tonight! Bassam and the kids gifted me with an oh-so-cute new purse, as well as a flash for my SLR camera! Whoo hoo!

We went to church this morning, which was definitely hard. We didn't realize that our normal route would not be open to us. One portion of Sneed Road, although dry, has sustained pretty bad damage. In our detour we passed many homes with piles of drywall, damaged furniture and debris at the curb. It was heart-wrenching. You could look to the trees and see how high the water had gotten last weekend. At points, it was higher than our van. Hard to imagine.

While our church was lucky not to have been flooded, several members of our congregation were not so fortunate. One family was rescued from the roof of their house, others sustained major flood damage in their homes. The pastor put together a lovely service that allowed us to grieve in what happened, but provide hope and encouragement to each other for the rebuilding process in our community.

During the children's message, each child was given a small bunch of flowers to give to their mom for Mother's Day. I was so touched that Matthew chose to give some of his bunch to a woman and her mother who attend our church who probably had the worst flood damage. A very sweet moment that I know they appreciated --and made me proud.

Despite this sad part of the day, it really has been a wonderful Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

You are my sunshine . . . .

Despite the chaos and sadness around town from the flooding and yesterday's Mommy rant, the week has not been all bad.

On Wednesday, we celebrated Mother's Day at preschool. They call it the Mother's Day Tea, but actually it's lemonade and cookies and the Moms are hard pressed to get either one when they are sitting next to a 3 or 4 year old. We do, however, get to listen to some fabulous singing, including a rendition of "You are My Sunshine" complete with shades and waving sunshines on a stick. Gifts included a hand painted canvas. I love Gracie's, although I haven't a clue what it is! Regardless, I will hang it with pride.

Happy Mother's Day!

Even though I've been a Mom for almost 6 years (wow!), sometimes I still feel like this is a holiday more for my own mom and mother-in-law. Why is that? Surely 6 years is long enough to adopt this new role and holiday as my own? And gosh knows I love a good holiday --especially one that is all about me.

Bassam and the kids gave me a bottle of perfume, plus my new Garmon GPS running watch (that I still haven't learned to use--this week!), which was a birthday/Mom's day combo. After church, we invited Bassam's parents and brother over for a yummy lunch of grilled chicken, salad, steak fries and angel food cake with strawberries. Hadn't seen them in a while, so it was a fun way to spend part of the afternoon.

Plans got a bit thwarted tonight. We were supposed to go see the Nashville Symphony play at Crockett Park as part of the Brentwood Summer Concert series. Like pretty much EVERYTHING ELSE lately, it was cancelled because (as they stated on their website), "conditions were below their minimum standards." However, no one was surprised when it never actually rained. We had planned to go over and picnic beforehand with the Clarks, so instead we just moved the festivities over to our house. The kids ran around in their usual fashion and the parents got to enjoy good company. A pretty great Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love you!

Tea and raindrops

Attended the Mother's Day Tea with Matthew's class today. It's funny that there is no actual tea was served (lemonade and decorate-your-own-cookies), but a neat event just the same. The kids treated us to some songs and some fabulous gifts, including this Mother's Day placemat and a pot of homemade flowers! Love them! After some fierce weather this morning, the remainder of the day was pretty decent. Then around 3:30 it started kicking up again. This was just about the time that things got real rough in Southern Illinois, Kentucky and Northern Tennessee. Needless to say, baseball was cancelled AGAIN despite the fact that we spent the rest of the night playing the yard with friends.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

We celebrated Mother's Day in a rather quiet way today. I rather enjoyed it! We went to church this morning (all clad in red for Pentecost), had lunch out at Lenny's (a sandwich shop) and the rest of the afternoon was spent around the house. Tonight, Bassam made a great dinner of Mahi Mahi and shrimp and we had his folks, Wadih and Uncle Adnan over! I should mention that Uncle Adnan (my mother-in-law's brother) is the closest known redhead in either side of the family (although his hair is white now!), so he's probably the reason for our sweet little carrot top daughter! She really took to him, too.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Mother-in-law and all the other Moms out there! And wonderful sweet thought of the Moms of my family and friends who are no longer with us!