All Things Mama's Day.

In case you are in need of reading glasses like me these days...the caption reads -

Very early in the morning

They come pitter pattering

and thumping onto my bed...

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

they shout, giggling and laughing

carrying their creations proudly.

It was about 7 am...that's late in our household and I was still in my jammies, definitely no make up on this face...when I was assaulted by the very creatures I've cared for all these years...they were so incredibly proud of the artwork they made for me...and I remember my mom holding on to these pieces of modern art for many years...in fact, she probably still has a few in her china cabinet, don't you, Baka?

Ken and the girls, I am sure, made certain that I, too, had an Ugly Doll. The girls love these things and mine is appropriately two sided! And my Alex, my only son, made sure his Mama had flowers...isn't the blossom gorgeous with its tissue paper center??? LOVE it!

And here they are holding up their card creations. Kata has been talking about making me a card with smiley faces and flowers for months now...and so she did. Bella drew me a monster on her card. At least, that's what she said every time we asked. And Alex he wrote me a poem stuck besides that tissue paper flower. His teacher gave them the assignment to write a poem based on your mother's favorite color. So here's his -

I Love You the Reddest

I love you the reddest like a mad angereed person

yelling in the winds.

I love you the color of the sunset in the horizon

with a reddish orange glow.

I love you the color of a rose blossoming

the color of love.

Love blowing through the breeze like a fire raging

through the forest.

A race car racing by the others

and fire is coming out of it.

That's why I love you the reddest!

So this second Sunday in May was a day originally designed to celebrate the goddesses of Spring - Isis (Egypt), Cybele (Roman) and Rhea (Greek). But in 1870, Julia Ward Howe (incidentally the woman who penned "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"), after seeing the caranage of the Civil War, turned the focus from Spring onto something much more important and still pertinent today...she declared in the Mother's Day Proclamation of 1870 - that the celebration should be one of motherhood and peace.

It's frightening to think that nothing much has changed...we still celebrate Spring, we still have wars and we still have mothers wishing for peace and the safe return of their children. Here's to World Peace.

Tweet

All Things Mother's Day Tea Party.

Another year at Sunflower Preschool brings us the Mothers' Day Tea tradition...I personally love this celebration most of all...it's just the mommies, grandmothers and aunts...and only the students of Sunflower...they ask kindly that you do not bring any siblings...it's such fun to do things together,by ourselves...just Kata and I...so important to spend some time alone with each of the children and Ken and I try our hardest to do just that...even with our crazy scheduled life!

Here's Kata with her Gecko Class teacher, Ms. Lisa.

Kata's discovered a love for strawberries and that's all she wanted to eat, with whip cream, please...Mama's Little Girl!

Kata and Beau...ah, preschool romance...

Kata and one of her best friends, Tawni.

And then, in the words that Alex uses every day...it was "time for the show to begin"...(aside - Alex loves putting on "shows"...and directing films...if only we'd let him have a camera...for this oversight I am certain he'll thank me during his Academy Award accepting speech)...

Ms. Juanita is a bonafide storyteller who comes to Sunflower once a month...who knew she was so talented??? I had ::NO:: idea...she was incredible...bringing to life A Good Mother's Job Description...the text of the story can be found here...but not her vibrant storytelling and not the heartbeat of the drum accompanying the spoken words...it was an incredible experience.

But the experience was soon overshadowed by the sights and sounds of our little ones as they lined up to sing a medley of Mother's Day songs that brought a tear to the audience's eye...

And then it was time to leave and rush over to ballet lessons...but it was such a beautiful morning, clear and warm and filled with love...once again, I feel so blessed to have found the perfect, love-filled, creative environment for our children.

As we surrendered to a much more peaceful afternoon...having completed our two tasks for the day - go to Mother's Day Tea and Ballet Lessons...

I remembered something else I wanted to do...but this time it was a Mother-Son Date with Alex...to go see the new movie "Speed Racer"...it was based on one of my all time favorite cartoons...to this day any boys from my generation can tell you exactly what functions were deployed by each of the buttons on the Mach 5 steering wheel...and the girls of my generation can quote the ever annoying Trixie, "Oh Speed!"...it was a really good movie...and it was fun to do things with my two older kiddlettes...

Wishing you a moment where things just all come together...peacefully.

Tweet

All Things Oh the Places You'll Go.

Going to Kinder Fair with Kata made me think of the Dr. Seuss poem, "Oh, the Places You'll Go" (edited a little for length)-

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.

You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

She loved the chance to see the Kindergarten classrooms, talk with her teacher (the same one Alex had!) and meet the Principal formally. It was an evening All About Her and as we sat down to munch on our goldfish/pretzels/M&Ms snack mix, we both looked forward to the new Adventures Ahead. She is definitely...so ready.

As an aside I know, I've been a Bad Blogger (are there awards for those???)...But in my defense, this month has been as busy as December...with lots of things happening in the household...and all are good...May is just our Chock Full of Stuff month...so between pediatrician, dentist, orthodontist and dog grooming appointments...we're signing Kata up for Kindergarten, attending Kinder Fair, signing Bella up for Preschool in September, awaiting Mother's Day, trying to forget my birthday is coming up, eager to attend Alex's Cub Scout Crossing Over ceremony and looking forward to marking the end of Third Grade with Alex...

Wishing you a moment of perspective as Spring comes into full bloom...we're trying for ours.

Tweet

All Things Fourth Overtime Period.

We're tired today...why, you ask? The usual Monday Blues??

On a typical Monday, I -

• Drop Alex off at school
• Guide the girls through a series of errands
• Come back home, eat our Girl Picnic (Kata's name for what mere commoners would refer to as Lunch)
• Set Bella down for her nap
• Do what seems like is at least 100 loads of laundry, including completing the folding and putting away tasks
• Pick up Alex
• Dinner/Homework/Endless rounds of teeth brushing
• Bed

You get the idea, I am sure.

But, today, I was tired. Very tired. Very, very tired. You see our San Jose Sharks played their last game of this season last night...and they (finally) played their hearts out...the game ended in a 1-1 tie...and so they went into Overtime...another 20-minutes of sudden-death overtime play, ending when either team scores...at least that's the theory.

But neither the Sharks nor the Stars scored...and so it went on and on and on for ::THREE: overtime periods...if your counting (or if you are Ken the Accountant) you have added up that it's 60 minutes of playing time...why, that's like another entire game!

So after sitting through a virtual hockey doubleheader...and with the clock ticking well past 11 pm (most bedtimes for moms-of-three hover around the single digits)...and I was feeling even more exhausted from all the nail biting panic I felt for a "mere" sports game...the Sharks got a penalty and BAM! Dallas scored.

Dallas moves on to face the Detroit Red Wings. And my Sharks go home. And I, already home, could finally shut my eyes and sleep.

Wishing you some rest and relaxation...and, please, let the Red Wings win...the Stars ::CANNOT:: move past them...it's a revenge thing so work with me!

Tweet