Being a Mother in May

Being a mother always has its ups and downs, but motherhood during the month of May seems to take it to the extreme. First of all...I love being a mother, and I have nothing against May. I love May--the flowers, the warmer weather, etc. ! It is just very, very busy. For me, it is December's match--only my gift buying is for other people's children who are graduating or getting married. :)

I get to sing and dance with some fabulous, talented women in a group called "Friends In Harmony" and we perform all over Naperville for about 2 weeks in December and 2 weeks in May. This requires time, practice, and babysitting arrangements. Our collection of songs this spring was a lot of fun. A few of our songs were: "Chapel of Love", "At Last", "Lollipop", "What a Wonderful World", "Steppin' Out", "Say a Little Prayer For You", and "So Long, Farewell". We also had new costumes with petticoats! They looked cute, but required sewing and time--something I always seem to be lacking these days. Here we are after our "family performance."

The highlight of my month is, of course, Mother's Day! It is one of my favorite days of the year!!! Steve took all the kids by himself to a store to get me something. This was totally unnecessary, but a sweet gesture. I was allowed to read a bit Sunday morning and then was sent on a treasure hunt made by Carter. What a blast!

A pile of gifts was on a table in the piano room. They got me earrings, perfume, a new saute pan, and a recorded singing card with the kids singing "You are my Sunshine" in HARMONY. Definitely, a treasure.

Steve's annual gift of "over-the-top omellettes" followed.

This year, school ended on Friday, May 28th. Because this is earlier than ever, all projects, concerts, games, etc. were squished into May so that everything was finished by the time school got out. We had numerous projects for all 3 boys due. Teacher appreciation week was only 2 weeks before the end of the year, so I was trying to squeeze drops of creativity so that I could show my gratitude to these ladies for entertaining (and teaching) my kids day after day. Of course, my children also had great ideas like, "Mom, why don't you bake bread and make homemade jam, and while you're at it, ..." Ok. The bread wish I granted, but I didn't go a far as giving away my strawberry jam. I liked the teachers, but not to that extent.:) The end of the year gifts were cash for the group gifts and Bath & Body Works Soap with the boys' traced hands cut out and a note telling their teachers thank you for their "hand" in learning and the good, "clean" fun. I know, I'm cheesy, but it's better than another apple-shaped mug, right?

Another highlight here in Naperville is the Fine Arts Festival. Of course, it happened when we also had soccer games, the 100th Birthday Scout-o-rama celebration, and a ward talent show; however, it is fun to see the talent our area holds in its youth. Both Braxton and Evan had pieces of art chosen to display. They also sang in their school choirs.

Spring sports included swimming and soccer.

And then there's Scouts. I love how scouts involves the fathers as well as the mothers. I love how I get recognized for OUR hard work and receive a pin. It reminds me of prom and having a corsage pinned on my dress. My male pinner always gets embarrassed, turns red, and can't stop giggling. It totally takes me back to high school, and is an exchange that I always look forward to.

Seminary. Steve had the privilege of teaching seminary (religious education) to the Sophomores every morning at 5:55am this year. I am so glad it's over!!! He comes out of his office before 11:00 at night and we've even seen a few movies in the last week! I have my husband back and it feels great! Now, the only disruption is that I have been called to be the Primary President (in charge of all of the kids 18 months -12 years at church), so my time is a little more limited. I'm just glad I have the summer to get my feet wet while Steve is not as divided among all his responsibilities.

And now we are to the last day of school. I am so confused by my emotions. I am thrilled to have a change of pace--no homework!!!! I am excited to hang out and enjoy the summer (especially since we don't have anyone swimming at 7:00 am this year). I am a little nervous about keeping them busy and engaged, especially with the span of ages. I look forward to having more time to hear what these kids are thinking about. I never feel like I have enough time to listen to everything they want to tell me. Evan and Carter, seen here with their walking buddies, are growing up and becoming cute little men with huge personalities and fun interests. Evan has discovered a certain girl, who is now a daily topic of conversation and teasing. I am definitely not ready for this stage.

Braxton has grown 2 inches in 2 1/2 months. He is now 5'6" and over 100 pounds. His voice is dropping and who-knows-what-else is happening in that body of his. He's a voracious reader and food-lover! He, too, has a tendency to think about a certain girl, who unfortunately, is moving this summer. Poor kid.

I am in shock as to how fast these babies of mine are growing! I love watching them mature, but a tinge of sadness remains as they stop needing me to button their shirts or put their hair in a pony tail or prompt them with a correct /l/ sound.

I am so grateful for teachers, who invite the moms for a special musical programs in our honor. I live for this stuff!

Carter had a "Mother's Day Tea" where his portion of the class poem was

"I love my mom because...she ROCKS at the piano." I love Carter!

Can all my kids go back to being 5 years old for a day? They're so cute and fun!

Oh, Emma. She is so glad to be done with preschool and moving on to Kindergarten. She's become a speed demon on her 2 wheeler-bike and is growing like a weed. I love listening to her read books to Lizzie and sound out unfamiliar words. I love that she can swim across the pool by herself! I love that she assures me she can babysit Lizzie as long as Lizzie knows SHE is in charge.

I hope keeping up with these kids keeps me young.

Cruisin' through Marriage

It's been 14 wonderful years full of ups and downs and here-s and there-s. On April 22, 1996 I turned 21 years old and got to go through the temple for the first time. What a birthday gift. Then, 2 days later, I married my best friend and became his gift for time and all eternity. Isn't he lucky! ;)He has been by my side (minus business travel) ever since. To celebrate this fun anniversary, Steve booked a cruise to the Mayan Riviera. It was a 5 day cruise on Royal Caribbean with stops at Key West, Cozumel, and Costa Maya.

Our first adventure came when we tried to get to the airport. We found out later that a semi had turned over and there were 2 additional crashes on I55--our route to Midway airport. The 2 1/2 hours were ticking very quickly while our car was progressing very slowly. Even after we got off the freeway to take side streets (Thank you, Blackberry) our baggage check-time was upon us. Steve called and discovered that the only Southwest flight available had 2 remaining seats and was at 6:30am--a mere 8 hours before boarding the ship. He booked them for an additional cost to ensure that we'd make it on the ship. My stomach was already tied in knots from the stress of traffic, but now this trip went from being a "steal" to just a good deal. I hate spending money; however, I was appreciative of Steve's quick thinking and managing skills to do what it took so that we didn't lose our entire trip. I was on the phone telling my mother, who was home watching my kids, of our predicament when Steve discovered that our original flight had been delayed. We had a chance! It was then delayed one more time!!! Upon arrival at the airport, I dropped off Steve to run in and talk to ticketing to see if we could still make it on the flight and check our bags, and then I parked the car and took the shuttle to meet with him. They had to see my face before they did anything, but they were cheering on the computer to print out our boarding passes quicker so that we could make it. We were the last people to board the plane, but we made it. My stomach relaxed 4 hours later when I saw our luggage on the belt. Everything was going to be OK.

April 24th, we slept in, walked around Fort Lauderdale, and boarded the ship. Amazing! I couldn't believe I was there.

Sunday, the 25th, we had 4 hours to acquaint ourselves with Key West, Florida. We visited the Southern most tip of the United States...

visited Peppers of Key West, where they have a free tasting bar lined with different sauces (barbecue, chipotle, teryaki, mustard, hot pepper sauces, etc.). They give everyone an endless supply of tortilla chips to dip in tiny cups of sauce. There were 2 hot sauces at the end of the presentation that Steve actually turned down. They were special HOT sauces that they only let you dip a toothpick in because they are SO hot. This was the funnest thing we did in Key West.

My desire in Key West was to have some of their famous key lime pie. And I did...frozen and dipped in chocolate on a stick. Delicious!

Mmmm! Mmmmm! Good!

This little gecko was studying me as I was eating my treat. I was fascinated by these cute lizard things. They reminded me of all the lizards my brother and I adopted as our pets and played with as kids. These little guys made us miss our boys and think of how much they would have LOVED seeing them.

We spotted a pirate ship! It even had a jolly roger flag! Again, the boys would have LOVED seeing that!

This water was gorgeous!!! Cold, but beautiful. I was glad we were snorkeling in this water. Brrrrr!

Key West was full of characters, but this guy was the most interesting to look at. He was initially a statue, but then he was yelling orders, and finally he was riding a bike and yelling "Paparazzi" at me!

We had a visitor in our room when we returned from dinner. Isn't this towel dog the cutest? CREATIVE!

Formal Night

I got to order whatever I wanted and have dessert every night on this cruise. My favorite thing was the flourless chocolate cake and the chilled fruit soups. Unbelievable! I also got to go outside and enjoy the warm night air, look at the moon, and not do a dish or put anyone to bed. Heaven.

Me--relaxed & sunburnt

Steve-my man

The next morning took us to Cozumel. We were 2 hours delayed, but we still got to go on our excursion to the Mayan Ruins in TULUM.

Where geckos roamed about in Key West, iguanas chilled in Mexico. They were everywhere at the ruins.

The temples were fascinating. It was so fun to speculate about what took place where and why. The Mayan culture was so fun to learn about and see.

Tulum is the only city of Mayan ruins that sits on a cliff. Aaaah. Breathtaking.

This window Steve is pointing to is situated so that twice a year, on the equinoxes, the sun's light shines through it and lights up the temple. Brilliant!



Costa Maya was our next stop. We got to ride in the back of a truck bed through the jungle to our camp. This was where we would get outfitted for the ZIPLINE! Yes, again, we thought of our boys. I think "Totally wicked" would have been said a few times if they'd been there.

We had a blast!!! It was hot, but we zoomed over the jungle and along the Lagoon of 7 Shades of Blue. So fun!

Another visitor. I think this one is an anteater.

Now, we're back to real life and the end-of-the-school-year crunch.
I am so grateful to my mom for watching my children and buying them everything they wanted, even feeding them pizza for dinner 3 times!! I'm glad everyone survived and that my mom still is speaking to me. :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I'm also thankful to be an American citizen. I really am so blessed!

But, the question remains...when can I go again and who's coming with me?