First of all, YES, I know that Mother's Day was 2 months ago and I am WAY late. But I have lots to talk about and lots to show you, so DEAL with it.
This year, I had a pretty rocking Mother's Day. And I have all the pictures to prove it. So be prepared to be PHOTOBOMBED!
Mother's Day Tea
Each year, my children's elementary school has a Mother's Day tea for the Kindergarten and Pre-K classes. The Pre-K has their tea on one day, the Kindergarten on another. This year was my last Mother's Day Tea until Monkey starts school, which will be a while considering he is only a year old. So just being there made me all teary-eyed, especially since this is my last tea for Diva.
I walked into the cafeteria and it had been transformed into a "fine dining occasion." All of the tables had place settings for each mother and child, along with many special gifts. The students started on a set of risers, where they serenaded us with special songs about moms. Diva kept waving at me from across the cafeteria. After their performance, they joined us to enjoy the refreshments.
My "placemat" is actually a laminated poster of Diva's handprints and a poem. I also had a tissue paper flower corsage, a potted flower, a scroll that is actually a fill-in-the-blanks poster, tea, and fruit. Diva had chocolate milk and fruit right beside of me.
Diva was so happy to present me with the flowers. You can also read more about the fill-in-the-blanks scroll and more thoughts about Diva here.
Crafty Mother's Day Gifts
I decided to create my own project for my kids for Mother's Day. The nice thing is that I picked something that is easily done and makes a great gift. I decided to create the same gift for 2 important women in my life, but also to do one for myself at the same time.
This is your basic big planter. It was quite plain-jane, just the standard red color. I used some paint, brushes, sponges, and spray Mod Podge to create a wonderful gift using my children's FEET.
Yes, you read that correctly. I used their FEET to create ART. Because I was making 3 of these, I basically created an assembly line. We picked a design for each kid, then painted their feet and did their footprint on each planter. Then I used the paint to add the necessary details, smooth out the edges of the footprints, and write "Mom 2012". After all paint was dry, I sprayed a few layers of Mod Podge on the planters to seal them, effectively making the designs waterproof. Then I filled the planters with potting soil and a few plants.
Sassy decided to use both of her feet to create a butterfly. If you divide the butterfly in half, you have her right foot and then her left foot. We did overlap them slightly. And she said that she didn't want her toes to be so prominent, so we used a sponge and smoothed out the shape. Then she added the design to make it a full-fledged butterfly.
Diva wanted a horse, then decided on a unicorn. Go figure, right? So the top of the unicorn's head is her toes for her right foot. We blended the toes into the mane. She picked all the colors herself and had a lot of fun being the "artiste."
And for Monkey, I just HAD to use a monkey. I knew that a brown monkey would not show up very well on the terra cotta planter, so I created a yellow backdrop. His footprint is upside down so that the toes are the arms/legs and the heel is the monkey's head. It was SO messy but he loved trying to wash the paint off, then trying to feel his foot to figure out why he didn't have a brown foot anymore.
Secret "Fake" Mother's Day gift
So you all know that I have some special "fake" friends that are near and dear to my heart. Friends that I met online in a parenting forum for expecting January 2011 parents, then we took our special brand of humor and personality to another venue, where we talk daily. Many of the mamas have met one another. We have created gift exchanges for mamas who wish to participate for Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc. We decided to create a Mother's Day exchange and many of the mamas participated. It is a secret gift exchange through Elfster, so no one knows who their secret elf is until they receive their gift. And THIS is what my secret fake friend sent me!!
That's right! She sent me a gift card to one of my favorite local restaurants, photo magnets with all the kidlets, and a card with a message so sweet that I cried. Oh! And she sent me a bath tub like hers. I had once commented on a picture of her bathroom that I wanted to come and take a bath in her tub, or she could just overnight it to me. Months later, that is EXACTLY what she did! She sent me her bathtub!! Well, kinda. I must say, I have some of the best fake friends ever!
World Breastfeeding Week Mother's Day 5K
Last year was my very first time doing a 5K. I was 4 months postpartum and walked the entire thing with Monkey in my jogging stroller. I had not exercised in FOREVER, so my goal was to just finish it. I had to take my time because nearly the first half of the race was me trying to keep Monkey happy. I finished the race in a little over 1 hr. I do not remember the exact time, but it was like 1hr 2 mins.
My goal for this year was to cut 10-15 minutes off my time. I walked with my aunt again, but also walked with a friend as she pushed her stroller with her song. I registered as a walker again because I knew that I would not be doing ANY running. So power-walking it was.
We kept a pretty good pace throughout the race that made sure we would meet my "goal." It is so inspiring that so many mamas do this race, pushing their babies in strollers or wearing them in carriers. The race is held hosted by Esali Birth to benefit World Breastfeeding Week. You can read more about it here.
I was very happy with finishing the race at 51 minutes. That was right at 10 minutes under last year's time, so I felt that was good enough. My goal next year is to either power walk it and aim for 30-40 mins or to walk/run it. We'll see how my fitness progresses in the next year.
But what REALLY surprised me is that I won a trophy! I placed 1st in my age division for walkers.
I KNOW!! Totally unexpected. Not only did I place first, but my friend placed 2nd in our division. You can go here to see all the results, where you will realize that most people our age were actually RUNNING the race instead of walking like us, leading to our easy victory. Oh well, we'll take it!
One of the nice things about the WBW 5K is that it is truly a family event. Sure, there is the 5K, but there are also free kids races and door prizes. AWESOME door prizes. Photography sessions, a Kindle, King's Island tickets, and lots of goodies. Anyone participating in the 5K is eligible for a door prize, but you MUST be present to win. Guess who won a door prize?
So it was a GREAT start to my Mother's Day. Then it was on to dinner...
Mother's Day with the Family
After the 5K, I met my family at my MILs. Hubby and BIL made dinner and cleaned up. It was DELISH. And then my family blessed me with some special gifts.
Sassy made the pretty picture with the vase and flowers. Hubby and the kids gave me a gift certificate to a local nail spa. And Monkey had made a special handprint project with his daycare provider (who ROCKS by the way). Plus the beautiful cards.
Diva went above and beyond with a picture:
And Diva also made a "bookmark," also known as a scrap of notebook with marker polka-dots.
My girls also conspired with my awesome MIL to find this beautiful necklace.
Yep, that's right. That necklace shows my perfect, complete little family. <3
So it was quite an awesome Mother's Day. I was able to spend some time honoring mothers everywhere through the 5K. I spent some time being crafty to show how much I appreciate some special ladies in my life. And my family made me feel super loved and appreciated. In a word: Perfect.
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