Mother's Day

Twinners!

Today is my first Mother's Day as a mother! Granted, my baby is still in my tummy, but he's here - alive and well. I talk to him and he moves and his room is getting ready! 9 more weeks! We're  finally down to single digits.

This is the 31 week picture that I took right after church so I could change my clothes. (definitely not one of my best) Its mid-80s here in Oklahoma today and the A/C was broken in church and I was dyyyyyyiiiing of heat - just so uncomfortable and sweaty.

I was grocery shopping about a month ago and was on an aisle by myself. This mom had her 2 daughters in her cart and turned onto my aisle thinking no one was there and singing "Let It Go" from Frozen pretty enthusiastically. I could tell she got a little embarrassed and said, "I can't be the only mom in America singing that song," to which I responded, "I'm not even a mom yet and I do the same thing." So she firmly told me, "You ARE, too, a mom!" and she was right.

One more funny anecdote about my son being with me - Blaine and I were ordering some food at Subway and I said, "I would like..." and the goofy little teenage boy at the counter said, "Don't you mean WE" and pointed to my stomach. It was so funny. Yes, "we." We do everything together :)

Blaine gave me a pedicure last night as part of my Mother's Day celebration with some new nail polish that he got for me called "Surf Spray."Nail polish and beach theme - he knows his girl. And its shimmery blue like a mermaid (#BlueForBoys). I also got 3 little presents and 3 cards - one from each of my boys, complete with appropriate signatures for each one. It was cute. Blaine did a good job. 

(We also ordered a little splurge item that I wanted for Baby Boy's room a couple days ago, so that counts as a Mother's Day gift as well. But it will be worth it. 

And it will last through all my kids - however many I will be blessed to have.) 

Then this morning Blaine made cinnamon rolls and brought the whole gallon of milk into our room for a breakfast in bed. Then after church he made dinner. 

He's going to be such a great dad :) 

I've waited (for what felt like a long time) to be a mom and am so excited that I finally get to. Jake was the first boy I got to mother, so I count him (even though lots of people think that sounds weird. You wouldn't understand unless you can relate... which some of my friends can). 

And now in July I can finally have a baby boy of my very own, which means the world to us!

  

                 

 

My dad thinks I'm funny because of how confident I am in my mothering skills and my confidence in being the best mother ever, and while I joke about it... 

I'm also completely serious.

 First of all, I'm the oldest of 6 kids and have a huge extended family - so I feel like I've been around plenty of baby and kids and mother stuff my whole life. Plus, that concern for safety and for everyone's feelings has ALWAYS been a huge priority/weight on me. Even in college when everyone's running around crazy freshman year, I think my friends would agree that I was the mother of our group. 

Second of all, I'm a teacher - so I have a lot of experience with dealing with tweens and (for the most part) I love them (and they love me). 'Nough said ;) Plus I've worked and waited for this opportunity, which always makes you value it more. 

And lastly, if not the best mother ever, then I know I'll be the second best mother ever because I have the best example ever - my own mama! (Not in a cheesy, cliche Mother's Day way, but in all sincerity every day of the year.) 

*Quick funny story - I was home in Florida with my family before I got married in the end of the summer of 2009 and I was sitting on the floor in the living room and needed my mom for something. So instinctively and randomly, I called out, "Mommy?!" and everyone started cracking up. I didn't even mean to or realize what I had done, but my dad said, "Great. How can she get married when she still calls her mom "mommy"?

She had her own fertility struggles and so she understands what I've gone through. Furthermore, she has always cherished her opportunity to be a mom and not taken it for granted - an attitude that I've automatically adopted as well. And when we ran out of money doing infertility treatments, she was quick to offer of her own means, expecting nothing in return. (But in a couple years we will be able to repay you and Dad. I have never and will never forget.) If our first baby was a girl, her middle name was going to be Kristin - for all my mom's good qualities and since she would've helped get the baby here... but then I got into a (fake) argument with my sister because she wants her daughter's middle name to be Kristin after our mom. Oh well. They both can I guess. I bet Abbie will use it as a middle name as well, but we all know Alivia will probably use it as a first name :)

My mom is the most selfless person I know and is always putting others first - especially her kids. So far she's probably earned 2 additional bachelor degrees, not to mention Seminary which she also taught.  I don't think she's slept in 25 years. My mom woke me up every morning for seminary around 5am - no way I could've gotten up without her. Then she went downstairs to make me an egg mcmuffin for breakfast. And when I stayed up late writing papers, she would lay on the couch and watch TV till I was done so I didn't have to be up alone. Rarely does she do anything for herself. I remember one year my dad bought her a $1000 gift card to buy herself clothes at Macys. She spent a little on herself, but a lot on us. 

I have tons of memories of her consideration and "concern for the one." She was aware of and attentive to anyone that needed extra love and patience--even some that I haven't had patience for. I don't remember her exactly teaching me to be aware and active about easing their discomfort or sadness, but her example was teaching enough. I can still remember 3 specific boys in my 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade classes that I was so concerned for and tried to help because of her influence. Even more recently as I've been teaching this year, I've had opportunities to develop more patience and to look beyond kids' outward appearance and think about or ask about how they're really doing or whats really going on. 

She taught my music class in kindergarten and taught me to play the piano and organ. She loves music and has passed that on to me. I played the piano all the time in high school (especially when I was upset). She gets how powerful and dramatic music is. And when I wanted to play a specific song but it was too tricky for me, I would have her play it and she would do so easily and wonderfully. One time when Blaine and I went back to visit my family in Boca, my brother Austin's speakers and microphone were set up in the living room, so after church we just started messing around with them. It turned into a full fledge concert with my mom on the piano and me singing. Now be it known that my singing is nothing special, but I must say, I'm a fan favorite amongst my family and that was such a fun afternoon. My dad especially likes it/cracks up/feels uncomfortable when I dedicate certain songs or say some dramatic applications while my mom plays the introduction. (We'll talk more singing and dueting on Father's Day.) Mom also taught my dad to love musicals, which I am now teaching to my own husband. My mom and I have seen a couple together, but I remember one time we found out that Miss Saigon was playing later that night, so we bought tickets and just went! My whole family has seen Wicked, but one time just her and Alivia (my youngest sister went). 

Last summer when she was visiting in Provo, we went to the All-4-One concert and mom loved it. Especially the short Mexican guy ;)

And wasn't embarrassed to get her picture with them

She always has my back and supports me. If someone has messed with me, then they've messed with her. (For real, not just because thats a line from Blind Side... which is a great movie and portrays a great mother) After my last high school basketball game after playing for one of the worst people I've known, she left a dramatic note on my car simply saying "It is finished..." And when I was 12 years old and we went to my first Young Women's General Broadcast, the YW leader pulled me aside and told me that my dress was immodest and she expected me to set a better example for the girls around me. I didn't  tell my mom until we got in the car and I bursted into tears. I've always been very tall, so dresses ran shorter on me than normal and when you're 12 years old, the last thing you're trying to be is sexy. So we got home and she made me my favorite homemade hot fudge sundae and then called the lady and ripped her a new one. Thats my mom. People don't mess with us and if theres an issue, she has no problem marching up to the counter and demanding it be fixed. Thats rubbed off on me as well, for better or for worse I think, according to Blaine ;) And she doesn't love the smell and hair and all that stuff that goes along with having a dog, but when we decided to get Jake, she was supportive and has become a great "pet grandparent" :) She makes sure that he's taken care of and watches the puppy training show every Saturday morning and shares what she's learned. And one time I was going on a football trip with my dad and some of my friends (who were boys) were meeting us at the game (one of whom I had a nice crush on), so my mom took me to the mall and helped me pick out a new outfit :) Complete with a necklace - an accessory I would rarely buy for myself. 

I love my mama and am grateful my kids will have such a wonderful grandma (even though she doesn't look like a grandma). While I have full confidence in my ability to love unconditionally and give of myself freely and completely, I am very relieved and grateful that she will be with me for a while this summer to oversee the proper bathing, feeding, and sleeping of our baby, because choking babies and all those bizarre random things that can kill babies frighten me more than anything. 

Blaine gave me a great Mother's Day and is always respectful and appreciative of motherhood, and not just today. Sometimes he teases me about how nice and easy my life will be as a "stay-at-home-mom/trophy wife" but then he admits that he wouldn't have it any other way. He is also very sweet about his own mom. Blaine's a great note writer - always very sincere and grateful and complimentary. (Writing those notes or speaking that way can make me feel awkward, but he's never phased.) And reading his message to his mom in his Mother's Day card reaffirmed my excellent choice in my husband and father or my babes (and pups). And I'm grateful that our baby will have his mom as a wonderful grandma as well. It's fun to see how excited she is. She even has a new Pinterest board dedicated to him ;)

I've already shared 2 of these, but here are some other quotes about mothers that I love. 

(The cute "printables" formats are versions that I've found on Pinterest.)

I really like this quote in general, but I relate it a lot to motherhood. My dream job was to be an ESPN sideline reporter for college football and so my major in college was broadcast journalism. But once I got married and prioritized my life, I realized and accepted that I couldn't be both a successful mom and a successful reporter who has to travel all the time, so I made the choice to switch my major to teaching, since it is a better mom job. Just like my mom. 

I call my mom everyday... when she's not on the phone with my other siblings ;)

Lastly, one of my favorite parenting strategies is based on a quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley. The message is simple: Say yes whenever possible, because they're only young once.