My Mother's Day

My guys are so sweet.  Mother's Day this year was just action packed.  Here's how my day went...

Little Oz woke me up with one of his "prince charming" kisses and gave me a huge bouquet of purple daisies that he and his daddy picked out for me.  He also gave me a pot of purple african violets.  He even decorated the pot himself.  So cute.  Then Tim fixed a yummy breakfast of strawberry and nutella crepes - my favorite!  And Charlie ate most of my strawberries.  After breakfast, we went to Wave Hill, an amazing garden in Riverdale (Bronx).  Below are some pictures from our morning.  We brought a fancy picnic along, too.  (Click on the picture to see it bigger.)

(I seriously LOVE this picture of Oscar... He is starting to finally cooperate and smile for the camera!)

(Yes, that IS a tattoo.  Are you shocked?  I'll post more about it one of these days.)

When we got home, pretty much all of us took naps.  Then Tim surprised me with something I've been wanting for a really long time... a new BIKE!!!  And a cute white helmet to go with it. As Oscar always says, "Safety first, mommy!"  Wow.  I haven't been on a bike in years.  It was a kinda awkward first ride, I'll just say.  Tim hitched the boys up to his bike (we have a cool thrifted bike trailer that the boys love to ride in) and we all went for a ride.  I am hoping that can be our new summer thing, going for bike rides. 

Isn't Charlie adorable in a helmet?!?

And I'm going to start pinning great bike accessories!  I totally need a cute bike basket.  What do you think about this one?

After our bike ride, we went on what Oscar calls "a hot date" to a restaurant.  He loves going out to eat and one of our favorite places is Big Daddy's in the city.  It's this great little retro diner chain.  We shared some shakes (I had the "Barbie," of course) and we had a super yummy dinner.  What a nice day!  How about we make every day into Mother's Day?  I think it's a great plan.

My Momma

This is my momma.  Isn't she awesome? (Why yes, she is totally rocking that white pants suit!)


I've been thinking a lot lately about what it takes to be a mom and really just how difficult a job it is, especially to do it well.  I want to be a great mom.  My mom is a role model of mine.  Let me tell you about the things she is incredible at... some things that I hope I can model for my boys. 

My mom is my very best cheerleader.  She is always there to support me and tell me that I'm doing something worth while.  She encourages me to keep trying and to push myself (way after I've given up hope).  She is always ready to chat me up on the phone or talk me down from a ledge (figuratively speaking, of course).  She'll pray for me over the phone and lets me know that she prays for me daily (and let me tell you, this woman has a DIRECT line).  I know that whenever I need her, I can call her and she'll do her very best to be there for me, whether that means she'll run up her long distance phone bill or hop on an 8 hour bus ride! 

My mom is super creative.  I love chatting with her about party ideas, library programs, and fun things to do with the boys.  We're both Pinterest obsessed lately, so we share ideas there, too!  She is always on the hunt for a clever idea to run by me.  It's inspiring.  I love her writing, too.  I've been on her about blogging more because she always has interesting and witty things to say.  (Mom - if you are reading this, you need to go blog.  But not until after you finish reading, naturally.)

My mom is also very loving.  She is someone I could hug all day long.  I'm proud to say it - I just love hugs from my momma!  She even gave out her love to all my friends when I was growing up.  Folks loved coming over to my house because they knew that my mom cared about them.  She even let my friends call her Momma B. 

My momma has always given of herself rather unselfishly.  I hope I can model that for my kids, too.  When my sibs and I were young, my mom had to work full-time as a night nurse with some killer hours.  She did that for our family.  And I know there were times when she got zero sleep.  I don't know about you, but I need my rest!  To this day, I have no idea how she did all she did on VERY little sleep. 

I could keep going on and on, but I'll end with one last thing that I've been thinking lots about and that I hope I also can model for my kids.  My mom is incredibly supportive.  She has been with my dad through thick and crazy thin (as in the only thing in the cupboard is hot dogs and jello).  She has followed him all over the map with jobs.  She is always ready to back him up on something, as long as it isn't too bananas (think Fox-News-rants).  And as silly and bizarre as my dad can be, she loves that man unconditionally!  The same love goes out for me and my wacky-wild siblings.  I hope my boys will grow up seeing that kind of love from me.

I love you, mom.  Happy Mother's Day.