Happy Mother's Day

The arrival of Zack has brought new appreciation for my mom. I read this little poem here & thought I would post it as well:

Being A Mom

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

I love that! It sums it all up nicely with a bow on top. I, like many of you, think my mom is the best...so on this Mother's Day I thought I'd share some of my favorite Mom Things!

I have had the unique opportunity of being raised by my mom and then watching her raise my little brother, who is 11 years younger.

This has allowed me some great perspective. There have been times when she has had to draw a hard line with him & I remember her doing that to me too & being so mad. Recently, when she had to draw a line with Kevin, I was talking to her about it & she expressed how bad she felt for Kevin & that she didn't want him to be upset. I had never been on this side of the situations and I found it so interesting. She knew she was making him do something he didn't want to, knew it would be in his best interest, but it was still HARD for HER? Huh, that was good to know...because she never let on to me when I was growing up and I thought it was just hard for me. I guess it is just like teaching your kids to ride a bike...you know they are going to fall off a few times, but you dust them off & put them right back on...even if it is hard for you to watch.

I have appreciated they way my mom has always been able to "dust me off" and put me right back on. She has always been my sounding board and voice of reason. I literally cannot count the number of times that I would wake my mom up on weekends when I got home late & she would crawl out of bed, come to my room & review the evening's events with me...sometimes these chats even included my friends & could go til all hours of the night. They all loved my mom!

My mom made our house the place to be. She was always willing to order a pizza, rent a movie or provide some snacks. From my older brother to my littler brother...there has been party after party hosted by Deb. Anytime I got a crazy idea for a party she was on board. We had a blast. From formal dinner parties to spontaneous pool parties...there was always a party to be had!

My mom also made our house a house of order. She taught us to work hard & serve others...and preferably with a smile! Our Saturday mornings typically started very early with a wake up call from my mom that would go something like this, "Time to get up! It's 7 o'clock and you're wasting the day away!" Mind you it was NEVER really 7 am...my clock always showed at LEAST 15 minutes earlier than whatever time she said it was. Her other famous line that was repeated to me on a regular basis was, "Don't do a half-baked job!" There were serious consequences for half-baked jobs...trust me...I found out several times.

Some of my other favorite Mom Memories:

Sugar Cookies: Baked & frosted to perfection...really there is nothing better.

Halloween: She'd always take us to the fabric store to pick our costume & then spend hours making it just right.

Christmas: We always got the one thing we wanted...I don't know how she always figured it out & made it happen but she did.

Birthday Parties: Between her planning & my dad's games we had some of the funnest parties!

Ditching School: My mom would let me do this on a regular basis just to hang out...go to lunch, maybe a movie, or just chill at home. Many times I would negotiate staying home in a trade-off for babysitting Kevin!

World Series Game with the Girls - We made up a dance for every time the D'backs scored...we happened to go to Game 6 where they scored 15 times! Good thing the dance wasn't too involved!

Trip to Orlando - This was for my parents 25th wedding anniversary & somehow Kevin & I got to tag along. It was a blast! Dueling Dragons baby!


Chicken Fights at the Greenhouse - Picture this...my mom & 2 of her sisters all on their husbands shoulders duking it out. She's a fighter, that Deb.

Foot Race at the Greenhouse - Once again, with 3 of her sisters...was she pushed or did she fall? Either way, the video is priceless.

Suns Games - If you've ever been you are familiar with T-shirt time in the 3rd quarter where they throw out...yep you guessed it...t-shirts. If you ever happen to sit near my mom...watch out...she will beat you down to catch the shirt. Suns Ticket: $125, T-shirt in the 3rd: priceless. And you people wonder where I get my competitive nature from???

Thanks Mom! You're seriously the best! I am so glad that you always made family time a fun time. There is no where else I'd rather hang!