I meant to post this yesterday but you know how it is, the day just gets away from you some times. I had the BEST Mother’s Day I have had in years on Sunday, and I’m so glad I took a bunch of photos so I can show all of you, which I”m going to do tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.  My husband went way above and beyond my expectations for the day and so did the kids. I felt special all day!

My day began when I woke up around 10:00 am to the smell of bacon. If there’s a better smell to wake up to, besides coffee, I don’t know what it is! Chris was in the kitchen dishing up coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon, and homemade waffles. I have to give a shout-out to Edgecraft and their Chef’sChoice Classic WafflePro waffle maker. I met the Chef’sChoice people at the Home & Housewares Show and followed up with them afterwards, and they sent me the WafflePro for review. It makes really, really good homemade waffles!

After we ate, I opened presents. Kaitlyn had made me a homemade card in preschool with a photo of her on the front, and in true Kaitlyn fashion, her shirt is splashed with water from playing at the water table. Inside the card she glued two foam shapes and sprinkled them with glitter. I just wish they had let her sign her own name, not sure why the teacher wrote it instead. But it’s my first homemade card from her!

Nathan really knocked it out of the park. Since our school doesn’t have art classes for the lower grades, they have the teachers use an integrated curriculum where they can use art in the classroom if it relates to the subject.  The homeroom teachers had the kids make Mother’s Day gifts, and in Nathan’s class, they used watercolors to paint pictures which they then covered in a paper frame with tissue paper decorations, and then the whole thing got laminated. Nathan was disappointed that his watercolor smeared during the laminating, but I love it. AND, he wrote me a POEM. A poem! He compared me to a moonlit sky!  I just about cried.

Oh, and Nathan picked out a necklace for me at Things Remembered in the mall. It was a gift from all the kids but Nathan made sure I knew that he picked it out   It says Mom on one side and Mother’s Day 2011 on the other side. I love it!

Ryan made me a card and bought me a CD, and also helped Chris get my biggest gift started – a GARDEN!  Since we moved into this house almost 6 years ago, we’ve talked about starting a garden in the back yard. The previous homeowners had pulled up an above-ground pool and left a huge circle of sand.  Chris has been dumping dry leaves and grass clippings into it and raking it, in an attempt to get some dirt going.

On Friday my Stepmom met Kaitlyn and I for lunch and she showed me pictures of her yard, including her cherry tomato plants. I casually mentioned how much Kaitlyn would love growing tomatoes. Jean knows that we’ve been trying to get a garden started. Much to my surprise, when she dropped Kaitlyn off that evening, she had gone to Home Depot and bought us three cherry tomato plants!  That got Chris motivated to go back and buy watermelon, pumpkin, cucumber, and zucchini plants. Friday night I was not allowed to let the dog out or go into the back room of the house, and Saturday I was instructed to “stay inside”.

So, after opening cards and presents on Sunday, I was ceremoniously led into the backyard where I discovered the beginnings of a garden! Chris and Ryan had raked potting soil and fertilizer in and it was ready for planting!  The idea is that the plants will get started in the middle, and then there’s room for the watermelon and pumpkin to spread out.  Since this is our first garden, we figure if we get anything to grow at all, it will be a success.

We got everything planted, went inside for lunch, took naps, and then Chris surprised me AGAIN. Every year his company sends him a $75 gift card to Darden Restaurants for his birthday, which is May 13th, but he always gets it like two weeks before. Darden owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden along with a few others we don’t have here. Anyway, Chris told me we were going to Red Lobster for dinner!  We had a great time there, everyone behaved themselves and we ate until we were stuffed.

It was a wonderful day from beginning to end.  All day, I felt like the luckiest Mom in the world