threadwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
threadwalker) wrote2009-05-12 10:19 am
threadwalker) wrote2009-05-12 10:19 am
Entry tags:
Mother's Day Thoughts
F got home from India on Thursday and he still hasn't been able to totally shift his internal clock yet. My veteran-traveller co-workers say it takes 4-5 days for trips as far as India. Whew. But there is definite improvement.
So it was an odd weekend; normally there is some Mother's Day event or foo-fa, but we had none this weekend. F was trying to stay awake while the sun was up, but was only partially successful, so there were periods of time where we did stuff or hung out and other periods where he'd crash out for a chunk of time. Then there was the odd hours of the night where I could hear him watching TV while I was in bed.
F and I played computer games, watched old movies, and had some quality time together. I set up my new bike trainer and mounted Sally to it while we watched TV on Saturday. The funny thing about the trainer is that it's a "gadget" and F was curiously circling it and asking questions without quite touching it since it was in use; Super N did the same. I thought it was funny that they just had to know how it worked. So, pedalling away, we watched Errol Flynn's "Robin Hood". I'd never seen it before (which shocked the heck out of F) and I was struck by how it must have inspired many new SCA fighters 20-30 years ago. It was sweet, colorful, dramatic, and everyone struck great poses. For me, it is the quintessential SCA and I think I'll have to scrounge up a DVD copy and store it in the shed for the sewing library.
During one of F's napping episodes I turned to baking, which means I got a ton of baking done as gifts for the teachers in our life (it's teacher appreciation week). I started my "teacher appreciation" stuff late. It was technically LAST week, but I was spread too thin to deal with it. On Friday I managed to get the kids out the door early enough so that we could swing by Safeway and pick up bouquets for the teachers; Super N informed me that he prefers to give roses. (BWah-ha-ha... My son the romantic!) We found a bouquet that included pink roses for his teacher and a HUGE bouquet of wild flowers for Miss E's teacher. So Saturday I started phase-2 of teacher appreciation: goodies. I made my current favorite recipe, chocolate-brownie-cookies... and this recipe happens to totally rock if you like chocolate. I also assembled thank you gifts for each teacher (I have 11 teachers including CCD, day care, and grammar school) with travel size goodies of lotion, sun block, hand sanitizer and chap stick. Nothing says "thank you" like "here, take care of yourself and have some cookies".
In between pulling cookies out of the oven and reloading baking pans I attended a tea party hosted by Miss E and Scooby Doo on the landing of the stairs. I also played Super N at various board games. I had some great coaching opportunities since the dice were against Super N and he was extremely upset that I was crushing him. We worked through it, though, focusing on having fun and not getting upset, and he regained his smile. Later when he played with his little sister, the shoe was on the other foot and she was getting extremely upset that he was crushing her. I nudged him to coach her in just having fun and I got to listen to him help her even as he beat her. It ended in smiles. I was so proud.
On Mother's Day I got up fairly early and was on my way out the door for my Mt Diablo ride around 6am when Miss E woke up. Kind of like Cindy-Lu Who, she came down stairs rubbing her eyes and asking me what I was doing. It was super cute. She wanted to go with me (which was not going to happen), then she didn't want me to go at all (which wasn't going to happen), so we settled for delaying my departure to snuggle and watch an episode of SpongeBob together. I did my ride with the memory of her hugs and lingering scent on me; such a sweet inspiration.
The ride up the mountain was good. It's been a while and the seasons have turned, so it wasn't as cold or dark as it was in January. The scenery was beautiful and I've decided that even if they are messy looking, cows have cute faces. I was passed by a lot of cyclists, which got me to thinking of how novice I really am. Oh well. I'm doing it and by doing it I'll get better. I did see one inspiring dad with a tandem; his 8 yr old was sitting on the back while he was pumping the bike up the mountain.
I finished my ride and drove directly to EJ Phair, where I met the gang for brunch. I had one of the best ever breakfast burritos while Miss E gave me M-day art she'd made. Super N was sad that some kid grabbed his back-pack on Friday, thus his M-day gift wasn't available. Ahhh.... So I told them the best gift they can give me is making good choices and being kind. When they are kind to others, then I know I did a good job as a mom and that's the best gift ever. Then there was group hugging and kissing.
We retreated home and I indulged in a bubble bath and facial... F screened the phone and kept the kids down stairs so that no one would interupt me. It was so soothing. In the afternoon Super N and I went to see Star Trek together; Miss E was napping so F, who'd seen the movie on Friday, stayed home with her. Super N and I snuggled in the theater and I periodically whispered explanation into his ear since he made it clear that there was way too much talking and he wasn't following all of it. It was pretty awesome. I think we even saw Kahnebabs on our way out, but she didn't notice me waving at her.
We regrouped and all of us went out for ice cream. Then it was time to go home and get ready for Monday.
It was a pretty awesome mother's day weekend. There were no gifts or fan fare or bouquets. There was also no time schedule, rush to get anywhere on time, elaborate meal to prepare, or overwhelming social event to smile for. It was the sort of Mother's Day that left me rested, gave me a chance to have some time for me as well as one-on-one time with each of my loved ones. I finished it off with a real sense that being a mom rocks and that my family really truly appreciates me.
So it was an odd weekend; normally there is some Mother's Day event or foo-fa, but we had none this weekend. F was trying to stay awake while the sun was up, but was only partially successful, so there were periods of time where we did stuff or hung out and other periods where he'd crash out for a chunk of time. Then there was the odd hours of the night where I could hear him watching TV while I was in bed.
F and I played computer games, watched old movies, and had some quality time together. I set up my new bike trainer and mounted Sally to it while we watched TV on Saturday. The funny thing about the trainer is that it's a "gadget" and F was curiously circling it and asking questions without quite touching it since it was in use; Super N did the same. I thought it was funny that they just had to know how it worked. So, pedalling away, we watched Errol Flynn's "Robin Hood". I'd never seen it before (which shocked the heck out of F) and I was struck by how it must have inspired many new SCA fighters 20-30 years ago. It was sweet, colorful, dramatic, and everyone struck great poses. For me, it is the quintessential SCA and I think I'll have to scrounge up a DVD copy and store it in the shed for the sewing library.
During one of F's napping episodes I turned to baking, which means I got a ton of baking done as gifts for the teachers in our life (it's teacher appreciation week). I started my "teacher appreciation" stuff late. It was technically LAST week, but I was spread too thin to deal with it. On Friday I managed to get the kids out the door early enough so that we could swing by Safeway and pick up bouquets for the teachers; Super N informed me that he prefers to give roses. (BWah-ha-ha... My son the romantic!) We found a bouquet that included pink roses for his teacher and a HUGE bouquet of wild flowers for Miss E's teacher. So Saturday I started phase-2 of teacher appreciation: goodies. I made my current favorite recipe, chocolate-brownie-cookies... and this recipe happens to totally rock if you like chocolate. I also assembled thank you gifts for each teacher (I have 11 teachers including CCD, day care, and grammar school) with travel size goodies of lotion, sun block, hand sanitizer and chap stick. Nothing says "thank you" like "here, take care of yourself and have some cookies".
In between pulling cookies out of the oven and reloading baking pans I attended a tea party hosted by Miss E and Scooby Doo on the landing of the stairs. I also played Super N at various board games. I had some great coaching opportunities since the dice were against Super N and he was extremely upset that I was crushing him. We worked through it, though, focusing on having fun and not getting upset, and he regained his smile. Later when he played with his little sister, the shoe was on the other foot and she was getting extremely upset that he was crushing her. I nudged him to coach her in just having fun and I got to listen to him help her even as he beat her. It ended in smiles. I was so proud.
On Mother's Day I got up fairly early and was on my way out the door for my Mt Diablo ride around 6am when Miss E woke up. Kind of like Cindy-Lu Who, she came down stairs rubbing her eyes and asking me what I was doing. It was super cute. She wanted to go with me (which was not going to happen), then she didn't want me to go at all (which wasn't going to happen), so we settled for delaying my departure to snuggle and watch an episode of SpongeBob together. I did my ride with the memory of her hugs and lingering scent on me; such a sweet inspiration.
The ride up the mountain was good. It's been a while and the seasons have turned, so it wasn't as cold or dark as it was in January. The scenery was beautiful and I've decided that even if they are messy looking, cows have cute faces. I was passed by a lot of cyclists, which got me to thinking of how novice I really am. Oh well. I'm doing it and by doing it I'll get better. I did see one inspiring dad with a tandem; his 8 yr old was sitting on the back while he was pumping the bike up the mountain.
I finished my ride and drove directly to EJ Phair, where I met the gang for brunch. I had one of the best ever breakfast burritos while Miss E gave me M-day art she'd made. Super N was sad that some kid grabbed his back-pack on Friday, thus his M-day gift wasn't available. Ahhh.... So I told them the best gift they can give me is making good choices and being kind. When they are kind to others, then I know I did a good job as a mom and that's the best gift ever. Then there was group hugging and kissing.
We retreated home and I indulged in a bubble bath and facial... F screened the phone and kept the kids down stairs so that no one would interupt me. It was so soothing. In the afternoon Super N and I went to see Star Trek together; Miss E was napping so F, who'd seen the movie on Friday, stayed home with her. Super N and I snuggled in the theater and I periodically whispered explanation into his ear since he made it clear that there was way too much talking and he wasn't following all of it. It was pretty awesome. I think we even saw Kahnebabs on our way out, but she didn't notice me waving at her.
We regrouped and all of us went out for ice cream. Then it was time to go home and get ready for Monday.
It was a pretty awesome mother's day weekend. There were no gifts or fan fare or bouquets. There was also no time schedule, rush to get anywhere on time, elaborate meal to prepare, or overwhelming social event to smile for. It was the sort of Mother's Day that left me rested, gave me a chance to have some time for me as well as one-on-one time with each of my loved ones. I finished it off with a real sense that being a mom rocks and that my family really truly appreciates me.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Great flick! When I was first dating Thorfinn he was still living in Chico. One day he took me out to Bidwell Park and showed me the spots where they had filmed the Sherwood Forest scenes. Fun!
no subject
Right on!
no subject