the best day of the year, from a mother's viewpoint

today was a very nice day...breakfast in bed, ryan got the girls ready for church, took a nap after church, had dinner at our friend's home, etc. i always like to see what ry and the girls will come up with. they always outdo the previous year. this year i got my new tennis racquet for mother's day and was surprised when the girls and ry woke me up from my afternoon slumber with a small, wrapped present. i opened it to find an armband for my ipod to use when i go running. i was so excited and afton said "now you won't have to stick your ipod in your pants when you run!" (i seriously just tuck it into the waistband, seriously)

i was thinking back on some of my favorite mother's day memories and i will torture you with them now.

of course, my most favorite was the year afton was born. i like to tell her that she was my very best mother's day gift. she was born hours before mother's day and i will never forget waking up the next morning to that beautiful tiny girl. ryan gave me a beautiful bracelet that year for mother's day and i like to wear it on mother's day as a sweet remembrance.

one year i remember finding a cute shirt for my mom at the mall. i told my dad that i needed some money. he sent me back to the mall with a blank check (you think he'd have known better) and said spend around $20. well, i got a little carried away and came home with an outfit for her! my dad said, how much did you write that check for? i honestly said, $50. he seemed a little bothered by that, for some crazy reason i couldn't understand. couldn't he see those super-cute, hot-pink stirrup pants with the matching hawaiian floral print camp shirt? my mom was going to be sooooo surprised and thrilled, i was sure. (i am cracking up while i remember this) i think i might have even splurged for the pink plastic hoop earrings. it's weird, but i don't remember her being that excited when she opened her gift.

well, i'll stop there. it's time to whip up another batch of muffins. i'm making muffins for afton's birthday treat for school tomorrow, as any truly loving, devoted, crazy mother would. did i mention it's 11pm? also, did i mention i am making three varieties of muffins? you'd be surprised by a 1st grader's sophisticated palette. they are not falling for any plain old blueberry, bought at the bakery, and certainly not Hostess muffins from the box. did i mention that once again i've gone completely overboard on a simple request? all she wanted was a birthday treat for her class. sigh...

it's the hot-pink mother's day outfit all over again.