My boys had been talking about their Mother's Day gifts for weeks. I love how their teachers took a great deal of time (2-3 weeks) to build up the day as very special. Liam and Jackson came home with gift bags similar to Garrett's, so I had three hand-made gifts to open on Sunday.
Liam made me a fan, complete with his cute mug shot, as well as a new plant. When I asked him what kind of plant it is, he said, "I dunno. It's pink or purple." I plan to replant it to see for myself.
Jackson and Garrett each made a recipe holder.
I'm not sure how well you can tell from the photos, but each little boy made a flower out of a styrofoam cup. After painting the flower, they added their photo and a clothes pin. What a cute idea! Since I use a recipe binder instead of index cards, I plan to use mine for Bible verses.
Jman and GB also made cards with questionnaires about me, which were a hoot. Jackson doesn't call me "Moma", but I think it's funny that he added it to his card.
His questionnaire reads as follows:
My mommy's name is Ami. (Check.)
She is 51 years old. (When I asked him if he really thinks I'm that old, he said, "I can't reMEMBER how old you are, so Mrs. Woods said that I should say 50-something." Thank you, Mrs. Woods.)
Her favorite thing to do is watch tv all by herself. (It's not exactly my favorite pastime, but I do enjoy it.)
She does not like to clean. (Amen!)
My mommy's favorite food is cabbage. (It is?!)
My mommy's favorite color is rainbows. (He's pretty close, because I always say that I like a lot of colors.)
My mommy is really good at cleaning. (Somebody has to be.)
My mommy loves to watch news on tv. (I do?)
I love my mommy because she is special. (Thank you!)
My middle man taught me some things about myself.
Garrett's questionnaire was in the form of a book. The first page asked how he makes me happy and he said, "When I do the dishes." (Can I get another 'amen'?)
The second page asked him what he likes me to wear, and he said "red" and then drew a picture of me wearing a red Lil Ron t-shirt that we had made with Liam's photo on it. He's also got my hair in pigtails, which I have done once for the fun of it, and all 3 of my boys think it's my best hair style.
His favorite way to spend time with me is when "gowig to the ragrs gam." (going to the Rangers game)
Finally, the last page has a list of my favorite things according to GB:
Food: ckigi pot pi (chicken pot pie)
Color: bran (brown, which I do love, especially on skin)
Movie: segutreyen (Secretariat)
Place to eat: Mexucun (Yet another 'amen' needed!)
Flower: rozess (What girl doesn't love them?)
Place to shop: wolmrt (WalMart...I think I have done an EXCELLENT job of shopping there without complaining in front of him!)
Hobby: wrc (Any guesses?)
Sport: volebol (What about baseball?)
Rick rounded out the day with some kitchen gadgets, an iTunes gift card, and dinner OUT!
I sure do love my men, and I'm grateful for the special day.
Mother's Day Recap
Mother's Day
I have been instructed to not touch until Sunday.
I will obey.
Garrett (6) came home from school with that beautiful gift yesterday. I can't wait to see what is inside!
His teacher also assigned this journal entry earlier this week: Write a sentence about why your mother is so special.
Garrett's response: My mom is speshel because my mom tegis (teaches) me the wrd (word) uv God.
At least I am trying to do so. But when he tackles me and brings me to my knees in a fit of giggles, I believe I might be failing in the "Honor your Mother" department.
Happy Mother's Day!
Putting Some Things to Rest
I like to call myself a "housewife", but I should really be home home more often for that to be true. I guess I should just call myself "busy". The past week was a super busy one, and my house and blog suffered as a result.
As I set out to clean house yesterday afternoon, I realized the dust bunnies had entirely too much time on their own this week. As I would round a corner with my broom, they would run away from me with an evil laugh echoing behind them. After some serious talkin'-to, the bunnies did surrender.
And my blog seems to be mocking me with the sounds of crickets chirping when I open it. I haven't even finished blogging about Christmas, for crying out loud! I guess I better remedy that now.
But since Christmas is old news, I'll just share a few of my favorite photos that I haven't had time to share and then I can put 2010 to rest.
As I mentioned here, my brother, sister-in-law, and Edie came to visit for the holidays. It was a lot of fun to watch the 4 kids play together. Edie is not a dainty thing, and she even learned to wrestle my boys to the ground. (Mom, I still need pictures of her taking the boys down!)
One afternoon, we all met at my boys' school to shoot off rockets. Ben and Edie joined us.
I love that picture of her and her daddy. For whatever reason, she has her finger in his ear. I guess it just felt right.
We also took Edie to walk around the Gaylord, which is decorated beautifully with gingerbread creations.
My boys began climbing the rock landscaping on our way back to our car. (Please tell me you let your boys climb the rocks, too!) Naturally, Edie wanted to follow, so I helped her climb a little, and we stopped for a photo opp.
Oh, how I love that girl!
On their last evening, they came to visit us at our house for a little bit. My parents wanted a family picture, so we set out to get that done. It took a lot of silly antics from Uncle Rick to get Edie to cooperate past her bedtime, but she loves Rick and he was able to get her to smile on cue.
(Yes, my boys are wearing pj's again. No, they don't wear them 24/7, although I know it appears that way on the blog. But we are ALL in our pj's as I type, because it's a snowy, sick day over here.)
Now that I've put the dust bunnies and the crickets to rest, it's time for my own nap. I'll be back in a day or two; I promise.
Christmas 2010
Suddenly, it's the last day of 2010. How did THAT happen?!?! I have no idea, but I better blog about Christmas before the new year rolls in.
On Christmas morning, I stumbled out of my bedroom to face this:
My furry boy wants to play 24/7, and 7a.m. on December 25 is no exception. And he only wants to play with me.
Meanwhile, my two-legged boys were running around with great anticipation of the unwrapping.
Do you see me in the background? I'm staring bleary-eyed at my dog, whose dropped his toy at my feet for the tenth time at 7:02, and my hand is on my Diet Coke. Because I knew I couldn't face the day without a healthy dose of caffeine.
My little men couldn't wait for me to feel the caffeine.
Rick was on his second cup of coffee, so he was the official photographer for the early morning. We unwrapped our own gifts at home before going to my parents' house for THE MEAL.
While at my parents', Rick and I shared the camera, as a happily, married couple should.
I love that guy for many reasons, but one of them is because he's been home since the 23rd and isn't going back to work until the 4th. AND he's cooking nearly every night while he's off. GLORY BE! If that ain't a Christmas present, then I don't know what is.
He loves me.
Anyway, enough of that mushy stuff. I'd like to wrap up this post with mug shots.
My eldest, Liam. He's the easiest person to photograph. Hands down.
For some reason, most of Jackson's pictures from Christmas day turned out too dark, so here's a shot of the Toothless Wonder eating Jesus' birthday cake. Santa did not bring him his two front teeth, but Cupid might.
Our baby Garrett and his 'fro. He asked me the other day when his curls are going to turn straight. That would be never, so let's be thankful for beautiful hair. (For the record, it's his idea to grow his hair out.)
My dad, Big Daddy. He decided to gift himself with a violin and lessons this Christmas. Perhaps one can teach an old dog new tricks after all.
My mom, Didi. Something strange overcame her, and she decided to pick up the violin, too. I'm waiting for a recital.
My brother, Ben, came to visit from Colorado. I can't tell you how many photos I've seen of him over the years with that same smirk. But I love him anyway.
His wife, Jessica. She brings a lot of energy to the party. And she cooks a mean dish of green bean casserole.
The most important person of the day:
EDIE...with a cake face. She's coming up on her second birthday, and we can't get enough of her. She's just so full of fun.
And speaking of Edie, I have to go. We're ringing in the new year with her. Well, we'll ring in the new year a few hours early, since she needs her beauty rest.
Happy new year!
Yesteryear: Christmas Card 2005
Sometime in December 2005, we set out to capture a stellar photo for our Christmas card. I remember the boys weren't wearing anything cute at the time, so we stripped them down to diapers/underwear and plopped Santa hats on them. Liam was 2 1/2, Jack was 11 mos., and Garrett was 10 mos. And they were small enough to fit into the same chair.
Rick had the camera, and I ran crowd control.
Immediately, I had to take Jack's hand off of Garrett. Jack was cute as a button but always had his hands into something. And Garrett had little patience for being picked on. Funny how those two "traits" haven't changed.
Liam was "Joe Cool" in the background.
And his legs were forever ashy because of the time he spent crawling around with trains on the floor. It was such hard work to be 2.
Then, Winston came in and distracted Liam and Garrett.
Garrett began to fuss. Honestly, he fussed a lot as a baby, unless he was in my arms.
With this next shot, I started to think we might have to settle with a mediocre photo.
And then Liam found something funny and flashed his million-dollar grin.
And then Jack began to plan his escape.
"Jack, be still," I probably said. And he gave me the look that says, "What did I do?"
Then, he flashed his million-dollar grin and jumped up.
And it was unsettling to Garrett.
"Jack, sit BACK!"
Liam has always relished in his brothers getting into trouble.
In the meantime, Jack planned another escape with his Richard Pryor eyes, and roly-poly Garrett fell backwards causing Liam's hat to fall. They were like a stack of dominoes.
Garrett was terribly upset by the whole ordeal, and the photo session came to a halt for a little mommy love.
Liam stayed cool the whole time, and I guess Jack was on the loose for the time being.
Daddy pulled out some fruit snacks as bribery, and everyone began to cooperate again.
And then we caught this one:
And that was a wrap.
Yes, we sent a picture to all of our friends and family with Liam in his underwear.
Although I was terribly busy chasing three boys under the age of three, I cherish the memories of those days.
Yesteryear: December 2005
I opened my December 2005 file to this picture:
Holy cow, where did my baby go?! Garrett was 10 mos. old and full of delicious squishyness.
And Jack was 11 mos. and had a fetish for shoes.
If ever I couldn't find him, I could go to the mudroom and find him in a sea of shoes with a big smile on his face.
My Liam at 2 1/2:
Seriously, I have tears in my eyes right now! WHY do the have to grow up?!
He was (and is) so darn cute!
Back in those days, every time I pulled out the camera, the two little boys would get right in my face for a picture.
And Daddy was able to hold everyone in his lap.
Unless Jack was busy climbing something.
He's the one that I found in the middle of the dining room table a month prior to this photo at 9 mos.
Garrett was definitely too cautious to climb a table or a ladder, but he applauded Jackson's efforts.
And Liam adored trains.
My sweet baby Santas....
Oh, how I miss those days!
Mug Shots
Back in December 2008, we created face ornaments. I had hoped to repeat this activity every year, but we never got around to it last year. I have no idea why, because we enjoy this art project immensely.
Here is the The Toothless Wonder (a.k.a. Jackson) with his two ornaments. 
His 2008 creation (on the left) was pretty much a blob, but this year's face actually looks like a face.
He added a mohawk, as he begs for a real one with every haircut. We let him have one for about 5 minutes at the beginning of every shave.
Garrett's old version had all of the appropriate facial features, but they weren't necessarily placed where they belonged. But this year's face really looks like him.
Curls and all.
Liam would probably create a new face every day. He loves being creative.
This year's face includes the addition of glasses and a baseball cap, of course.
And really BIG lips.
I dare you to try it with your kids and send me pictures! It's really fun and easy. (Click here for directions.)
