Celebrating Mother's Day

If there is anything I have learned in the past two months, it is to be flexible.  Not only in a physical sense (ie being able to nurse two babies simultaneously while making sure their eyes don't get poked out...simultaneously) but just plain flexible. Things do not always go as planned in fact it seems they usually do not go as planned. Hmmm, maybe I need to reconsider my "planning." Anyway, we became recluses for the first 6-7 weeks of O & A's life & decided to re-enter society a week prior to Mother's Day with our first trip to Sunday Worship at CCC. What do you know, within a few days Charlotte was sick, two days later Eloise was not feeling well & a day after that Owen & Anson were getting their nostrils sucked out by Nosefrida every couple hours.  Proves the point as to why we avoided interaction with others for so long ; ) 

Back to that planning thing.....we were hoping to go to early service on Sunday then head out to Tampa for the day to celebrate. We have done this every year since I have been a mommy & we love it! We did discuss the probability of it not being as enjoyable this year for multiple reasons (no pun intended). Just to name a few- 1. Anson HATES the car & screams until he is hoarse. 2. Nursing two babies in public could create quite a bit of attention ; ) in fact, I have no desire to attempt this feat so I would have been pumping in the car a few times & giving bottles to one baby while I nursed the other. 3. 4 under 4 is just a lot to manage especially outside your own home.  All that to say we were still bummed that all were a bit sicky Sunday morning....too sicky to enjoy their class & we weren't up for having all four sitting with us for an hour & a half.  Enter flexibility! Rob & the girls picked up some bagels & breakfast sandwiches from Panera while me & the boys hit the snooze button. It's amazing what 30 minutes of uninterrupted sleep can do after a long night!  We enjoyed our breakfast as a family then loaded up for a trip to Lowe's.  Somewhere around Mother's Day in previous years, we have also spent a day planting flowers. This year Rob thought it would be fun to combine the two since we decided to spend the day at home. 

My gift was that I got to drive the truck with no car seats in it on the way there. We couldn't fit into one vehicle & still have room for what we were purchasing so we took both. My ride was quiet....I don't think Rob's was ; )  We were in & out in a matter of minutes without drawing too much attention to ourselves.  The longest conversation any of us had with a worker was when Eloise stopped a man to tell him about the bee she saw by the flowers.  I don't think he understood any other word than "bee" but was so kind to make her feel special. 

We got home, I fed the boys then we set up camp in the front yard....

the boys were comfy on their Boppy Pillows in the 5x5 foot area of shade....it's the only shady spot :) 

Eloise & Owen

Eloise was soooo excited about the tools Daddy pulled out to get the job done.  She had a hard time remembering which were his & which were hers.

Elo & the shovel I put back in her hands about 30 times

Charlotte was happy to get dirty using her shovel & bucket. She got right to work helping Daddy dig some holes. It made me laugh that after about 30 minutes she was SO done being dirty....to the point that she was freaking out that there was so much dirt on her. I stuck her in the utility room sink & cleaned her off.

The boys took a quick snooze before they awoke fussy & got moved inside. I wanted to lay down too!

Owen & Anson

My favorite of the flowers

little helpers

the man in charge

So, you could look at these pictures & think "what a perfect day...those two have it all together & plan lovely days of celebration with their perfect children." HAHAHAHAHA! I tell you what, Mother's Day was quite the day of dealing with reality! Quick Summary: Coming off of little to no sleep for many weeks but especially the three nights leading up to Sunday we were a little edgy.  The girls seemed to have put imaginary earplugs in their ears & were unable to hear/obey anything we were asking of them causing much frustration for Rob & me.  Due to the runny noses & sore throats coupled with us letting them exert too much energy for a sick person, there were complete melt downs on more than one occasion.  Those sweet boys who really can do no wrong at this point in their life were just being babies : ) They needed extra cuddles & feedings which can be expected with runny noses, it just feels like a LOT more cuddles & feedings when there are two of them.  I had to laugh when I got a text from my friend Freddi who had twin girls in early April bringing her total number of children to five. It read "More than any other prior year, Happy, Happy Mother's Day!! ; D Here's to the countless hours you've been putting in lately!" Haha! She knows all about the countless hours!

So, to remedy the low morale, I got the boys to sleep in their crib, fixed some lunch for the ladies & we headed back outside. They ate & morale improved for all. Then it just kept getting better.  It came time to water all that had been planted so out came the water hose & two little girls faces lit up with smiles!

Due to Eloise putting her face in the water coming from the hose "Bella Style," she quickly lost the shirt.  I could just eat her up...

The running began....

Hugs for Daddy who redeemed the flower planting/bad attitude extravaganza with some good ol' fashioned fun with the water hose! 

I do love that man pictured above.  He helped the girls attempt to treat me special but really he was the one who made me feel like a queen. A queen with babies attached to me all hours of the day & night.  The afternoon consisted of long naps for all the kids while we ate leftover Indian food & caught up on a few episodes of White Collar. We ended the day with some snuggles with the little ones at bedtime then a steak dinner for the two of us complete with baked potatoes, mushrooms & spinach. That is my favorite meal....always. Rob asked me lots of questions at dinner ranging from what is the best part about being a mother, what has been most challenging & what do I love about mothering each of our children individually. He was so encouraging to talk to as he is the one who sees me in great mothering moments & in those moments where I completely fail. He is reminding me often of the importance of my role to love & care for these children.  We had some good laughs looking back at what parenting has consisted of thus far.....and there are soooo many more laughs ahead!

I could just cry (& I have) as I consider how our little nest we built went from a mommy & a daddy to include four children in a matter of three & a half years!  I am so thankful to be mommy to these four.  Words cannot express how much love a mother feels for her children. I would venture to say that actions show this love in ways I would have never known until the past four months that we experienced my own mother caring for me & my bunch.  She kept telling me that I would do the same for my own children & she is right. There is a commitment there to love & continue to serve even when it hurts & you feel like you only want to care about yourself.  God is working in my heart on a daily basis (now more than ever) showing me my selfishness & reminding me of his selflessness, showing me my impatience & reminding me of his unending patience, showing me how easy it is to speak harshly & reminding me of his gentleness, showing me my inability to be perfect yet reminding me of his perfection.  There is much to be celebrated in all stages of life whether you are a mother, had the opportunity to be one & chose otherwise, or are yearning to be one right now. God knows you, he knows what delights you, he knows your hurt & your struggles, he knows your deepest desires. He longs to be the one to satisfy your heart & cause you to overflow with joy in whatever He is leading you through. Trust Him & celebrate His faithfulness.