Mother's Day Weekend

Last week, Rudy and I were admittedly feeling the stress of being working parents with 2 young children. I called up Aunt Kathy and asked if she might be willing to babysit on Friday night. She happily agreed. I then made reservations at one of our favorite special occasion restaurants and we were ready for date night.

I came home from work on Friday and got ready to go out. Kathy listened patiently to our litany of directions and suggestions for Caleb and Nola and then Caleb announced that it was time for us to go. I guess he had heard enough. :) Rudy and I had a fabulous dinner at Crabby's (filet Oscar...mmmm) and we actually talked without interruption from anyone other than our waiter. It was remarkable. After dinner, we considered going to hear some music at JJ's, but decided to go to the Promenade instead. I needed to get some makeup and the weather was so nice, we really wanted to be outside. We got my makeup at Sephora and then perused the perfumes, laughing and checking out the scents and just enjoying being together. We went into a couple of other stores and I enjoyed the look of shock and amazement on Rudy's face when I showed him the price tag on a Coach bag that I was trying not to drool on (a mere $298!). We grabbed a table at PF Chang's for a few bites of dessert (literally - those mini desserts are perfectly sized) before heading for home to relieve Kathy of her duties. She had just gotten Nola down to bed when we walked in the door and she told us that the evening had gone great. Caleb had even asked to go to bed when he got tired. We walked back into reality after our 3 1/2 hour vacation feeling much more relaxed and much more connected than we did when we walked out the door. I'd say that was a successful evening out.

Saturday morning, Rudy woke me up to tell me that Nola was still sleeping and he and Caleb were going out for the morning. They went to IHOP for breakfast and then went for a hike at Tanyard Creek. I love that they enjoy their time together so much! Nola woke up shortly after I did and we spent the morning snuggling and watching a little TV. When the boys got home, Nola and I went to Home Depot to get some plants for the front flower bed. We came home and spent the next few hours planting caladiums and petunias in a pot by the front door and sunpatiens, prostrate rosemary, liriope, daisies and daylilies in the flower bed. I even dug up the holly bushes and replaced them with knockout roses. I've always hated those holly bushes! I noticed this morning that everything is already starting to bloom out, so I'm hoping the rain tonight will just help that along a little.

Saturday night, we had Rudy's favorite dinner: beans, cornbread and collard greens. The boys decided they would have an adventure and camp in the backyard, despite the fact that it was the coldest night since the last frost of the year. Caleb was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. Rudy said there would be times when he would just shake with excitement and all he could say was, "woo hoo hehehehehehe!" They got out there and read some books and even though Caleb's kid-sized tent was all set up, he decided to sleep in Daddy's big tent anyway. It took them a while to get settled in and they even tried to scare me by opening the back door while making ghost sounds. Eventually, though, they settled down enough to go to sleep. Surprisingly, Caleb made it all night out there. He loved it and can't wait to do it again.

This morning, I woke up to the sound of a happy little boy saying, "Mama, I have something for you behind my back!" Normally, this would be a scary thing to wake up to, but since it was Mother's Day, I was much more comfortable opening my eyes. Caleb, Nola and Rudy greeted me with hugs and gave me a bottle of Chanel No 5 perfume and a sweet card. Rudy got the idea for the perfume after our shopping trip on Friday night. I spent the whole day being lazy after realizing that I had slept too late to make it to church. I got up and fed Nola and then fell back asleep sitting in the chair with her in my arms. I eventually went back to bed and slept for a long time. There's just nothing like sleeping next to your sleeping baby on Mother's Day. Once I finally got up, I realized that the reason I had been sleeping so much is because I'm getting sick. I think it's just sinus pressure, but I've felt awful all day. After lazing around the house the rest of the day, I got dressed and we all went to Chili's for dinner, then to Andy's for dessert. Now, I have to get back on the Weight Watchers train tomorrow with a vengeance! When we got home, I called my mom and my grandmother to wish them a happy Mother's Day, packed the kids' daycare bags and put out Caleb's clothes for the week. I tidied up like I do every Sunday night and now it's (way past) time to head for bed. A new week starts in just a few hours and I have to be ready. The bliss of Mother's Day has come and gone. Now it's time to get back to reality...but what a great weekend to give respite to the daily grind.