Mother's Day, 2013

Mother's Day, cards from my sweet boys.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there - especially the ones that make my world go 'round.

happy mother's day

We had a good one, despite me being gone the whole afternoon.

Jackson gave me a handmade popsicle stick framed picture of himself. He was very proud of it. I love it. 

Both Jackson and Cade filled out "Mother's Day Newspaper Headlines" for me. (See video). 

In the morning we had breakfast sandwiches at Court Street Grocers, headed over to the new playground on 5th Ave, and had frozen yogurt at 11 am in the morning. It was a good morning.

sweet mother's day

I got to sleep 'til 9!

Jackson wrote "Mama I love you. "

He also thinks I am faithful and good at fixing. And also, awesome, brave, brilliant, cheerful, considerate, cool..........

Jon made the best blueberry pancakes.

And Cade ate seven of them.

mother's day

It's hard to believe that this is my 3rd Mother's Day. It's even harder to believe that last year at this time I was pregnant. It seems like Cade has always been here with us, just as much as Jackson has. I simply cannot imagine life without them.

This has been the hardest year, by far. I feel like two kids has kicked me in the ass, and I'm just beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every day seems like a struggle, but at the same time I am still filled with wonder and awe that Jon and I created these two beautiful children.

The other day, after school, Jackson was eating a bagel in Blue Marble, which is a little ice cream and coffee shop connected to NYC Explorers. I was in the school room, while Cade played with the toys after being in his stroller for too long. I could see Jackson from where I stood in the school room. He sat at the table for 45 minutes, eating his bagel, and I kept checking on him. Halfway through his bagel, he started waving hello to me. I responded by blowing a kiss, which he copied. Then I gave myself a hug and he did the same. We kept doing this game til he finished his bagel. It was one of the sweetest moments I've ever had with Jackson, and thinking about it makes my heart melt. It makes all the whining, crying, and fussing worth it.

This morning I got to sleep til 9, like the past two years. We went and got my favorite decaf latte from South Side Coffee Shop. When I came downstairs after a leisurely shower, Jon, Jackson and Cade gave me my special and beautiful Mama's Day Card.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's in my life that make mothering possible. Mimi, Bebe - who could ask for more wonderful mothers. Nikki, Brett, Ruth, Roxana, Jane, Judy, Joyce - thank you for helping me through it just by doing it yourselves. And to my friends who don't have children (yet) - Gwyn, Kate - thank you for helping me mother Jackson and Cade too.

Thank you Jon for supporting me throughout this all - as I try to be the best mother I can be.

mother's day eve

Last night, Jon cooked me the best mother's day eve meal - rib-eye steak, roasted asparagus, and the season's first corn, which was surprisingly sweet and delicious. We sat on the patio, despite the gale force winds, and ate by candlelight (the candle is stuck in play-doh, in case you were wondering) and it was perfect. Thank you Jon for such a nice meal.

PS For desert, Jon had a cupcake and I had an ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICH from Little Buddy's. Yum.

best mother's day ever

That squealing sound you just heard? That was me when I saw these pictures of Jackson "wrapping" my mother's day present. I can hardly stomach the amount of tape that was used! The only thing making it OK was the smile on his face.

It should be noted that in my family, we don't waste tape. Or wrapping paper. Or ribbon. Ever. In fact, my Nana was famous for being able to wrap a present with NO tape.

I do like the end result, in which the tape manages to act as a decorative ribbon of sorts.

Thank you Jon and Jackson for the great new radio for the kitchen that also plays and recharges the ipod. We hang out there a lot so it's much better than the 5" AM/FM radio mini-boom box I was using (you know, that one Nonno got free when he opened a checking account when I was in college).

And thank you the pancake breakfast, and doing the laundry, getting up at 6 am, and feeding Jackson dinner last night, and best of all - cleaning out all your old bills and receipts and accumulated stuff by the front door. That's the best.

I love you both so so very much.

Happy Mother's Day

Just a little post to say
Happy Mother's Day
to all the special mothers in my life, in Jackson's life, in Jon's life.

Here are two pictures of my beautiful mother when she was first married to Nonno.

I love you Mom.

mother's day crafts

Tuesday morning we spent a little time making some Mother's Day cards. Jackson got a little carried away with the glue, but all in all, it was good.

mother's day hint

When Jon used to live on Houston Street in Manhattan, we would often go to Donut Plant for their huge, delicious, organic donuts. My favorite is the square jelly. I think they sell them at Dean & Deluca, which is conveniently located near Jon's office. I don't encourage sugar for Jackson, so maybe they have a nice blueberry muffin there too.

image from here.