Mother's Day

I joked with several friends last week that I didn't want to blow Mother's Day... didn't want to ruin the special day. I didn't want my Mother's Day to end up like Frankie's on The Middle. She wanted her hubby and kids gone for the day, so they left. Instead of relaxing without them, though, she ended up doing work around the house. And the kicker was, the kids and hubby had a picture perfect day off on their own. You can see the full episode here. Additionally, for various reasons, Mother's Day is always a tad bittersweet at our house. Plus, this is the first year that Nigel's old enough to understand appreciation and the concept of Mother's Day, so I knew there was potential for greatness.

So, Saturday was family fun day. First, we drove to Plano for an Asian American festival. On the way there, Nigel counted to 10 in Spanish and French. I got a "I did that!" feeling in my heart and was just overwhelmed with just how much I love being this little guy's mom. At the festival, Nigel got to play a violin and a drum, listen to Indian music, and have an egg roll during our picnic. It was refreshing to see so much diversity, something we continue to crave here in FW.

Next stop: the Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson. It reminded me a lot of Arts in the Park.
Nigel enjoyed looking at some of the art — large sculptures are a huge hit with him — and he also made a plaster hand print. Of course, no festival is complete without ice cream so he had some of that, too.

After a brief stop at home, I chose Indian food for dinner. We went to Tandoor in Arlington. This is where the magic died. I'm not sure if Nigel had just been out too long or what, but he was wild! He refused to eat everything that was offered to him (despite the fact that he's been eating Indian food for two years), and he ran into the parking lot when Tim took him outside for a "chat." It didn't exactly leave me with a warm feeling in my mothering heart.

While I was with my running group on Sunday, Tim and Nigel made carrot cake cupcakes for me (I missed my mom's carrot cake over Easter). They also surprised me with three cards (the one Nigel picked out was in Spanish), a new sports bottle and a running shirt. After lunch, Tim and Nigel went to the YMCA to practice swimming while I watched something on Netflix. When they returned, I ventured off on my own. I went to the FW Botanic Gardens to read and get some sun, but I quickly realized it was way too hot and relocated to Starbuck's.

The weekend was the perfect balance of family and alone time. I really did feel special, minus the Indian restaurant episode. But really, I feel like that every day. I'm so lucky to have a husband who shares the responsibility of parenting, who recognizes when I need some down time and appreciates my style of parenting. And I'm super lucky to have a son who tells me "You're the best mother in the whole world. I love you more than all of the cupcakes, all of the ice cream and all of the hot dogs in the world."