Mother’s Day 2015

This year was the BEST Mother’s Day yet! It was such a great weekend and I truly felt so loved, appreciated, and spoiled! We make Mother’s Day and Father’s Day a pretty big deal around here. We both are so thankful for our roles as parents and want to show our appreciation to each other for all we do for our family. We also want our kids to always appreciate us as well as their spouses someday too! 

We celebrated my Mother’s Day on the Saturday prior to the legit Mother’s Day. I woke up to a tasty pancake breakfast (my husband makes THE BOMB pancakes btw). Randomly they were also green? I’m not sure why that decision was made haha. But he must have just been in a silly mood because my pancakes also had “HM” letters on them to stand for “Happy Mother’s Day.” Classic Zach 😉

While Tess napped the big kids and I cuddled up in the bed and watched the movie of my choice (Toy Story 3. Kye is SO over the Toy Story phase but Zach and I miss it b/c we LOVE those movies!). Something I really loved about having my foot surgery recovery and having a new baby at home was having Kye (and then Britt too) snuggle in the bed with me while I napped. They would watch a movie and I’d get some great sleep. Zach knows I loved that and so he set up this plan with a good nap for Mommy in mind 😉 I def took advantage AND woke up just in time for the part of the movie that makes me cry every single time. When Andy hugs his mom bye for college. Sob fest.

After I nursed Tess we headed outback to swim and enjoy the lunch Daddy made for everyone. As the one who typically keeps the house clean and prepares food, it’s ALWAYS a treat for me when I don’t have to do either one! 

He knows me well: Chicken Salad Chick for lunch!

During naps I got a chance to have some chill time. Usually naps are a time that I get things done. Typically I blog for pretty much the entire nap time (after spending about 20-30 min cleaning up the kitchen from lunch). On this day though? I wanted to truly take advantage of my day. I chilled in the bed and watched a movie on netflix. It was glorious 🙂 I may have also napped some more. Having three kids has made me a person who appreciates a good nap!

Once the kids were all up we got ready to go out for an early dinner. We’ve found that getting to a restaurant in town around 4:45 is really best for us. We get in before the rush of people, never have a wait for a table, and get our food quicker too. It makes the meal more enjoyable and allows us to be home in plenty of time for our nighttime routine!

Kye was SO excited for Mother’s Day. He was precious and made us all buttons to wear that said “Happy Mother’s Day” on them 🙂 

Kye is also getting really into photography. You know this makes my heart happy as I’d LOVE another picture taker in the family! I allow him to use my camera as long as he asks first and as long as I have the lighter lens on it. He does pretty well! He took both of these shots 🙂

We went to Aligatu for dinner. It’s one of my absolute favorites! And now the kids are old enough to enjoy them cooking in front of us. We also have some great memories there…the first time we took Britt (I believe it may have also been for Mother’s Day) she cried NON STOP and we had to take turns sitting outside with her. And then another time with Britt she stuck her hand in a bowl of hot soup. So it was also not a very successful evening haha. Thankfully we’ve had several great experiences in a row! I opened my presents when we got there and I was blown away by my sweet children. Kye is really into recycling so he took an empty Spark canister and decorated it with outlines of his hands and feet. He said he knew I’d like that 😉 He also made me a card with THE sweetest message inside! Britt was very excited to give me my present which was a certificate for a massage (that I took advantage of a few weekends later…and was super sweet of Zach. He said he knew I’d want to spend Mother’s Day with the kids so he thought I’d enjoy doing the massage another day!). 

Such a sweet card and so funny how much he’s like his daddy…making jokes. “Surprise! Do not freak out. Just kidding, you will not. BOO! Please don’t cry.” 😉

A lot of the time eating out with kids is more of a chore than it is enjoyable. However, I feel like we rock the three kids thing pretty well. Every time we eat out lately it’s been FUN. And this time was super, super fun. Tess and Britt were both scared of the fire, but otherwise there were no tears or issues. Everyone LOVED the food. Now that Kye can read he wanted to pick out his own choice on the menu. I can see him getting expensive here quick…kid wanted the steak haha! Both kids used the kid chop sticks and Kye was really interested in all the food they had. He tried all the sauces and soup and even shared some of my hot tea. I told him we need to have a date night there together! 

Tess even loved it! She chowed down on that rice!

That night Zach and I watched my favorite (House of Cards!) and it was just one of those really, really great days. On legit Mother’s Day we went to our church and then had the Parker’s over after to swim and celebrate Mrs. Charlotte. And, again, it was another wonderful day. Everything just flowed so well and it was one of those times where we didn’t want it to end! We are so blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful family! 

I cannot express enough how blessed I am to be Kye’s, Britt’s and Tess’s mom. It is a gift that I never take for granted and a responsibility that I never take lightly. They make every day brighter! And the fact that I get to experience the joy of parenthood alongside Zach just makes it all that much sweeter and more special. I’m blessed. 

Yes, I wore my “Happy Mother’s Day” button to church 🙂 

Every year I get pretty crafty for Father’s Day but typically drop the ball on Mother’s Day. This year I stepped up the Mother’s Day game! I found a cute tote and apron at Hobby Lobby and put the kids hand prints on them. We sent the tote to my step-mom and apron to Mrs. Charlotte. It’s REALLY hard to get a baby to lay their hand flat. And I had to use washable paint on hers b/c omg the non washable kind was a BEAST to get off Kye’s and Britt’s hands! But they still turned out pretty cute and they were appreciated 🙂 

All the grandkids with their G-Mama!

Don’t Mr. Rusty and Mrs. Charlotte look too young to have SIX grandkids?!?!

The Moms!

(Yay for Casey’s first Mother’s Day!)

I always tell Casey I’m SO GLAD she had Carter first. I take full advantage of her first time momness. She researches everything the same way I do so now I don’t have to! Which makes my life SO much easier. I just copy her haha. When it came time to get Tess a pool float I just asked Casey which one she had and bought it 😉 

Haha these crack me up!

It was SO CUTE watching all the cousins. It was the first time they all really paired up. Colt and Kye played the whole time together (basketball of course), Britt and Payton played together the whole time (Payton was teaching Britt how to jump in the pool), and Carter and Tess played in their baby pool together. It was SO PRECIOUS! 

We all had a wonderful day and I had THE most awesome Mother’s Day weekend. I appreciate Zach so much for being so thoughtful and making it so special! 

Emily Parker

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