Ok, time for a bit of a mea culpa. Like the DH's of some of the other Mom's on here, I also haven't always been the best at the holiday though I've always gotten her a card and some sort of something. A big, big part of my frustration in the past was that she would never tell me what she wanted for Mother's Day. This year she did: she said she wanted (1) her house clean, (2) "her" laundry done (these are her words, not mine), and (3) her kids to behave.
So, Saturday morning I started Operation Clean House and by Saturday evening most of my boys were on board without even being asked. They even stayed up a bit late and dusted the furniture and trim boards while Mom slept that night because it was "too late to vacuum". As I said, DS10 also made some signs for DW which I've tried to capture in photos here:
As far as breakfast went, we woke up at around the same time that morning and at least two of our sons were already up (DS7 - James and DS10 - Joe) and someone was fixing breakfast (we assumed they were because they were in the kitchen). I could tell she was starting to get nervous that they were destroying her kitchen so I told her to just lay right there and I would go check. I went downstairs and DS15 (Jonathan) was fixing it (which is why he added his name in pen to the signs above) with DS10 helping him. I went back upstairs and told her everything was fine so we layed there for a little bit longer and then she started to wonder the same thing about time that I had. She didn't know whether she should take a shower then or be ready to go down for breakfast. I told her I would check so I got up and went downstairs again and talked to the cooks (DS7 was sitting on the sofa playing video games this whole time). I then went back upstairs and told her that it would be about 5 more minutes. Sure enough, DS10 came up and told her breakfast was ready so we went downstairs and had pancakes and sausage to eat and milk to drink.
After breakfast, I did some more house cleaning and then went to the store to get food for our lunch that day. SHE actually cooked most of the Noon meal (it was for her Mom) but I did the grocery shopping and I did more house cleaning while she cooked. Lunch was KC Strip steaks, large baked potatoes, fresh corn on the cob -- bought that morning still in the husks, iceberg lettuce salad, and cheesey garlic bread. Dessert was fresh strawberry pie which I picked up at a local restaurant (which was super packed already at 11:00 in the morning -- every table full and about 80 people waiting to be seated, 50 of whom were outside -- I had to park in the bank parking lot across the street and walk over to the restaurant).
This particular grocery store has a great fresh flower section in it. (I have known the floral manager for 20 years not that it does anything for me pricewise.) DW generally does not care for fresh flowers, calling them a waste of money (I, on the other hand, love them) but I went ahead and picked her up a dozen red roses and I think she liked them.
I will say the "boy's behaving" part of her request did not last very long, pretty much right after breakfast they started in on each other
and I had to remove the Playstation 3 for most of the day. I told her that she might as well have asked for the moon there.
But everything else went down good. House clean. Laundry done. Garden fountain open for the season (probably the latest ever but most weekends are filled with baseball -- this one would have been too if it hadn't rained on Friday and Saturday -- AND the winter would not die this year -- and apparently still hasn't if you live in Utah). Lawn edged and weeds whacked. I even cleaned the jacuzzi bathtub thoroughly if she cared to take an uninterrupted bath -- she opted for going to bed about 2 hours early instead (not sure if that was a conscious choice or an accident
). About the only thing that didn't get done was her car cleaned on the outside (DS10 really wanted to) -- it was just too coolish (around 62) and too windy to wash it by hand.
I realized late last night that we didn't even give her the Mother's Day cards we had for her but I don't think she missed them.
-- Rob
prayers to you and your family. Love the quote this morning.
Glad you didn't hurt yourself. Wow on the pictures. Look at your waist. 
on making it to Florida.
Usually he'd pass such a holiday off as some over-commercialized, attempt by "the man" to separate him from his hard earned dollars. THIS lengthy lecture of his every holiday was designed to make me feel guilty and greedy for falling for the card-company-made holidays. 
My pat come back was that if I felt at all appreciated all year long, then I wouldn't cling to the days where it was expected thanks to a holiday. So we usually would fight on card-giving holidays and I receive the Walmart leftovers at the last possible moment of the day...when I'm good and pissed. I have even suggested he wait till the next day so he can get 50% off...HE WOULD! 
Should I join as myself so can be trounced at scrabbel by my thread Peeps AND my old math camp buddies? (I am kind of scared of my worlds colliding.... besides if I go back to teaching the last thing I need is for it to be easier for my students to stalk me) or make up some super cool secret identity?
again- ugh. Twinkie- over and out. 
I agree!
