HaPPy BiRtHdaY MoM!
So I am an unworthy daughter because my mom's birthday was actually yesterday, and I am posting a day late- but yesterday was one of those days that I was lucky to shower, so here we are! My mom turned 35 this year (I know-she had me young!) :D No, actually she turned 46 and I know she doesn't care that I shared that because she's one of those women who doesn't care that she's getting older! Novel, huh? I love that about her.
He loved being with his grandma! She sang him songs, on-key.... he doesn't get that from me! She made sure he got "sun time", even if it was just through the window. We had a few sunny days though and ventured out on a couple of walks. On which, she kept a keen eye out for vicious dogs. :) I also had my mace with me, just in case. She made yummy dinners, bought groceries, cleaned the house all day on Saturday and showered Collin with love and kisses. She even watched "Ellen" (the naughty lesbian show) with me :) and thought it was funny! With six other siblings, I've never gotten to have my mom all to myself for so long! We talked to my hearts content! Sunday was a hard day for me when she left. I'm so grateful for her coming out here and spending time with us. It was the best!
I feel bad for posting this pic, because she didn't want me to, but I really don't think it looks bad and I wanted everyone to see her cleaning "Cinderella" style. That's what we call it anyway. :) There aren't many things that feel better than having a spotless kitchen floor! So nice!
I feel bad for posting this pic, because she didn't want me to, but I really don't think it looks bad and I wanted everyone to see her cleaning "Cinderella" style. That's what we call it anyway. :) There aren't many things that feel better than having a spotless kitchen floor! So nice!
Interesting Facts/ Things I Love About My Mom
1. She plays the violin! In fact, she played all through school and according to my grandma, had a natural talent for it. Once she had kids, she didn't keep playing (darn those kids! :), but has a goal to play again in an orchestra someday!
2. She has an open mind and is constantly learning. Over the past several years she has become increasingly more interested in naturopathy (sp?) I have had my limbs yanked around by a myropractor and my feet cleansed and rubbed by a foot reflexologist because of her :) And she most recently is investigating "energy cleansing". While I give her a hard time about it, I think it's good that she is constantly trying to learn and do things naturally instead of always relying on antibiodics, etc. I am a bit more skeptical, but she is teaching me :) Her book shelves are filled with titles like "Eat Right For Your Blood Type", "Take Off Your Glasses and See!", and "Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui!".
3. She loves food! I think this is great, although I know she might not. I was the beneficiary of this personality trait in many ways. I remember walking around Fiesta Mall as a kid and always getting a yummy pretzel and cheese. My mom reminded us that she dunked graham crackers in milk for after school snacks, while we frequently devoured DQ Blizzards. We always had "name brand" food in the fridge and cupboards. My Granddad used to like to come over and munch on Cheetos, because Grandmother wouldn't buy them for him :) I may have the Taco Bell menu memorized, but the younger kids have more sophisticated tastes- Craig knows his favorites at Cheesecake Factory :) Since she went grocery shopping for me, we had fun stuff like acai drinks, mangos, grapes, Juicy Juice boxes, and Rice Dream. (Maybe grapes don't sound exciting, but I never buy them cuz their so darn expensive!) Much to my dad's dismay, Trader Joe's was built near their home, and the pantry hasn't been the same since :) Isn't food great?
4. She is a kid at heart. My mom can have a messy house, but she knows how to have fun! I remember many a summer spent at Sunsplash. She didn't just drop us off though, she came to splash too. We would pretend we didn't know her as she screamed her head off going down the Bonzi or other slides that weren't even scary. (We were so easily embarrassed- and she loved it!:) She would get a swinging start down a slide, then scream "I want my mommy!!!!" New Year's Eve was always was one of her favorite holidays. I mean, come on, a holiday where you're supposed to scream your head off!!! Until I was 12 we lived in a neighborhood with mostly old people, but that didn't stop her from piling us in the car at midnight and driving up and down the streets, honking the horn, banging pots and pans, and screaming until we had nothin' left in us. (All this while my dad snoozed on the couch:)
5. She is fun and goofy. Now let me qualify this statement!!! :) This category may be lumped into the one above, but I have SO many more examples!! :) I grew up with all my friends and cousins telling me I had the "Fun Mom or Aunt". I think I knew it, but remember- we were easily embarassed. The elementary school we went to had a drivethrough that wrapped around the playground and had lots of speed bumps. Many a day my mom would drop us off in the stylish "Old Nelly" (our old, orange suburban), while screetching over the speed bumps (you know, when you go really slow with the first two tires, then slam on the gas and make a loud screetch with the back two tires). She would know who our "crushes" were, and if they were on the playground, she would roll down the windows and call out and wave to the boys! Needless to say, we spent a lot of time screaming "No Mom!" and hitting the floor of Old Nelly. And then when we got out of the car, she never said "Bye kids, have a good day at school!". No, she would say, "Be Groovy, and don't burp your bottoms!". "Burp your bottom" means "toot". She didn't like the "f" word that describes this bodily function, so she made up her own phrase. THEN, there were the times that we would be getting on an elevator (ANY elevator) and if we were the only ones on it, she would wait until the doors started to close, then turn around, stick her bum out the doors, so that the doors boinged open again, and shake her bum and wave her hands in the air, singing "wahaaaahaaa"! We would collapse in embarrassment and pull on her and beg her to stop. She would laugh, laugh, laugh, say ok, ok, and come back in the elevator, only to do it again!! :) NEXT- Sometimes we would go get icecream cones at McDonalds and they had a really big parking lot, so after she pulled through the drivethrough, she would pretend she had lost control of the car and drive in tight circles around a light post- like 8 or 10 times. We would laugh and pile up on one side of the car until she was done and start to drive away, only to do it another 8 or 10 times on another light post! Oh my gosh, I could go on and on. I am cracking up just writing this. Last one, you would think that church was safe. Wrong. Just last summer- yes 2008- I was sitting with my family in church (Trav was moving us across the country and not there with me) and it was a rare Sunday that my dad was sitting next to my mom (not on the stand or at some high council thing) and the closing song was some random, hard one that no one knew. The congregation was trying to sing along, but it was fast and a weird tempo and even the chorister was struggling- so my parents are giving it a valiant effort and messing up- so they both start laughing and making up their own lyrics!! Only they're not even real words, it's gibberish, and they aren't singing quietly, they are projecting like they are soloists, and giggling hysterically all over each other. I seriously turned, jaw dropped, to stare at my 45 and 46 year old parents, acting like kids and loving every second of it! It was a hoot!
Now lest you think my parents are completely immature and unfit to raise children, I have to add that there never were better parents than Chris and Sharon! I may be a bit biased, but it's the truth! I shared 5 more silly, favorite things about my mom, but I have a hundred more! I could write a novel (and kind of started to!). She is so loving and 100% devoted to her family. I always knew she loved being a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, she's always put her needs last. It was just a few years ago that we took her shopping for either her birthday or Mother's day, to get her some more "stylin'" clothes because she never went shopping for herself. Most kids have a curfew and just went in to wake their parents up to let them know they were home safe. My mom couldn't sleep without knowing that we were home safe. Even if she was exhausted (always), she would be up on the couch waiting for us to get home. She was always supportive in whatever sport/dance/activity we were doing. She came to every game that I danced or cheered at, every concert I sang at, every ball game or recital. I had a small part in the 9th grade musical and she came to every performance we put on and even dragged some of my aunts along, so great was her enthusiasm. I always remember her in the stands with her "best friend", the big, black, monstrous video camera. She is the family "documenter" and always has her camcorder and camera. I'm so grateful, because now I make it a priority to always have my camera with me.
I love my mom, her fun personality, and all that she has taught me. I love that we are past the "fun" teen years and are such good friends. They say to be a good mom, you could run youself ragged, and only have happy kids to show for it at the end of the day. If this is true, I'd count my mom as successful as any mom there was. Happy 46th Birthday Mom! I love you!
