Thank you Mum! – Mother’s Day 2014

I think Mother’s Day takes on a new significance once you are a mum yourself.  Not because you’re now the one getting presents and a lie in (although that part is nice!), but because you finally really appreciate everything your mum did/does for you.  So when hubby suggested going to his dad’s over Mother’s Day weekend I put my foot down.  I should point out before you write me off as completely heartless that his mum and dad are no longer together, and his mum actually lives in New Zealand, so I wasn’t doing him out of seeing his own mum on Mother’s Day.  I just really wanted to be able to see my mum on the day, and spoil her a little bit to say thank you.  I’m very lucky to have my mum (and dad!) less than a five minute drive away, and I sometimes don’t know what I’d do if they weren’t so close by!

My Mother’s Day treats had started earlier last week, with a tea party at B’s nursery (which was actually a bit of a shambles – kids crying when their mums left to go back to work, kids crying cos their mum hadn’t arrived yet….  You get the picture!) and a handmade card.  On Sunday morning my biggest luxury of all was hubby taking both kids downstairs after I’d fed A so I could go back to sleep for a wee while (much needed after a couple of rough nights with A!).  Had a lovely snooze and was woken by whispering outside the bedroom door at 9.15 – breakfast was served!  Just cereal and juice, but B had poured everything herself and was obviously very pleased with her efforts!  I managed about two spoonfuls of cereal before B appeared again with pressies and another card, and proceeded to “help” me to open them!!  I got some lovely Champneys Spa goodies, chocolates and flowers.  All very nice and very much appreciated, but I know it’s the handmade card from nursery that I will really treasure – all handwritten by B herself, and with a drawing of me on the front.  I can just imagine her getting her nursery teacher to spell out each word for her!

 

I’d suggested to B that we could take Nana out for coffee and cake in the afternoon and leave A at home with daddy – she loves any opportunity to do anything “just the girls”.  I let her pick where she thought Nana would like, and she said the Marks & Spencer café!!!  Not exactly afternoon tea at the Ritz, but B said Nana would like it “because she always goes to Markies”!! (This is in fact true!).

So the three of us set off in the afternoon to M&S at Union Square for a coffee and a fine piece!  B polished off a huge gingerbread lady, I had a very nice Victoria Sponge (not like me, I usually choose something chocolatey!) and Mum had a fruit scone.  We’d taken Mum’s presents with us – a scarf, a book and a keepsake memory book for her to fill with stories about her life and then give to the kids (hubby thought this was morbid but I really liked the idea, and thankfully so did Mum!). I’d got a card with a lovely verse on it, and B had written out a card “From Your Grandchildren” – struggled to find a nice Nana card (card companies take note!!).  Like me, I know Mum will treasure the cards and keep them in a box somewhere!  B occupied herself with looking out the window and a bit of colouring, which gave me and Mum a chance to have a bit of a blether – especially since A was born, all we ever seem to talk about is the kids!!

We then had a quick pit stop at Clarks to get B’s feet measured, then headed home where hubby had put pork in the slow cooker (following my detailed instructions!) and my dad had arrived.  We have Mum and Dad round for tea fairly regularly, but this time it was a treat for me too as hubby was in charge in the kitchen.  Mum had a wee glass of wine and did some craft with B (a Nana is never truly off duty!!!), then we sat down for tea.  Smoked salmon (my absolute fave!), slow cooked pork with apples, and cheesecake.

Clearly worn out after his efforts in the kitchen, the day finished with hubby chatting to my dad in the kitchen while I got A ready for bed and fed him and my mum gave B her bath and did her bedtime stories!!  I guess they do say a woman’s work is never done, but I also know that secretly my mum wouldn’t have had it any other way!

I probably don’t tell her often enough how grateful we all are for everything she does for our wee family, but hopefully Sunday made her feel appreciated and loved.