Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 6, 2016 by lifeonabramlake

There are so many cliches about motherhood, but one that rings true is that you never really appreciate your own mother until you become one.

At then end of the day, when you still haven’t showered, the house is a mess and the baby has been stuck to your breast for hours, you wonder how you’ll ever survive another day. And yet you do because you are a Mom. For all of you with children, you will understand what I mean, and for those who don’t, you owe your Mom big time. Just trust me on this one.

I’ve said it so many times before, but parenting is some bizarre dichotomy of torture and joy all rolled into one. It is, as my friend Lianne put it, relentless. The endless laundry, the destruction of your home and your previous identity, the body that is no longer your own, the lost concept of privacy, the wrinkles, the fatigue and the yearning for silence. When the toddler is whining, the baby is wailing and the dog is barking, you feel as if you are going insane.

Yet, these moments are butted up against flashes of pure joy that rejuvinate and carry you forward. That, and coffee. Lots of coffee.

So, on this Mother’s Day, don’t give your Mom a dustbuster, just say thank you and truly mean it when you do. You will never be able to thank her enough for what she has done for you.

As an aside, maybe it’s the lack of sleep or maybe it’s because this touches home, I stumbled across this video that truly captures the sentiment of Mother’s Day. Moms, I know it’s cheesy, but have your Kleenex ready.
http://www.storyofthislife.com/videos-2//a-tribute-to-mothers-dayspring-inc-ad

Anyway, I am sure that all of you Moms out there have baby books that are up-to-date but sadly, mine are empty. Instead, I use this blog to be the keeper of my memories and since I feel I am too sleep deprived to force my brain to compose anything eloquent, I am reduced to writing in bullet form! Here are some lists 🙂

Things that I LOVE about my kids:
– Henry’s hugs and kisses, especially when he drapes his arms around my neck and gives open-mouth, slobber kisses
– Henry’s laugh when I tickle him
– seeing Alice’s face light up in a smile when we ‘chat’
– Seeing Henry do the things he loves (biking, skiing, etc.)
– Listening to Henry sing himself to sleep (Baby Beluga, Old MacDonald, Happy Birthday) and chat to himself about Ada, Dad Dad, Hunter, etc.
– Seeing Henry take a huge tumble, then get up without crying while rubbing his head and saying ‘ouch’!
– Watching Henry and Blake snuggle on the couch and hearing Blake say ‘I love you’ to Henry
– Watching Alice smile while she’s asleep or when she’s nursing

Things that I miss:
– Going to the bathroom alone
– Having a shower for as long as I want to
– Just picking up and leaving then house to do something whenever I want
– Eating breakfast in silence while watching the lake
– Having coffee in bed with Blake, just the two of us
– Exercising whenever I want
– Being by myself
– Sleeping for a whole night

Well, that’s all for now! Time to brew another pot of Java!

Happy Mother’s Day xoxoxo

Making dinner with Alice

Alice snoozing at the gym while I worked out

Henry getting his haircut

At Cedar Bay

Henry being Henry on our walk at Cedar Bay

With Auntie Meghan at Cedar Bay

My view for our endless nursing sessions

What a fashonista – off to daycare!

Breakfast with these two!

Henry endlessly biking

Trying to get Blake to smile – it’s impossible!

Henry cuddling up in Ada’s bed

When you wake up from a nap and you’re still tired 🙂

Off to the beach!

Playing with Karla on the beach

Beach fun!

The ice is almost gone…

Henry and Hunter going for a cruise

Still biking…

Alice loving her bath

Alice getting some snuggles from a colleague at an ultrasound course that I attended

At our Northern Practice Retreat

Snoozing through the meetings…

In the evenings when Blake is away, it is generally chaos! This is me trying to nurse Alice, while Henry jumps on her and climbs all over the couch haha