Facebook Mother's Day

When I went to write about my Mother's Day, I had to laugh a little at the difference between my Facebook Mother's Day and the reality. Not that I lied, on Facebook, but...

FB:
I'm laying in bed listening to the kids make breakfast while Joseph tells Elizabeth how many donuts they each get because he's "good with division and this is just like a word problem".

Reality:
It was 6:30 when the kids woke me up to tell me they wanted to make me breakfast in bed. 6:30 in the morning on Mother's Day. We've long established that I'm NOT a morning person so let me repeat. 6:30. 

Now, there are times when they get up and play quietly while I sleep in. There are times when they make toaster waffles without a sound and I can continue my dream of eating all the waffles without concern for their calorie count. This was not one of those mornings.

They did an amazing job and, with a little help from a friend, were able to put together a delicious breakfast and not eat all the donuts. They presented me with handmade presents that made me smile wider than a diamond necklace ever could.

But still...

6:30.

FB:
Working off breakfast with a Mother's Day hike. Should have gone before the heat hit. Oops.

Reality:
We procrastinated our hike until nearly 10 when the temperature began to hover around 80. On the way to the trail, I realized I'd forgotten to pack bottles of water and made the colossal mistake of mentioning that fact out loud.

For the next hour while we hiked through trees and up hill and down, I got to hear "I'm thirsty" and "I'm going to explode from thirst" and "I'm going to die of thirst" approximately once every two feet. On a mile and a half hike.

We got back to the car, grumpy and sweaty and raced to the nearest store to get water, of which they drank approximately three sips before capping their bottles and putting it away.

FB:
Beat the heat with a trip to the beach, good friends, chocolate banana gelato, and, later, Gatsby. What a perfect Mother's Day.

Reality:
Still sweating from our hike, we decided to take Anne up on her offer of a place to put our things while we joined her and Collin at the beach. A few minutes after I responded, we found out that Sarah would be joining us with Jackson and Harper. Win!

We packed sandwiches while eating left over donuts - lots of veggies between the bread per Joseph's strategy to counteract the amount of sugar we were consuming - and loaded our lunch boxes with fruit and peanuts. The kids changed into their suits, I threw on a skirt with my tank top and we headed out the door, hats on heads.

At the beach, we sat in the warm sand and basked in the thirty degree cooler weather. We ate our sandwiches, played in the water, and soaked in the sun.

A little too much sun.

In the rush to get out the door, I made a rookie move and forgot to sun block myself and reapply it to my gingers. Even with their long sleeves and hats, Elizabeth was a little pink on her legs and cheeks and Joseph was rosier than I'm comfortable with.

As for myself, I'm currently taking ibuprofen and hoping The Peeling that is sure to occur will be as non leprous as possible.

We got home from the beach to meet Chad who took the kids home for the night, leaving me to take a shower and cool off with banana chocolate gelato, one of my all time favorite "treat me" treats.

I closed my eyes and pretended I was in Rome, sitting on the edge of a fountain, then remembered that was my sprinkler and it needed to be moved to keep my plants from dying a horribly dehydrating death.

With gelato for dinner, I went to see Gatsby - an emotional roller coaster from which I'm still recovering and processing - with a glass of Wild Horse Chardonnay because I like the VIP section of the theater with its wide, plush seats and booze.

It was, overall, an amazing Mother's Day - both the reality and the FB version.