First and foremost, if I was in Florida with my extended family this weekend, this is the amazing lady I'd be celebrating. Not me and nothing about the Mom I am. But my own Mom. Nash's Mimi. One of the most incredible women I know. Seriously, if we were in Florida, I'd be singing her every praise and I'd tell her not to move a muscle, all weekend. Why? Because now that I'm a Mother I really do see things differently. I could literally go on and on and on about this extremely adored lady. If we were back 'home' this weekend, this 'holiday' would not be about me one bit...but every bit about her!
But since we're in Austin on this, my very first Mother's Day, I think I'll chat with you about what we're up to. And also why I think this option will work splendidly for our family, for years to come. As many of my girlfriends (who are also first time Mothers) fret and fluster, wondering if their partner is even going to remember a gift or a thoughtful gesture this weekend, I'm totally cool, calm and confident. I know what we have planned and how Walt, Nash and Zola are going to 'treat' me. Why? Because we're starting a new tradition and keeping another one going. And I love it! Read on for more details.
Ok, so first of all, this is not what we're shooting for this weekend, ha! I want happy smiles, laughter and memories. Obviously there might be a tiny bit of baby fussing in the air, but hopefully only because our little Bubs is hungry. By the way, how tiny is he here?
Hopefully we'll have lots of these, all around. Puppy kisses and baby kisses are the best. And puppy kisses on baby faces are just through the roof cute.
And finally, I hope we can all fit in some of this. A little siesta (as rain is in the forecast) or some serious snuggle time would be very much appreciated by this Momma. That's not too much for a girl to ask for, is it?
Ok so moving on and sharing our traditions. What the heck are we doing this weekend and what's our newest tradition? I have quite a few friends that are first time Moms and I've heard the chatter about Mother's Day expectations and, in a way, I feel like they're setting themselves up for failure. Yeah they're dropping all sorts of hints to the hubby about gifts, flowers or no flowers, places to eat and time alone.
But let's get realistic here ladies, your men are just as sleep deprived and tired as you are. They're had their fair share of late nights and early mornings. They get up and go to work daily and deal with all the stresses that brings along with their entire home-life doing a 180 with the arrival of a precious little peanut. Are they really going to remember, let alone even hear, those blatant hints? Most likely maybe not. Then your Mother's Day will suck be sup par because you'll be festering about how you're not important to him, anymore.
Well, I'm not going to have that happen and I'm making darn sure of it. First of all, we have two traditions that will alleviate any of this stress and will really capitalize on family time and putting ME FIRST all weekend long. Read on about how we're celebrating each other as parents (we'll do the same sort of thing for Father's Day) all weekend long. I literally, can't wait!
Our 'One Year Old' Mother's Day Tradition
Art! I love art so much. Painting, sculptures, drawing and photography...I pretty much love anything and everything artistic. So last year we chose THIS great print off of Etsy for me and I love it. I couldn't share it on here at the time because nobody knew we were going to be a family of four (yes I include Zola.) So each year we'll either choose a piece of art together or Walt will inform me that he's found an awesome piece for me.
Just think, in twenty years I'll have this awesome art collection filled with pieces from each and every Mother's Day. I can't wait to watch the collection grow. Collections always have sentimental value to me. My maternal grandmother was an amazing collector and instilled my love of collecting for sure.
Our New Mother's (and Father's Day) Tradition
We don't like to pride ourselves on guessing games or telepathic assumptions over here. We've always been really good communicators and have never assumed the other partner 'just knew' our needs and wants. With that being said, Walt can't read my mind. He doesn't know that I've been craving donuts like a champ or that I've been dying to dress up pretty and head out for brunch. He doesn't know that I need a new pair of nude sandals (which might or might not mean trying on 50 pairs at Nordstrom till I find the right fit) and my favorite aviators broke.
So yeah, I know what I need and want and there ain't no way that my man can read my mind. So why in the world would I drop hints when he's too busy, tired or at full brain capacity to hear? I'm not. I'm not going to do that to myself. Or him. Or our weekend. Or my Mother's Day. I can buy those things on my own. I'm not going to selfishly set myself up for failure. So what are we going to do?
We've decided that our Mother's and Father's Day weekends are ALL ABOUT US! Meaning, I get to choose to do whatever the heck I want to do. As my good friend Corrine said, 'I can sit on the bed, in my robe and pick my nose if I want,' but the bottom line is I'm doing what I want to do. So I literally get to navigate the driver's seat all weekend long.
And my first order of business for what will go down this weekend? I don't want to life ONE FINGER in the kitchen all weekend long. So we're doing takeout/movie on Friday. Brunch on Saturday or Sunday. Dinner out on Saturday night and Walt will whip something up late Sunday afternoon. Yep, this girl just wants to paint her nails, read some magazines and maybe do a little shopping trip too (since rain is in the forecast, bummer.)
Bottom line, Walt will get it right. I'm making sure of that and not setting him up for failure expecting him to be telepathic, etc. He's a wonderful gift giver so I never have had to worry about him forgetting a holiday or not making me feel special. Truth be told, he's great at giving flowers for nuthin' which are my ultimate fave. And his new line is, 'Nash told me to get these for you because you're a great Mom!'
I will leave you with this. Remember that this holiday is not as much about YOU as a Mom but more about celebrating the maternal figures in your life that have impacted you in amazing ways. Even though this weekend will be all about 'what I want' the truth is that I'd give my right arm to be sitting on the porch, drinking a mocktail while my Mom sips on her wine, watching my Dad and my boys man the grill. So squeeze your own Mom extra hard if you're able to be with her this Sunday...I wish I could do the same.
PS - Walt also said he's betting good money that this here 'tradition' will become defunct in June. He thinks I'll back out of the deal when it becomes his Father's Day weekend to do whatsoever he wants to do!' Haha! We couldn't stop laughing about that on our family walk the other night. Mark my words, I will not! Believe me, I can't wait for the hilarity that will ensue that weekend.
I can just see it now. Pizza and a shoot-em-up movie on Friday, BBQ for lunch on Saturday along with a trip to a sporting goods store. Steaks on the grill on Sunday, and I'll bet a million dollars for the win on that last part. I so know that's what he'll want. And you better believe I'll enjoy every second of celebrating Walt and the awesome father that he is to our Nash.
