She Cracks Me Up Thursday

Abby cracks me up and is constantly uttering fantastic one-liners and nuggets of comedy.  In the past Abby has said such amusing things as, "If we live in a democracy, why are you in charge of me?"  On Mother's Day she said, "If you look fancy, you feel fancy."

Today's gem occurred in the car on the way to school, seemingly inspired by nothing but her imagination and the fact that some girls in her class have started to lose their teeth.

Abby:  I sure hope the lawyers don't pull out my tooth.

Me:  What?  Lawyers don't do that!

Abby:  Oh.  ~pause~  I mean the dentist.

I am inspired to make Abby's quotable quotes a weekly feature.  I wonder what she'll come up with next.

My real Mother's Day gift

I have a 5 year old, Abby.  Even though I have been a mother for over 5 years, this was my first "real" Mother's Day.  It's the first time Abby has been old enough to really celebrate the holiday with me.  It's the first time she made a card and conspired with her father about what gift to give me and how we should spend the day.  But more importantly, this is the first time I am really experiencing and appreciating our mother-daughter relationship.

A few days ago I took Abby with me when I went clothes shopping.  She helped me pick clothes and sat in the dressing room giving me the thumbs up or thumbs down like a Roman emperor sentencing the clothes to be left to die in the store or be given a chance at life by going home with us.  She had good instincts and saved me from a potentially disastrous rust colored skirt.

This Mother's Day was a day for me to be proud of the remarkable girl I gave birth to.  I am proud of the job I have done raising her, teaching her, and protecting her.  As she moves through her 5th year I am in awe of the girl growing before my eyes.   She's a wise old soul in a young girl's body.  She has a tremendous sense of self and comes out with some very insightful and inspiring comments.

On the eve of Mother's Day I was performing one of the most essential roles of a mother.  I was frantically trying to reduce Abby's fever of 104.5.  I wiped her brow with a cold wet cloth, I sat with her and I cuddled her.  Mostly I just worried for her.  She rallied on Mother's Day and after a wonderful dinner we went for a walk.  

It was during that walk that Abby enlightened me once again.  She had dressed herself for this special dinner:  flower dress, princess ring, silver bracelet, Hello Kitty necklace, pink pashmina, and a straw hat with a pink ribbon tied around it.  As she sashayed down the street she tossed the end of her pashmina scarf over her shoulder and said, "Mom, let me tell you something.  When you look fancy, you feel fancy."

I am helping to raise a funny, caring, self-confident and intelligent girl.  I couldn't ask for anything else on Mother's Day.

Six Words & Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

Today I found Six Word Saturdays  on Show My Face through Sass at Are You Sassified?

This is my first attempt:

Mother's Day Gift: instruction manuals?

Today I am also preparing for my mother to visit me for Mother's Day.  I haven't spent Mother's Day with my mother for the past three years because I was living in Rome.  I have cleaned, done laundry, straightened up, put away countless small things that make their way around the house during the week and can't find their way back to where they came from (toys, ties, shoes, colored pencils, magazines, etc.).  I have prepared a menu and will be cooking dinner tonight for seven people.  I made a cake* and am baking bread.  I am mom-ing it up!

My husband and daughter saw me working hard and decided to give me my Mother's Day gift today.  For Mother's Day, my husband and daughter gave me two instruction books for my computer.  They are supposed to help me figure out how to use some photo and dvd applications on my mac.  I said, 'Thank you.  They are useful."  My husband said, "These will help you organize all the photos on the computer."

I feel like a bitch for not being more grateful or happy with them, but I feel like I have been tasked with an additional chore.  What mom needs that?

With everything we do to make our families and households run well I think one day isn't enough to celebrate us.  This is especially true when I am spending so much time to make sure my mother has a good Mother's Day.  I am going to insist on a whole weekend next year, not just one day!

*So this is what the cake is supposed to look like:

This is what the cake actually look like:

I had problems with my frosting.  I hope it tastes better than it looks.

To all the mom's out there -- Have a great weekend!