To all of my Mommy readers, I hope you all had a very special Mother’s Day!
On Friday, Rydan came home from school with a “bouquet” of flowers made out of his hands and three chocolate-covered strawberries for me. He had strict instructions, though… I was not allowed to eat the strawberries until Mother’s Day.
Then yesterday, Ryan and the kids surprised me with cards, the newest book from my favorite author, a letter “B” bookmark, and a gift card to a day spa here in Lexington. This Mommy is so looking forward to a much needed visit to the spa. What a perfect gift. We also enjoyed dinner at Applebee’s followed by some Orange Leaf frozen yogurt, where all mommies received half off.
Rydan also wrote a letter to me at school, which he kept in his backpack until Mother’s Day.
It reads “Dear Mom, Mom I love you and you love me. Have a Happy Mother’s Day. So if you love me hug me. Sincerely, Rydan.”
In honor of Mother’s Day, I want to call attention to a book that Lily recently discovered. It’s called Thank you, God For Mommy, by Amy Parker. I believe it was gifted to Lily at my baby shower, but there is no inscription, so if the person who bought the book is reading this, please let me know. I want to thank you! Lily and I have been reading this book daily for the past two weeks.
If you don’t have this one in your collection, go buy it! In the book, a little panda thanks God for all of the special things his mommy does – from the hugs to the lullabies to the boo-boo kisses, the message of this book is simple but oh so powerful, as it focuses on a mommy’s unconditional love for her children.
Motherhood is without a doubt the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s taught me so many things, but my top three would be 1.) patience 2.) a new depth of love, and 3.) to appreciate time. I don’t know that any woman ever completely masters being a mother, but there’s something inside of us that makes us able to adapt to our children’s needs and be the best we can be each day. In doing so, we learn as we go and we become better. There certainly are days where I feel like a failure, or where I go to bed not remembering what I did all day long, but simply knowing that my kids are healthy and happy reminds me that I’m doing at least something right. It only takes a “Love you” from Rydan or feeling Lily’s tiny arms wrapped so tightly around my neck to remind me how happy and fulfilled these two little people have made me. So my message to the mommies reading right now is this… give yourself the credit you deserve, take a breath, hug your little ones, and remember that your children adore you just the way you are.
Thank you, Rydan and Lily, for making my life so meaningful every single day. I love you!
Filed under: Holidays, The Buffington Southern Experience | Tags: Chocolate, Easter, Easter basket, Easter Bunny, eggs, Kentucky, Mail, packages, Pennsylvania, Skype, Spence Candies
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF OUR READERS!
This Easter is the first in my entire life that I haven’t celebrated with family dinners and egg hunts hosted by some very creative grandparents. It’s a little bittersweet in that I was sad to not be with our famlies in Pennsylvania, but I have to admit it was also kind of nice to not have to go anywhere and just enjoy the day with my husband and kids.
Because we are nine hours away from home (Pennsylvania is and will always be home), Rydan and Lily knew they would be receiving multiple packages in the mail from their very thoughtful and loving friends and family. The first to arrive was on Thursday. Rydan received a very special treat from our favorite candy store in Elizabethtown, Spence Candies. We visited here often as a reward for Rydan doing his chores or getting good grades on his tests. His candy of choice hardly ever changed. It was always either a chocolate covered rice crispy treat or a caramel choclate-covered pretzel rod. Since owner Wendie Spence knew this, she so kindly mailed Rydan one of each for Easter. Thank you, Wendie, for giving Rydan such a sweet piece of home! We sure do miss visiting you, and have yet to find a similar candy store in Lexington.
Also to arrive on Thursday was a box from The Popcorn Factory, sent to Rydan by his Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Brett. Rydan opened the package while skyping with them, so that they could see his excitement at what was inside. They definitely know what Rydan likes. This was a big bunny tin filled with various flavored bags of popcorn, pretzels, cookies and other sweet treats.
The third to arrive on Thursday were two packages from Pap Wiest, one for Rydan and one for Lily. As the boxes sat on the dining room table all afternoon, Rydan and Lily anxiously awaited their Skype session that evening with Pap Wiest, so that he could watch them open their boxes. Rydan received a Lego Power Rangers Samauri, an Adidas outfit, which he was “more excited about than any outfit in the world,” socks, and candy galore. Lily opened up two new summer dresses, sidewalk chalk, bunny barrets, socks and a bubble gun.
On Friday, two MORE packages arrived. Rydan and Lily opened up Easter gifts from Lola, which included a new WWE t-shirt, a WWE magazine, gummies, and the movie Hop for Rydan, and a Barbie doll, new books, a toy horse, and some building blocks for Lily. Once again, they skyped with Lola while opening their packages.
On Saturday we took Rydan and Lily to their first egg hunt in Kentucky, which was held at Rydan’s school. They both were extremely excited and came home with baskets full of eggs. Lily had 12 and Rydan had 31.
Lily was so proud of her eggs.
On Easter morning, Lily was the first to wake up, so after she got Rydan out of bed, we all came downstairs wondering if the Easter Bunny knew we had moved. Rydan assured us that he stopped at every house, and he was right. There on the chair, were six baskets filled with goodies, three for Rydan and three for Lily.
Rydan immediately saw the red Under Armour shoes that he’s had his eye for weeks. After that, he noticed the Lego Ideas book propped against the pillow behind his baskets. He couldn’t have been more thrilled. Also in his baskets were three pair of new shorts, a t-shirt, colored bath tablets, a bag of Smores Goldfish, a box of hot chocolate, and of course a variety of candy. As for Lily, the only things she cared about were the teddy graham filled eggs in her baskets. She wasted zero time opening those up and eating the teddy grahams. After some time, she discovered a pair of bunny slippers, which she wanted to wear right away, and a new bunny cup. Also in her baskets were a new swimming suit with matching sun hat, two new sun dresses, a bubble wand, an Elmo bath book, a drawing tablet, and some bubble bath.
For breakfast, it was bunny pancakes and turkey bacon!
We spent the rest of the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Rydan was off in his new red shoes playing with the neighbor kids, while Lily played with Mommy and Daddy in the yard. She enjoyed her very first wagon ride and also took a few spins on Rydan’s old tricycle.
This is how she sat the entire ride.
Overall, our first Easter in Kentucky was fun, super relaxed and filled with sunshine. It is definitely one that I will always remember.
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Filed under: Holidays | Tags: Chex Mix, Holiday, marshmallow, Valentine, Valentine's Day
I’ve had a lot of fun the past few days preparing for Valentine’s Day with Rydan and Lily. We spent an evening last week making our own valentines out of a $5 kit I had bought from Target. As always, Rydan’s creativity went wild and Lily simply enjoyed playing with all of the sparkly hearts and letters.
I especially liked the valentine that Rydan made for Lily…
Thanks to Pap Wiest, Valentine’s Day arrived a few days early when a big package arrived at our door step. Inside were tons of goodies, but what made the package extra special was all of the “marshmallow-inspired treats,” like the bag of heart-shaped marshmallows, chocolate-covered marshmallow hearts, and pink marshmallow rice crispies. Also included were two stuffed bears, two books and our favorite… two jars of Reeses’s Peanut Butter, straight from Hershey! WE LOVE YOU, PAP!
After receiving such a big treat box, Rydan asked me if he has school on Valentine’s Day. What a kid. Although, I totally understood his line of thinking. Holiday gifts usually mean days off of school. I figured it was a good time to get his Ninjago Valentines out, so after he remembered the annual valentine exchange in his classroom, he got a bit more excited.
And as with any holiday, I can’t resist the temptation to be festive in the kitchen. This Valentine’s Day, I made a V-Day Chex Mix, which turned out to be a big hit.
To All Of Our Readers:
We love and appreciate you for visiting Marshmallow Mondays every week! Happy Valentine’s Day!
