5: Time my husband left the house for work (a.m.).
7: Time my children let me sleep in until.
2: Homemade gifts received.
2: Homemade cards.
3: Beds my kids made without me asking, begging, or threatening.
2: Rooms my kids cleaned without me asking, begging, or threatening.
1: Slice of cold toast I ate, lovingly made and mangled by my kids.
2: Interruptions while I showered.
9: Times this was retweeted:
4: Cups of tea consumed.
22: Times I invoked “It’s Mother’s Day” as a method to control my children’s behaviour.
2: Ribeye steaks my husband barbecued to perfection in a hail storm.
1: Sappy text to my mom.
1: Laugh-out-loud phone call to my mom.
0: Cards I sent my mom.
0: Gifts I sent my mom.
Infinity plus one: Gifts my mom deserves for raising me.
Infinity plus one: Intangible gifts my kids have given me.
Great post as always, Leanne! I loved Mother’s day this year. I’m glad you had a good one too.
Thanks, Trish. At bedtime last night, William said, “Yay! Tomorrow’s kids’ day again.” Indeed.
This is so sweet. I’m glad your Mother’s Day was lovely!
Thanks, JButtWhat (coolest twitter name ever).
Great post. Being a couple who struggled to get pregnant for six years your tweet was amazing to read. Very cool of you.
Thanks, Rob. Hallmark days always make me think of those who are on the outside. Sigh.
So even though it was a most solo day, complete with a craft crisis and hail (WTF!) it sounds pretty darn nice.
This is exactly what I was thinking of for my Monday post, only I was so tired last night, my brain failed. I tried to go to bed at 10 PM, which for me is crazy early…
Hmmm.. you don’t mind if I steal this style, do you? Whenever my kids let me write.
Glad you had a fab day, my friend. You deserved it!
Thanks, Kel. And the craft crisis might very well make its way into Friday’s post. And steal away. I stole the premise from Sports Illustrated.
I was allowed to sleep in (past 7am!), futz around on the computer for an hour uninterrupted, given a homemade smoothie, yoga mat (unsolicited…mine supposedly smells) and cards, then went to meet a friend for lunch on a patio. Best Mother’s Day evah!
I love how you got to meet a friend. And that your family noticed your yoga mat smells. Nothing says I love you like those types of details.
Great post. Happy Mother’s Day. Love the style.
Thanks, eh?
Yup.. I wanted to comment and realized it would be entire blog post, so I just ripped off your idea. It’s up now. 🙂
http://danceswithchaos.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/paint-by-the-numbers-mothers-day/
I particularly like the BBQ paired with the hailstorm you had.
Hope Monday treats you well!
It did. And I love your post. Especially your temperature. Monday. Is. Over. And I survived!
1 time my sister was puked on
1 time my sister was pooped on (it wasn’t me)
?? laughs of three generations of family throughout the day, the kind of gathering you remember for a long time
1 time we watch Tangled so the family could say
43 times “Can you believe how much Clay looks like Flynn Rider?”
Ok.. dying on the last two… This is our current “favorite movie” and I can about quote it backwards and forwards.
I think your hair needs a little bit more length to be like Flynn.
I love the 3 generations laughing. We had it.. sorta.. over the internet. I miss being able to all be together in person.
So the implication of this is that *you* puked on your sister. Nice. How did that go over?
43 times = meaning of life, plus one.
Awesome day sounds like 😉 Can’t wait until Theo can mangle a piece of toast for me. Ribeye… Oddly, I was sick as adog on Mom’s Day and still went to two kid’s parties (?!).
Yeesh, Harriet. I hope the day after Mother’s Day was better! (And next time you’re in Calgary, come over for some mangled toast).
Oh, I love this post!
15 shrimp to clean and devein (ugh)
30 minutes of laughter sharing this process with my 18-year old son
30 minutes of cooking side by side with aforementioned teen
20 minutes of Skype with 19-year old in college
1 kiss on the cheek after dinner, unexpected, and “I love you Mom”
All adds up to ONE WONDERFUL DAY.
A great day! And this was after 17 17-year-olds slept over right? Sheesh. You deserve a wonderful day. Make that a wonderful year! Glad it got off to a good start.
Love your post. 2 thoughts I had just now about trying to trump your list. 1 thought that it would be impossible to do so. 3 thoughts that your list is funny and true. Priceless: number of times you’ve made me laugh.
Glad you had a Happy Mother’s Day!
1: sincere thanks t0 you for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Kept waiting for the “for everything else, there’s Mastercard” tagline.
2: My misty eyes at the thought of women who want to be mothers, but can’t. How sweet to remember and remind the rest of us.
Ya, a bit of a schmaltzy end, eh?
Thanks. I get the wanting-to-be-a-mom thing.
Leanne, I like the by the numbers idea – good stuff!
I missed that tweet yesterday, so I’m glad you shared it here. It’s such a great way to encourage someone, unlike what someone said to me yesterday at church: “I’m still waiting ’til I can give you a Mother’s Day card. It’ll happen, right?” Thankfully, I was having a great day, and it didn’t bother me. It definitely goes down in my book of things not to say to single people, though. I’m thinking about starting a blog/advice column about that. I think I’ve heard just about everything.
Anyway, on behalf of those of us who’d like to have kids but don’t, thank you for your kindness!
Kim! Ahh. That comment. It almost bugs me more that it was said at church.
And I think you have a new column idea. Definitely.
This is a great way to sum up mother’s day! I found out that my son loves me because I drive the boat while he goes tubing with dad and brother. I knew one day I would reach my potential.
Did you turn really quickly so they wiped out?
Not that I’d do that. Really.
I love, love, love this concept – and chuckled at 22 times you invoked “But it’s Mother’s Day” to have the children shape up. LOVE that!
I’m pretty sure “It’s Mother’s Day” is the second best seasonal threat (after “I’m calling Santa.”
Okay, I’m giving you numbers:
73: Husband’s score after his round of golf on Sunday morning.
89: Dollars I spent at Sephora on new perfume while husband was golfing.
2: Trips to the library. First time it was closed.
1: Late brunch with family. Note to self: Always make sure fridge is empty on MD.
2: Bouquets of flowers. One from mother. One from Hubby, purchased under duress at 3 pm.
1: Handmade card from son which came after..
2: hours of helping son practice his vocabulary words en espanol.
6: pm when all the mothers gathered at SIL’s house for a special dinner.
70: The age at which my friend’s mother had been when she passed away that very day.
1: phone call to my mother to wish her a happy mother’s day, and that I hope she is around for many more.
There you have it.
I went to the library, too, but only once. I think you should strike a deal with your husband: you get to spend the equivalent to the score he shoots. This will encourage him to golf less and to improve his game (although, 73 is pretty darn good).
Fun post, Leanne…I’m glad I’m past the days when the kids wake me up at 7! Your husband is a trooper to have barbecued in a hailstorm!
Glad you had a Happy Mother’s Day!
Wendy
Thanks, Wendy. He barbecues in blizzards, too. I think his record is -35.
By the numbers, I have calculated that you are a very good mama.
Maybe on Sunday I was. The other 364 days are hanging in the balance.
So cute! Bravo for the comment on those who want to be mothers, but aren’t. If I had seen the tweet, I would have definitelly re-tweeted.
Glad you had a quantitatively and qualitatively wonderful mothers day!
Thanks, Paige. Quantifying quality. Yup. I quantify *everything.*
Did reminding your children it was Mother’s Day help in controlling them? If so, is it possible to convince them all of May is Mother’s Month?
Great work – again!