Class Treats For the Win

Don't we all over-do it sometimes? Picture a slightly anxious, tired-looking woman in her third trimester creeping through the alcohol sections of grocery stores and big box stores looking for cocktail umbrellas that just aren't there. Finally her mother takes her to a real liquor store and points them out. That was me last week, trying to make my daughter's birthday class treats. I had decided to make something that would blow 5th grade minds, or at least something that would be forever tattooed on her 11 year old brain. Was I making up for other years of store bought cupcakes or cookies? Creating one last memory before she is too old to care about birthday class treats or, worse, is embarrassed by them? Whatever the reason, I had a vision. It was the most delicious kind of vision...those Pinterest mommy project dreams are hard to shake. I felt more than a small personal victory sliding them into the teacher's lounge fridge where they sat waiting for milk break. Parental self-satisfaction is an important part of any child's birthday, right? Then I got, oh, just the best email I've ever gotten (from the teacher!). 

Wow! What an awesome birthday treat for Maddie. Thank you for making this day so special. Her face just beamed as she passed out the cups. 

Over-doing it paid off, clearly. Face. Beaming. 

This year her dad surprised her with a day off school and they went to a baseball game, just the two of them. We had a little family over for cake and ice cream. Birthdays are sweet.

Moms Hooking Up Moms

I went to a play date and came home with one of the best haircuts I've had in awhile. It was so great to spend a few hours with two mama-friends yesterday. While our kids played we vented, shared, laughed and two of us got trims. All without vino or scheduling anything in advance. My little boy thought it was odd, kept peeking his head into the sunny room where my friend has a little salon station set up and wondering why haircuts were happening right in someone's house. He has only had one or two haircuts in his life so he's not so sure about them anyway. Here's a picture of my Shaggy dude.

I've been feeling exhausted getting ready for baby, micro-managing the kids and continuing to work the nightshift. Hearing how other mamas are struggling with their own attempts at work-kid-life balance is always calming and reminds me that I will never be able to do everything I feel I "should" be doing. While my friend and I talked about everything from how much I love the Unitarian Universalist church we attend to her goal to work from home more, I felt more than just a few layers of hair lighter. Getting an inexpensive cut from a stylist who works in a swank salon was certainly sweet, but I felt like hanging out with two mamas that see the world from my perspective was way more valuable.

I have so many things to be thankful for, something easily forgotten when I'm short on sleep. Like our new grill and the tasty meals I've been able to cook while enjoying being outside with the kids during our early evenings.

And the redbuds that are blooming all over our little town.

The flowers I got on Mother's Day.

This special person, who has a birthday this week. 

I need to hit up my mommy community more often. What a reminder of how great life is.