Let me start by reminding you how infrequent I actually post photos of myself. I love being behind the camera, but I’m usually only willing to post a photo of myself if I have beautifully applied make up on, am having a fantastic hair day, and a fair amount of computer cosmetic surgery has been done (reduce under eye circles, soften skin, liquefy certain body parts to make them appear smaller/larger, whiten teeth, etc.). Well, this shot is straight out of the camera. Not one single thing has been done to it. I even set the camera up for my dad so that exposure was perfect in camera – something I’m not able to do all of the time. But I love this photo. I cherish this photo. Do I look like crap? You betcha. We’re talking no make up, dirty clothes, exhausted, just came back from the pool, ragged Mommy. But I will forever remember what I was feeling when this photo was taken.

You see, last week I took my two babies to Southern California to visit my dad (Papa), my stepmom (Joni), my mom’s dad (Grandpa Gerry – 93 years old), and my dad’s mom (Grandma Freda – 88 years old). I was pretty nervous for the flight down because my kids are usually in bed by 6pm – no joke – and the flight didn’t leave until 7:30pm. They did fantastic. My son fell asleep half way through the flight but my daughter was wide awake with excitement the entire trip. I heard comments the entire flight from people all around us about how good my kids were. I was so worried my non-frequent fliers were going to have a meltdown at some point but they were phenomenal. They slept great that first night – another accomplishment because they are creatures of habit and have a difficult time sleeping anywhere but in their own beds. The next day started off with Papa making us delicious whole grain pancakes with Ghirardelli chocolate, real maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream. A feast that we enjoyed at least two other times during our trip. We spent our first day down there enjoying the bright blue skies and warm weather at the pool. I thought for sure my kids would take a good nap but after reading them books and laying down with them, both were just too excited to sleep. We decided to park it on the couch. My daughter put her head on my lap and started snoring instantly. My son snuggled up with me and after about fifteen minutes of flopping around to get comfy, he too fell asleep on my lap.

This one moment was amazing to me. My kids have never been the types of kids that regularly sleep in the car. They have to be absolutely exhausted to do that. Have you ever seen videos of those kids that doze off in their high chairs and their head falls flat into their bowl of mushed peas? Yeah… those aren’t my kids. So to have not one, but both of my precious little babies sleep on my lap was absolute heaven for me. I sat there for two full hours watching them sleep and listening to them breathe. I got to watch a couple of ultimate cake making competitions on TV so that was pretty cool too.

This is what it is all about. Life is busy. Life is complicated. At the end of the day, nothing makes a Mommy happier than being with her babies.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

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