Mother's Day Weekend

The kids were especially silly during our regular Friday play date. I had dressed the girls in over the top girly outfits. They protested their enforced gender roles by playing in the toolbox most of the afternoon.

The boys rummaged through my sister's extensive dress up closet and put on quite a fashion show for us.

We eventually corralled everyone and headed home for a low key evening at home.

Saturday proved to be busier than usual with grocery shopping and cleaning the house. In preparations for a new diet, Jesse and I purged our kitchen and replenished it with tons of produce and meats. We went to Sam's as a family and ate a variety of samples (asparagus, cheese, mango, pineapple, baked chicken, hamburger, Snicker's ice cream bar, etc).

Saturday evening was a long awaited date night. It had been two months since Jesse and I last managed to get out of the house. My best school friend was in town with her husband and graciously volunteered to watch the kids while Jesse and I escaped the house. We didn't realize that it was graduation day for the nearby university, in addition to prom night for local high schools. We spent more time looking for a place to eat than we did actually eating. Alas, Mexican food never fails We even ended up with free fried ice cream.

I was able to catch up with friends for a few hours and have a glass of wine once the kids were in bed. I felt like an actual adult. 

Sunday morning began with the usual pancake breakfast. Jesse surprised me with this beautiful necklace.

Confession: I was upset about a slight error, but sincerely appreciated the thoughtfulness.

While it would have been nice to do nothing all day and let Jesse take care of everything, that was impossible. Feeding, changing, and clothing three babies, caring for a toddler, washing never ending piles of dishes, and preparing food for in-laws are all tasks that require two people, if not more.

Lunch was delicious. Jesse grilled veggies and pork chops. I was in charge of mac-n-cheese and dessert.

Our families keep growing, which means we need two tables to accommodate us all. The more, the merrier!

After family left, we cleaned more. I've failed to mention the fact that we haven't had a working dishwasher in over a week. The repairman came out on Thursday, only to inform us that our dishwasher needs to be replaced. We are working out the details of getting a free, used dishwasher. Until then, we all take turns washing dishes.

The only thing I wanted for Mother's Day that I didn't get was a picture with all four kids. I've decided that a picture with everyone in good moods is next to impossible. I settled for dinner on the deck, then enjoying time with the babies while Jesse gave Jackson a bath.

Just pretend like I'm ending this post with a cute picture of me holding all four kids. We're all smiling and looking affectionately at one another. Ha!

Happy Mother's Day.