A letter to my children on Mothers Day

My Dear Children,

I feel that I have little to offer in the way of 'words of wisdom'. I have done my best to raise you as *mostly* well balanced human beings who know not to eat with your mouth open and not to be rude to old people. But on this day, as I examine my roll as a mother and my level of success in that roll, I feel that I have let you down. So, my precious children, as you head out into the world there are some things I want you to know...

I love you so incredibly much that I can't put it into words. I don't love you enough to let you sit on my lap while I go to the toilet... there are such things as boundaries and I would be a poor example of a mother if I didn't teach you this.

I am so proud of you when I see you share. It swells my heart and makes me want to scoop you up and hug you forever. Wiping your boogers on someone else' shirt, however, does not come under the banner of sharing. Wiping your boogers on MY shirt is just plain gross.

I love to see your sense of justice developing. Seeing you fight for the weaker ones around. Watching you make sure no one misses out. I love all these moments! Flogging a toy off one brother so that the other brother can have it is not justice.

I have tried my best to teach you to be frugal. To use things up before you throw them out. I love to see the creations you make out of empty boxes. Hauling the Doritos packet out of the bin, taking the dead battery and other junk out of it and then gobbling up the crumbs in the bottom of the packet is a little extreme. How about we just stick with making sure the toothpaste tube is empty before it gets binned and stuff like that.

Compassion for animals is another admirable quality that I have tried to instill in you. Caring for animals who cannot care for themselves will teach you so much in life. But please, lets stop crying over every fossilised frog and gecko we find in the house. If they are silly enough to hop behind a bookshelf into the dust then they will just have to deal with the outcome.

I pray that you will keep your fantastic imagination. I love to see you pretending to be something or someone else, to listen to the stories that you come up with, to see you acting out amazingly intricate storylines with your GI Joes and HotWheels. There are times that we do need to draw the line between imagination and real life... like when sticking in character will get you killed. No more cement mixers sinking to the bottom of the pool, no pterodactyls soaring through the air from the cubby house. No more. Ever.

Your love for your brothers is heartwarming. It makes me go all soft and gooey to see the way you all love each other so much. I would ask, however, that when one has a vomiting bug, a cold, a cough, whatever, that you show that love not with affection but rather by keeping your distance so you don't all get the bug and in turn infect me. Love is not found in 38478 extra loads of washing, in spite of what those gushy mothers day poems say.

I love to see you teaching your brothers new and exciting things. Teaching them how to turn the bucket over for the perfect sandcastle, sharing your knowledge of the stars at night, reading a book together, teaching them how to maneuver the skateboard to do that neat trick you just did. Teaching them the best places to hide an apple core in the playroom so you don't have to walk 5 metres to the bin does not count. Teaching them to eat their boogers to save time getting a tissue does not count either. Teaching them how to intricately wind the words "poo" and "wee" *legitimately* into a conversation so mummy can't get cranky at you is also not something I am thrilled with. Yes, I am sure.

So to the ones who are the reason that I so proudly wear the label "Mother", I love you, now please get off my lap so I can finish on the toilet and wash my hands...

My Mother's Day

started far too early.

Seriously, who puts Mother's Day on a Sunday when I've gotta get up for 8:30am church?

Anyway, it started good. Lion ran to WOLF'S side of the bed because he had remembered the discussion we had the night before that he shouldn't wake mummy up in the morning.

I got my stash of gifts...

All I actually wanted for Mother's Day was the hoodie (oh so classy, I know) which I picked out and Dragon and Wolf paid for but Lion asked what I wanted for Mother's Day and I said that Dragon and Daddy had already bought something and Lion thought that wasn't good enough, Lion wanted to know what HE was going to get me for Mother's Day. So off we went to classy old Target on Saturday when every man and his kid was last minute Mother's Day shopping. I happened to see that the photo frames I had been watching out for since Dragon was 3 months old were in and were 25% off. I suggested that Wolf may like to persuade Lion that I wanted two of those for Mother's Day. Apparently Lion didn't think that was good enough... I NEEDED a teapot that had a cup underneath it. I REALLY REALLY NEEDED ONE! So, I got the lot.

When Lion was 3 months old we got a PixiPhoto done (ugh, yuck) and I put the free print and his fancy birth certificate in matching frames. When Dragon was (a bit more than) 3 months old we got a PixiPhoto done with the plan of putting it and his fancy birth certificate in matching frames to Lion's. They have had every other layout in the same style frame in except for the one that I wanted. Then finally over 2 years later they are there! YAY! Oh, and I got a bunch of cards that I had helped the boys make at playgroup and Wolf hadn't written in.

So tonight I framed up the photo and the certificate. FINALLY! Now we have to find places to hang them... um, I may have edited slightly the wording of the certificate for these photos :)

The poo free day... it didn't happen. Wolf decided to go off to a movie (I was thankful because it was Star Trek and there was NO WAY I wanted to see that) and 2 minutes after Wolf walked out the door Lion informed me that Dragon was stinky (I do need to be told, I have very little sense of smell). I cleaned it up and got them down for their nap and Wolf walked back in the door! The theatre was PACKED and he decided to come home and try a different day. My first loving words to him as he walked back through the door... "You owe me a poopy nappy" perhaps not the sentiment I intended.

We were heading over to Grannysaurus' this afternoon for poffertjes for avo tea (the poffertje maker was a combined birthday and mother's day present from us) and to give her the freckles we made for her (BIG freckles, YUM). Lion just would not put his pants on. He has always had a slight aversion to clothes "Mr Clothing Optional" is his name. I had to have this discussion with him...

"Lion, go put your pants on to go to Grandma's"

"I don't really want to wear them Mummy"

"No, go put them on darling"

"No, I'm okay, I'll just go like this"

"Any other day I don't care if you don't wear pants to Grandma's but you have to wear pants on Mother's Day"

The mummies of the Playgroup kids performed at church this morning. I forgot the camera and I realised with plenty of time to go get it (we were still pulling out of the driveway) but I figured that they wouldn't do anything anyway or at the most they would stand up the front like statues and pull faces to anyone that was looking at them so I didn't go back in for it.

They performed GREAT! They did the actions (but didn't sing) for the songs and did their parts for the presentation. AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE CAMERA!!!!! oh well.

So as I drink from the teacup from under my teapot (I've taken the teapot off the top, I didn't want to hit myself in the head with it) "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" to the mummy's we are related to and to the ones that we aren't.

Mummy McTavish Says

I don't do poo on Mother's Day.

No nappies and no wiping butts.

Funny, the only one that had a problem with this declaration was Wolf...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all mummies!

I was confined to bed this morning until breakfast was ready. It didnt matter that i was starting to get in a bit of a panic that we would be VERY late for church and Lion had a speaking part in the childrens talk which is close to the start of the service. It all worked out, we made it before church started Lion did his part (oh so beautifully, so very proud of him) he forgot he was supposed to sing too and stood there just doing the actions for the song even though he sang very loud for the practice at playgroup on wednesday. Doesnt matter, he did a great job. Dragon was just excited to be standing up the front and didnt do any of the actions even though he can when we sing it at home.

Breakfast was porridge, made with lots of love by my boys. I got a CD and a BIG box of chocolates. Wolf thought he was being funny giving me the chocolates. A week or so ago, a happy customer gave him a BIG box of Lindt chocolates (mmm, yummo!) and he bought them home to share with me (he knows I LOVE lindt chocolates). I told him had it been me I would have snuck them home and used them for mothers day that was coming up. I never saw them after that until this morning. I also got a beautiful card with both the boys hand prints and a foot print of Lion's on it. It is a very special card. Wolf asked Lion if he wanted to put a special message inside and he said he wanted to make up a special prayer to say "thank you for mummy so I can do gardening".

At church they were handing out little chocolates at the door for mothers as well as the flowers this year. Lion got to the door of the church, and stood looking at the lady with the big bowl of chocolates and didnt move. The people at the door always give him what they have (usually just the notices) and she wasnt. She explained theat they were just for mummy and he eventually went inside. Mummy picked hers out and realised that Dragon was still standing there watching waiting for one. I had to use mine to lure him inside, he would have stood there all morning otherwise. After church Lion went to sunday school and made a beautiful card and a picture for me, he is getting so much better at actually making the desired craft.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

We love you...
Nanno, Great-Grandma W, Grandma S, Great-Grandma M, Great-Nanna M.