A very merry Mother's Day

Yesterday morning, I didn't have to get out of bed right away when my alarm went off.

The kids shuffled around all quiet-like, and I laid there, slipping in and out of consciousness for half an hour before getting up and having a leisurely shower.  Amazing.  I didn't have to run around behind ANYONE doing the clap-my-hands-by-their-butt and saying "Hustle, we're going to be late".  I did my hair, and makeup, and even put on a skirt before coming downstairs where the tantalizing smell of fresh baked croissants lured me with their siren-call scent.

And I saw this on the chalkboard in the kitchen.



...and this on the table


The croissants were gone before I could get a photo, though.  You'll just have to imagine.

And imagine this!  Without me running around hustling behind the kids, we ALL got to church early.  Yes, it was a good morning.  Ken got inducted/installed/whatever-you-call-it as an elder at church, making him officially "old", and was thoroughly embarrassed by all the great (and well-deserved) things that the board said about him.

After a nice lunch at home, the kids asked for some time at the local elementary school, so we loaded up the bikes, and off we went.

Nate tooled around on "the puny bike"


...and the Big Wheel.


While Skip rode around on Kelly's girly-girl bike.


I tell you, that kid just amazes me sometimes.  Ken kidded Skip about taking a photo of him on Kelly's girly Hello Kitty bike, and then showing it to all his friends.  His response?  "Oh, you've gotta show it to Cole, but make sure you show it to him in front of all HIS friends, because HE is the one that gets embarrassed about stuff like this, not me."   So true.  Skip just is not swayed by the idiocy of peer pressure.  Oh, he preens when the 8th grade guitar-genius acknowledges his presence in the jazz band, but other than that, he's not all kerfuffled about making sure 'I'm in the club!"

I should've been more like that when I was a kid.

Anyways.  While they were riding around, I was finding a sheltered corner, to stay warm (oh, it was sunny, but the wind was really fierce) and knit.

Oh, it doesn't look like much now...


But when it's stretched out and blocked, it's gonna look a whole lot better.


And it's soft as but-tah.

Fun in the sun.


And after Skip got tired of the Hello Kitty bike, he went off to do Man Things.




Oh, there's a new art installation at the school.  This year, the kids did self portraits.  It was just a matter of finding Kelly's in the sea of faces.  Hmm.  The freckles gave her away.


And it was sunny, and the deer haven't found Kelly's little garden area yet, so the plants are still uneaten, and I have a lovely Mother's Day flower at home.


And if you look really closely in the flower?  You see a leopard's head.