Hello! And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms. <3

My day started off sleeping in and eventually “woken” by some excited kids. Amaya was very proud to have written “Mommy” on the envelope. I’m proud, too. And so happy to be mom to Steven, Sammy and Amaya.

There were also crafts that the kids made at school that had been “hiding” in a cabinet for me since Thursday. Hand prints and homemade magnets!

Before we went to brunch I wanted to get a picture with the kids which turned into full on photo shoot because no one would take a picture with me until they took a picture of me with their own cameras.

Steven’s photo

Sammy’s photo

Amaya’s photo

Daddy’s photo… with a sour Sammy who refused to sit up, even for me on Mother’s Day.

We’re very lucky that Aunt Ouize and cousin Nancy are driving through town tonight and are staying with us until tomorrow. It meant that Jason and his sister could both spend mother’s day with their mom so we drove toward Grandma Sunshine’s house for lunch with Aunt Ouize, Nancy, Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette. A perfect mother’s day morning!

He’s four and he’s bored?

Grandma Sunshine and her gang.

We got back to the house and had a little bit of downtime before it was time to head out for Second Meal. (First Meal was at 10:30am. Second meal at 3:15pm. Brunch and Linner?)

It was off to Deadwood with Grandpa Homey, Aunt Ouize and Nancy.

With “dinner” at 3:15pm it leaves lots of time to play outside with Aunt Ouize before bed…while Mommy & Daddy get to relax inside! We even made time for pre-bed bike rides. Sammy is actually getting the hang of his balance bike and starting to do really well with it!! He’s actually starting to balance and glide!

Such a wonderful day and so lucky for Steven, Sammy and Amaya to get to be able to spend Mother’s Day with so many of the amazing women in their lives.

Now to the rest of the week…

This isn’t a great photo but I can’t pass up sharing this latest Amaya fashion. She loves wearing high socks, especially ones with capes. 🙂

“Hiding” at school drop off. Sammy is so funny. He’s always so thrilled when I find him.

Monday was gorgeous out so Megan planned a deck picnic dinner for the kids. As you can see, Amaya has a loose definition of pajamas. Lately it’s meant bathing suits.

After two years, Steven, Sammy and Amaya are all finally climbing on their outdoor climber! This will be the third summer we have it and I think they’ll finally get some real use out of it. It’s awesome to see them getting more comfortable climbing.

Steven and Grandpa Homey had a blast playing “monster”.

Tuesday was another Amaya Original. Sparkly dress over warm-up pants. Why not?

Tuesday afternoon was another visit to the park behind Novi High School. This time it was super quiet which meant no one to fight with over the twirly thing.

Tuesday night I brought home dinner which included sushi for Amaya and Sammy. Amaya loves California rolls. Sammy is partial to sashimi salmon. I will keep promoting this as long as I can. I want kids who’ll eat sushi with me!

Wednesday braid day! Amaya says she wants her hair to grow as long as Rapunzel’s hair. It took her a long time to get here but she’s on her way! Plus, this is a hairstyle mommy can do easily. 🙂

Steven was class leader on Wednesday. Here, you can see him leading a graphic activity.

The kids have been learning lots and lots from Grandpa Homey. I wish I could remember what he was explaining here. The kids were rapt.

Even Sally loves having Grandpa Homey visit!

Sweet, sassy Amaya.

Explaining something to Daddy.

Thursday evening we eventful. First a new sitter, Penny, came to meet the kids. More importantly to SSA, they got some great gifts from Grandpa Homey! In talking about upcoming Mother’s Day Steven said, “Today is kids’ day!”

The weather was nasty on Friday but the kids still had Field Day, just indoors.

You can spy Amaya in her potato sack if you look closely.

Sammy loooooves jumping!

After school, Megan took Steven, Sammy and Amaya for a special lunch at Costco. 🙂

And they picked up a special Mother’s Day treat for me!! <3 Thank you, Megan!!

Friday night and Saturday were spent quietly at home, punctuated with more stories from Grandpa Homey. It’s been a great visit!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms!