Mother’s Day Weekend Recap!

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that all of the moms out there are enjoying a special day! Our weekend has been a good mix of family, friends, and even a little bit of work thrown in there. Did you catch this morning’s recipe for Spinach and Bacon Mason Jar Salads? It’s a delicious one, and it’s perfect for summer potluck picnic season. Check it out! And now here’s a peek at what we’ve been up to this weekend…

On Friday the boys came home from preschool with quite a few Mother’s Day gifts for me. My favorites were these “All About Mom” questionnaires, which gave me a glimpse at how my kids view me. So fun! Here are Casey’s responses:

and here are Gibbs’s responses:

Best line of all: “She is really good at cleaning the kitchen.” Hah! Glad to know that I have that talent to fall back on when all of my other endeavors fail…

And it’s obvious that (a) my kids think about food a lot; and (b) I spend a lot of time in the kitchen!

They also made me bookmarks,

flowers with their pictures on them,

and magnets with their fingerprints. So cute!

Saturday morning I was up before the rest of the family for a quick 30-minute workout with the sunrise. The low-lying fog was just sitting on the fields and ponds, which was beautiful and peaceful. I had to stop and take pics in my yard! Definitely my favorite time of day.

Gibbs had an early soccer game in the morning, so Casey and Spence joined me at the Farmer’s Market on the way to the game.

This week’s haul included:

• cucumber
• plants for our  garden (tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, herbs, etc.)
• eggs
• kale
• asparagus
• radishes
• broccoli
• Italian sausage
• Coconut granola
• Chocolate chip cookies
• and STRAWBERRIES! We were very excited to scoop up a couple of containers…

While Gibbs played his game,

his brothers snacked on cookies from the market and played on the sidelines.

On the way home, Spencer and I stopped to grab some groceries at Yoder’s.

Keith and the older two supervised Don, who was cleaning our chimneys and doing some other repairs. Old house = constant maintenance.

After a quick lunch, we headed out for the boys’ haircuts. This guy:

and this guy were great!

This guy…not so much. Casey hates to get his hair cut and spends the entire time squirming, fussing, and trying to wiggle out. Let’s just say that he often leaves with some very uneven hair.

Mid-afternoon, Keith took the older two boys to visit his parents for the evening at their mountain house.

While Spence took a nap, I prepped and photographed a couple of recipes for the blog. Once he was up, the sun was shining and he was ready to go! He snacked on a peanut butter sandwich,

while watching the Mail Jeep deliver our mail. And yes, that’s a Jeep…not a mail truck. In the country we don’t have USPS trucks. The kids get very excited when they see one in a city.

Then we played outside for a little while. Working on his dribbling skills,

and sitting in his favorite spot under a tree with some cars.

Late afternoon, Spence and I headed over to Margeaux’s house (remember her guest post? and her coleslaw?) for a quick visit. Her friend Jacqui was in town visiting from San Francisco and her husband was working, so the girls chatted while Spence and his buddy Ian played inside and out.

We headed home for supper, played for a little bit inside, and then got ready for bed.

After Spence was down, I made this cake (which Casey requested for his upcoming 4th birthday):

It was a total pain in the butt to have 6 different colors of batter to deal with, but hey — he only has a birthday once a year, right?!

The rest of the evening was quiet and I even had the t.v. to myself! Is anyone else watching The Royals on E!? Oh, it’s so bad…but I can’t stop. I waited up for the rest of my boys to come home, so it was a late night in our house.

Which means that this morning was a slower start!

I was greeted by hugs from my boys, cards, and this little treat for a shopping spree at my favorite store (hooray!):

After breakfast I spent some time doing laundry, changing bed sheets, and getting everyone ready to head out for the morning. The kids had swimming lessons with Kristie’s boys in Charlottesville, so off we went to the pool…

and since we had plans to go out for a Mother’s Day lunch, I even managed to get myself showered and dressed in this dress (and it’s on sale right now!):

and while Keith drove into town, I did some quality reading to enrich my brain.

During the first part of the boys’ lesson, Spence and I headed to Starbucks for some Mother’s Day treats (the fruit snack was for him, the Frappuccino for me!).

With snacks in hand, we watch these guys swim,

and my sweet friend Kristie (remember her guest post?!) brought me flowers for Mother’s Day. Love!!

After the swimming lessons, we headed to Lowe’s for some more garden supplies. My Mother’s Day wish was to plant my summer garden. Mission accomplished, thanks to help from all of my guys!!

Before heading home, we had lunch at Jason’s Deli. My favorite! Salad bar! Free ice cream! Mini muffins! It’s the best, and it’s very kid-friendly so it was a (relatively) low-stress outing.

We worked in the yard to get all of the plants in the ground. I was a bit ambitious with this year’s variety. The kids were excited about picking out vegetables and herbs, so our list kept growing. I kind of ran out of space! In addition to the lettuces, swiss chard, celery, peas, and strawberries that we already have out there now, we planted the following for the summer:

• string beans
• watermelon
• lots of tomatoes
• lots of sweet bell peppers
• lots of herbs
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• cucumber
• corn

I’m now hot, tired, and taking a rest to sit down and write this post while the boys relax quietly in their rooms. Keith is in charge of dinner tonight on the grill: Italian sausages from the Farmer’s Market, plus a salad (that I’ll make), and probably some bread, rice, or couscous that I can pull together.

Have a great evening and a nice week ahead!