Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day began at the crack of dawn around here, after many weeks of excited preparation on the part of the gift-giver. The honoree accepted her gifts with as much grace as she could muster (though she insisted on a pause after the first 3 gifts in order to make coffee). It was a good thing we started so early, because the gifts just kept coming and coming! Between her efforts at home, at school, at daycare with with her Dad's help, Adelaide created 12 different items for my enjoyment. They were all wonderful, especially the drawings and cards expressing much love. Here are a few faves:

This top secret item (below) was created at school and filled with other things created at school, including several cards and pictures, a cute little paper tea kettle, and Adelaide's shadow silhouette. You can see some of them in the big montage photo at the end of the post.
My hands-down favorite was this one, partly because it was a huge effort on her part (she cut the cardboard from the tandem box and it was a difficult and time-consuming project, which required total secrecy and privacy), but mainly because I told her what I loved most in the world was her, and so she gave that to me (note the label above the crown):

She gave me a lovely morning, too, with a dance party in the living room, a tandem ride, a picnic on the porch, and lots of hugs and laughter. I am so lucky. Not only did I get a great mother's day, I can give one to my mom and grandma just by posting these pictures to share. After all, they love me, but I am not cute or interesting in the slightest when compared with the granddaughter. Exactly as it should be. So, Happy Mother's Day to Paige and Big Adelaide!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Today I participated in my first "fashion exchange" that a group of moms in the neighborhood have been hosting for a while. The concept is this: bring at least 3 items which are in decent shape, but they don't fit, or you just don't wear them, or whatever. The hosts sort through everything and hang it up in a semi-organized fashion, and then at a set time you come and try things on and take what works for you.

I had read about these going on before, and even thought it would be fun to do with friends (of course, you need friends about the same size as you), but I hadn't ever gotten organized to be a part of it. But this time around I was overdue to go through the closet and weed out the forgotten and ill-fitting items, so I had some incentive to do so.
Turns out, it was great! There were a ton of clothes to choose from, everyone tried things on to be sure that they worked and when they didn't you could turn to someone nearby and say "hey, do you want try this one, I bet it would work for you." I got rid of some perfectly good clothes that will be a better match for someone else, and I left with a bag of spring stuff for myself. No cash or credit required. Now that is a good way to shop!