Mother of the Year--NOT!

Wow!  What a first day of Spring Break!  I had high hopes, but it was WAY more fun for the kids to get on my last nerve than to go find some adventures elsewhere.  It seemed like an eternity cleaning up and rearranging the furniture in the TV room.  This caused 2 kids major tears, a storm off, and hurt feelings all the way around, except me.  I was ordering a new bathtub.  Ours has a crack in it.  This is my real life.  I am NOT a nominee for Mother of the Year today. 

We finally got the extremely short chore list finished and decided to head to the Kingman Museum.  We haven't been there in a few years, and it's a cool place.  The membership also gets you in the Ann Arbor Kids Museum, and Toledo's Imagination Station, both of which are totally awesome for day trips.  Mom took a wrong turn.  (Lost another vote.)  It took us forever (and excessive amounts of whining) to get there.  The kids are fighting, someone keeps asking if we're there yet, the radio is getting louder and softer, now too loud, now too quiet, someone is kicking someone else's seat, and there it is!  Kingman Museum shining like a great castle at the top of the hill.  I'm SAVED!!!  Fun times, right?  Nope.  It's closed today.  That's the kind of information a company might want to post on their website.  Grrr.

 I was forced to do what every great mother must do at some point.  I kicked the kids out of the car and drove off as fast as I could!  Bwahahahaha!!  Okay, I really did kick them out, but the museum is located in the middle of Leila Arboretum, which is a giant glacial park with trees and hills and grass, etc.  I met them at the top of the hill, just like I said I would.  Then I made them run back down to burn off some energy.   (They actually volunteered for that part, and rolled a good portion of the way.)  It was an adventure, but not what we had planned.  Sometimes those are the best kind.  They loved the fresh air and I enjoyed the quiet. 

I don't know if I mentioned that we will soon be adding to our happy family.  We went to the dog orphanage to see if there were any potential candidates.  None of them stole my heart.  Maybe I'm not ready to let go of Pepper yet.  It was really hard when she died.  I had her from the time she was just a pup, and she died in my van on the way to the vet.  I remember Sylvia bawling her little eyes out, saying, "It's just not FAIR, I didn't even get to say GOODBYE!" 

On that day I realized how blessed my family was to have Colleen at the salon and willing to help. How much more would she cry over not getting to say goodbye to her Mother?  Would they ever forgive me for leaving them?  How broken would my children be to lose their Mom at that point in their lives?  It was Spencer's senior year.  Sylvia hadn't started Kindergarten yet, and they were all so young.  Thank you God for keeping me here!  These days when they find every possible way to irritate each other and drive me nuts, even these days,  are better than being without each other. I may not win the coveted "Mother of the Year" Award, but I'm here.  I'm trying.  I'm far from perfect, but I love them every second of this and every other day.   

I wouldn't trade this day for anything.  I also won't buy ice cream for any child who screams at me in the van and suggests I need soap in my mouth!  Mother of the Year?  Probably not.  So Harriett and I decided I could win "Mother of the Minute".  She actually timed how long I was nice.  She keeps my blood pressure from going too low, God bless her!  Maybe tomorrow I can work my way up to Mother of the Day.  

Blessings!