The amazing, incredible person that is......mom

Did you know the energizer bunny's name is actually Jan? Well, now you do.

My mom. She's way overdue for her very own blog post. I've been typing it in my head for awhile now. Probably going back to this spring when she painted 4 (yes, your read that right, FOUR) rooms in the matter of a month after we moved in.



And then, Crazy Jan, as I like to call her (lovingly, of course) offered to work the late shift (11-7) for an entire month, so I didn't lose my sanity learning how to take care of a newborn AND a very demanding 3-year-old while Rob was at school. My children's mother stupidly signed her older daughter up for swim lessons during the exact time her dad would be at class.

And here's why my mom is saint status. Every morning, she would arrive at 7:30, ready to help. And this woman doesn't just make googly eyes at Gabby while I take a shower, she HELPS. Got a shelf that needs hung up? Avoiding putting the dishes in the dishwasher away? Need handprints of your kids while they're still young? Laundry been sitting in the dryer for three days? She does it all.

Yes, that's my underwear on my mom's head. Yes, they're clean. The things we do for Faith...

I think my aha moment, in which I realized why my house always looks like we've been robbed by someone who was only interested in a toddler toys, was when I saw my mom holding Gabby while folding laundry. At the same time. I'm a one-or-the-other kind of gal, and I usually default to trying to get my girls to smile. This is exclusive as they don't find emptying the dishwasher all that entertaining. And I'm fine with that, but sometimes the state of my house causes me stress. I can never find anything and once it starts to get bad, it's so easy to let it get worse.

But mom? No. She bounces from one task to the next and did so this summer until it was 11 o'clock and she had to go to work. Whenever she left, I was amazed at what we'd (ok, she'd) gotten accomplished. Not only did she go on to work eight hours, she then went home to her husband, who was  really tired of eating lettuce salads every night. I realize her sacrifice was his too and I'm grateful these people are two of my parents.

It doesn't stop there. For Mother's Day, my mom -with little help- built me a washer/dryer stand by hand. It was backbreaking to load things into the washer and I was always sitting on the floor to do the laundry. Mom, ever the perfectionist, spent her weekends building and perfecting the stand until it was done. (She also was probably was sick of her back hurting from getting clothes out of the dryer all the time.)

I couldn't have designed it better myself! It turned out perfect, ma!

And then there's my birthday. How does a mom always know what you need even though you don't tell her. She picked out the perfect hand towels to match my kitchen. She got me several cute pairs of dress socks. And she threw in several storage containers along with a pretty cupcake stand. More importantly, we spent the day together. I'll never forget how crushed my mom was when I told her not to bother coming to Ames for my 21st birthday. It fell on a Friday and I was planning on going out Thursday night. I figured I wouldn't be up for visitors the next day and I was right. Nonetheless, I wish I could time travel back to 2003 and slap myself. Now that I'm a mom I couldn't imagine not spending one of Faith's (or Gabby's - but she hasn't had one yet) birthdays without them. Now, I love hanging out with my mom, even when she's tries to sit down in the manicurist's chair, rather than her own, it doesn't embarrass me. That's the great thing about your 30s. You appreciate and respect your mom more than ever. I know my friends can vouch for that. But my mom is still the best, so nana nana boo boo! What she wrote in my birthday card solidifies it:

"Happy Birthday #31! You grow more beautiful each year. Thanks for making me 1 proud mama and Grandma to your two beautiful little girls. You chose a wonderful guy to journey through life with.
Love you!

p.s. It's wonderful to enjoy your day with me."

I'm laughing because I think she meant to say "It's wonderful to enjoy your day with you," but what she wrote was exactly right. It was wonderful to enjoy my day with her. I can't wait to do it again next year. Love ya Mom!