mother's day rocks!

Yesterday I felt like everyone in my orbit, and Blake most of all, saw to it that I had an excellent Mother's Day. Here are the things that went incredibly right over the weekend:

- I no longer only iPod by marriage because I am now the proud owner of a sleek 8 GB Nano.

Blake found an excellent deal on this refurbished iPod and swept it up before I could say no. He spent Saturday teaching me how to use it, and now me and my playlists are pretty much ready to take over the world.

- But that's not the only gift I received. My mom sent me two awesome vintage-looking dishtowels that match my kitchen. They're almost too cool to get dirty with actual use, so I think I'll just admire them for a while. Oh, and also, Garrett colored me a Mother's Day picture in nursery. When he's not drawing on walls or other places he's not supposed to, I'm pretty charmed by his ability to put crayons to good use.

- The Primary children sang "I Often Go Walking" during Sacrament Meeting, and they did so very sweetly; I was so proud. Even though the whole affair was pretty much orchestrated by me, under the direction of the bishopric, it still helped to complete the going-to-church part of Mother's Day.

- Other things that made going to church nicer than usual: real roses and slices of cake divvied out to the women. Also, the kids in Primary were remarkably well-behaved, which was especially nice because I was teaching Sharing Time. And perhaps the best thing of all? Blake was able to convince the bishopric to cancel all the before-church leadership meetings, which means he was there to do all the toddler-wrangling on the bus ride to church.

- I suppose I should mention, too, that my own son was a very good boy for his mama. Oh, sure, there were still a couple of spectacular tantrums, but overall he was happy and pleasant. And he decided that this was the weekend he'd stop clinging to me like a little monkey and prefer his dad once in a while. That was probably the greatest gift he could have given me.

- Blake made me dinner and did all the clean up. We ate fajitas, and even though his cooking methods were a little creative, they still tasted delicious.

- Afterwards I had enjoyable conversations with both my own mother and my mother-in-law. I'm so grateful to both of them for the things that they've taught me and the example they've set. They fully support my own efforts as a mother, and I'm not sure what I'd do without either of them.

- Sunday wasn't the only good day. Saturday was pretty darn awesome, too. We dallied around a bit in the morning, waiting to see what the weather would do, and then, deeming the day good enough for an outdoor outing, we went to Prospect Park. First stop was the Botanic Garden to pick Blake up a new bonsai tree (his first one died), and then it was over to the park Zoo, where Garrett pretty much had a heyday. And why shouldn't he? Petting zoos, sea lion feedings, and lots and lots of ducks...by golly, he was in heaven.

Garrett looking dapper in a tree at the Botanic Garden

Stray ducks are awesome! "Kack kack!"

In the barn portion of the zoo, Garrett got to pet and feed some of the animals. If you asked him (and if he could talk), he'd probably tell you that this was the highlight of the outing.

We stuck around just long enough to watch the sea lions get fed. These animals are incredibly well-trained: they know who is bringing them lunch, and once it gets there, they'll wave hello, give high-fives, do flips, and other cool tricks for food.

Does anyone else out there wish it could be Mother's Day every weekend?