WFMW - A Wonderful Mother's Day

I had my best Mother's Day this week!  Part of it is due to attitude compared to previous years and part of it was due to prep work.

To explain attitude - as an adult, I've struggled with mother's day.  When I was single and living away from my Mom, it didn't mean much.  Once we started trying to have kids, unsuccessfully, it was a miserable day, more so when attending church.  So much focus on mothers makes it hard when you don't have children and want them.  Thankfully I've noticed that the church has started placing more of an emphasis on women, not specifically those with children, over the past few mother's days.  I also never liked it when they asked all the mothers to stand and then they'd hand out the mothers day goodies.  I was uncomfortable standing up when I wasn't a "mother".

Then Mother's Day at home wasn't great either.  Sometimes my husband forgot.  Or he'd try to make me a meal, but he'd make it the way he likes it, not the way I like it.  As Princess1 has gotten older, she definitely makes Mother's Day important and doesn't let ANYONE forget that it's coming.  As a result, Love doesn't forget anymore.  The presents have also gotten better over the years - Love still struggles at Christmas and birthdays to think of something for me but he's doing really well for Mother's Day (he must pay attention more for Mother's Day).  Sometimes he thinks I'm really weird for what I ask for - a shower head (the one that you can hold and move around, plus has the different streams), an undercounter radio/cd player for the kitchen, etc.  But both of those presents really made my everyday life more enjoyable and for me that's more important than flowers that die 2 weeks later (although I do like flowers too).

This year's present - a hammock for our back yard.   I've wanted one for years and now I have one.  Love and the princesses took me to Lowe's on Saturday (NEVER go to Lowe's on a Saturday and definitely NOT on the Saturday before Mother's Day).  We were going to get peat moss.  But they took me to pick out a hammock first.  We came home and set it up.  So of course, Sunday we were gone all day and then it was to rain on Monday so the hammock had to come down.  Now I need to set it back up again (Love was told to take it down before it rains to help it last longer).

So why is all this a Works for Me Wednesday tip?  Because what I did this year to make my Mother's Day great was to plan my own menu.  Love asked a week ago what I wanted for breakfast on Mother's Day - cinnamon rolls and strawberries.  I had Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls in the freezer - easy, YUMMY.  So I bought strawberries on Friday.  We would be having dinner with my mom, grandmother, sister (and family) and sister-in-law (and family).  I offered to make lasagna (using the cottage cheese I got for cheap, cheap).  So I made lasagna (recipe coming soon) and homemade italian herb bread on Saturday.  This was in addition to working on building our garden.  I also set out the cinnamon rolls to defrost and rise when I went to bed.  Saturday was crazy and exhausting.  But it was SO worth it on Sunday.  Saturday night, my sister stopped by and took the lasagna (layered but not cooked) to Mom's with her.

Sunday morning, my husband just had to put the rolls in the oven and cut up the strawberries.  It was delicious!  Easy!  Low stress for everyone!  And off to church we went.

After church, we picked up Nana (my grandmother) and drove out to the farm to meet everyone.  Mom and my sister put the lasagna in the oven and it had just finished cooking when we arrived.  I threw my bread in the microwave to heat it up.  Mom and my sister had made a salad and my sister-in-law bought some cake and cheesecake.  I had also brought some ice cream.  Again it was delicious!  (I LOVE LOVE LOVE my lasagna.)  It was easy!  And we had a great time visiting and no one spent a whole bunch of time in the kitchen (although Mom did do the dishes - but that would be worth it if you didn't have to do the cooking).

So my Works for Me Wednesday tip, if you can remember it for next year, make your own meal ahead of time and let your husband or family heat it up for you.  Then you relax.

For more Works for Me Wednesday, head to We are THAT Family!