My siblings and I don't often have an opportunity to be in the same place at the same time, so I relished the opportunity to be around everyone. It was lovely, even though my sister Jolene had to work, and we couldn't visit with her and admire her lovely baby bump. The cousins chased each other all over a playground, we passed babies around, we ate sloppy joes and cake, and we presented my mother with her Mother's Day present.
My part in it was rather time intensive, but I couldn't blog about it since my mom is an avid reader of Red Pens. I had it all done before my surgery so that I wouldn't have to work on it while she was staying here with us, taking care of me and the kids.
Here it is:
Each card was 5x7 and framed. I removed the last names in most of them for blogging purposes, so some of them look a little bare.My mom loved the cards I made for Anna and my niece Abby. She framed them. It inspired me to create mock birth announcements for the rest of her grandchildren, using photos from their babyhoods. What makes it all the more precious are the cards for my two nieces who weren't part of our family yet when they were born, but rather were blended into the mix later through love and marriage.
Anyway. It was a big hit at the party.
It was nice to hear my oldest nephew Chaz speak excitedly about coming to stay with us for a week during the summer. He has to fit it in between summer school and football camp, but I'm honored that he thinks we're cool enough for a 14-year-old to hang out with. He gets a change of scenery, and we get a helper to assist with gutter and insulation installation. I wasn't going to harp on my desire for him to come hang out with me, because really, I'm don't think I'm all that nifty. Rather boring. But at least it's a new boring and not the same wonderful family he lives with day to day.
Other fun aspects to the day included the new phenomenon of letting the older girl cousins look after the little ones. Alisha and Taylor did an absolutely fantastic job running after Ben and Gage on the playground, and it freed up the grown-ups to visit. I just wish we lived closer to everyone so I could utilize some family babysitters once in a while.
When Anna was needing to settle down for a nap, I borrowed Abby's stroller and laid her down and went for a walk. The South Park in Oshkosh really is lovely. There were two wedding groups that came to take pictures while we were there. The path that I took was paved, and all the cherry trees were in blossom. A breathtaking sight.
This next coming week starts the new and thrilling chapter called "Cheryl Goes Back to Work." To refresh your memories, on Wednesdays and Fridays, I will go back to proofreading at my old job while my former boss KS is on maternity leave. I'm anxious about it, but in both good and bad ways. I'm going to miss my babies an awful lot, but I miss proofing and the gang as well. Regardless, it'll probably provide more blog fodder, and for that I'm grateful.
