Happy Anniversary and Happy Mother's Day

Duane and I got married on the Friday night of Mother's Day weekend, a dozen years ago. This year we got the full crazy anniversary/Mother's Day weekend treatment.

We are usually very mindful about keeping our anniversary a special day for the two of us. We usually take the day off work and spend the whole day together - often with dinner and movie thrown in. However, since our anniversary fell on a Saturday and on Mother's Day weekend, that just wasn't in the cards.

We kicked off our anniversary with the always romantic double header of kids soccer games in the rain. Can't you feel the love? I guess you could call the crackers and cheese and fruit eaten under a very large umbrella  a "romantic picnic" if you stretched it just a little.

After the kids showered and de-stink-ified from their games, we ran a couple of errands. I was going to call them quick errands, but that would be a total lie. It was one of those times when NOTHING went right at any of the stores we stopped at. What should have taken no time at all, wound up taking every spare minute we had.

On the up side, we were not late in meeting Duane's side of the family for an early Mother's Day dinner for his mom.  Yes, we celebrated Mother's Day with the family instead of going out to dinner on our anniversary, but I didn't mind for two reasons. The first, and most important reason is that Duane's family is my family. I love my mother-in-law. Not only did she raise a wonderful son, but she is truly a lovely woman in her own right. My in-laws are nice people and I like seeing them. The second, less important and more selfish reason is that Duane and I are going to a nice event to celebrate our anniversary this Thursday.  Might as well get in all the celebrating we can!

We did sneak in a little bit of anniversary time though and went for a date at Shadowbox later that evening. That helped make the day special.

This is what 12 years of marriage looks like

So that was our anniversary. Maybe not the most romantic one we've ever had, but we spent the entire day together and that's what really counts.

Mother's Day was a pretty great though.  Duane went to a bakery up the road and got me a warm almond croissant for breakfast (yum!) and I came downstairs to this pile of presents.

Two bottles of wine - they are both from Duane, but I like to think of it as one per kid.  Two Disney jigsaw puzzles, four pairs of Star Wars socks, a new Star Wars cup, a Star Wars pen and bookmark, a handpainted frame from Ryan AND a new ceiling fan for our bedroom. I am one spoiled mama!

Me and my wonderful boys

I'm always relieved when I don't get plants or flowers for Mother's Day because I am lousy at keeping them alive. I always joke that I have a black thumb and that my house is where plants go to die. Well, Ryan made me a flower in Sunday School that even I can't kill.

After a bite of lunch at home, we headed out to visit my stepmom. There was no way I was letting Mother's Day go by without seeing her. I am so lucky to have her as one of my moms and for the boys to have her as a grandmother.

Then we went out to dinner and got to see my Mom.

A Mother's Day margarita for me!

And then I fell into a food coma for the remainder of the night. Seriously, my stomach was so full of food and cake it looked like I was going to become a mother all over again. But it was sooooooo worth it.