Mother's Day (A Little Late)

Happy (belated) Mother's Day!  I'd been patiently (and not so patiently) waiting for my first Mother's Day, and it was wonderful!  I couldn't help but think that last Mother's Day I was crossing my fingers I'd go into labor and walking as much as I could to try to get that baby ready to greet the world.  Needless to say, I was uncomfortable.  And large, anxious, swollen, excited to meet the baby, and just a little bit crabby.  Charlotte decided to hang out for a few more weeks, so she wasn't here in time for Mother's Day 2011 (Lucky Chad--he got to celebrate Father's Day just a couple weeks after she was born!).

We celebrated the weekend by going out on a solo date Saturday and having a family brunch Sunday.  My parents watched Charlotte most of the day Saturday--it was the first time Chad and I have spent time alone for more than a couple hours since our DIY Date in March.  And seeing as that "date" consisted of painting the trim in the dining room and cleaning out the basement and garage, I'm not sure it counts...Anyway, we drove out to Oberlin and had lunch at one of our favorite places, Black River Cafe.  It's a small restaurant located in downtown Oberlin, right in the center of the campus of Oberlin College.  They describe it best: "Named after the watershed in which it resides, the Black River Cafe specializes in local and sustainable foods in a casual bistro setting."  We discovered it a couple years ago and it never disappoints.  Their food is amazing, fresh, simple, and inexpensive.  Afterward we went to Olla Mae's Dry Goods, a quilt shop tucked away in the basement of the First Merit Building in the center of the town.  It's a cute shop, and they carry a bunch of patterns, pre-cuts, and tons of yardage of vintage-y 30s style fabrics.  I kept my hands in my pockets and didn't buy anything, but it was hard.  Maybe if I hadn't just reorganized all of my fabric and realized that I am about two charm packs away from an appearance on Hoarders, I would have.

Here's my girl in her Mother's Day finest, waiting for the party to start:

Later on we went to a greenhouse to look at flowers.  I still haven't gotten any flowers, but my landscaping project is almost finished.  And by almost finished I mean I probably have one more week of working for an hour or two in the evenings after Charlotte goes to bed.  I consider this good news, as my original goal was to finish everything by June 1st.  I find myself getting overwhelmed whenever I go to a big garden store or greenhouse...I usually end up just walking around kind of dazed and leaving with nothing, or buying one Petunia and getting home and realizing that unless I plan on planting it in a votive, it needs friends.  I need to make a list.  Any recommendations for flowers that can stand up to a little abuse?  I'm looking to buy mostly white and red annuals that can take a decent amount of sun.  Sorry, I'm getting off topic.  This was supposed to be about Mother's Day, not about the yardwork that has been consuming my free time for the last month.  But while we're on the topic: still no Gilbert.  I did see an Orkin truck two houses down...for a second I felt bad that maybe Gilbert had moved into their territory and became a problem, but then I felt glad that he wasn't in my yard.  Now I feel guilty admitting that.  Kind of.

Anyway, back to Mother's Day weekend.  Summary: it was really nice, and my sweet husband did so much to make sure it was special, despite the fact that he's working on the hardest part of his MBA course right now and working a demanding job.  He has 5 more days of this class and then he's off until September.  This makes me a very happy lady :)

Happy like this:

Yesterday Charlotte and I were out running errands in the late afternoon.  It was beautiful out and I noticed that hardly anyone was at the park by the lake when we were on our way home.  I had the stroller, camera, and sunscreen so we stopped and spent over an hour there.  It was the best part of the day, and from the looks of things I think Charlotte enjoyed herself as well:

It was really clear and sunny, so I was able to get a great view of Cleveland:

 

We lost a passenger on our walk.  Thankfully I noticed after a few feet.  Life without Winnie would be tough for awhile; he goes everywhere with her.  

Reunited :)

As I write this I am looking at a pile of mulch, yard bags, landscaping bricks, and garden tools that are waiting for me.  I am stalling.  Curse you, beautiful sunny day that is neither too hot or humid and is ideally suited for yardwork.

Enjoy your week!

~Stacy