Mother's Day Weekend: Part 1

Saturday I spent the entire day with some of my favorite girls. We have had this day-trip planned for awhile: the Scrapbook Mega Meet and then an evening at the Mecca of scrapbook stores, Archiver's.

Its a running joke in our little circle that Jane excluded us from her first Mega Meet trip. When she started scrap booking with us we kept seeing really neat items and when we'd ask her where she got them her reply seemed to always be "Mega Meet." In her defense, she went to Mega Meet before she ever started scrapping with us but we like to give her a hard time.

We left bright and early, albeit a little later than planned (ahem ahem Leslie and Jane!) but we were on our way in the mini. We were slightly bummed that Katie decided to pass on the girls day trip and we didn't have our "Extra clean, low miles, nice van" to ride in for old times sake. However, my new mini fit the bill pretty well.

I was giddy with squeals as we walked up to the Mega Meet. It was like having a hundred scrapbook stores right there in one place! We all kind of split up and would meet up and split up again but we made it through all the booths and then went back to our favorites to make purchases. I'm pretty proud of myself as I didn't spend nearly as much as I had anticipated.

Then we went out to lunch at TGI Friday's. Of course there was lots of mom conversation, discussions about our kids, swearing habits, milestones, etc. We chowed some delicious Cobb Salads... of course mine was custom made and Leslie knows me well enough to roll her eyes when I started my order. :)

Archiver's was great... of course we oohed and aahed over all the new goods. We haven't been to Archiver's in forever... what, 7 or 8 months or so? I was pretty productive, unlike normal, and of course we had a ton of laughs and such a good time as always.

There is no other group of moms and friends I'd rather spend an entire day with during Mother's Day weekend. These girls are truly the best...

LeeAnn for being my saving grace and taking such good care of my little guys while I work. I can't repay her enough. I love the friendship we have formed, the marriage/parenting/pregnancy struggles we've confided to eachother and that she is a scrapbook obsessed as I am. She is such a dedicated friend... never lets me down. One of her strongest mom-qualities is her patience... which I am so envious of. I'm on drugs to be half as patient as she is :)

Leslie for being my longest friend of the group. She's my morning call on the way to work... every morning my phone rings around 8:30 and I know its her, calling to chat as I make my way (usually late) to work. We've grown up together and its amazing to have known her through so many stages of our lives. She's an amazingly organized person... and mom... Reyna completely takes after her!

Lori for being such a great sister and friend. I have known her for the past 11 years but its been just the past few years we've really become closer. And this past year and a half even moreso. I love our family get togethers and our "no kids" getaways to the resale shops or scrapbooking. She is such a strong woman and has juggled three little ones so well. Her job as a mom is way more than I could ever handle... at one point she had a newborn, one year old and 2 year old. AND she's a stay at home mom... that earns her kudos in my book :)

Jane for being the friend I never thought I'd have. I remember meeting Jane... as a client of mine... and thinking "Where has she been all of my mom-life?" I had a few close friends who were moms, and I'd started a mom's group in Jackson but the groupmembers were iffy... either ex-strippers or baby daddy drama or whatnot. Just not always the wholesome mom friends I wished to find. And somehow she's evolved into such a great friend and I am so lucky to have her! She is so funny, easygoing, humorous and we love to pick on eachother. She's an amazing mom too, and I love that she isn't afraid to admit that the potty mouths aren't always screened around Grace. Right, you flucking homo?

And the last girlies of the group, Kristin and Jessica. I just met Jessica, so I really can't say much about her... but I'm sure if she keeps hanging out with us crazy ladies she's sure to fit right in. And Kristen... she's not a mom yet but oh, she is going to make an amazing mom one day. She's an awesome preschool teacher and I love hearing her stories. Even though we aren't super close, we kind of go way back... I remember going to Leslie and her family picnic (they're cousins) and we were naughty girls and snuck beer and cigarettes in a backpack and took them up Cascades hill to drink and smoke. Ohhh the rebels we were!

Ok, enough of my sap. Happy Mother's Day to my bestest girlies and to all the other moms (and mom-to-be's) out there!


"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."
~Elizabeth Stone

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylum would be filled with mothers."
~Edgar Watson Howe

"It would seem that something which means poverty, disorder, and violence every single day should be avoided entirely. But the desire to beget children is a natural urge." — Phyllis Diller