My Mother's Day weekend

My Mother's Day weekend started out with this:

Gorgeous roses with a sweet card from my parents telling me how blessed Lily is to have me as her mom.
Thanks mom and dad, that means a lot coming from you!

On Friday I found out that my Greek family didn't need me to work on Saturday night. I found myself looking at a wide open weekend, which never happens. I had asked Ethan if we could celebrate Mother's Day on Monday rather than Sunday because I knew he would be tired, and I hate how crowded all the places to eat are!

So, at 5 PM on Friday I made a spur of the moment spontaneous decision to road trip it to Charlotte for the weekend and surprise my family. My sister and I were in cahoots on this one.

Lily and I left at 7:30 from Atlanta and she slept the entire way. We arrived at Erica and Doug's house at 11:50, and she was asleep again at 12:15 after a diaper change and some nursing. It was super fun seeing Doug and Erica's house as they've changed it quite a bit (new paint, etc.) since the last time I was there in October when I stayed there the weekend of my Charlotte shower.

The next day, Lily and I headed to a Japanese Hibachi Grill and waited for my parents and sister to arrive.... needless to say, they were thrilled to see both of us! It was so nice to have some cherished family time and to be together with everyone. The buffet there was also quite good! Dad always carries his camera with him, and this time was no exception. He got the hostess to snap this photo of all of us as we were leaving....Lily was ready to go.

My sweet family

The rest of the day was spent together just hanging out. My sister whipped up this awesome mushroom cream pasta for dinner, and then she and I headed out to Amelie's French Bakery for some dessert and sister time.

On Sunday morning, dad made his famous french toast, which was delicious as always. We all hung out as a family (minus Caroline, who was at work) and Lily was the center of attention. She showed off her crawling attempts and is actually becoming quite adept at maneuvering. My mom, like me, is a child development nut and was helping Lily along with learning to crawl. We think she'll be crawling in about a month or so! Yay mobility! Dad also played his guitar, and Lily was really enjoying the music. She was kicking her foot to the beat and mesmerized. Dad even wrote her another impromptu song and declared he'll have a CD full of songs for her by her 2nd birthday. He's not kidding. I bet it will be her favorite CD too. (and probably mine)

Dad and I then headed up to Huntersville to surprise my grandparents who were dining at Bob Evans with friends from church. It was great to have some time just with Dad to talk. I always enjoy our conversations. My grandparents were also thrilled to see us...it was a short visit, but hey - as my grandmother put it, "I'd rather see you for just a few minutes than not at all!" She did manage to get in some Lily snuggles in the time we had. :)

Lily and her great Grandma Ginger

Happy to be with two of our most favorite people! 

All day Sunday I was overwhelmed with texts and emails from neighbors, friends, and former charges wishing me a happy Mother's Day! I honestly did not expect that. One of my former charges said "Happy second Mother's Day, since  technically you were a mom last mother's day". I couldn't agree more, and we did celebrate last year too - but nobody knew about the pregnancy at that time. :) Another former charge thanked me for being like her second mom. Very sweet. One of my neighbors sent a gift certificate for a manicure, and another friend sent me this amazing ring that is being shipped...I will have to take a picture of it when it is here so you guys can see it!

After coming back from Bob Evans, dad made mom and I some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches on sour dough bread. I ended up taking a nap so I wouldn't be tired while driving back to Atlanta that night. When I came out from my nap, I discovered my mom reading to Lily and just had to snap some photos.

Lily and Gramie reading Dr. Seuss

We left my parents' house shortly after 6:30 and had to stop once so I could nurse her and fill up the gas tank. The rest of the drive was nice and smooth, and we got home in just over 4 hours. I was able to take her weekly rabbit picture, and then Ethan got home from work. It was nice to all be together as a family again.

Lily slept until 9:30 this morning, so we did too. When she woke up, Ethan took her out to get her dressed, and when he came back in, she was wearing this hysterical onesie that she apparently picked out for me. See for yourself....it's just a camera phone snapshot. She also "handed" me my present - a new pair of earphones for my iPod since my old ones bit the dust. My iPad was an early Mother's Day present (Ethan refused to wait until Mother's Day to buy it for me), so I told Ethan he didn't need to get anything, but he wanted to do something anyway. I loved both - very cute, and practical! I should have her wear this every time we go to Target or the grocery store since those seem to be the locations where people freely dispense unwanted (and ridiculous) advice. My reaction is usually to say nothing and keep on walking.

Haha. Ethan said they didn't have one that said
"My mom doesn't need your advice",  so they went with this one.

We then went out to the Flying Biscuit for brunch, which was totally delicious. It's one of my favorite spots, and I enjoyed every single bite. Then we came home and all took a nap. Food, sleep, and being with my handsome husband and adorable baby girl....what more could a mother want?! ;)