Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was another wonderful celebration for us! As has become his style, Mike went to great lengths to make it special for me, and special it indeed was. The spoiling began on Saturday morning when he went to a screening on his own so I could sleep in! Lacey was in on it too-- she let me sleep until almost 8:45! For a couple of peole who typically get up at 5, that was heavenly. Later, after our work outs, we headed off to a local jewelry store... but I'll go into more detail about that in a bit. I came home to a beautiful boquet of roses that had been delivered and was then on my way to a relaaaaxing massage. I returned just in time to get ready for dinner out with the whole Hughlett gang at one of our favs-- Olive Garden. We had a lovely time!

Here's little Miss Lacey sitting with Nanny. It was hard to get her smiling at the camera, but I did what I could. Such a doll!

Here's Lacey playing peek-a-boo with cousin William. Love that little dress from Costco!

On Sunday, we did the usual church thing which is always nice.... except that this week, I really didn't get to sit through anything as Lacey was ALL OVER THE PLACE! Seriously, she is ready for nursery! We came home for our Sunday afternoon naps and then it was off to the Whelan party. Larry made his fabulous shrimp boil and Amber brought her pudding divinity. I didn't capture many pictures, but when we caught RJ and Kierstin "adjusting" each other like Uncle Mike does, I had to get a picture. These kids crack me up! As soon as Mike gets out the portable adjusting table, they all run, often fighting over who gets their adjustment first. They each climb on and happily get their adjustment. It's adorable! Maybe RJ will follow his dad's dream of becoming a chiropractor!

Stupidly, those were all of the pictures I got. I'm always mad at myself for not making someone take pictures of Lacey and me together but I guess that's pretty typical when you're the one behind the camera. Maybe we'll have to get some photos done again soon.
Back to the jewelry store part...
So Mike has some patients who own a fairly fabulous jewelry store in Arlington. They pitched the idea of exchanging jewelry for treatment. Guess who wins in this game??? ME!!! I got to go to this fairly fabulous place (which will remain nameless so as to maintain patient confidentiality... but I will say that LeeAnn Rhimes gets her jewelry there if that tells you anything) and have free reign. Ok, relatively free reign... I could not walk out with the $45,ooo ring that I saw. We had the store completely to ourselves and the owners waited on us hand and foot. I tried on so many gorgeous pieces of jewelry and had the hardest time picking something out. And if the shopping scene and song from Pretty Woman just popped into your heads, that's just how I felt... it was so indulgent but so fun! So I ultimately decided upon this sparkly little ring for my right hand. Those are diamonds in the center and pink sapphires on the sides. Seriously, how cool is that? If it seems like I'm bragging, I'm only doing it because we didn't actually pay for it and we would never do something like this otherwise... but it was a very fun little perk to Mike's job that I hope we continue to enjoy for a long time to come!! :)

With allll of this being said, I have to say that I felt extremely guilty for being so spoiled simply for being Lacey's mom. It is indeed a lot of work to be a mother and there are frustrations, but motherhood itself is the greatest gift and I cannot believe that I get to be a part of Lacey's life forever. She is absolutely amazing to me and I just love her more than I can say. What a sweet little spirit and a true joy. It will be very exciting to see our family grow (not happening right away so this is not an announcement) and to share it all with my amazing husband. We make a pretty good team. I've been pretty spoiled with the wonderful life I have and the many people that I get to share it with. I cannot let a Mother's Day entry pass without saying how grateful I am for the mothers in my life. My own mother is such an inspiration to me and I love when people I say I remind them of her. Lacey adores her more and more every time she sees her and will only continue to have more fun with Grandma as she grows. My sisters and sisters-in-law have each made a unique mark in my life and have helped me to be a better mother to Lacey. My mother-in-law is also such a blessing in our lives. She lovingly welcomed me into the family from day one and she is such a great Nanny to our Lacey. And of course, there are the many friends that I rely on. It's so comforting to know that I always have someone to call when I need some advice. Nora has been particularly amazing-- I always know that I just have to call and she'll be right over to save the day... which she has done on many occassions. I have been extremely blessed in my 15 months of motherhood to be taught and inspired by some of the greatest women in the world.... so even though this is late, Happy Mother's Day to all and THANK YOU!!!