Mom's Day 2011

I slept great and was up for keeps at 645am. It was cloudy and rained significantly during the over night.  I started some coffee then went to my PC. I checked the forecast and did some blogging. It was 52 degrees under cloudy skies. However, expected it to clear out by noon and reach upwards of 70 degrees.

I set Mindy’s Mother’s Day gifts and cards on the island counter then headed out for a run around 830a. I ran the usual three mile Sunday loop. Back home near 9am, everyone else remained sleeping. Mindy mentioned the possibility of heading to church, but it was 10a before I heard the first peep from upstairs. Suddenly, church didn’t seem like a viable option given that services begin at 1030a.

Mindy confirmed that she wasn’t going to church. Enjoyed sleeping in instead. The kids were up by 1030a, Jacob being the last to join us downstairs. The kids presented Mindy with cards and gifts. Bella brought down the plant she transplanted for her at school. It was swimming in a pool of dirt and water. Cute!

Jacob gave his mother a hand written note, most of which I found difficult to read. I picked up a card from the both of them as well as another gift for them to present –  a Pandora bracelet holder. I gifted Mindy a card and three Pandora charms. Mindy spent the next 30 minutes organizing/redoing her bracelet charms.

I was eager to head outside and spread the trailer load of playground mulch, and then return for the second half of my purchase. However, the ground was completely saturated, so I decided to wait until the promised sunshine arrived sometime around noon. In the meantime, I headed out to address a plethora of other yard chores. For the next 45 minutes or so I raked more of that pesky chickweed out of the west side yard until I exposed top soil. I filled a 5 gallon pale with it four or five times.

Finally, the sky started to clear. I decided to spend time raking/prepping the front flower beds. I got out a tarp, hand clippers and leaf rake. I’ll bet I spent a solid two hours working on all the front beds pulling dead leaves, stems and spent mulch from under the ivy and shrubs. Mindy and the kids headed off to Target around 1p. Mindy and I agreed that I would be skipping Jacob’s soccer game so I could get the playground mulch down later in the afternoon. Bella would be staying home with me.

Mindy and the kids were back from Target after about an hour. Not long after their return, Mindy heated our Big Fat leftovers on a pizza stone. She called me in to eat just as I was finishing the east side flower bed.  I was ravenously hungry. I ate a scallop, crab leg, and some steamed veggies. All very good.

She and Jacob headed off to soccer while I headed out to put the finishing touches on the flower beds. Upon completion, I drug a tarp full of yard debris to the compost pile. It was time to spread the playground mulch. Bella joined me, and asked if she could ride in the little trailer I pull behind my tractor. Sure. We transferred mulch from dad’s large trailer to the smaller trailer then hauled it to tree house area where we dumped each load before heading back for more. The playground mulch  is a lot easier to handle as compared to the fine hardwoods I typically put in the flower beds. Emptied the trailer in four trips. We spread all the mulch over the large play area then left for Ohio Mulch to get the other half of our purchase.

It didn’t take long at all. No other customers waiting to be loaded. Showed my receipt to the guy already sitting in the Bobcat, who then loaded me up with another cubic yard. We headed back towards home.

Bella and I picked up right where we left off. This time we emptied the larger trailer in 3.5 loads. Don’t think there was as much in the 2^nd load. We spread the mulch about 4” thick over the entire play area. Without question, going to need more. Wasn’t sure how much – one or two yards. However, I knew that it wouldn’t be that afternoon. Instead, it was time to get a shower. It was already approaching 330p, and we needed to be at Sunday dinner around 430p. Mindy & Jacob returned from soccer while I was in the shower.

The Mother’s Day Sunday dinner theme was pizza. Each family was supposed to bring their favorite. We talked about making one but simply ran out of time. Picking up a Minelli’s pizza would prove much easier. We picked it up in route to Gloria’s. I’m guessing it was 415p.

Because there was no cooking to be done, dinner commenced as soon as everyone was present. Must’ve been 6 or 7 pizzas. I tried four or five varieties. All of them very good. Dinner conversation centered around the death of OBL. Jodi shared a sobering story about the poor medical condition of a long standing family friend. She recently volunteered to help with her care and quickly determined it was more than she bargained for. Sad story.

After dinner everyone eventually headed out back to take in a little of the lovely weather. We hung outside until dessert time. Not only were we celebrating Mother’s Day, but b-in-law Todd’s 41^st birthday, too.  We sang the happy b-day song. Dessert consisted of Cheesecake Factory cheese cake, Gloria’s lemon cheesecake, and peanut butter fudge. Gloria made the fudge to celebrate Kati’s recent name change.  I had a piece of the lemon cheesecake and then half of Mindy’s Cheesecake Factory cake.

I forgot to mention that b-in-law Larry shared that he saw me on the news Sunday morning doing the interview at the Shred-It event on Saturday. Until then I wasn’t sure if I actually got any on-air time.

It was about 710p when we gathered our gear and headed for home. The kids were very eager to get home with still enough time to head out and play with their friends. The neighbors were having a cookout. We walked down to visit, though didn’t plan to eat. I took a beer.

Josh & Rachel were over as were some other relatives, all of whom I’ve met before but couldn't recall their names. We sat on the deck until about 830p. We let the pugs play with Wiley, Josh & Rachel’s Boston Terrier.

It was almost 9pm by the time we were settled and in our PJs. We surfed through the entire channel line-up looking for something of interest. I found nothing educational. We eventually settled on a program tracking the life of a hoarder. Holy crap! That woman had issues.

We headed to bed around 10p, but not before I choked down 4 Advil. After yard work all day Saturday and Sunday, I needed it.