Mother's Day

It is a beautiful Mother's Day here in Logan, Ohio. As I write this I am sitting on the porch at my parents' house and it's wonderfully sunny and 68 degrees outside. Everything is green, the dogwoods and irises are blooming (up here on their warm, sunny hill anyway), the skies are baby blue with fluffy, decorative white clouds, and the sun is just starting to think about descending towards bed for the evening. There is a humming bird war going on about 6 feet in front of my face as the 4 earliest ruby-throats of the season try to keep one another away from the feeder, an endlessly entertaining battle to watch as they occasionally even smack into each other and the little ones let out out nervous chirps as the big ones chase them away. My dogs are laying like 3 lazy sentinels on the warm bricks of the porch around me, immune to the buzz of the humming birds but snapping at any stray bees who fly too close. As I look at everything that's green around me, the new buds on the trees and flowers, the fresh leaves on the trees, and the fine layer of yellow pollen covering anything that holds still for two long, there are two thoughts that run through my mind. One: it seems appropriate that Mother's Day is this time of year - the spring time, the time of new life for everything green, and the time of birth for most of nature's animals. And Two: I am so blessed to be counted as one among the many mothers to be celebrated this day, so fortunate to have had my beautiful Haley-Bug and so thrilled to feel all the fabulous kicks of Baby-Roo #2 growing inside me as I sit here right now.

Our weekend started out on Friday with a trip to OSU Maternal Fetal Medicine for our Level II ultrasound, where we received fabulous news all the way around and were introduced to the wonderful Dr. Samuels. Our ultrasound lasted about 1.5 hours and we got to see every inch of Dylan, from the lenses of her eyes, the normal shape of her cerebellum, the four fabulously proportioned and functioning chambers of her heart, her tiny stomach that was filled with fluid so they know that means she also has a normal esophagus and mouth, her lovely bladder filled with urine which means she has kidneys and they're doing what they're supposed to, her 10 fingers, 10 toes, adorable mouth and nose, many, many things in between, and all the way down to her other end where she was still proud to show us that she is a girl. ;)

After our appointment we headed out to Easton, where I must tell the world about the most delicious discovery ever: Godiva dark chocolate and raspberry shakes. Never in my life have I tasted anything so delicious, and I keep thinking of ways I can get back to Columbus to get my hands on another one. (If you have a Godiva store near you, I highly recommend you check it out.) That night we joined our friends Tom & Jess Steinbrink at North Star Cafe for a delicious dinner and lots of good conversation - Jess introduced me to yet another delicious discovery: home made Ginger Ale at North Star which was so, so good!

Saturday was a busy day - we went to my cousin's fiancee's bridal shower in the early afternoon, and later in the afternoon we went to the Klingelhafer-Gallenstein's 2nd annual Kentucky Derby Party where my horse WON the 137th Derby despite 20-1 odds! Go Animal Kingdom! (My winnings included beautiful red roses, a glass 137th Kentucky Derby commemorative cup, and $70 dollars - quite exciting for a non-gambler!) I've decided that if I'm going to get into sports, I'll have to start gambling because that makes it ever so much more exciting.

This morning I woke up to yet more deliciousness: Haley & Dylan had smuggled dark chocolate covered strawberries and white chocolate bug covered pretzels down from a Worthington candy shop (with some help from Chadmo I suspect ;)), along with a very nice card. Katy K had given me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a sweet card, and Mom & Dad gave me a book on Motherhood which I'm excited to read. I've made out like a bandit and am feeling quite spoiled, and this is all before the lasagna dinner Chadmo has been busily preparing for my Mom & myself - and who would've guessed, I'm hungry again?!? I guess I'd better go eat. ;)

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mother's, Grandmother's, & Mother's-to-be in our lives! :)

(P.S. I'll post new ultrasound pictures soon!)