Mother's Day

Well, my first Mother's Day was sort of a wash. Hazel and I are both sick with a terrible cold and cough and we have both spent the last few days crying without reason and experimenting with various methods of de-snotting ourselves. I have to say that using the bulb syringe to extract massive amounts of mucus from Hazel's nostrils, then emptying it in the sink, is not exactly my ideal way to spend a beautiful spring afternoon. Since being sick (again) Hazel has been totally off her normal schedule; she has been waking at odd times at night and eating an ounce an hour. She wakes herself up screaming bloody murder, then inexplicably stops. Sometimes she won't even open her eyes. Of course, she has been attached to me 24/7 and will not be put down for a moment. I think we are all going a bit mad. WASH YOUR HANDS, PEOPLE!

So on Sunday we were not feeling great, despite the fabulous sunny warm day and all of the flowering trees. Jamie made me a coffee cake for breakfast and he gave me a black and white photo of Crane Beach. I managed to take a long bath when Jamie took the dogs and Hazel out for a hike in the woods. I also got to paint my toes for the first time in a year! I will not let motherhood turn me into a Dumpy Mommy if I can help it. I have my moments, for sure and I'm far from a glamour queen, but I'll be damned if I become one of those women with four inch grey roots who never gets out of her pyjamas. *shiver* (Here is where I brace for the email, "Dear Madam, I found your blog to be Very Offensive. I happen to have four inch roots and I'll have you know that I am a Very Good Mother!")

Here are a couple of pictures of Ms. Hazel-Don't-Call-Her-Miss. Hazel from this week.

"En Garde!" One of the funnier infant reflexes that will soon be gone.

Hector Fishstick and his baby. Have you ever seen anything cuter? Could you just die?

Jamie's Strawberry Coffee Cake. It's all gone now.

My Mother's Day flowers.

Peonies, Calla lilys, Orchids...I was channeling my Grandma Annie when I took a million pictures of the flowers. She loved Mother's day, and she loved flowers. She was definitely on my mind all day, especially when I caught the smell of lilacs in the air.

I started to feel a little better after my bath, and it was beautiful out so we took Hazel and ourselves out for a big lunch at Zabaglione and we even ordered dessert. Who gets dessert at lunch? I do. We took a walk around town and gawked at the return of all the Summer People and Tourists (you can tell them by their big, shiny, Eurotrash cars in colors like Canary Yellow...and the New York plates are a dead giveaway). We walked along the river and Hazel slept he whole time. The rest of the afternoon was pretty status quo; Jamie did yard work and Hazel and I watched TV and napped. Before we knew it it was ten o'clock and time for Hazel to retire to her car seat ( for maximum snot drainage) and for all of us to go to bed.