Mother's Day Tea

I thought before I started this post I would go back into the blog to find the post on last year's Mother's Day.  I am realizing now that I never did one!?!  Maybe it's meshed in with something else, but I couldn't find it.  Strange.  It was such a 'memorable' event.  Allow me to share :)

Marshall had just turned 4 and his preschool hosted a Mother's Day Tea.  There was much talk and excitement leading up to the big day.  The kids had been working on how to 'bless the moms' with crafts they made, songs they would sing, and with a special dessert served with ice tea :)  Doesn't this all just sound lovely?

The big day arrived.  I brought my camera.  I did not have high expectations for this event... of course I was hopeful to be pleasantly surprised.  Marshall was not embracing being a performer at this time in his life, but I knew I'd get a craft at least so that was cool.  I was really only hopeful that he wouldn't start crying or make a big scene during the morning. 

The Moms stayed in the hallway while the kids got ready.  Then each preschooler came out with a flower and vase they had decoupage, said "Happy Mother's Day" to their moms, gave them their flower, took their hand, and led them to a table in the classroom.  Then the kids went back to the front to sit on their spot in the line.  My turn!  Marshall came out smiling and gave me my flower, then he took my hand to guide me inside.  He found me a spot and then proceeded to pull out the chair next to me and sit down.  His aide came over and tried to get him to go back to the front... not happening.  I tried to talk to him without getting him worked up... nope, he was not moving.  Oh goody.  Well, the kids started to sing and I thought that would cue him or encourage him to join his classmates... nope.  He then proceeded to lift his arms up, joining his hands together, and placing them behind his head while he smiled like the turkey he is.  I have a great picture of this.  lol.

When it came time for the gifts to be handed out Marshall jumped up to get his gift for me.  He made me a tile with his handprint on it, and he was so proud of it :)  Then the kids were told to give their mom's a backrub like they had practiced, Marshall did this well.  Then the teachers called the kids to the front to 'bless the moms' with a hand massage using lotion.  Marshall was all over this idea. lol.  I got a nice hand rub with lots of smiles and got the warm fuzzies I was hoping for that morning. 

Then it was time to 'bless the moms' with a special dessert... a croissant with jam, whipped cream, and a strawberry.  Marshall followed his classmates to the table to get my dessert.  Then he came back with it, put it in front of himself, and ate the whole thing.  Nice.  lol.  He doesn't like strawberries so he put it aside.  When I asked if I could eat it he said no, and then threw it in the garbage.  Boy oh boy did I ever feel 'blessed' as I watched my son devour my cake while I sipped my iced tea!!  haha! 

I do remember starting to get a little emotional that morning as I watched all the other mom's gleam with pride at their children who were doing all of the right things, but I didn't crack and just tried to remind myself that what I was being given in that moment was enough... because it was, especially for Marshall at that time :)

The teachers had a story time for the kids afterwards and Marshall did go sit with his friends and listened to the story well.  Overall it was a good morning... I got some great handmade keepsakes, a good laugh out of Marshall's lack of effort, there were no tears or yelling fits, and I did in fact, feel blessed!

So this year when I opened up my email to see my invite to this years Mother's Day Tea, I had to laugh as I reflected last years special day that was 'all about me'.  After some great performances over Christmas by Marshall, I was definitely hopeful to see him follow the lead of his classmates in truly blessing me on this fine morning.  Well, this year Marshall had been talking so much more about the "Mothers Day Team" lol.  He would come out of his classroom days prior and tell me right away, "shhh, its a secret" which was him repeating what his teachers had been telling them during class.  haha.  Marshall told me that he was going to sing for me and give me dessert... I tried not to snort or laugh when he would tell me this.  lol.  I caught him singing to the tune of B-I-N-G-O... "M-M-M-M-Y" and when I finished it by singing, "And MOMMY was her name-o!!", his smile widened as had uncovered one of his secrets!!  It was sweet. 

The morning of the tea Marshall wanted to pick out my clothes.  He chose a dress with big orange and pink flowers on it, and an orange little cardigan to wear over it.  It looked nice!  Letting him chose my outfit worked really well for me, cause then when it came time to get Marshall dressed, I could say, "You picked my clothes so now I get to pick yours."  lol.  He picks out his clothes every day and is quite particular about it.  So I picked out his jean shorts and gave him two choices for shirts.  He chose a button up plaid shirt that he looks so sharp in, and together we were orange and loving it! 

OH!!  I totally forgot about the highlight (for the kids) of the whole morning... they were going to 'bless the moms' by painting their toenails!!  Great idea.  Marshall had been talking about wanting orange as well as stripes for my toes... I wasn't going to buy polish for this event, so I managed to convince him that it would be super cool if he put clear with sparkles overtop of some light purple that I had on my toes already.  He was game!!  Phew ;)

I got to preschool the morning of the tea and both Marshall and I were excited.  Marshall joined his friends in the classroom and the moms waiting in the hallway.  When Marshall came to get me he brought me a beautiful flower (coffee filters dyed) he'd made and took me to a spot.... then he went back to the front of the class in line with his friends!!!  And then, he sang!!  The kids sang quite a few songs and Marshall looked at me, did the actions, and sang his heart out for me :)  Then they brought us our gifts...a hand painted box with little gadgets inside (a marble to replace one of the ones they helped us lose, etc) with a picture of him on the front, and a paper cut out of a teapot with a tea bag on it.  Marshall helped me open it all and just beamed as he awaited my praise.  We got a good picture of the two of us with his huge smile :D 

Then the kids took some lotion from their teacher and rubbed our feet and legs... Marshall was all over this task again this year and even went back up for more lotion to rub on my legs!  It felt so nice.  Then the kids were instructed to get us ready for nail polish by putting in cotton balls between our toes if they were squished together.  My toes are long and not in need of separating, but Marshall wanted to do it, so together we put in "marshmallows".  lol.  And then Marshall painted my toenails with sparkles and he did a fabulous job!!  I was so proud of how careful he was and how much he was concentrating. 

Dessert time!!  Surely we couldn't have a completed perfect morning?  But low and behold, my son brought me dessert and placed it directly in front of me, allowing me to eat the whole thing myself.  Then he went to the table and got us both some iced tea.  Before he went back to get his cookie, he asked me if I wanted a cookie too!  The kids were instructed to only help themselves to a cookie once Mommy was fully taken care of.  Marshall definitely did that.  I was so proud of my big guy.  We ate our designated treats together, and it was lovely.  Then the kids climbed on the Mom's laps while the teachers proceeded to tell us the 'fill in the blanks' that our children said about us.  Last year Marshall did not give his teachers any answers so they left it alone... this year, he was all over it.  Here is what they read out loud... the way my son feels about me :S  All of us moms were quite scared. lol.

I love my mom because she makes spaghetti.
My mom is as pretty as a dinosaur.
My mom is so smart, she even knows how to wear dresses.

My heart was mostly warmed by the dinosaur 'compliment'.  lol.  I love that he did it this year, and that he did it in his own way in which his character shows through :)  So this was my glorious morning where I was blessed beyond expectation.  What a difference from last year... really reflects Marshall's progress and how much he's grown.  With all this talk about kindergarten coming up, this day gave me great comfort that Marshall is going to do well in fall.  He is understanding direction and taking social cues from his peers well.  Above all, Marshall is learning about the joy that comes from giving to someone else.  I am happy to have been at the receiving end on a day that I will cherish forever.

Happy Mother's Day to me!!