Mother’s Day

As hopefully everyone knows (we all have a mom, right?), yesterday was Mother’s Day.

I knew something good was about to happen because A) James got out of bed as soon as Jakey woke-up, which rarely happens and B) a short time later I heard the slap-slap-slap of Crocs in the backyard, which is the sound of The-Big-One fetching flowers for me off the one flowering bush out there in the concrete jungle.

I was soon greeted with my favorite morning surprise: Breakfast-in-bed.  And let me just tell you, if you’re ever looking for a way to win over a three or four-year old in one fell swoop— serve them breakfast-in-bed.  Jacob always asks me, “Mama, maybe when I get five you can bring me breakfast-in-bed?”  This morning I told him it’s highly probable, and then let him eat a muffin over a plate on the floor next to my bed.

So our breakfast-in-bed tray is a flat wooden crate that came with one of our Melissa and Doug toys.  Probably the wooden Velcroed fruit you get to slice with a wooden knife.  It holds a small plate and is also manageable enough that you can trust Jacob to carry it.

And what was I served for my lovely Mother’s Day treat?  At first I was completely unsure. There was a cup of hot tea, accompanied by a bowl of… Black beans with shredded mozzarella?

Turns out it was black forbidden rice pudding made with coconut milk and topped with shredded coconut.  Scrumptious.  Our new favorite breakfast/dessert.  Plus it is not something that preschoolers are scrambling all over you to chow down… Unlike bacon or anything served with ketchup.

Though I must note that we woke-up this morning and Jake was hell bent on serving his dad breakfast-in-bed because, well, it’s Monday.  There were leftovers so I served him the same thing except I folded his napkin like an airplane (I thought that added a manly counterpoint to our espresso cup bouquet of pink flowers).  When I came back to check on them, Nate told me, “Umm, Umm.  Nummy.”  Seems he’s interested in eating anything that is served in bed.

As I was eating JJ exclaimed, “Oh!  I forgot to make you a present.”  Last time I had breakfast in bed it also came with a wooden tin of pretend tunafish ensconced in a spare piece of wrapping paper.  I made sure he knew the flowerpot he made me at school was present enough.

We then went over the hill and had a lovely brunch outside at Grandma and Granddad’s house along with Geoff, Baby Devon and the Zings.  It was hot.  Jake and Nate stripped down to their skivvies, followed by their birthday suits (this is always the sequence of events), and spent what may have been several hours swimming in the dog water bowl.  Followed by a lot of random base running and a few hits off the baseball tee.

A perfect Mother’s Day indeed.