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I personally had a GREAT Mother's Day.  And I got to exercise all my MOM-skills too. Here is a rather long account of my M-Day 2007 weekend:

We started a new tradition for Mother's Day - visit Mother Nature for Mother's Day.  Up ‘til now I always requested just a picnic lunch at the park to hang out and play with the kids and take pictures.

This time, on Saturday, TripletDad said, 'Let's pack an overnight bag and go somewhere like we used to before kids'.  So, being adventurous in nature, and enjoying spontaneity, I agreed.

We ended up at Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park because we had never been there and we had thought it was closer than the Redwoods (HaHa!).  Anyway, we walked to see one tree (3rd largest – The Grant Tree).  The kids did great walking the short trail and loved exploring (especially thanks to Rachel Coleman’s songs on Signing Time vol.8 The Great Outdoors).  But my son took his obligatory childhood chin-dive on a rock.  It bled so much that I thought we would have to leave (an hour back to Fresno) and get stitches.  TripletDad took a look and said it would not need them.  Thankfully, I had my handy mini-First Aid Kit and some bottled water (1^st MOMskill of the weekend - be prepared).  We got him calmed down, cleaned up and patched up.  Then told him about how almost every adult has a story of how they got a scar on their chin as a child and now he had his story.  He also fell later and got the wind knocked out of him for the first time.  Then he just had many more episodes of scraped knees. He's a boy.

We learned that the largest tree in the world was just South of us and also this weekend was the start of the open season for tours of the Crystal Caves.  We decided to try to stay in the park and explore more the next day.  Luckily (with no reservation) there was a cabin available , so we took it (no bathroom, just furnished and with bed linens).

We ate, bought provisions for the next day and planned what to do the next day.  Then went to bed.  For some reason I couldn't sleep and since we were all in one room I couldn't read.  So I just lay in bed listening to everyone else sleep. 

- Then I had to go potty.  So I got dressed and snuck out.  No flashlight.  No problem. I found my way and got back.  Once undressed (this means in my nightgown), I got back in bed. 

- Then Daughter1 fell out of bed!  I put her back in bed and got back in my own (MOM-skill #2 – rescuing kids when they fall out of bed).

- Then Daughter2 started whimpering and sniffling; she was having a nightmare.  So I got out of bed to soothe her (MOMskill #3 – soothing nightmares). She woke up and said she had to go potty.

- So I got dressed again, wrapped her in TripletDad's jacket and carried her to the bathroom (MOM-skill #4 – bathroom trips in the night). I made sure to stop and have her admire the mountain night sky (MOM-skill #5 – take time for the small moments, even at inconvenient times).

- When I got back, Daughter1 woke up and said she needed to go.  TripletDad rolled over and mumbled that he thought that would happen.  Helpful.

- So I wrapped her in TripletDad's jacket and carried her to the bathroom. Again, I did my motherly duty to take a moment and share the night sky with her.

- When I got back, TripletDad had to go.  So he went by himself.  Being a guy (in other words, without MOM-skills), he refused to navigate in the dark and had to find a light first. So he discovered that a cell phone works great as a flashlight. Since I had already made the walk three times without one (MOM-skill #6 – navigating in the dark so as not to disturb my family), again, this was very helpful of him.  But that's OK, I was the one who couldn't sleep.

-Finally back in bed again (now it was close to 12:30), I tried to sleep again.  Suddenly, Daughter2 fell out of bed! (Sierra and Carley were sharing a bed)  I ran over and picked her up.  I got back in bed again.

- Then Daughter1 fell out of bed for her second time!  Picked her up, got back in bed.

- Then Daughter2 started having the nightmare-whimper again.  So I decided that if I was going to spend my whole night over dealing with the girls, I should just climb in with them.  So I did (MOM-skill #7 – the ability to sleep in bed with squirmy kids).

- Sierra snuggled up and settled down, and I finally felt like I could sleep. 

- Both daughters fell out one more time each (what the heck?!).

- After Daughter1 fell out for the 3^rd time and Daughter2 seemed in a good sleep, I got up and went back to my own bed, thinking that maybe Daughter1 needed the room. 

I think I fell asleep around 2:30 AM.  Woke up at 6:30, but felt alright.  I was actually happily contemplative about how I got to take care of all my kids’ emergencies, exercising my MOM-skills on Mother’s Day weekend.  How appropriate, right?  So I said to TripletDad (I am aware of how you will all gasp at this), “Wow, I think I handled every mom thing last night and yesterday.  All I need to make this complete is some barf”... Yes, I actually said that with an innocent smile on my face! Keep reading...

- After a breakfast of donuts and GoGurt, Daughter2 says, “Mommy, my tummy hurts, I’m gonna throw up”.  TripletDad and I exchanged looks as I held Daughter2's hair back and she ralphed in the trashcan.  Now my Mother’s Day was complete (MOMskill #8 – dealing calmly with barf without barfing myself).

After that, everything was fine.  We bought chewable Dramamine for the winding drive to the caves.  The kids did great on the .5 mile, treacherous walk down to the cave.  They did great during the tour and on the way back up.  They did fabulous during the .5 mile walk to the Sherman Tree and I told them that now they can honestly say, “I’ve seen the Biggest Tree Ever!”,  which is what they say about everything these days, just insert a different noun for the occasion.

I was so proud of them and so happy to be their Mommy.  I get sad about how fast they are growing and sometimes especially when they surprise me by handling something I wasn’t sure they were ready for (i.e., hiking).  But I am also so happy that they are big enough to share things like camping and hiking like real Little Troopers.

It was a great Mother’s Day weekend.  To be repeated next year and the year after and so on (but hopefully without all the MOM-skills tests).

Post Scripts:

*To TripletDad’s credit, he did listen for me everytime I left to visit the restroom, and he opened the door for me everytime I got back to the cabin so I wouldn’t have to fumble with my key.  He also commented on how we couldn’t have gotten through the weekend, so pleasantly, without all my MOM-skills to keep us all calm during the stressful parts.  I love him!

**When I asked Daughter1 how she liked me sleeping with her (I actually never do that at home), her comment was “when I tried to turn on my tummy, there was no room for this elbow” as she held out her right elbow.  Too funny.

***When I asked the girls if they remembered falling out of bed, they denied it vehemently.  No memory of the events in question!  Sigh...sometimes MOM-skills go unnoticed and unappreciated. I guess they will find out when/if they have their own kids someday, LOL! .

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This year, 2008, we are going to the Redwoods.  I have a reservations staying in a cabin with an indoor bathroom (MOM-skill #9 - Learn from your mistakes.  LOL!).  I'll let you know how it goes.