The Best Mother's Day Ever

I know Mother's Day was several months away, but I've been behind with blogging and my Mother's Day was just too wonderful to not blog.

For my Mother's Day present, I got the whole day off. The whole day. To myself. (I am still basking in the reflected aura of that magnificent day).

What's a gal to do with the whole day off? Why, go shopping, of course!

My first stop was a yarn store in Rockford. I had so much fun taking my time and looking at all the fibery goodness. No kids to worry about, no little fingers unraveling yarn - pure bliss! I really liked this cardigan/coat they had on display, so I bought the yarn to knit one as a gift for - - - - .
After that, I stopped at Hobby Lobby to do more browsing and purchase (you guessed it!) more yarn. (Yes, I know, I have a problem. That has already been established.)

From there, I headed to the Mall. Not having grown up a Mall Shopper, I have only recently been introduced to the delights of looking at lovely goodies that one does not have to buy.
Just the possibility that I could buy something if I really wanted to was intoxicating. I didn't of course, because I'm Dutch (translating: Cheap), but it was such fun to browse through all the nice stuff.

I'm also part Portugee (Portuguese) so a visit to the perfume section was also a must. I did refrain from taking a Portugee Bath. (This is also known as a European Bath in which one does not actually bathe, but rather douses oneself in scent in a useless effort to cover one's body odor.)
My version of shopping involves taking pictures of things I like so that I can recreate them at home for a cheaper price. I'm sure the security cameras were wondering why some strange woman was snapping pictures of shoes and shirts.I don't care for the color of this, but I rather like the ruffles. I'll have to remember that if I come across some tanks for cheap that need a bit of embellishing.

I loved this dress. I think I could make one for Miss Boo without too much trouble.
It might make a cute Easter ensemble for next year, especially if I can get some coordinating fabric to sew some shirts for the boys.

Of course, I didn't only look and take weird photographs. I bought myself another pair of snow boots for winter. I already have a pair like this is dark brown, and they are my favorite pair of boots ever. I wear them constantly all winter long (which means I wear them most of the year). Plus, these were only $15!
I also picked up a nice pair of heels to go with the dress that I was planning to wear for my sister Lynn's wedding shower. They're pretty and comfortable. Because I have rather wide feet with yucky bunions (sorry if that's too much information for you), I have a difficult time finding comfortable shoes.
After such a rigorous afternoon of shopping, I decided it was time for dinner. After stopping at Barnes and Noble for a book, I went to a very nice little Italian place right by the mall. When the waiter (in a somewhat shocked voice) asked, "Just one today?", I replied with a heartily enthusiastic, "YES!".
It was difficult to end my day of leisure and head home, but Handyman's increasingly frantic phone messages convinced me that my presence was needed. ("Where does Breanna hide? I can't find her - oh, never mind, she's wedged under Peter's bed fast asleep".

The fun didn't end with that day, though. Nope! On Sunday after church, we took Handyman's mom out for lunch at the Rafter's.
A woman who can raise 8 boys (and 1 girl) without committing homicide deserves a little pampering.

Rafter's has the best Mother's Day buffet. There's lots of fruit and cheese, along with biscuits, scrambled eggs, sausage, ham, beef, and other brunch foods.

Their dessert selection was also very good.

Peter had opted to stay with Grandpa, but Miss Boo and Baby Gabe were also with us.
Miss Boo got to pick out her own selection of tea. She found this quite delightful.
Ah yes, this certainly has to be my most enjoyable Mother's Day ever, and I sincerely hope it becomes an annual event. You know what my favorite gift was from the two days of fun and freedom?

The flowers.