Finding Amy...Again: Mom

Since this blog is about my journey through life and this weekend is Mother's Day I thought I'd take this time to post a few favorite photos of my wonderful mother - who I count on continually for support - and my daughters - who inspire me daily to be a better me.

Ah - one of the first joys of motherhood - pregnancy. This was taken few hours before Maggie was born - and no, she didn't weigh 27 pounds. Not sure why I felt it was a good idea to have the Spicy Chicken take a photo at the absolute largest point in my life, except for that it is kind of fun to look back on (though don't get me started on that horrible lipstick, those awful shoes or that sorry excuse for a mantle...). Looking at this makes me wonder if no matter how many hours I work with Hyam my stomach will ever be bikini ready (unless there happens to be a tummy tuck wrapped up in that little box next to my Mother's Day card...)

Yep, those two skinny little things are related to me. My older sister can wear a bikini at 40 and my mom could at 65 if she wanted to. We all live in different states so we don't get to be together as much as we'd like, but we don't waste one second of the time we do have together. They are both fabulous mothers of whom I go to for advice on a continual basis.

In the 1000's of photos in our family archives there are very few photos of me with the girls because I became more and more camera shy as I packed the pounds on. While I really don't like how I look in this one, of course, I do love the photo because it was one of our very best trips to Hilton Head. It was a week in October when the girls had a random Monday off. It's a long drive so it hardly seemed worth it for a long weekend, but the Spicy Chicken and I needed a break and in the end it actually turned out to be more than worth it. We spent the weekend riding our bikes, digging in the sand, jumping waves and just having fun with one another. It was a good reminder of how lucky we are.

The girls are less than two years apart which lends to two very different scenarios - they are either the best of friends or fighting like cats & dogs. The older they get the less they seem to get along so I can't get enough of moments like the ones seen here. If my memory serves me correctly they were making fun of me by dressing up in my clothes - talking on pretend cell phones and acting like - well - me, but they laughed so hard they cried and looked absolutely adorable so I was willing to take a little "constructive criticism". They both have really great senses of humor - I hope they don't lose that as they grow older because it's such a valuable asset.

While she probably won't be thrilled that I have included this photo I had use it because I think it portrays just how cool my mom is. She is almost 70 years old, yet here she is playing wiffel ball with us during one of her visits. While this is a fairly normal weekend occurrence for our family, it probably isn't how most grandma's spend time with their grandkids. This, however, is how my mom is. She's not just beautiful, smart and caring - she's fun and always up for anything we throw (literally) at her. Yep, my mom rocks.

And though she's not my mother I would be remiss not to include my mother-in-law, Rita, who (along with his equally wonderful father) is responsible for making the Spicy Chicken the wonderful man he is today. I can't imagine what my life would be like without his support in all areas of my life - especially raising our two little girls. I could not be the mother that I am without him.

It's actually kind of hard for me to look at these photos of myself but here are a few from the archives...