Fellas, when your wife's phone is going bananas on Mother's Day, it's not necessarily a text sesh with her mom or sisters. More likely than not, it's a message from a gal pal. That's because on this holiday, more than any other, we ladies LOVE reaching out and lifting each other up. The texts go flying...
You're a fabulous mom!
Thinking of you today, momma!
Lucky to have a strong mom like you in my life!
It's the sort of kindness that takes the beauty of Mother's Day and turns the dial up to 11. One momma I love catching up with and cheering on is Heidi Osmundsen, a fellow Mizzou Tiger and post-college Chicago crew mate, who is now back in her hometown of St. Louis. Here's Heidi's sweet family...
Ten-plus years ago, we were romping all over Wrigleyville and Lakeview, taking part in our fair share of shenanigans. Today, the wacky stories we share feature our girls. I asked Heidi to write a bit about her ladies, and her anecdotes provide such a lovely Mother's Day tribute.
In Heidi's words...
I always knew I wanted to have children. I’m not sure what exactly gave me this intuitive feeling … perhaps my experience of being an older sister, or the babysitting business I ran with my neighbor and childhood best friend Bethany, or just the fact that children make me laugh and I enjoy being around them.
I'm now a mother to two beautiful and funny little girls. Alice (3) and Adeline “Addie” (13 months) are the loves of my life, and my husband Matt and I cannot get enough of them.
One of the things I enjoy most about being their Mom is watching their relationship grow. The past year has brought a lot of change and growth for both girls, and every day I see their sisterhood bond strengthen.
Last year, I started keeping a “Mommy Journal." It seemed that every day Alice would say something funny or do something new that made me smile, and I didn’t want to forget the details. I’m so glad I’ve kept this journal, because now that the girls are interacting and playing a bit together, I have so many things I want to remember.
Whenever I catch up with Anitra, one of our first questions to one another is “How are your girls?” Anitra asked me to pull together a few entertaining tid-bits from Alice and Addie’s corner of the world, and I am happy to share with all of you...
All the Funny Things
Dress-up. Alice loves to play dress-up and corresponds her dress-up outfit to a character, and then she proceeds to get fully into the storyline. For example, if she is pretending to be “Princess Belle,” she needs to wear the dress, put her hair in a bun and wear a crown. We have to turn on the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack for dancing and she wants to hold her Princess Belle doll. If she is pretending to be Minnie Mouse, it requires a full outfit change, new doll and new soundtrack!
Dance Party. Both of my girls love music and to dance. While Addie is just getting her moves down (she is just barely one after all), she has perfected the shimmy, head bang and spinning in circles. Alice also loves to jump and twirl. They received a microphone for Christmas, and Alice likes to give Addie the microphone to “sing” and then she dances around in the background to the “music”. (Warning: this video is a bit painful to the ears.)
Alice the Fashion Designer. Alice loves to pick out clothes for everyone in the house. When she sees her Dada in the morning, she’ll pick out a shirt for him and say, “Try it on.” And then almost every time she’ll say, “Dada, you look great!”
Assigned Seating. Sometimes after a busy day, I’ll join Alice on the couch while she’s watching one of her favorite shows. She usually likes to tell me where to sit, “Right here, Mama. Lean against this pillow.” But some days, she’ll tell me, “Come close, Mama. I want you to snuggle me.” Here we are, cozy at a parade, just as Alice likes it...
Spikes and Sister Hugs. Addie was born with a full head of hair, and when she wakes up in the morning it’s usually spiked straight up around her head. Whenever we carry her into the room after she wakes up, Alice will yell out, “Spikes!” And, at the most random of moments, Alice will embrace Addie in a hug or give her a kiss and tell me, “I love my wiggly sister.” Melts my heart.
I cherish these moments with Alice and Addie, and I find that I love these little ladies more and more every day. I’m looking forward to watching them grow into themselves and closer together as the years go by. Thanks for reading!
Heidi, this has been a major motivator for me to resume my Mommy Journal - an orange diary that I routinely move from Point A to Point B, then promptly forget where Point B is. By the time I find the journal again, five months of cute commentary has gone unrecorded... unacceptable! I'm back on task - thanks to your post!
Happy Mother's Day to all!
Moms, step moms, moms-to-be, ladies praying to be moms, and moms of angels in heaven above: Your love is what makes the world go round!