Happy Mother’s Day! Hope your weekend was special, memorable and that YOU were able to be in some of the photos with your children or grandchildren…or your mom! One of my only hard stop requests on Mother’s Day each year is a photo of me with the kids. At least one. No matter how we look or the time of day we capture it, I want a photo to mark the year. When they were younger, it was sometimes at the end of a long day and before bed – everyone in pjs. Doesn’t matter. It shows exactly where we were during that year.

Anyway, here’s our one photo from Mother’s Day 2023…and I’ll treasure it as I do every other year…

( dress | shoes )

More on our actual Mother’s Day later in this post. But look at these three. Too big!

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I’d love to share a weekend wrap-up from time to time…so this is one of those! It was a busy, full weekend. And one that carried a lot of emotions.

CLIENT PROJECTS

Interesting timing but the projects are starting to ramp up, just as the end of the school year activities ramp up. I’ll take it, but typically as we head into summer it slows a bit.

I was happy we were able to help one stressed out mom, before her Mother’s Day weekend, who is nearing the end of a long home renovation. We were supposed to be in their kitchen, however, the contractor took over that space to repair a punch-list…so we helped bring a bit of order to their beautiful home office…

The office was added in as part of the renovation and belongs to her husband. They carved out this little corner just off the main family room. I love how they incorporated this black framed glass / door.

The boxes and supplies were scattered in the family room and garage so it was great to help her bring in some order and peace before the weekend. Just a bit of decluttering and space planning was completed…next up is setting a few organizers in place.

Kitchen coming soon – it’s modest and beautiful!

MOTHER’S DAY LUNCHEON

On Friday afternoon, my Mother’s Day weekend kicked off with a beautiful luncheon hosted by local real estate agent, Teresa Hooper. 30 women / mothers were treated to an amazing lunch and she pulled out all the stops – wine, a 3-course lunch, a heartfelt speech, gifts…it was nice to be included among these incredible mothers…

Teresa has become a friend over the years – she’s down to earth, calls it like it is yet is warm and personable. She’s the type who is very approachable and easy to talk to. She’s also one of the hardest working women I know. Very dedicated and selfless in her job…and as a mother. So happy to call her a friend!

A couple years ago, a woman who follows the Instagram account contacted me via email. She was living across the Bay and planning a move to my area. Knowing I lived here and had a pretty good network, she asked if I knew of a real estate agent.

These types of referrals can sometimes be nerve-wracking to share. Especially contractors. I am always careful because I worry if there’s a bad experience, it reflects on me or our business. In this case, I had no issue referring her to Teresa. AND!…turns out they hit it off all that time ago, Teresa helped them locate a home and she was at the luncheon! Teresa introduced us and I couldn’t believe it! So wonderful to meet her in person! She sat us next to each other and it was wonderful getting to know her … and her interest in possibly working for me this fall as a part-time organizer.

I was surrounded by other great small business owners and a fair amount of the moms in attendance were empty nesters. I am not ready for that phase of life, but it was nice to see these women are still alive, not a ball of tears in the corner and not medicated – LOL! I am not ready for these kids to leave the nest. No matter how stressful the day-to-day can be….I’ll take it!

Our Warriors lost on Friday night, but I was at least able to stop by a friends home to hug her before Mother’s Day and catch a bit of the game…

Sad loss, but we made it this far!

ROBIN’S MEMORIAL

Saturday was my friend Robin’s memorial service. I mentioned her and her passing in my previous weekend recap. Can’t begin to explain the mix of emotions here. It’s Mother’s Day weekend, her boys are roughly the same ages as mine, it was a packed church to the point people were standing on the sides of the church, in the lobby and out to the street. The World showed up for her…and she deserved every bit of that. She was truly a special one!

And the service was both heart-wrenching and lovely…

It set the tone for my weekend. Nothing else really mattered and she was on my mind the whole time. Still now as I type this, I feel sick to my stomach. So many emotions and feelings for her family, her boys, her husband, her twin sister…and it’s hard to not think about how grateful I am to be alive, healthy and surrounded by my children on Mother’s Day. To be HERE with my children.

Perspective. Gratitude. And makes me really want to work harder, live better, do more for others…spend more time with my kids and slow down … not stress so much!

Her husband was strong and spoke eloquently.

An absolutely beautiful celebration of her life.

The rest of Saturday was shot. I was so exhausted from crying and all the feelings. We laid low, I grilled steaks and we watched a movie together.

MOTHER’S DAY

Mother’s Day started off early. A quiet morning with some coffee and then headed to the 9am church service.

I typically don’t talk God or church here, but if you have a moment to watch this service…you won’t be disappointed. Our pastor, Tyler Scott, is an incredible speaker and leader. As expected on Mother’s Day, he incorporated mother’s into the service beautifully. It was so touching and if you have a chance, start watching at the 40 minute mark. So so good!!!

After church, I hit the gym and then returned home to this sweet display from the kids…

Handmade cards and signs are my favorite! Besides that photo I mentioned.

We relaxed at bit, a light breakfast at home and headed out for pedicures…

Don’t call me crazy (or a crazy cat mom), but we hit up a local pet store to get a harness and leash for Nova. LOL! I don’t have photos of this but you can guarantee I will soon – haha!

She is SOOOO desperate to go outside. Anytime we open the door she makes a straight shot to get out. It’s a little frustrating – especially on a busy school morning when 4 of us are trying to walk out without her jolting past us. Having an indoor cat is really tough! Charlie was an indoor / outdoor guy and I never worried anything would happen to him. But our current neighborhood has a TON of predators to her. I’ve seen them feet away from me on walks and I hear them all day long. We’re in a more rural area now. It’s a non-negotiable – she can’t go outside or she’ll be gone for sure.

So, it was the kids idea to get a harness so they can take her into the backyard to walk on the grass and get fresh air. It was hilarious when they put the harness on her and set her on the floor. She just flopped right over onto her side…as if she was playing dead. So funny!

She eventually came around to it a bit and was outside for about 10 minutes. Was very cute! Aiden and I are in planning mode to build her an outdoor play space. I’ll keep you in the loop on that! 🙂

To round out the day, we had an early dinner. It was nice, chill and I thoroughly enjoyed having them to myself.

The kids gave me a little basket of beauty items, fresh cut roses from the backyard, and my oldest purchased a new water filter for the fridge / changed it while I was at the gym. It’s the little things!

I also received the most beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers – peonies!…

These are absolutely stunning and get more beautiful by the day. Unfortunately, these beauties don’t last long…makes me sad but I am enjoying them while they are here.

I truly hope you enjoyed your weekend! Back soon with a recap of my trip to Palm Springs last week with our management company – such a fun time!!!

I’m on the top row, third in from the right…

xoxo,

Sam