Twelve Kids and Counting ....

Yes, I said TWELVE kids!  Can you believe that my three best friends and I have 12 children between us? (And we all have full time jobs!)  If you ask any of us we will all say that the way we make it through the trials and tribulations of motherhood, husbands, jobs, etc. is by having great friends.

We are all blessed with husbands that support and appreciate us.  Each of them, in their own way, realizes the importance of us getting together.  For the past few years, we have started a Mother's Day tradition of treating ourselves at the spa.  It is one day out of the year that we don't make ourselves feel bad about spending more than $25 on something for just us. Normally, we would rush down to a casino for an afternoon massage and try to relax in the fluffy robes, while deep inside we all feel guilty that our husbands are home alone with the children.  This year, we got smart.  We planned in advance, made some contacts, and booked a room at the Beau for the entire night. 

The evening began with massages for most of us, followed by the four of us gathered around one mirror while applying each other's make-up, just like old times. We wore the cutest tops we own (you know, the ones without the spit-up stains) and the finest blue jeans that the Gap clearance rack has to offer.  After deciding that $30 per person was just too expensive for dinner (because we do this so often), we ended up at the Coast pub for burgers, fajitas and pizza, listening to basketball on the big screens and talking about the NFL draft. (Go figure!)  By the second cranberry and vodka, we were feeling like college students again! We just knew that because we had a hotel room upstairs and no one to answer to, we would be partying it up until the wee hours of the morning.  (Unlike our usual return home by 9:30 at night.)  We should have known that just because you have all of those things, the body of a 30 year old mother still thinks that when the nightly news is on, you should be in bed watching it. We know each other well enough to know what we were all thinking: we would rather be in the bed just catching up than feeding a slot machine money that really needed to be spent on formula and diapers. Needless to say, we were ready for bed and taking silly pictures by 10:30. The following morning was spent at a breakfast buffet and laying out by the pool watching families with their children.  We wrapped it up by 11:30 with the thought that we better get back home and put the house back together.  Overall, we had a fabulous time doing exactly what we sought out to do.  The reality of it is, once you become a mother, there really is no place you would rather be, other than with your children. However, in about a year, we will all be ready to challenge that theory once again!



From left to right: Ava's rear end, Morgan, Peyton, Mackenzie,
Mia Clare, Kaleigh, Baby Myles, Alexander, Ashlyn,
the back of Sophie's head, Charlie, & Sammy