It was a glorious Mother’s Day weekend, right here at home. Mostly.

On the trail Daniel made for us, discovering loads of fern, moss, and honeysuckle with Owen and Blair.

Worked on my inner and outer strength and present moment attention Saturday morning at Melissa Leach‘s hot power yoga class at estudio. Felt so good, so life-affirming, to sweat (a lot) and practice (let go) under the guidance of lovely Melissa. Melissa was one of my first teachers, and she is a level 3 trained Baptiste power yoga instructor. It’s like Tony Robbins meets great yoga. All the kiddos prefer yoga mom.

Then, change of clothes and clean up: Tennis with the entire family. Warm, dry, sunny weather and all spirits were high. Conners, Aidan, and William, and even Owen are hitting so well. Brooke had the outfit. 🙂 Blair was a great ball girl!

The weekend was a continual slippery slope downhill from my 90/10 vegan lifestyle, feasting on ice cream, brunch with Belgian waffles covered in maple syrup, chocolate filled pastries, and some other items usually limited quite a bit more. Can I get back on the healthy wagon? Sugar was the primary weakness. Again.

Loved the sweet handmade cards…favorite line: “I love you the most for loving me.” (Brooke) Very nice to be thanked for driving kids places and feeding them healthy food, but it was good to hear that I make her laugh and help her not feel lonely sometimes, too. But mostly, the theme was that I drive them places and make them healthy food. In their minds, right now. This summer and always: I will spend more time walking, talking, laughing, hugging, and just being with my favorite little people.

Mother’s Day is the annual piano recital under the direction of the venerable and ageless Shirley Jean Curtis. Listening to our four older children play on the beautiful Steinway at the State University of New York Performing Arts Center is such a gift. Then, playing of a different sort in the fountains afterward.

Have I mentioned how much I adore Instagram?

With six children, it’s hard not to have at least one tantrum or disagreeable moment in a weekend (perhaps more)…even on Mother’s Day. Owen, our five-year old, was a little grumpy the past couple of days. It started with brunch, and all the dairy-laden food that he couldn’t eat (eosinophilic esophagitis) and continued with the realization that it’s darn cold when you completely soak yourself in the fountains, without a towel or dry clothes after the fun is over.

But what five-year old thinks of such things? And who knows what is going on in his head these days that he hasn’t been able to articulate?

Each of our children is unique. Smart. Loving. Fun. Human. And I know I’m going to treasure these days, tantrums and all. So in the wee hours of the night when I’m able to write these thoughts down, it gives me a nice pause.

I’m still working on it, hoping everyone in our family knows how loved and important they are.