This Monday was one of the most tiring days I’ve had in a long time. I had to do an elaborate article on Cannes and some more articles on fashion and style as well as prepare and send out the weekly e-zine featuring all this fresh content. I started work at 7 in the morning and completed everything by 6 p.m only stopping once in between to have lunch. My husband took care of my daughter, fed her, played with her and was exhausted himself by the end of the day. But he wasn’t getting any help from me even then because by the time I was done, I was pretty exhausted myself. And not just exhausted, I was feeling guilty for not playing with Sanika, not doing any household chores and actually doing nothing else all day and angry with myself for not having enough energy at the end of the day to make up for my loss of attention earlier in the day. My room was a mess to say the least. In short, my work was finally done, I will dead tired and I was hating myself for not being a good Mom and a good wife.

But before I could say any of this aloud, I got an unexpected and most surprising ‘I Love You’ from my DH. Wow! I stared at him not really believing my ears. He is not the one to shower too many I Love You’s and the sort without a reason. And getting it from him just when I was feeling most unworthy of any such thing! Before I could say anything back or even argue with the correctness of it, Sanika called me into the balcony to see the moon. While we were watching it together, she came up with this:

“Mamma, there is only one moon. There are many stars. There are many airplanes. There are many trees. There is only one Mamma.” I was speechless and could do nothing other than giving her a big, tight, emotional hug that she soon scrambled out of.

Oh dear, what have I done to deserve such a loving family? Is this was families are for? Loving you and supporting you when all you’ve done is behaved in the worst possible way?

The day’s surprises were not over yet. My husband had been reading ‘Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul’ and pointed this out to me:

I’m Okay

The house is a mess, the dishes are dirty.
I’m too old for this stuff, I’m well over thirty!
The car is not clean, my hair is a wreck,
And I’ve already spent next Friday’s paycheck.

The laundry needs washing, the kids are too rowdy,
And I never have time for a leisurely “Howdy.”
With all that I do, it’s never enough,
It’s never quite finished, it always looks rough.

I looked in my mirror and what did I see?
A harried old stranger, where I used to be.
The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.
Today is tomorrow, and I’m not caught up yet.

My kids are growing at such a fast pace,
That I’m missing their childhood for the sake of this race.
I work and I clean and I cook, and I say
“Hit the books, clean your room!” there’s no time for play.

Well, the Lord, for some reason, chose ME with the care
Of three of His children, but I’m rarely there!
I’ve GOT to slow down lest there’s nothing to show
For my role as their mom when they pack up and go!

I’m only one person, but look through my door,
What appears to be one, divides into more!
I’m a chauffeur, a cook, a planter of trees,
A teacher, an umpire, a mender of knees.

Sometimes, I forget that deep down inside,
There’s a lady with feelings, and last night, she cried.
She gets tired and lonely, feels taken for granted
She wants to see blooms from the seeds that she’s planted.

Then, amidst all the turmoil in this mind-bending pace,
My little ones look at me - square in the face…
And just when I need it, they all in one day
Say, “Momma, I love you” and then…I’m OKAY!

by Rabona Gordon

And he did not even know what had passed between my daughter and me in the balcony a few minutes ago. I could contain myself no longer and burst into tears after reading it. And my dear, dear husband was ready to comfort me, already prepared that something like this would happen. He knows me too well, I guess.

I am so blessed to have a family that loves me for whatever and however I am!

What a lovely way to start your special day! Rohit knows just what his wife would love to do on her birthday. So, DH and my adorable daughter presented me with a bunch of my favorite flowers - Carnations - and I spent a lovely time arranging them in a simple, yet lovely fashion.

Starting with trimming the stem lengths, I took a different route to arranging them. Since the vase was slender enough to hold them beautifully without the need for floral foam or a frog, I first arranged the little posy in my hands mixing the gorgeous yellow and pink blossoms. Adding some ferns for greenery (not that much was required anyways), I slid the entire arrangement into the water-filled vase.

And there it lies on my table to make me happy all day. A classic example of how the simplest arrangements can be the sweetest. A lovely mix of color and healthy blooms can do away with the need for complex flower arranging methods, tools and a whole lot of time.

Leprechaun Hats Decorative Accents

Easy to make and quick to assemble, these cute decorations will perk up any surface or corner you choose to decorate them with. Click on the image for instructions.

Shamrocks, shamrocks everywhere! These easy cards took me just about 15 minutes to make and did not require a hoard of crafting supplies to make. Click on the cards for instructions:

Your Valentine’s Day heart punch comes to use here. Punch out little green hearts and glue together 3 or 4 to make shamrocks. Easy!

Same way of making the shamrock, but the only difference is that 3 heart cutouts are used since this is a large shamrock. I usually have an assortment of basic shapes in different color but I ran out of green heart shapes and hence had to use poster color to make white heart die-cuts green. Again, when searching in my sewing box for matching floss or yarn to use, I could find none to match the exact color. So the poster colors came to my rescue again. I trimmed the yarn and then painted it with the same color.

Making handmade cards for men is always thought to include stickers and die-cuts shaped in weird shapes like tools, trucks and gizmos. Give me a break! Just because it’s a man you are making a card for does not mean you have to make the card look like the front of a hardware shop. It’s their birthday and whoever said men don’t appreciate beauty!? Well, some of you might agree with me and some wont, but anyways, how do you like this card I made for my BIL?

The brown card stock gives it a rich feel and the pretty blue contrasts so beautifully. The daisies give it a touch of daintiness without being overbearing. All in all, it looks like a cheerful, no-nonsense card. The card is on its way to my BIL who is in London and I hope he likes it.

And that reminds me - I should soon send out Nat’s Easter card for she too is in the UK and I don’t want to be late.