Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 30th birthday! I thought I'd write a post about my mom, because she's so awesome and deserves to be recognized for all her hard work.

As the oldest of four kids, it's thanks to me that my mom became a mom (you're welcome!) And since I was such a fabulous child, she decided to have three more great kids. I'm sure being a mom isn't an easy job, and when I become one I'll probably wonder how my mom managed to take care of four kids and not go insane.

Here are some of the memories I have with my mom:

-My parents might not believe this, but I remember when Mom and Dad told me that I was going to be a big sister. I was playing in my room and they came in, and Mom said she had something very exciting to tell me. So naturally, I was VERY excited. Mom said "You're going to be a big sister!" And I said "That's it?" I remember being very disappointed with this "boring" news.

-Playing dress up with the costumes she wore during her teenage years as a ballet dancer. I feel guilty for probably ripping those outfits to shreds, I wore them so often, but she always let me. I'm sure it was funny for her to see a 5 year old prancing around the house in a leotard much too big for her. 

-Up until I was in high school, Mom handmade almost every single Halloween costume for Sarah and I. We always got to decide what we wanted to be, and we could look through the pattern books with her if we wanted, but I usually didn't have the attention span for that.

-My mom working long hours to make me a prom dress my junior year of high school. We spent lots of time looking through pattern books at Joanns, and picking out fabric. To this day, I like looking at photos from that year of prom and knowing that my dress is one of a kind: the sleeves of the dress are from one pattern, and the main body of the dress another. I learned later on that making clothes together was something my mom always did with my Nana, and it was neat getting to experience that with her as well.

-Watching my mom and Alex play "Just Dance" on the Wii, and recording it on my phone. That video made GREAT blackmail material for a while!

-our road trip up to Idaho in September of 2013, just the two of us, so we could get me settled in for my first semester at BYU-Idaho. Saying goodbye that day was very hard, since it was the first time I'd be away from my mom for longer than a week at church Girl's Camp.

-Laughing with her and William at funny pictures or videos we would find online. I love making my mom laugh, so I probably spent more time than I should trying to find something that would give her the giggles.

-Going wedding dress shopping for my wedding. I'd given up on finding anything modest in California and figured we'd just have to shop in Utah, when Mom found a place 3 hours away from our home that had dresses. We drove out there and found my dress! And drove back again to pick it up a month before the wedding.

Some other things about my mom...

She supported my love of reading. I was almost always curled up with a book in my room, and she rarely tried to pull me away and get me to do "something else." She would drive me to the library before I got my license, or get me gift cards for a bookstore on holidays. Now, when she needs a book recommendation, she usually comes to me! So I think it worked out well for her in the end ;)

She was never embarrassing when I brought a boy home. She wasn't that mom who would whip out the horrible naked baby photos or start talking about a horrific memory from my childhood when I brought someone home; she was always welcoming and polite, and usually cracked a joke or two to make the guy laugh.

She treated me like an adult, once I was old enough. I can't remember ever thinking that she was treating me like I was a baby and never let me do anything fun; she always believed I was responsible enough to make my own decisions.

My mom is awesome.

Happy Birthday, Mom!