Hand over that Mother of the Year award now, please!

Did you have a happy Mother's Day? I did. I think my brain was set to hey-whatever-it's-mother's-day since about Thursday. I threw caution to the wind and went a teensy bit nut-so in the shopping/being social department. And in the being-an-upstanding-parent department, too. I have a lot of on-topic posts planned for this week. First three quick stories about my lack of parenting skills, then I'll share what's in store!

First, Friday evening, my friend Kim visited and we drank a glass of wine on my front porch. Luke went into the fenced-in, generally-very-safe backyard to ride his bike. I figured he would only go back there for a minute or two, because he typically loves being where the action is. A few minutes passed -- I called back to see what he was doing. Picking up sticks, Mama. Putting pretend gas in his bike. A few more minutes passed. I careened to look back there. I saw him standing next to something that looked... strange. Something skinny hanging -- from the fence? The tree? I wasn't sure. I walked back to get a better look, and yelled "Luke! What is that?" He picked it up and gave it a good shake. "It's some kind of stick!" He yelled, just as I realized what it actually was -- a fallen power or cable line. YES, MY CHILD WAS PLAYING WITH A FALLEN WIRE. Commence freak out. Thank God it was just a cable line. How was I to know? Lesson learned: maybe not so good to let your 2-year-old play alone in the backyard even if you are watching and checking every minute or so from the front porch.

Then, Saturday, I went to a birthday party at a terrific restaurant and brewpub in Detroit called The Traffic Jam and Snug. There were about 30 people there, almost all of whom I know well. So when the brewmaster guy came and offered us a tour of the brewery and cheese-making area, I was like, "Sure!" And without a single thought, I left J.J., asleep in his car seat, and wandered away to go see where cheese and beer are birthed. My friend Nikki caught up to me in the back and was like, "Lady, you left your baby out there!" I had totally forgotten he was there. Hello, Mom of the Year, here! (Also, shhh, but the cheese back there was worth it.)

Finally, I returned home from shopping with Kim on Sunday. I took my purse out of the car, grabbed a shopping bag, then paused and thought... isn't there something else I am supposed to get out of here? I opened the back of my car, where I keep my stroller, perplexed. Nope, nothing there. So I started to walk inside. My husband, who was thank God standing on the porch talking to me, then said, "Don't worry honey, I'll get J.J. and bring him in." Ding ding ding! Small helpless child! Sitting in the backseat! Forgotten twice in two days! Eek!

Did any of you nearly kill or loose your kids this weekend? Or just me? I think I need a nice, slow day of nothing to get my brain back on straight. Ei yi yi!

That's my plan for today. And while I straighten up, I thought I'd give a sneak peek of some goodies that will be coming on the blog later this week.

Like I mentioned, I did some shopping this weekend. I'm going to share my haul, including the Mom2Mom loot I rounded up, plus a peek at the brand new Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. Did I buy handmade goods? Why yes, of course.

I have to share this recipe! My husband made me a delicious Mother's Day breakfast, all by himself, seriously, from scratch, I can't believe he did it, but by golly he did. It was tasty, and I'll share the recipe for the Strawberry Rhubarb Compote that topped these pancakes with you!

And of course, this is a blog about sewing. So yes, there was sewing. I have a post coming about how I turned a year-old pile of fabric scraps...

...into my new favorite spring walking bag!

I'll have a full tutorial for you later this week!

Hope your Mother's Day was as wonderful as mine, and that all your kids were as forgiving to you as mine are!

These two little survivors still seem to love me. Lucky me!