So Michael got me a new phone after my old one died last week. Same phone number but unfortunately I lost all my contacts so if anyone wants to send me their information, please do. He changed the settings before he gave it to me so that it wouldn’t say “Sent from my I-Phone” when I email. He did that on his phone a long time ago because he thinks it’s pretentious. What kind of person does he think I am? Some crazy lady who just would go around sending emails from my phone just so people think my husband really loves me? It’s almost as bad as being a mommy bragging blogger who would really write about something so frivolous.

I read a LDS Living email today and looked for my name on the list of LDS women who were chosen to be Mother of Year in their respective states. I was sad to see my name wasn’t on it. They obviously don’t know about how I’ve organized all four of my children's clothes in the cupboards in the laundry room so that I could overcome my habit of nagging and yelling at them to clean up all the clothes laying around their rooms. They obviously didn't notice how patient I try to be every single time Gracie lays on me putting her nose on mine and asks if she can hold me. They must have only seen me letting Ryan go to bed with a bottle and not noticed when I was sneaking flaxseeds into the brown rice and black beans. They must have only seen Jonathan pushing other kids in nursery and not noticed how he folds his arms throughout all of church now, and opens doors for old ladies. They must not have noticed the way he covered part of the picture in the Target ad where the two women were dressed in swimsuits when asking for a backyard pool. They must have only seen Gracie and James jumping on the bed this morning and not realized that they actually made all the beds in the house to help me out before jumping on them. I was already feeling like a nobody after church yesterday and the week before. I was trying to unsuccessfully get Ryan to nap during both Sunday School and Relief Society and found myself being the third wheel as two awesome working mothers ditched out on class to do a little networking and talk about their successful businesses and what celebrities they’ve gotten to use their baby bags and baby wraps. The week before the entire Relief Society lesson on Mother's Day was about women who work or want to be working and no one said anything about moms. The least they could have done is inform us that there are Mother of the Year Awards we can aspire to...

P.S. I'm mostly joking in this entire post. I don't mind not being Mother of the Year at all and think it is actually a good thing that these mothers are recognized. I love Gracie's nose to nose attention and affectionate nature. Twenty hugs in one hour can be a lot but I secretly like it and wouldn't have it any other way. ;)