under her wing.

i hang out with same 5 boys every single day. it is grand. all of these boys mention their mothers. so much so, that the phrase "under mother's wing" has become as much of a commonality as "i hate the lakers" (and we say that a lot). what can i say, we just love our moms.

did you know that a stay at home mom's tasks have a monetary value of over $140,000.00 A YEAR?!?! she is on call 24/7 for the rest of her family's lives (stops at 18?? please...we are all 25...). the typical mom,

*cooks

*cleans

*detangles hair and getsthe gum out in the earlier years

*chauffeurs (school, seminary, sports, mutual, hangouts, mall trips, rides when you just need to talk)

*reads books after dinner

*budgets

*kills bugs

*disciplines (and manages to withhold from punching her kids when they are driving her crazy)

*loves

*launders (can only imagine the kind of stains a mom sees in her lifetime)

*teaches

*plays santa, easter bunny, st. nick, tooth fairy, leprechaun, cupid, etc

*sings lullaby's 

*sews buttons (patches, jeans, dresses, and everything else)

*landscape

*pulls out ticks (ah the lovely tick routine, thank you missouri)

*grocery shops

*protects

*house breaks

*plays

*outfits

and if you are nancy, you do all of this AND manage to:

*have a million church callings at a stake level.

*play sports (real or made up)

*sew dress up clothes

*braid, curl, die, perm (it was the 90's) hair

*teach your daughters to cook

*print off lyrics of songs for your kids so they can sing the titanic song over and over again

*be the "cool mom" at girl's camp

*be a nurse

*record all your kids' favorite tv shows (this was back with the vcr thing...)

*wash your kid's mouth out with soap when you swear

*go on missions

*stay up all night reading legal documents to my dad
*do genealogy

*text "LOL", facebook, skype, gchat, email, and blog

*be the best Nana in the world

*go to the temple

*hike pikes peak

*keep a journal

*teach your kids to love the beatles

*read books
*date your husband

*insist on family dinner every night, no matter work, school, sport or social schedules

*remember everything that each child will and will not eat

*perform countless acts of service for others

*be a personal assistant 

*alter your prom dresses to be modest

* admit when she is wrong

and one of the most important characteristics and jobs that my mother has down: she loves her heavenly father and serves Him in everything way. she puts her family first. almost any good choice that i make, i have to credit to my mama. not because she has ever forced me to be a certain way. throughout the years, she has really come to terms that i am a different kind of girl. that i am much more boyish and abrasive than my sisters, that i am much more sensitive on certain subjects than necessary, that i am fickle and sometimes irresponsible. but she has taught me well and loved me the best that she can. her life has shown me the way to true, everlasting joy.