I came across an interesting tidbit in our school newsletter.

Did you know that May is…

• National Asparagus Month
• National Barbecue Month
• National Egg Month
• National Hamburger Month
• National Salad Month
• National Salsa Month
• National Strawberry Month

Why is this important? Because it constitutes the shopping list anytime I’m not sure what to make for dinner. And why is that important? Because May also happens to be the month to celebrate Amy’s birthday.

I’ve long maintained that a person’s favorite season of the year is closely tied to the month he was born in. I was born in November and my favorite season is winter. Amy was born in May and her favorite season is summer. The same correlation seems to hold for our children as well.

Now let’s extend that theory to food. Assuming that these foods are assigned to the month of May because of their availability at that time of year, it makes sense that they would be among Amy’s favorites.

I quite simply can’t strike out when I bring home a bag of groceries loaded with the necessities for hamburgers on the grill, sauteed asparagus, and sliced strawberries. And she certainly wouldn’t reject the addition of a fresh salad or chips and salsa to her meal (margarita optional). My dinner entertainment is her at my side doing a happy dance in her chair. She makes me want to cook like this for her every night. When Mama is happy, everybody’s happy!

I’m sitting here on the couch beside the love of my life as she nurses our nineteen-month-old. She leans over and sings to me, “I have a baby!” and cuddles him even closer.

It was a busy day. We began it with three children and finished with six.

I got Z-Man dressed and ready and she changed Little Guy out of his diaper and into his church clothes. Each of them fought for his turn on her lap during the sermon.

Jo-Bear was away at a camp-out Friday night and Saturday. He met us after church smelling of the woods and campfire. She sent him to the shower as soon as we got him home. Later when he complained about an upset stomach she knew that he was over tired and just needed a nap.

Angel Face lost her sunglasses at the band festival yesterday. Mom made sure we got out to the mall to replace them in time for next weekend’s trip to Chicago. She gave her all the time she needed to pick out a pair that looked as good as the old ones.

College Boy drove up at supper time. He’s home for the summer with all his belongings. Tears came to her eyes as she watched him fill our living room with all his junk. “My baby’s home,” she whispered. An hour later he was off to his friend’s house.

Princess walked into an already chaotic house. Mom hugged her and welcomed her back despite all that was going on. Princess couldn’t wait to share everything about last night’s prom and sleepover.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mom for my children. I don’t know how she does it but she does. She brings us all together into a home. She gives me greater respect for mom’s everywhere. Happy Mother’s Day!

Is it okay to start a blog post with a primal scream? How about a primal groan? Or maybe a primal cry of agony?

With all due respect to Charlie Brown, ARRRRGGGHHHHH!

Maybe it wasn’t that bad and maybe it’s really too early to complain because the accountant hasn’t finished our return yet, but on Monday (April 7) I finally decided to get our tax information together. Decided is probably too strong a word. More like I had the dreaded surprise realization that I had to get it together.

Despite a week of Spring break and another day and a half tacked on for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, I hadn’t even started to complete the nice little packet the accountant sent us in January. And I had finally procrastinated long enough that I figured I could file for an extension and procrastinate even longer–even as I read this, I really still like this plan. So at 6AM Monday morning I went out to the IRS website to figure out how to file an extension and had one of those AHA! moments. I was screwed! With Amy’s in-home family childcare and web based business I would have had to do as much work to file the extension as I would to have the accountant put the return together. Time to drop everything and crunch some numbers!

And it really wasn’t all that bad. Sure I didn’t scour all the uncategorized payments in Quicken to get every last penny of business expenses or itemized deductions, but with very little effort, I did come up with more than I had the previous year. I stopped by last night on my way to grad class to give him the envelope and we’ll see just how good our tax preparer really is. Throw in our economic stimulus payment and I’ll be happy if we break even but I’m sure Uncle Sam will have something to say about that!