Annabel’s preschool teachers prepped her class for Mother’s Day for weeks. Annie would come home and say, “Mommy, we made stuff at school but I can’t tell you about it but it’s for Mother’s Day.” Got it, kiddo. The preschool’s Mother’s Day Tea was last week, and Annie jumped out of bed like it was Christmas. On the drive to school, Annie kept saying things like, “Oh my gosh, Mommy, I can’t wait to sing you the songs we learned…I MEAN NO IT’S A SURPRISE!” When I dropped her off with the promise I’d return a few hours later for the tea, she said, “Okay! I will have so many presents for you!”

I was really excited for the tea. I love this stuff and was fully prepared to cry through the whole thing since I’ve cried during both of Annie’s dance recitals. When I arrived, all the kids were standing together and Annie had a funny look on her face.

cute smile

When I asked her about it later, she told me, “I saw all the grown ups and I gave them my Cute Smile, because I wanted them to see me and say, ‘Oh that girl is very smart.'”

…okay.

After all the moms and grandmas were assembled, the kids broke into song, and I was way too busy laughing to get teary. The first song was, “My mother has a special name, it’s M-O-M-M-Y…” (to the tune of the Oscar Mayer Bologna song). Half the kids sang, half stood there stone-faced, and Annabel sang in the back and added dance moves. The second song was spelling out MOMMY to the tune of BINGO, and I felt for the quiet kids because spelling is hard. Annie still danced around in the back but added a few spins and jumps for good measure.

That concluded the performance portion of the tea, which was lucky because half the kids were crumbling under the pressure of standing in one place. Each kid then presented their mom/gram/adult with a handmade card and present.

handmade mother's day

After I opened my gifts, Annie led me to a wall of Mommy questionnaires. They were all pretty hilarious.

why yes, I AM 25.

I was enjoying my gifts when Annie said, “MOMMY! I have to show you the best part!” And the best part to Annie was…Oreos.

photo 1.JPG

I really liked watching Annie in her element. I was so worried about her making friends at the beginning of the year, but it’s clear I had nothing to worry about. She walks around the class with confidence, which makes me happy. Of course, there are only a few weeks left of school, so I’ll be worrying about all of this again in the fall when she starts pre-k.

When it was time to leave Annie said, “WAIT, MOM. We have to take a picture under my favorite tree.” I agreed, and then cracked up when she couldn’t remember which tree was her favorite. She finally decided we should stand in the shade of all of the trees, “so no tree gets jealous.”

mother's day tea

She’s the best.