BigBrother brought home a little “All About My Mom” kind of book from school for Mother’s Day. He answered the questions or finished the statements on each page about me. My oldest son? He’s a smart kid. The end of the statement, “My mother looks prettiest when…” …?

“ALL THE TIMME.”

Smartest. Kid. Ever. Sign him up for MENSA. He wins at being six.

Today my boys loved on me. We colored, ate some food, watched some kids sing a song, read some books. They let me nap for 30 minutes this evening, which made me feel human again.

Of course, they also had to love on FireDad who turned 30 today.

We actually celebrated his birthday on Friday since he doesn’t like to share his day. Okay, it’s not that he doesn’t like to share. Today he made me breakfast and doted on me, so we wanted to make sure he got doted on at some point close to his birthday.

As a birthday present to him, some teenage girl working at the drive-thru when we picked up our iced tea did a double-take, googly-eyed, total check out of his 30-year-old self. As we drove away, he exclaimed, “I still got it!”

Yes you do, my handsome husband. Happy birthday. Welcome to your 30′s. They’re kinda awesome.

And now I’m offering you, my readers, a chance to win five books on Mother’s Day! FIVE!

That’s right. Five books. For you. They include: Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop (which was reviewed by the SV Moms Group recently), God Never Blinks by Regina Brett, Heart of My Heart by Kristin Armstrong, The Cradle by Patrick Somerville and Roses by Leila Meacham.

I agreed to run this giveaway, partnering up with Hachette Book Group USA, because I love books. I think books can change things for people. I know that certain books, like the one we’re currently reading for the Open Adoption Book Tour, have changed how I view myself and my situation(s). As I said above, Mother’s Day is hard for me. I don’t know if that will ever change for me, though I assume some years might be easier than others. What I do know, however, is that I can make some other mom’s day by letting her know that she won five books! I’m a giver. When other people are happy, I’m happy. I could probably use some happiness on Sunday! So, here we go!

Mandatory Entry:

Comment on this post with a thought about mothering. It doesn’t have to be about Mother’s Day, just about mothering in general. The ups, the downs, the omgz!, the challenges, the triumphs. Hit me. Make me cry. Make me laugh. You may leave one comment of this nature.

After you complete the above mandatory entry, you can complete any of these additional entries. Please remember to leave a comment for each additional entry so that I may count them properly. Example: if you tweet, leave a comment elsewhere and write a blog post about it, you would leave me three separate comments (in addition to your one above) telling me about each step. Questions? Email me.

1. Follow me on twitter, @FireMom, and tweet: RT @FireMom Win 5 books for yourself this Mother’s Day! http://bit.ly/cdgq1x . If you’re already following me on twitter, keep on doing so and tweet the above message! It still counts!

2. Follow @HachetteBooks on twitter.

3. Blog about this giveaway on your public blog. Link to this blog post in your post.

4. Visit this BlogHer post and comment about which book was your favorite, thus donating a book to a child in need.

5. Share a link to this giveaway on any social networking site. Just let me know which ones in an individual comment for each separate site!

This giveaway is live through 7:30pm on Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010. At that point, I will hit random.org, pull a winner and contact that winner via email. The winner has 24 hours to reply with their shipping information or I will pull an alternate winner. Books will be shipped directly from Hachette Book Group USA (though it would help me greatly if you let me know when you receive your books!). If the winner is a blogger (she doesn’t have to be), I’ll make sure to link to her blog on the announcement post on Monday, May 10, 2010. Free books. Free links. Free awesomesauce.

Now get to commenting. And, really, please try to have a decent Mother’s Day. I’ll try if you do, okay?

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[Disclosure: I received a copy of the books in exchange for this giveaway. I received no other compensation, other than the joy of reading your mothering comments and knowing that someone else got to be happy on Mother's Day. That's all the compensation I needed!]

I got to spend the day with these two guys.

(Who have grown considerably since last year. See?)

To boot, my husband got me a beautiful card, signed by both boys as well. D and the Munchkin called to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. And BigBrother gave me the following gift, made at preschool.

And, on Saturday evening, after I cut up LittleBrother’s food at supper, he said the following, combining two separate thoughts for the first time.

“Tank oo, Mummy!”

No, thank you, Bubba.

I know that I am so very blessed. I have three living, breathing children who were all able to show me love in their own ways. I have a husband who values what I do for this family. I have a Mom who told me a few weeks ago that she thinks I’m an amazing mom. I have a mother-in-law who came over today to let me take a nap. And so, today, despite underlying issues, I am thankful for the highs and lows. They have made me who I am today.

They have made me the Mother that I am today.

But BigBrother put it best. He said, and I quote, “Happy ‘Nother’s Day.” Yes, it was just another day. One that makes me smile. I did have a photo shoot with the boys. This sums up BigBrother’s attitude by the end of it. Which makes me smile even more. I love these two. (Of note: We chose this location so Munchkin’s photo on the table next to us could be included.) (Also? Spot the Redbook!)

If you’re wondering what my loving Husband and awesome boys got me for Mother’s Day, well, it’s the necklace I’ve been longing for since before BigBrother was even conceived. It’s the Lenox Mother’s Little Gems Pendant. I couldn’t get it until we completed our family as you can’t add more gems later. And, in case you didn’t know, no, we’re not having any more children. (Maybe more on that someday. Not today.) And so, I was finally able to ask for it for Mother’s Day. My Husband is Awesome, of course, and got it for me. He, of course, added all of my living children and so it features my birthstone on top (April) and one December (Munchkin) and two November (Big and Little Brothers). They are the contemporary birthstones, not traditional, so it may look confusing at first. But I think it looks lovely.

Isn’t it lovely? Yes. Yes it is. I am SO blessed to three amazing children. I have spent the entire day, despite some emotional issues, thanking God for the blessings in my life. No, things aren’t perfect. Did I mention that this past Friday BigBrother peed on my leg? But I’m learning, albeit rather slowly, that no family is perfect.

But sometimes, in those still small moments when I’m rocking LittleBrother to sleep or when BigBrother tells me to have a “Happy ‘Nother Day” or when the Munchkin calls to tell me that she loves me, well, it feels pretty darn close to perfect.

Happy Mother’s Day. Or, if you’d rather, “Happy ‘Nother Day.”

The picture belongs to Ceece! We decided on this one because of the composition, the colors and, hey, those kids are flipping cute! Congratulations to Ceece. We’ll be mailing your pink Cruzer Gator tomorrow (with some Mother’s Day cards that I didn’t get sent off in time…).

The following pictures and stories are four (of each, so eight) of our favorites. We want to thank everyone for joining in the fun. I’ve decided to put a cut to save the entire length of my blog page. Please click below to read and view all of the Mother’s Day favorites that were entered into our contests!

Picture by Laurie H. Story by Andy: October 6, 1970.

The woman waited in the chair, in awe at what was about to happen. Her dream was about to come true. The journey to this day had been long and bumpy, but now that it was here, all of that was forgotten. She looked over at her husband, trying to read his thoughts, but his face was a stoic mask, revealing no clues to what he might be going through.

The door opened and a woman entered carrying a file folder. It looked too thin. How could those few pieces of paper change so many lives? As she sat down and introduced herself she opened the file, pulled out a paper and began to read it to them. The woman frantically grabbed her purse and pulled out a pen and scrap of paper. She didn’t want to miss a thing, information that may be lost forever after this day. It was too important. She managed to write it all down, illegible to anyone but her, but that didn’t matter. She had it. She could type it up later.

Then suddenly it was time. She was no longer sure that her legs could carry her, and she leaned on her husband for support. They walked out of the office and into another more comfortable room . A stranger stood with her back to them, looking out the window, pacing slowly. When the stranger heard them come in, she turned around to greet them. In her arms was the most amazing baby the woman had ever seen. Because this baby was about to become the woman’s daughter. The stranger, a social worker from Children’s Aid, reached out and handed the woman the baby. And at that moment, the woman became a mother.

I am the baby of this story, adopted by my parents at 6 weeks old. For me, one of my mother’s most defining moments of motherhood was when she realized the importance of the information that the social worker was sharing with them about my first family. My mother was not so caught up in the excitement of her dream coming true that she forgot about the other people involved. She typed up the information she had and it was pasted in the front of my baby book. In a time of closed adoptions, when adoptive parents were often told to just move on, treat her as if she were born to you, don’t worry about the past, my mother had the insight to think that one day I would want to know why I had brown eyes and was taller then every one around me. She knew that the clues might help me find my first mother one day. She was not threatened by this, but embraced my beginnings as a part of me.

Photo by Ellie Mae. Story by Coco. YThe first night in the hospital after Bean was born was my big defining moment. I’d been in labor for 36 hours, rushed into an emergency C-Section, was just getting my legs back from the epidural, still had a catheter in, and was chock-full o’Percocet. I felt like I’d been in a 12 round prize fight and I was dying for sleep, but I couldn’t. I was afraid something would go wrong. I stared at my son, a little bit away from me in his bassinet, sleeping swaddled in a hospital blanket.

Then Tiny Bean woke up. He started to cry. And I dragged myself up and hauled the bassinet next to my bed. I picked up my new baby. I nursed him and he quieted, safe and warm next to my skin. It was dark and we were alone together, he and I, as his daddy slept.

“It’s OK,” I soothed, kissing his tiny fingers, “Mommy’s got you.”

That’s when it hit me that I was, indeed, a mommy. His mommy.

Photo by Angewa. Story by cheryl. I am the very proud mother of an 11 yr old boy. Last year was my first year being a noncustodial parent. Please don’t judge me. I gave up the fight so that he could live in the house I grew up and continue his piano and theatre and attend the same school.
It is very difficult not being with him every day, he is my life. He is with me frequently yet never enough. At times, I wished for peace and quiet and now I count the days to hear running in the house and the piano being played.

Love them, appreciate them, never take your child for granted.

It would have been very easy to give up on life. I cannot give up on him. I will not give up on being his mom for the rest of his life; however I can.

FireMom addition: Cheryl; no one on this blog, in this household, is going to judge you. There’s a reason why your story is placed with the photo I chose. Bless you and your family. Same to you, Ang!)

Photo by Jenny. Story by call_me_ps! On a cold day in March of 1999, I sat in uncomfortable silence in the front seat of the car, a precocious, beautiful blonde child in her carseat behind me. My then-boyfriend had gone inside a store for some long-forgotten errand, and we were waiting for him to come out. Finally, I turned to look at the blonde child, swallowing my nerves, and said, “Hi Kennedy!”

She glared coldly back at me, and in the most commanding voice I’d ever heard a 2-year-old use told me in no uncertain terms, “You can’t be my mother!”

Fast forward to another cold day in March. This time, it’s 2008. My 2-year-old daughter glares at her 11-year-old stepsister who is cuddling on my lap and declares, “That’s MY Mommy!”

The 11-year-old, still blonde, but no longer the chubby-cheeked little girl from 9 years before, glares back at her little sister. “You’re going to have to share!” she retorts, snuggling in closer and giving me a hug.

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To all my participants, photo or story, I thank you. I bet that your photos and stories will brighten others experience today.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

My daughter takes my breath away every single day. We tried for two years to have her, and we were beginning to worry that it would never happen. With all we went through to get her, I would get frustrated sometimes and once, I grumbled that the baby we were trying for had better be the “best kid ever”. Now, when my husband and I watch her learning new things every day and when she clings to us and pats us on the shoulder because she’s so excited to see us… we know that indeed, she IS the best baby ever!

Kisha? I’ve so been there, so said it, so felt it. And my guess is that the rest of my readers (moms and dads alike) know exactly where you’re coming from! I hope you have a fabulous Mother’s Day. (And, from the looks of the ticker on your LJ, some precious little girl has a first birthday coming up, no? WOOHOO!) Enjoy that as well!

And for the rest of my readers, especially those that entered the photo contest, I need you to come back on Sunday. That’s right. I’m going to make you wait. Sweat it out. Bite your nails. Because I know you have nothing more important going on all weekend then to wait to find out if you won my contest. (Ha!) But really, I want FireDad to help me pick the winning photo, four other photos and the five stories to include in our SUPER FABULOUS MOTHER’S DAY POST EXTRAVAGANZA! (I just made the name up on the fly. Like it?) And FireDad is actually at work through tomorrow morning. So, I’ll be picking the other winner and making the post with all of my favorites on Sunday in celebration of all of our entrants and all of the mothers who read this blog and, really, mothers everywhere. See? EXTRAVAGANZA!

Kisha, I’ll drop your red Cruzer Gator in the mail tomorrow. (Today is impossible as FireDad is at work and I’m home alone with both boys and will be for a total of 36 hours by the time he gets home tomorrow morning… oh, goodness.) For the photo winner, yet to be announced, yours will be dropped in the mail on Monday morning!

Oh, and, well, maybe tomorrow I might write a post about how this weekend makes me feel. But I really wouldn’t bet your home on it. This is just a hard time for me in general and the ability to focus on others via this contest and giveaway has helped me deal with (and/or avoid) my own emotions in a much calmer fashion. So, thank you, dear Blog Friends and Readers, for helping me get through this difficult time.