Jeremy Dieterich A Chronicle of My Life

(Yes, I am writing this very belatedly [June 2]...)

This Mother's Day was a particularly special one for us, as it was Marci's first as a mom.  To make it something special, I offered to have everybody over to our house so that I could cook for all the mothers -- Nana, Mom, Brenda, Mary, and Marci.  Of course, (thankfully, sometimes) things don't always turn out the way you plan: by the time Sunday arrived, everybody had offered to bring at least something to eat.  I tried my hand on the grill with sausage, bratwurst, Sean's Famous Potatoes, and hot dogs.  My little gas grill wasn't big enough, so I had to man our electric George Foreman grill at the same time.  I think that divided my attention a little much and caused me to "blacken" some things a little more than intended.  Still, for a first run on all of it (I'd never even grilled hot dogs before), I'd say it turned out fair.  We also had baked beans, wings, potato salad, and so much other stuff that I don't think I got to try everything.  Lots of good desserts as well -- Mary even took me up on my challenge of an "everything grilled" menu and made cookies that are supposed to be baked on the grill.  It might take some refinements to get them perfect, but they were pretty tasty for a first attempt.

In spite of some of my culinary mishaps, I think everybody had a good time and enjoyed the meal and sitting out on the deck enjoying one of the last really nice weekends before it gets super hot. 

To celebrate her day, I got Marci a Willow Tree figurine to remember her first Mother's Day:

She was also interested in doing a "belly casting" where you make a casting of your pregnant belly with plaster and then decorate and display it.  I'm not sure where we'll put it, but I got her the kit to make one.  She really does have a beautiful pregnant belly; the baby has been really good to her (still no stretch marks **knocks on wood**).