We - up until this year - have never made a big fuss over Mother's Day. I always found it was a $$$ holiday, so the kids used to give me cards or something selfmade.This year though ... I don't know what happened. DS (20) supposedly ran all over town with girlfriend and came up with ... a huge poster of Venice (I am from Europe and of all places I have been, I like Italy the least, and within Italy, Venice is the "winner". I had a very bad experience there, it's been talked about with my family). Besides it is a very drab style (raining?) that I don't like, I paint impressionistic pictures with bright colors.
DD (17) gave me a beautiful wooden flower and an all natural bar of eucalyptus soap. I am very allergic to eukalyptus - not a secret around here, either.
DH called me a b#$ch because I wasn't faking being thrilled with the poster ... I'm thinking, the kids are old enough to consider the likes and dislikes of the gift receiver. What do you guys think?

Thats why every year I go out and pick up my own gifts(at every holiday) and give to DH to give to the kids to give me. We all have very different tastes at my house. This way I know I like what I'm getting

And that is why I like gifts of service. Last Mother's Day, all 4 of my nearly grown kids came to the house and took apart all the windows on the front of the house. They're the old fashioned storms that are heavy and cumbersome and hadn't been washed in years. They spent the afternoon cleaning windows - insides and outsides, putting them back together, calking them and were so proud when they were done.

As I sit here typing, one of my sons is installing carpet squares in my front hall. He got them from a job he helped a friend with so they cost nothing but to have him out there slaving away installing them is priceless. My daughter is going to paint the trim in the hall and one other son is sanding and staining a large oval table we have on the deck. These are gifts that last more than just one day.

BUT you have to ask for this stuff to be done. And be specific. They'd probably all rather just go to the mall and buy me a sweater or something but I won't let them get off that easy. Hubby and I aren't getting any younger and my kids need to know how good it feels to do for someone else.

Stepping off my soapbox now.

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I would never call you a b (and I certainly would not appreciate if my husband called me that) but I think first and foremost it's the thought that counts and I would at least have considered the time, thought and effort behind the gift. For at least today, I would have faked it, to spare my child's feelings.

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l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

if i thought they put time in it and just messed up, i'd fake it.

if i thought they bought the first thing they came across to get out of taking the time to shop, i wouldnt.

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rhapsody112@gmail.com

If they were little, I would have fussed over it and pretended to be thrilled.

But at their ages, and you say they are well aware of your likes and allergies. then to be honest I would have been pretty ticked at their thoughtlessness. I wouldn't have argued with them, but I would not have pretended to like the gifts either. And what your husband said is inexcusable. He owes you an apology.

Well, my husband was going to buy me a dvr but I put a stop to it because we have on-demand cable and it seems worthless to spend the extra $$ when we are saving to buy a new vehicle so he got upset with me and said alright, what do you want? I said, let's go to k-mart and I can pick out a pair of diamond earrings (they were on sale 75% off yesterday) and I could have knocked him over with a feather. As many hints as I gave him on Friday he didn't get the hint so I flat out told him I wanted diamond earrings (I had a pair but one was washed down the drain during a shower cause I rarely took them out and I loved them dearly but was so upset when I lost one!). Anyway, today my husband cooked a brunch of cinnamon and vanilla muffins with sausage and grape juice...it was yummy!

We went to his parents for dinner...a honeybaked ham we bought them from the deal on the lwif board. That was out of this world! My mother in law had the flowers we bought her on display and I also had my son give her a candle that said God can't be everywhere therefore he created mothers. She loved it (or at least she pretended to). She was super stoked there was a lot of meat left on her ham bone because I also got her the ham bone soup mix from hbh. She then gave me my gift...a hallmark plate that had a mom playing on the beach with her little boy that said "mother's day 2004" the funny part of this was she bought it as a joke (cause I am always bragging about my gift costs) and the box even said in her handwriting "90% off clearance" but I said ooohhh...it's the first year I became a mom...too funny...she wasn't even going for sentiments! Anyway, she also got me a $20 CVS gift card. My fil said why in the he!! did you buy that for her? My husband piped up and said, well, she can sometimes go into CVS and spend $90 but pay $3 out of pocket so that gift card will last her a really long time! Plus, we are stockpiling diapers for baby #2 on the way so that will also come in handy!

Oh, I almost forgot...my ds (2.5) went outside and picked a handful of wild violets for me and came back inside and said "happy mother's day, mommy" I think it was all prompted from my husband but it was really sweet!

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I agree. If my kids went through the trouble of getting me a gift, even if I didn't like it, they would never know. But that's me.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

I have to agree with this. Heck if my hubby gets me a gift, he doesn't even know if I don't like it.

I was always taught that it was the thought that counts.

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

I don't think dh should have called you what he did, but if he's at all protective of the kids... I understand where it's coming from. I'm from the school of thinking that it's the thought that counts. Even if you didn't get something you wanted or even liked.. you should be thankful you got anything at all. A lot of mothers don't.

No gift is a bad gift. I never have/never will complain about a gift.

Well, my son is just under a year so he was too little to do anything for me. That being said, I don't need a gift. I would prefer some hand-picked flowers or something like that. My husband didn't acknowledge the holiday at all. I saw him for two minutes in between our jobs . . . He has never been one to acknowledge holidays or birthdays. I knew that when I married him, but now I wish it wasn't so. It's nice to feel special once in awhile . . .