Mommy Appreciated (And how the Hubs redeemed himself)

Today was a nice day.  The best part of my day?  The Hubs gave me flowers.  (In ridiculously close second place: I got a nap!)

Now that I am a Mom, it is really easy to feel unappreciated (not that I need to feel appreciated… it is just nice, you know?).  I mean, I hang out all day with our ridiculously awesome son.  How hard can that be, right?  I can imagine how hard it is to fully grasp how exhausting it can be unless you are a stay-at-home-parent yourself.

Beyond just being a Mom, I am really working at being a good wife.  At this point, Cameron is dependant on myself and Dan, and so it is easy to put all my energy into just being his Mom.  I must make a conscious effort to move beyond my role as Cameron’s Mommy to my role as Dan’s wife.  Being married isn’t just a passive activity.  I recognize that I need to be working at it.

One of the main ways that I have been trying to show Dan how much he means to me is by making dinner most nights.  This is a MAJOR thing for me.  Dan used to be the cook in our relationship.  I hate cooking (only because most of my better attempts at it used to end up with me in tears).  I get frustrated from the get go because I can never figure out what to make.  Cooking dinner is nothing like baking cookies.  If you want cookies, you make cookies.  If you want dinner, you have to consider what protein to have, what veggies to use, etc.  It is a nightmare (and I haven’t even started to put ingredients together yet).

Since I can never decide what to make for dinner, I turn to cook books.  You would think cookbooks would help, but they make things so difficult.  Most cookbooks (even “easy” and “simple” cookbooks) seem far too elaborate for me.  And as a closeted picky eater (The Hubs swears I’m picky.  I’m pretty sure I’m not), I have a hard time seeing anything in a book that look appetizing, let alone easy enough for me to make it.

But, I had a goal to start making dinners for my husband.  So, I picked up the cookbook Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry.  Amazing cookbook!  First of all, there are meals in there that look DELICIOUS!  I have made five things from this cookbook so far and have loved every one of them.  Secondly, the ingredients are pretty easy to find in my grocery store (and this Canadian loves that they list weights in grams).

Tonight I made meat-zzas.  They’re essentially pizza built on top of meatloaf instead of crusts.  Lots of protein and LOW calorie count.  And fabulously delish.  The only thing I would consider doing differently next time is adding a salad to the plate (the meat to veggie ratio was a little lopsided).

So yeah – Dan bought me flowers and a Thank You card today.  He thanked me for being an awesome Mom and wife and even mentioned how much he has appreciated me cooking dinner more often.

I can’t tell you how special it makes me feel knowing that my husband appreciates what I am trying to do for him and for our son.  He even thinks I’m doing a good job!

And that is why my day was so good.

Picture of the Day: The Hubs caught Cameron and I reading his bedtime stories before bed tonight.  I can’t believe I’m making this picture public since I’m in all my towel-headed glory.  Tonight we read Guess How Much I Love You, The Runaway Bunny, Kisses Kisses Baby-O, and Goodnight Moon.