If I were abducted by aliens . . .

I recently took Pumpkin and Peanut to the movies to see Gnomeo & Juliet.   While there, we saw the preview for Mars Needs Moms.    What a cute looking movie!   When SocialMoms posted that they were looking for the top 10 things your kids would miss about you if you were abducted by aliens, I thought “What a fun idea!”  Who knew how hard it would be to come up with ten things?!  Here’s my best effort:

My cooking – Okay, I’m going to be honest.  I’m not much of a cook.  I try to cook, but many of my meals are not terribly well received.   (Though admittedly, they are appreciated much more the first night than they are as “leftovers”.)  Even so, I’d like to think that eventually they’d miss at least a few of my meals.

Story time – We love to read stories together.  Whether I’m reading or they are, it is always something we all enjoy.  Even when it is late, the girls ask if they can pick a story time before bed (and are sad if I tell them we don’t have time).

Mommy Hugs – Earlier today, Pumpkin fell and scraped her knee.  It certainly wasn’t anything life threatening, but it definitely needed a mommy hug and kiss to make it all better. 

“I love you”s – Every night after prayers, before leaving the girls in their rooms for the night, I whisper “I love you” 15 times in each ear.  It started as a way to fill their minds with happy thoughts before bed so that they wouldn’t have nightmares, and has stuck.  They really miss those “I love you”s when I’m not home to put them to bed.

Car Rides – I’m lucky to be able to stay home with my girls.  Because of that, I take them to and from school each day.  The car rides are a wonderful time for them to tell me about their days without the interruptions of phones, TV, computers, etc. 

Games – I am horrible at pretend play, but I love playing games with the girls.  Monopoly, Clue, Checkers, Memory, DDR – you name it and we play it.  We always have such a great time.

Lunchbox Notes – Each day I put a note in Peanut’s lunchbox.  Whether I write something silly, funny or sweet, she always looks forward to that note.  If I happen to forget one day, she always notices and asks what happened.  The lunchbox notes are a great way to let her know she’s on my mind even when she’s at school.

Baking Time – Doc is an amazing father, but one thing he does NOT do, is bake.  The girls and I love to bake together.  We have a great time making cookies, cakes, brownies, bars, etc.  I think they actually enjoy the process more than the end product.  If I was abducted, either Doc would have to learn to bake or hire someone who could.

Crafts – From hair clips to play-dough birds, the girls and I love to make crafts together.  At Valentine’s Day, they each made their Valentines for their friends.  After working for a couple weeks on those Valentines, Doc asked me “Do you think their friends appreciate all the work you guys put into those?”  My reply was, “We don’t do it for them.  We do it for us.”

Play Area Visits – The girls are like most kids and love visiting the local play areas at the mall, restaurants, playgrounds, water parks, etc.   I can sit there for hours just watching them have fun.  Whenever anyone else takes them, the visits tend to be much shorter.   I think they’d miss the tolerance I have for those visits. (Which is ironic considering I always said I’d never let my kids play in those places because they are breeding grounds for germs . . . one of the many ways that being a parent has changed me.)

I may not be a perfect mom.  I know that I have plenty of faults and lots of other things to work on.  Regardless, I am their mom, and they love me imperfections and all.  Just as I love them!

Disclaimer - I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.