Friends, family and lots of drink

Mother's Day came and went and although I was kind of hoping it would be the greatest of all days. But, I went out with some girlfriends Saturday night, and not being the party animal I once was, I spent most of Sunday nursing a horrific hangover. My not-so fabulous day was totally my fault.

We did get together with some friends for a barbeque. Two of my greatest friends in the whole wide world, Heather and Hope, had their first babies last year and because of this we haven't really been able to hang out. They are new moms who haven't yet rediscovered life away from their bundles of joy and I completely understand that. Heather's son is 6 months old and Hope's daughter is 4 months old. All of us, and a few others, met at Hope's house with our families for a barbecue. I was really looking forward to having the kids play with each other for the first time.

Since my kids are the oldest of the bunch, I went to the party thinking that Ryan would be the most advanced baby there. Boy, was I wrong. At 6-months-old Heather's son is a power house. This little guy crawls around military-style like he's got someplace to go. Fast. I was so amazed at how mobile he was. It was crazy. At 6 months, Ryan was just rolling over from his back to his belly. Watch out world, this little guy is ready for action.

Ryan did manage to keep up, so the babies did play together. It was so much fun watching all the kids interact. Ryan and the little guy were crawling all over together. Sophia was, of course, the mother hen of the bunch. She would crawl on the floor and the babies followed. When she wasn't playing follow the leader, she was making sure every baby knew that I was Sophia's Mommy and they should keep their distance. "My Mommy. No. My Mommy," was would say eye-to-eye with the baby closest to me. Yikes.

Hope's daughter, who is 4 months old, is a good baby. She was a bit young to crawl around on the floor with the boys, but she was happy to watch.

I'm so happy my friends have children who are the same age as my kids. As new mommies, it’s hard to make time away from home. But with all our kids so close in age, it will make hanging out much easier as they get older. I'm looking forward to summer for picnics and future barbecues. I'm sure there'll be a time when we're going to amusement parks together.

And as the babies get older, my friends will have a little more freedom for Girls' Days. This will be better than any Mother's Day.

Oh, my husband did get me a pair of the most awesome sunglasses (as soon as I get a picture of them I'll show you) in the world and he cleaned the inside and outside of my car, so I did get more than hangover for Mother's Day. Those gifts combined with his incredible ability not to make fun of me or be upset with me for drinking too much the night before is a great reminder that I do have a super great husband.

I take it back. Good friends, great family time and a super husband (minus the hangover) makes for a pretty great Mother's Day.