Mother's Day 2013

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend, either taking some time to be with/call/remember your Mom, celebrate being a mama with your kiddos, or hope and dream about being a mom one day yourself.  (And, if you're a son, husband, brother, etc, I hope you spoiled your ladies rotten - everyone deserves to be spoiled at least one day, right!)

This Mother's Day, I had an opportunity to chat with my own Mother not one, but TWO times.  I'll admit that it's hard to not spend time with her in person, but fortunately I'll get to see her and the rest of the Kerr clan in just a couple of weeks.  And, until then, I'll still talk to her nearly daily.  Thank goodness for phones and email!

AND, we're thankful for having another mother so close to us!  We had Mom/Ms. Leron over for supper last night, and Aunt Wyllene also stopped by for a bit to say 'hello'.  Add in James' brother, his girlfriend, plus our summer houseguest, Katelyn, and we had a full house.  Just how I like it.  Added bonus, it is finally - in mid-May - warm enough to eat outside.  YEA!

I'll spare you all the play-by-play on the meal, but I do have to call out my special dessert:  a Coconut Banana Pudding.  I get harassed for always wanting to try out a new dish or never cooking something from a 'normal' recipe, but this one from Cuisine at Home just looked too good to pass up.  And, I know Ms. Leron loves Banana Pudding (and her son loves coconut).

The final product did not disappoint - very, very tasty.  What I had not anticipated was how dang hard it would be to make.  First, it required pudding from scratch, which I usually try to avoid. (Yes, I know, Mom/Ms. Leron and Mother both make theirs from scratch, but box mixes are so much easier, ladies!!)  After my pudding sat in the fridge for over 3 hours, it still looked like a lumpy, separated mess.  It almost went into the garbage, but, after James tasted and declared it "ugly, but good, I moved forward with layering the dish and trying to hide the lumpy pudding. (After another 3 hours in the fridge, it did look much better.)

Second, this required an ingredient which was nearly impossible to find:  cream of coconut. It's not coconut milk, it's not a liqueur, what the heck is it?  It took me going to and calling MULTIPLE stores before the Whole Foods guy tipped me off:   its street name is "Coco Lopez", it's the magic ingredient in Pina Coladas, and you can get it at a liquor store with the other mixers.  Thank the Heavens that Georgia passed the Sunday liquor sale laws this January so I could save my dessert.  I was there right at 12:30PM to pick up this baby.

Overall, it was a very lovely evening for everyone - especially for Mom/Ms. Leron, I hope!  Just a few more pictures of the group to close us out, (including the Sassy Baby who is starting to make more of an appearance in my mid-section, reminding me that Mother's Day 2014 will be a very special one.  WHAT A BLESSING!)

The Sasser Boys and their Mama

Plus,  Daughter-in-Law and Future Grandchild!

The Sassers and their green backyard and budding blooms (to remember this moment in case things are brown by July)