This year, the kids had the last week of April off school for spring break. So we took a trip to Toronto to spend quality time with my family just in time for Mother’s Day.

My sister, first time Mom, and I thought it would be really nice to co-host a little Mother's Day dinner with a few of the special ladies in our family. We gathered Mom, Aunti Marissa, Aunti Debi and our cousin Bailey who is so good with our children she may as well be a second mother to them. Abby also came with us on the trip as she's a part of the family and I wanted her to finally see Toronto and meet my Boobie (grandmother).

Before I left on the trip, I took the boys with me to our local Walgreens to choose a Mother's Day card for everyone.

They chose the most beautiful cards. Naturally each was a Hallmark because let's face it, those guys know what they are doing. And some were actually the Hallmark Signature cards which were a step above with some pretty beautiful designs.

I sent a photo of all of the cards to my sister for inspiration for our dinner. We immediately agreed on the following:

1. An ombre of pink flowers would be our centerpiece down the dinner table.

2. We don't want to cook. We are MOMS TOO! And we needed a break. So we called Mandy's amazing friend Elyse of Elyse Leanna Catering to put together a fabulous menu and take care of it all for us.

3. Let's skip the dishes. We're always slaving over the sink after a big meal so this time we opted for the new Little Miss Party in a Box to set the table and boy was that a game changer. Clean up was a cinch!  So we got to enjoy each other for longer.

One of the nicest things about hosting this dinner was putting it together with my family. My sister and I drank wine and laughed over flower arranging, my son helped set the table and we used the cards for each Mom as a place card so there was no problem finding seats when our guests arrived. Oh and obviously we topped each with a tulip. Duh.

Before dinner was served everyone opened their card. I included recent school photos of the boys which everyone loved. And the best was watching everyone read our notes and the pictures that the kids took the time to draw.

EVERYONE was so appreciative knowing the time it took to choose those cards, draw a note and print out photos.

To end off on a sweet note, we knew to ask Aunt Debi to make dessert because well….she’s taking things to a whole new level these days. These rosettes?  I mean, c’mon.

STUNNING!

Simply Beautiful Eating, you never cease to amaze me.

One very important woman missing was Frieda. Boobie. AKA our grandmother and Queen B.

Boobie Frieda doesn't do dinner at 3pm anymore. So when we want to see Frieda, we go to Frieda.

It was a pleasure to see her, and she loved the card and photos from the boys.

Happy mothers day to all of the aunts, cousins, grandmother's and sisters of the world. As you know, it takes a village. Without you us mom's would be lost. 

Happy Mother's Day!

I was asked to participate in the #HallmarkAtWalgreens #CareWithACard campaign, sponsored by Hallmark at Walgreens but the love for these woman is all on my own.

Photos by Abby Copleston