Happy, Happy Mother's Day

The Will & Kate hangover is finally subsiding, just in time for another cyber tsunami. Brace yourselves folks, the Mom bloggers are going to savor every moment of the holiday limelight!

So what was on tap for the Fortuitous Housewife yesterday, you ask? I guess I will add my tale to the tide . . .

Earlier this week, Cook's Illustrated so kindly posted their "Mother's Day Recipe Booklet" on Facebook and I made the mistake of downloading and checking it out while my two little uber eaters were nearby. Suddenly the chorus chimed "Mommy, we should make those for you for Mother's Day!"

Unfortunately, Sticky Buns (yeast dough, brown sugar-cinnamon filling, rolling & cutting, brown sugar glaze and toasting & chopping pecans) are slightly ahead of my ambitious sous chefs' skill set, so . . . you guessed it, Mom was next in line for makin' Sticky Buns from scratch.

So, between soccer, baseball, play dates, and a short bit of retailing, I managed to make me some buns!

At first glance the recipe looked daunting and far too time consuming -- boy am I glad I persevered! It wasn't hard at all, the yeast dough rose perfectly and was very easy to work with, and, well . . . a few pictures say it all.

Even naked, these buns were HOT!

Don't forget the gooey, toasted-pecan topping!

These looked AMAZING...but it was still the night before, and Mama had to head to bed!

Mother's Day Breakfast ~ it just doesn't get ANY better!

Hold on...is that a turquoise bag on the table?! I must have been a VERY good Mommy!

Two of my favorite culinary enthusiasts.

After breakfast, the boys had more planned for Mom -- a field trip to the Museum of Fine Art to check out the Chilhuly exhibit. I was impressed when Jackson recently saw a picture of one of the pieces and remembered seeing some of Chilhuly's work at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when he was 2.5 years old! The kid really is part elephant!

I love Chilhuly's work -- the colors, the shapes, the textures -- I mean really, what's not to like! It's like a carnival for your eyes.

I was a tad nervous about a trip to MFA, the local house of "serious art" with a 5 1/2 and a 3 1/2 year old. Sure, we've done the Children's Museum, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, but we had not yet ventured into the world of grown up art with our Padawans.

My little art lovers.

What a wonderful surprise, and possibly the best present of all (Even better the turquoise box with the white ribbon? Maybe.) -- watching my 5 1/2 year old fall for Chilhully and the whole museum experience! He has even added a museum membership to his birthday list, and is planning his subsequent visits to see the more "art".

So there you have it, my Mother's Day recap!

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful day celebrating and honoring motherhood!

P.S. I think I hear a Sticky Bun calling me. Maybe just one more bite? OK, maybe two.