celebrating mama wan

2021 happens to be a milestone year for mama wan too - she turned 75 in august.  my aunt had suggested throwing a big party to celebrate, and while covid was still a concern we decided to go ahead and plan it.  after looking at a few local options, we settled on an italian restaurant in pasadena that lilcee had suggested, and a couple of weeks after we got home from hawaii it was go time.

lilcee also has a magic touch with flowers, and graciously offered to handle centerpieces for us.  she and i headed out to the flower mart in downtown l.a. the day before the party and picked up lots of fresh, pretty blooms in my mom's favorite color.

the next morning, the hub and i headed out early so that we'd have time to stop at party city for the balloons i'd ordered and then to lilcee's to pick up the arrangements that she put together.  my aunt and cousin were already at the restaurant when we got there and the hub helped me arrange all of the decorations and put the cookies i'd made at each place setting.  we managed to finish everything up just before the guest of honor arrived.

i think she was pleased with how everything turned out, and as friends and family arrived she glowed more and more with happiness and excitement.

before long, the room was full of happy guests.  the food was set out buffet-style, from salads to pasta to pizza to entrees.  and before long, everyone was seated with a full plate of food to enjoy together.

my aunt and cousin had put together an extensive slideshow that covered the majority of my mom's life, from childhood to present day.  it seemed to go over really well, especially if you base the level of success on whether you manage to bring tears to the guest of honor's eyes.

lots of photos were taken, which also included our "four generations" portrait - complete at last, with both of my girls in attendance.

we even managed to get a huge group photo - i think we got everyone here.

and then it was time for cake - because every birthday involves cake, amirite?

it was a lovely way to celebrate my mom, and i was really glad that we were able to gather most of her loved ones together for the afternoon.  yay for mama wan!  

i love me mum

today is me mum's birthday!  yay!

she and my stepdad are celebrating quietly in a little cabin up in lake arrowhead.  she sent me this yesterday, and she looks so cute and happy:

because our schedules are so crazy (and ours is about to get even worse with school starting next week, eek), trying to figure out when we can get together is going to be tricky.  but that's okay - we'll find a date so we can meet up and celebrate her properly.

in the meantime, happy birthday mommy!  hope you have the most wonderful time up in the mountains!

here's a story...of a lovely lady

70 years ago today, this little girl was born.

a handful of years later, she grew up, went to school, and headed out to create her own american dream.

she chilled for awhile, hanging out with friends and family who were also stateside.

pretty soon she got married and knocked up.  that's me in there, in case you were wondering.

and then she became mama wan.

she was a working mom, with a career she enjoyed as an elementary school teacher.

smart AND hot.  it runs in the family, of course.

as busy as she was, she still managed to squeeze in some fun:

later on, she held it down as a single mom.  did a damn fine job too, if you don't look at her kid's hair and glasses.

 another handful of years later and she was at a baby shower for her first grandchild.

not long after that, she earned yet another title - this time, that of lola.

more time went by, and then she was welcoming a new son-in-law to the fold.

she wasn't single anymore, either, by the way.  she found her forever love too.

i mean, don't we all want to find someone we love enough to share our ice cream with?

she actually has two granddaughters now, you know.  here, she met the bean for the very first time.

and then after blowing out a few more candles on various cakes...

she turned the big 7-0.

she's off on a fabulous european river cruise right now, and i know she's having the most wonderful time as she always does.  happy, happy birthday to my dear mommy!  see you when you get home!

bring me a present too, yeah?  heh.
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happy birthday, dear mama wan...

today is mama wan's birthday!  yay!

what better way to celebrate than with a plethora of fantastic photos?  because, why not?

(i lied, by the way.  these are not all fantastic photos.  a lot of them are far from it, but it's okay.  you've seen worse.)

on second thought, it's only me who looks horrific in some of these.  she looks great in them all.

hope you have a wonderful birthday, mom!  love ya!