I've been a mom since 2006.  This was my best Mother's Day, by far.  In the past, this day has passed nearly unnoticed much of the time.  It wasn't because I preferred it to be unnoticed...it just was.

That may be why this year I was taken by surprise.  Not only did my dear husband give me a lovely card, but he gave me a thoughtful gift, too.

The excitement began nearly two weeks before Mother's Day.  Derek told me he was expecting an Amazon package, and I was not to open it.  (Yes, we open each other's mail and packages; don't you?)

Brother-3, Little Sis- now 7 months, and Big Sis-5

Then, the day before Mother's Day, the children and Derek brought home some flowers for me.  Later in the day, he told me he would be locked in our room for a while.  He was upstairs for quite some time.  Then he went to the basement for wrapping paper!

A couple days before Sunday, I finally realized that we could, without too much stress, attempt to go out to lunch as a family.  Pizza is my favorite food.  Pizza shops are not busy on Mother's Day.  So I suggested that we do this.  (Please note that during 2011, even before the baby was born, we only went out to eat as a family once (by choice...traveling doesn't count).  It's just not something that we do.  In the past it wasn't fun, and we tend to be too frugal.

On Sunday after church we decided to go to a pizza shop at the other end of town.  It's far enough away that the pizza is cold by the time we get it home for take-out, so despite the tasty food, we do not buy pizza there much.  It was an enjoyable and quick lunch with the family.

Upon arrival home, we settled down.  I turned my head as my husband collected the Big Kids to make a card for me.  Then he gave me a gift that really shocked me.

A Kindle Fire.  It surprised me for many reasons, cost being the biggie.  (It is my anniversary and birthday gift, as well, and I don't mind!)  But the best part is that Derek thought it out.  Not only that, he also prepared it for use as soon as it was unwrapped!

You see, Derek has had an iTouch (like an iPod from my understanding, but maybe different?) for a while from work.  I never used it.  Then Little Sis was born.  She was literally awake most of the night, each night, for the first month, maybe two.  (It's all a blur.)  At night, I used his iTouch to catch up on blog reading and emails.  I was also able to keep up with my reading through the Bible in a year with it, even if I don't recall anything from the last two months of the year.  I played a word game.  Really, that little device kept me mostly sane with a screaming baby on my shoulder.  (In case you didn't figure it out, we do not have smart phones, nor are they in our plan to get them.  We happily pay $7 a month for our cell phones and have plenty of talk time for us, and Derek even does the occasional text.)

I asked Derek what made him get me the Kindle Fire, he commented on how I enjoy the iPod, even if I only use it during the middle of the night.  It probably saved my mind, so that may be a bit of an understatement.  I don't think we even discussed e-readers as something we might purchase someday.

How do I like my new device?  I ♥ it!  I use it for various web browsing, blog reading, emails, weather, and such.  Some of the apps are fun (or useful), too.  I will likely never write a blog post on it (or more than a handful of sentences), but I really like it!  It is also an e-reader, so I have several free books downloaded.  I don't think I will ever prefer to read books on it, but I am kind of reading a book now...kind of.   (If it wasn't an e-reader, I would still like it.  My Kindle Fire's main purpose is not as an e-reader.)  And who knows?  Maybe I will read the 40 Louisa May Alcott books that are all free...someday.  I will take advantage of free books when I see something of interest though.  I also like that I can listen to the Bible for free.  (Audio Bibles are costly.)

Oh, and now that my Big Kids know how to play Tic Tac Toe on paper, they love playing on the Kindle Fire.  It's a real, and rare treat!

I have not spent any money on games, apps, or books, but it is still a very versatile device that I mostly enjoy for web-browsing.  I would definitely recommend it for people, like us, who share a laptop but sometimes want something a bit more portable without the expense of a tablet like an iPad.  (In our home Apple products are not allowed, but really we wouldn't likely buy any brand of tablet.)  It is definitely not just an e-reader.

~ Annette {This Simple Mom}