Okay not really. But my mom came to stay this past weekend, and during the shenanigans it struck me how many ways my mom is a most awesome mom. And not for the first time either. So I decided today is Mother’s Day II. It took me a while to whittle this list down, but here you go:

1. Forget Yelp and Open Table, Mom’s Restaurant Radar can find a good place to eat no matter where we are, regardless of whether she’s been to that area before or not. Cases in point: best fish ever in Buffalo, an ultimate Boston cream pie, and our rather unfortunate discovery of the divine guacamole at Rosa Mexicana.
2. She is a fountain of common sense with answers to questions like ‘how do I get this burnt food out of my pan’?
3. Snacks are not an option. They are a necessity.
4. She’s always up for an adventure (riding huge Ferris wheels, standing outside in the freezing cold to see a Christmas tree light, strolls down Bourbon Street).
5. Behold a MacGyver of Crafts… some sparkly ribbon, an odd looking round thing, and some scissors = beautiful fall wreath.
6. Her picnics are the ultimate picnics. And her pasta salad is the best in the world. So is her turkey dinner, pork and sauerkraut, cookies, vegetable beef soup, corned beef, shrimp and grits, chicken corn chowder… you get the idea.
7. She puts up with my crabbiness. A lot.
8. Her favorite meal is the one where you sit around eating tiny food and drinking tea for hours.
9. I like to drive, she likes to ride. She drinks a nice, leisurely cup of tea in the morning while I sleep in. We both love aquariums and art museums. These are some of the things that make us a great travel team.
10. ‘Mom… can I borrow some mousse / how do you do this / can you pin my dress / where are the spoons / what channel is Food Network / no the tiny spoons /  can I do my laundry at your house?