Happy "Big" Birthday, Mom!

My mom is definitely one in a million. If you have met her, you know this already. If you haven't met her, it just takes one time, and you too, will know that Sieglinde is not your ordinary person.

The first thing you notice about her is definitely her smile! I used to always say that her teeth were perfect like Sebastian in The Little Mermaid. She absolutely brightens a room whenever she walks in, and just FYI, if she's not smiling something is wrong - really wrong! I can't tell you how many times, even to this day, people have thought she was my older sister. It used to annoy me beyond measure when I was in elementary school, but now I think - hey, if that's what I'm going to look like in 20 years, it's not a bad thing at all!

After you've barely had a chance to distract yourself from her smile, she's most likely already got you locked in a hug. If she kisses you on the cheek, don't worry, she isn't making a move on you, and no, you're not special, she does that to everyone! She genuinely loves people and it doesn't take long for her to warm up to anyone.

Which brings me to my next Sieglinde-quality. She is NOT shy! She very well may be the most outgoing person I know. Unfortunately, I did not get that gene. She absolutely loves the spotlight, and I must add, the spotlight loves her! She can entice a crowd in moments with her quirkiness and she is NEVER at a loss for words! As a matter of fact, she has more things to say than can physically come out of her mouth in a logical and understandable manner. She talks so fast, that often I have to ask her to slow down. What I still find so hilarious, even to this day, is when she flips from English to Spanish in the middle of a story. I have gotten so used to it, I don't even think about it, that is until she does it to someone who doesn't speak Spanish and I see the look of utter confusion on their face. When brought up to her attention, she is usually confused herself as she doesn't even realize when it happens.

There is no doubt that I got my love of kids from my mother. She adores kids and they adore her. She started babysitting when I was 2 years old, and I'm pretty sure she did it simply because she loved having the kids around - the extra money was just an added bonus. As a matter of fact, my brother, Robbie, is in our lives as a direct result of her love of children. She started babysitting Robbie when he was 6 weeks old. He was at our house from before 6 am to about 6 pm everyday for the first 10 years of his life and she literally took him as another one of her children. In addition to my two sisters, my brother and I, she has opened her heart to her husband, Mike's, four boys, and has also taken them as her own. Even with 8 children of her own, and a grandson she melts over, she still has a heart of gold that seems to be overflowing with love to give out!

It is amazing to me that I am almost 30 years old and I still "want my mami" whenever I get sick. And don't think for one second that I'm taking advantage of the fact that she would drop everything to make me my favorite soup if I'm not feeling well, she loves it. She is so caring and selfless that she loves nothing more than to help people. And its not just her family she loves to help, if anyone needs anything that she is able to do, give or provide she'll do it.

My mother has taught me so many things. She taught me manners and being polite go a long way, it always helps your chances of getting something if you just say "please" first. She taught me responsibility and discipline that I will without a doubt be teaching any future children of mine. She taught me to strive for greatness and never do things without giving 100%, if it wasn't amazing, that was okay, as long as I gave it my very best try. She taught me that honesty is the best policy, even if it means you are going to get in trouble, and she taught me that simply saying "I'm sorry" can get you out of lots of trouble!

I could go on and on about my mom, but in a nutshell, she's amazing.

Mom, I love you so much. Thank you for all that you've taught me and for always being there.

Happy Birthday!