Thirsty Thursday: Mother’s Day Blackberry Champagne Cocktail

I may have to concoct a few of these this weekend.  Found the recipe on www.drinkoftheweek.com.  It  sounds delicious!

“No Mother’s Day brunch is complete without a champagne cocktail! This blackberry champagne cocktail is beautiful and brightly colored, with fresh blackberries lending a purple hue. No matter what you serve, this refreshing cocktail will look great next to it.”

Ingredients:
¾ oz blackberry simple syrup*
1-1.5 oz gin (depending on how strong Mom likes her drinks)
Sparkling wine
Fresh blackberries for garnish
Directions:
Put two blackberries in a champagne flute. Pour in blackberry simple syrup and gin, then carefully top off with sparkling wine.

*Blackberry Simple Syrup 
Ingredients: 
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 basket of blackberries
Directions: 
Bring all ingredients to a boil. Strain into a container, pressing the blackberries to push juice through the stainer.

Photo Credit: 1

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I read this article a couple of weeks ago on Southern Eclectic‘s blog.  She didn’t write it, but discovered it as well.  It’s a great reflection, especially around Mother’s Day.

By April Perry
There’s this crazy phenomenon going on right now. Good, devoted mothers get on Pinterest . . . and blogs . . . and Facebook . . . and Twitter . . . and then they flip through parenting magazines and TV channels (full of advertisements and media hype) . . . and they’re convinced they’re not enough.
They’re convinced that everyone else has magnetic, alphabetized spice containers,

Photo source: Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/274086327292186801/)
and unless their garden parties are thematically accessorized with butterfly lanterns,

Photo source: Pinterest, http://tinyurl.com/6lsuurc
and they’re wearing the latest fashions (in a size two, of course), there’s no point in even showing up for the day.
Last Saturday, this happened to me.
I came home from a lovely day out with my extended family and had serious intentions to spend the evening dyeing Easter eggs and making bunny buns.

By the time I got everyone settled and fed, however, I was so tired that I just laid on the couch and dozed while my children played and got themselves to bed.
Around 8:30, when I finally had the energy to sit up, I decided to try out Pinterest for a few minutes until my husband got home. There it was–1,000 reasons why I’m failing at all things domestic.
I don’t make grilled cheese sandwiches look like ice cream.

Photo source: Pinterest, http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
I don’t even have seasonal throw pillows on my couches or live plants anywhere in the house.
Is it really so hard? Can’t I pull myself together and wrap some candles in green foliage and bring happiness to our decor with bright fabrics and hand-crafted photo frames?
As I was trying to calm my frenzied state of mind, my husband came home and held me tight. We talked about our day, and he told me how much he loves me and that he wants our boys to marry someone like me. I fell asleep snuggled under his arm.
The following morning, our children enthusiastically bounded into our bedroom and tucked themselves into our covers. My four-year-old gave me an arm massage, and we all sat there together–joking, laughing, planning the day ahead, and enjoying that special feeling of family. Reflecting on the discouragement I’d felt the night before, I realized that my family doesn’t care about what I see on Pinterest. They care about me.
My daughter Grace loves me to sing “Baby Mine” to her each night before bed. When I go to our Power of Moms Retreats, she misses that special ritual. We have recordings of Michael Crawford and Allison Krauss singing their versions, but Grace doesn’t want those. She wants me. So I recorded myself singing “Baby Mine” and emailed the audio file to her and to my husband so Grace can hear “her song” before she sleeps. As far as she’s concerned, my untrained voice belongs at the top of the charts.

My daughter Grace is my “snuggliest” child.  Back tickles and “Baby Mine” each night are how I show that I love her.
A few months ago, I was practicing sideways dutch braids on my two daughters. They had found these great “how-to” videos online, and we set up our comb, brush, and hair bands in front of the computer so I could become an expert.

Photo source: www.cutegirlshairstyles.com 
Half-way through the braid, my fingers got all tangled up, the hair was too loose, and one of my daughters had been sitting with her head to the side for several minutes.
Feeling extremely frustrated, I said, “That little girl in the video is so lucky to have a mom who knows how to do hair.”
My daughter stopped me in my tracks when she responded, “But I have a mom who is trying.”

These are my two girls with the braids that took me FOREVER to do.  (But I’m getting faster now, and they appreciate the fact that I’m trying.)
My mom is in her 70s, and her memory is starting to go. Her sweetness and love are as strong as ever, but when we talk on the phone, she can’t remember the last time we spoke or the last time we saw each other.
At the end of one phone call a few weeks ago, I whispered, “I miss you, Mom.”
She said, “Oh, I miss you, too! But we’ll get together soon. You can come down to the park, and we’ll get an ice cream cone at McDonald’s.”
I replied, “Yes, that will be fun.” But then the tears started, and I had to use every ounce of control to keep my voice even so she wouldn’t know I was crying.
What I really meant was, “I miss being able to talk to you, Mom. I miss laying on the grass while my children make a hopscotch and savoring our long phone conversations. I miss you remembering all those secrets I used to tell you. I miss you asking me if I’m okay. I miss seeing you read books and hearing you sing while you do the dishes and having you drive out to my house without getting lost. I miss you remembering how much I need you.”
My mother didn’t specialize in home decor or gourmet cooking, and she didn’t lift weights or run marathons. But she makes me feel like I am the most important, wonderful person ever born. If I could pick any mother in the whole world, it would be my mom.

There’s something deeper going on in family life than can ever be expressed on a social network. Whatever it is we feel we are lacking, can we collectively decide–as deliberate mothers–that we are not going to sit around feeling discouraged about all the things we’re not?
Can we remind each other that it is our uniqueness and love that our children long for? It is our voices. Our smiles. Our jiggly tummies. Of course we want to learn, improve, exercise, cook better, make our homes lovelier, and provide beautiful experiences for our children, but at the end of the day, our children don’t want a discouraged, stressed-out mom who is wishing she were someone else.
If you ever find yourself looking in the mirror at a woman who feels badly that she hasn’t yet made flower-shaped soap,

Photo source: Pinterest, http://tinyurl.com/82k5vow
please offer her this helpful reminder: “Your children want you!”
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How perfectly written is this article?  LOVING and TRYING are key!
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While perusing Southern Eclectic’s line, Sheridan French (her name), I found this Vivienne Swim Tunic, and think I need it in my swim wardrobe, ASAP!  I end up wearing tunics most of the summer, so I’m feeling very tempted…

If you’re shopping too, take advantage of the free shipping code: MOMSHIP, on all orders placed my 5/12!

Happy Thursday!
Tomorrow, I’ll be posting last minute gift ideas for Mom!

8 thoughts on “Thirsty Thursday: Mother’s Day Blackberry Champagne Cocktail

  1. A} I'm going to need to try that cocktail ASAP. I just love blackberries and I just love champagne, so what could be bad about combining them?! 🙂

    B) I'm not even a mom and I teared up reading that! Such a sweet post.

  2. Thank you so much for this post!
    The cocktail looks delicious, and I may have to whip one up myself this weekend.
    Thank you especially for sharing the article. I find myself caught up in getting everything done and then feeling like an absolute failure when I peruse pinterest and then see friends on facebook bragging about baking with the kids and projects/crafts, etc.
    I don't know if my kids know you can dye real eggs, but we did have a good time hunting plastic ones!

  3. Oh my gosh that cocktail looks so good!! I may have to get the fixings for that for tomorrow when I finish my last final! 🙂

    I love that tunic too! Where are your favorite tunics from? I don't have any and have been desperately wanting to get some for the summer! I really love Calypso St Barths!

    xoxo KLS

  4. Another great recipe for this weekend because it seems mother day-ish is Stawberry-Lemonade Muffins!!! Happy mothers day!

  5. Ashley,
    Thank you for posting that article…. it was perfect timing and oh, so true. Great way to start the day, with tears. At least they were good tears. Happy Mother's Day.

    Warmly, Kathleen

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