Lydia on a Mother's Love

Coming off of Mother's Day weekend, and having my mother introduced last week, I would like to give a shout out to all the mamas out there. I am so grateful for being a mom and for having a wonderful example of what a great mother looks like because of who my mom is. Everyone (for the most part) has been so encouraging and loving towards my mom after last week's episode. I know she "lives in the land of the bunnies" but that is who she is, and I'm so happy for your acceptance and love. I am proud of my mom and her zest for life and care free attitude.

On to wine tasting. . .Malibu style.

This is the first trip where Doug and I have both left our kids overnight. When we travel we like to bring them with us, and if Doug goes on business trips, I like to stay home with the kids. We have left them for the day before, but our kids are young. Maverick is two and Stirling is four. Having our own businesses allows us to create our own schedules. I work around my kids naps and preschool. I am very hands-on and involved, and I get nervous if I leave them for too long. Once we got invited to go on the wine trip, I was excited as well as anxious. I can tell by watching this episode that I am missing my kids and not fully "present" in the trip. I was looking forward to getting to know all the girls, but my kids are always my biggest concern. Doug and I tried to focus on a fun weekend away. We rode bikes and took a workout class together. It was a fun weekend overall and reminded me of our visits to Doug's hometown of Paso Robles.

When we first arrived I gave Gretchen a card. I had only met her at the CUT party and that obviously wasn't a great night for anyone. Tamra had told me Gretchen was going through a lot with Grayson, Slade's son. I can't imagine having a sick child and what that must be like to go through. I had my boys color a Get Well card for them. This was my way of letting her know we were praying for her and the whole family. I hadn't "clicked" with Gretchen, and I thought this was a good way to show her a little of who I am by offering her support.

When the conversation at dinner that night started to revolve around Alexis again, I felt uncomfortable. I wanted to let Gretchen know that from my past conversations with Alexis, she seemed to be really hurt by Gretchen. Alexis never spoke ill of her, but there seems to be a real feeling of sadness -- like she had lost a true friend. When Gretchen said she found that hard to believe, I just wanted to drop the conversation. I don't know the ins and outs of their relationship and I didn't want to speak on Alexis' behalf in front of the whole table.

Heather and Terry's fight seems to be rooted in deep issues they have with one another. It is good to see them be open and honest and transparent with their marriage. I think all marriages are full of hurt feelings and misunderstandings and that is what makes the love strong, selfless, and true in the end. Nobody is perfect, but if you can give love and accept love through that, imperfection can become a beautiful thing. I think they have both learned and grown from this experience. Heather was able to express herself and her wants from Terry, and I think he realized his shortcomings. Guest starring on Hot in Cleveland is an exciting opportunity for Heather. She is living out her dreams and when you are a mother, many times your dreams are put on hold. Being a mother I completely understand what she is talking about. At the end of the day, I think Terry is truly excited for her and supportive.

Once it is time to leave, Tamra and Vicki are obviously having tension. I just want to get home to my kids at this point. It has been a long weekend and was time for us to leave. I think it is best to have everything all out in the open. Tamra had been rolling her eyes and obviously annoyed at Vicki for her performance in Wines by Wives all weekend. Vicki seemed to notice, but not care. I was encouraging them both to talk about it, rather then talk to everyone else about it. Issues don't get resolved by third parties. They didn't want to talk about it so we eventually left. It was encouraging to see Tamra address her issues with anger and not being able to express herself a few days later to Eddie. Hopefully she can grow and I believe knowing there is an issue is the first step.

To get to know me better and stay connected, follow me on Twitter at @OCLydia and check out my website at LydiaM.com