You know those people who can never remember birthdays, anniversaries, or special occasions? I'm one of them. Except when it comes to Mother's Day.

If there's one person in this world I don't want to disappoint, it's my mum. That's why each May I create an elaborate bunch of reminders for myself that Mother's Day is approaching. To ensure that I don't forget to show my mum how much I appreciate her that second Sunday each May, I'll leave notes around the house, set alarms on my laptop, and even enlist a friend with an elephantine memory to call me with a couple of reminders the weekend of mum's special day.

This year, though, I'm using my Windows Mobile phone —and nothing more— to help with my Mother's Day planning. Not only am I setting my reminders right in my phone's calendar, but also I will use my phone to send my mum a bouquet of flowers and some photos to thank her for putting up with us all these years.

Setting a reminder in the calendar

Creating a calendar item and reminder with a Windows Phone is a cinch.

1. Open the Start menu, and use the thumb wheel to scroll to the Calendar icon.
2. I prefer to view my calendar by Month instead of in the default Week view, so I click the left soft key on my phone twice to get to the Month view.
3. Mother's Day is May 10 this year, so I set a reminder for myself to order flowers for mum on April 24. To do so, click Menu, and then select New Appointment.
   
4. To create the reminder, fill out the Subject field, adjust the Start date and Start time, if you wish, and then click Done.
   

On the appointed date, your phone will you remind you of your to-do item, right from the Home screen, complete with the Reminder sound of your choice. (To change the default sound, click Settings in the Start menu, and then click Sounds.) I like this in-your-face way of reminding myself to do things so much that I'm setting a reminder to call my mum on Mother's Day morning, too.

Ordering flowers online

Next up: Ordering mum a lovely bouquet to be delivered the Friday before Mother's Day.

1. To buy flowers (or just about anything else online), open Internet Explorer, click the Menu button, and then select Address Bar.
   
2. Type the URL you want in the Address bar and then, in the lower-left section of the screen, click Go. When your web page opens, shop till you drop, using the navigation keys to scroll up, down, and side to side. (In case you're wondering, I ordered my mum a lovely bouquet of pink, orange, yellow, and purple tulips.)

Don't know the URL you want? No problem.

1. Click the Favorites button, and select MSN from the menu. Then click Go.
   
2. When the Windows Live page appears, scroll down, click Search, and browse to your heart's content.

E-mailing a photo

Because I'm a relatively new homeowner, my mum's always asking for pictures of my latest home improvement projects.

Earlier this month, a couple of friends and I built a massive pine fence along the south side of my property to replace a rickety, old fence that blew over this autumn. My mum's been begging to see our handiwork, so I thought I'd snap a few photos to send to her—in time for Mother's Day of course.

1. To take a photo on your Windows Mobile phone, use the right navigation key to scroll to the Camera icon at the top of the Home screen. Then click your phone's center Select key.
   
2. The camera will now be 'on'. After you've framed your shot, click the center Select key to take the photo. Here's how a picture taken on your Windows Mobile phone might look:
   
3. Nice craftsmanship, huh? To send this shot of my glorious golden fence directly to my mum's mobile phone, I click Send. In the Messaging box that opens, I click MMS (short for Multimedia Messaging Service).
4. I then press the phone's center Select key, and Windows Mobile automatically creates an MMS message with my picture attached. All that's left to do is type in my mum's mobile phone number, add a subject line, and click Send.
   

Making a three-way call

Finally, the piece de resistance: the three-way call between me, my sister, and my mum on Mother’s Day morning. Note you might need to check with your carrier to ensure this is enabled for your mobile.

My family’s a bit spread out geographically, which means that the next best thing to taking Mum to Sunday brunch is my sis and I getting on the horn with her simultaneously.

1. To do this, I first call my sister on my Windows Mobile phone. Then I click the green Send key on the left side of my phone.
2. Next, I dial my mum’s number and click the Send key again.
3. When my mum answers, I click the Menu option and select Conference to connect both calls, and the three of us will share the digital equivalent of a group hug.

Admittedly, Mum can get a bit weepy on Mother’s Day if my sister and I haven’t made the trip to see her. After all, nothing takes the place of chatting face to face. Maybe next year I’ll look into using my Windows Mobile phone as a webcam.

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