A MOTHER'S LOVE ON MOTHER'S DAY, IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS - BUT BREAKFAST IN BED ISN'T BAD EITHER.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

For all you new fathers, Mother's Day hasn't changed much in the 92 years since President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it an annual observance.

It's still all about hugs, kisses and breakfast in bed.

Throw in some flowers, maybe a bubble bath for your wife while you watch the kids and do the dishes, and you've pretty much got it covered.

That's what young mothers around the Valley were telling me on Friday: They just don't want you to forget them.

``I think some husbands may have a hard time remembering us on Mother's Day because we're not their mothers,'' said Stacey Levine, playing in the park with 4-month-old Sydney.

Other husbands, of course. Not her husband, Marc. They're going out to brunch today with their families at a nice restaurant.

``I don't think it matters what we get from our kids because all we really want are their hugs and kisses. But from our husbands I think it does matter,'' Stacey said.

If that's the case, Brenda Gordon's husband, Jamie, better have a special morning planned because he's leaving after a family brunch to go to the Clippers playoff game at Staples Center.

``I think the brunch makes him feel like he's off the hook, but he isn't,'' Brenda said, laughing as she pushed her 3-year-old son, Drew, on the swings, and rocked her 5-week-old baby, Grant, sleeping in a stroller.

``I've been giving him a pretty hard time about it,'' she said.

Take it from a veteran of 60 Mother's Days and four kids, Jamie -- even breakfast in bed and doing the dishes isn't going to make up for you going to a Clippers game today. You might think along the lines of something that sparkles.

Then you've got young moms like Andrea Kilgallon, who was playing with her 18-month-old baby, Micah, in the park.

All she wants is the same thing her husband, Liam, gave her on her first Mother's Day last year: A bubble bath and some wine.

``Give me some pampering, and I'm fine for the day,'' Andrea said.

Julie Hurd out in Newbury Park said pretty much the same thing. Mother's Day is breakfast in bed served by her husband, Jeff, and a lot of hugs and kisses from her daughters, Nina, 5, and Natalie, 3.

``If he cleans the dishes, even better,'' Julie said. ``I'll be a happy camper.''

The real heart of Mother's Day, though, was summed up by Maria Rodriguez, who was having lunch in the park with her daughter, Alyssa, 4, and son, Joseue, 3.

Last year, her husband, Jose, brought her flowers, then took the whole family out to dinner at a nice restaurant.

It was a wonderful day, and she loved the flowers and dinner, but it really wasn't necessary, she told him later.

``Mother's Day isn't about gifts or going out to a restaurant,'' she said. ``It's about being together as a family. That's the only gift I want.''

Ninety-two years of Mother's Days, and it's still all about hugs, kisses and breakfast in bed.

dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 4 -- color) At left, Alyssa, 4, and Joseue, 3, shower mom, Maria Rodriguez of Canoga Park, with kisses. Above, Stacey Levin of West Hills plays with her 4-month-old daughter, Sydney, at a Woodland Hills park. Below left, Julie Hurd gets hugs from daughters Natalie, 3, left, and Nina, 5, at their Newbury Park home. Below right, Andrea Kilgallon kisses the hand of her 18-month-old son, Micah.