An emerald a green as the sea, A ruby as beautiful as fire; A sapphire calm as the ocean; the flint as dark as my tire. A diamond broken and shining, staying strong through the night; an opal like the sun, shining with a glinting fright; But low and behold the flint shines even more than the suns light.
If you want to fix this sentence it would be:
Mom had appreciated our hard work. (Or) Mom appreciated us working so hard.