President Obama says  he and daughters Sasha and Malia will be "concocting some things" for first lady Michelle Obama in honor of Mother's Day, to "make sure that she knows how much we love her and how much we appreciate her."

"She deserves to be spoiled,"  Obama said of his wife in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts.

"Some aspect of it will be handmade," he said. "You know, Malia and Sasha -  it's sort of like an arms race in terms of who can make the bigger, more creative card."

Obama said the kids' rooms in the White House would be strewn with markers, colored pencils and paper over the next few days.

The special treatment for the first lady comes nearly a week after President Obama deplaned Air Force One in Columbus, Ohio,   accidentally leaving his wife behind - all as the cameras looked on.

"Oh, it was embarrassing," a smiling Obama told Roberts. "She gave me so much grief. It was terrible."

The president praised his wife for her advocacy on behalf of children and military families, calling her achievements "extraordinary work."

"What I'm so proud of is how her core values as a mom, she's been able to translate into stuff that I think has given moms all across the country some additional tools to, you know, do what they care most deeply about, which is to raise wonderful kids," he said.

The Obama girls - Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10 - were both born in Chicago. They attend the private Sidwell Friends School  in Northwest Washington, D.C., where their parents are occasionally known to visit for sports games, concerts and parent-teacher conferences.