Have A Wonderful Mother's Day!

What's the best way to have a great Mother's Day?

1. Don't have any expectations. Don't let rain or the fact that people forgot stop your celebrating. You earned this day!

2. Live in the moment and breathe. Tantrums and mess happen, no matter what day it is.

3. If you want to do something specific, do it. Sometimes us moms gotta plan it ourselves. No biggie!

4. Enjoy the reason you get to celebrate Mother's Day and snuggle the babes you've been blessed with. xo

This mama is going to enjoy some time at the salon getting her hair done, and then getting a permanent symbol to commemorate her family. :)

Follow me on Instagram for daily and weekend shenanigan updates! Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's day to all of you hardworking mamas out there. Thanks for doing all that you do, especially my mom who has put up with me for 35 years. ;)

Once again for the last minute types: Last Minute Ideas For Partners With Lots On Their Minds :)

Energizer Baby

If I had about one quarter of Noah's energy, I would be set. If only there was some kind of synergistic bond between a mother and her children that allowed you to function as a shared energy unit. After awhile I feel like a zombie when I'm chasing him around town, and he looks like he could keep going forever. Pretty ironic for a child who's name means "rest" and "peace".

Wednesday was especially bad energetic. I pushed his nap to 1:30, but instead he napped for 5 minutes in the car and then for 30 minutes at home in his crib. THIRTY MINUTES. That's about two hours too short. My poor little guy was such a cranky asshole. So off to the park we went. I was hoping to unleash him and he could run around until he passed out but no such luck.

Instead, he ran through fields, attempted to climb trees, flirted with everyone who stopped to talk to him and tell him he was cute, chased squirrels and dogs, collected rocks, tasted rocks, collected twigs, tasted twigs, blew dandelion fluff, climbed up hills, rolled around in the grass and leaves, climbed in and out of his stroller repeatedly, and yelped happily. He never got tired. He ran around all morning in my friend's backyard too.

I was exhausted even with an afternoon coffee, while Noah managed it with virtually no nap. Did he go to sleep early though? Nope, he didn't go down until 8pm. I have so much respect for people with 2+ kids, how do you do it without cocaine?! (Don't take cocaine) Hopefully tomorrow will be normal, cause frankly, it just feels unhealthy to go so long without sleep when you're a tiny, growing, ball of energy.

Before he fell asleep for the night, he reminded me why I love him so much by lifting his head up and aiming a big kiss right for momie's cheek. Well played monsieur bébé, well played. Happy Thursday to all, and GO HABS GO!

Last Minute Mother's Day Ideas for Partners

FYI, Mother's Day is this coming Sunday. For many people, this will have either slipped your mind or just completely escaped you. No big deal. Not all moms want a physical material thing anyway, but an acknowledgement of their awesomeness. So it's vital that you do not diminish that, but rather give it fanfare.

Here are a few things that I would personally be happy to receive!

1. Child-Free Time

If you don't have the luxury of doting grandparents, aunts, and uncles nearby, this is like the mythical unicorn of motherhood. You hear that it's beautiful and wonderful, but is seemingly non-existent.

2. Starbucks Gift Card (or the like)

Gift cards seem like a cop out, but not if they will be put to good use. For me, getting a latte is like going to get my daily dose of sanity. Plus it's delicious.

3. Groceries & Dinner Without Consultation

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. As the homemaker and primary cook, I get really tired/bored of thinking of what my family should eat next. A break from this would be totally welcome.

4. Anything At All Made By My Baby

I know that I can look forward to many years of weird and wonky Mother's Day presents from my Small Human, but I don't have many of those yet, so I would love this. (Framed would be even better!)

5. Spa or Salon Treatment

Anyone would enjoy some pampering or getting a fresh new haircut or dye for spring. Seems so simple, but is a really nice gesture. This is a double whammy of awesome, cause it presumably also includes child-free time.

6. Just Remembering Her

A simple, heartfelt and genuine "Happy Mother's Day to the best mother to my child" would suffice, followed by a big smooch. :)

Those Stinkin' Hormones

On Monday, I was the most impatient, angry person that walked the earth. When I feel like this it's usually because of hormones, but unfortunately even though I can correctly identify the cause, it doesn't make me able to control the situation any better.

Since I work in the home, I no longer subject office co-workers, architects, fellow servers, fellow actors, or directors to my surly wrath. Now it's my baby son, which is way, way worse. He needs to be nurtured and loved and made to feel safe. Instead, I become strict mommy who is extra mean when he does something he shouldn't be. Come to think of it, I guess I did this to my architects too. ;) (The Perrier Incident of 2010 comes to mind)

It has been a real test of strength and character, because I love him so much. I would rather be here with him, helping him grow into the best person he can be than receiving accolades as an actor, or tying my worth to a paycheck like I used to. This may be the hardest thing I have ever undertaken because I have never loved a job so much I would die for it, kill for it, or throw myself in front of a speeding truck for it. Nothing has ever been this important to me.

This is what I think about when I'm a raging, hormonal beast of a woman, and you know what? It really helps me. Yes, sometimes I feel like I would rather shoot myself in the head than sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider for the 75th time in 24 hours, or want to strangle Noah when he repeatedly tips the stroller to the ground to make a loud banging sound, but the storm can go as quickly as it came. In a split second, I could have a very sweet little boy who loves to give Momie kisses and make me laugh with his silly dance moves.

Hardest and most fulfilling thing I have ever done.

Not So Happy When It Rains

I wish weekends were always bright and sunny and warm. Unfortunately, this past weekend's weather sucked, and therefore so did my mood. I was tired and headachey all day Saturday, yet still managed to vacuum and do laundry, clean out the rabbits' kennels, and chase a whiny boy who was not pleased with being cooped up for the whole day.

Small Human and I were supposed to go to the food trucks in our park and eat all the foods, but it was pouring rain for the whole day. Every time I thought it was stopping, we'd go out and get soaked, so I gave up and ordered pizza after our third try. Noah enjoyed our impromptu pizza party though, which was fun. He fed momie and babbled and shrieked like a happy little man.

Then later that night he broke a favourite beer glass, and at 11pm woke up with gas and nightmares and didn't go back to sleep until 1am. He did not sleep in the next morning either. Blerg.

Sunday was better, there was a bit less rain and I got to pamper myself at the salon. It was time to cut off some of my 26" long hair. I only chopped off 6" so it's still plenty long! It'll be nice to not get strangled by it when I'm sleeping. ;)

We got to have a bit of outside time before the rain returned though, which always helps. And in true Seattle fashion, the sun (or at least the drier weather) came back for Monday. You have a horrible sense of humour Emerald City, but nevertheless, happy Monday friends!

I love how he looks teeny with his dada...

...and so big with me!

My new hairdo! 

Helipcopter Mum

It's totally official, I am a helicopter mom. I think that you are pretty predisposed to becoming one if you yourself were raised by helicopter parents, but it could really go either way right? I told myself I would let Noah be independent, let him tumble, and just be a kid.

That all went out the window when he fell and got his golf ball-sized goose egg and we had to rush to the clinic. Then a day later he got knocked down by a big kid and hit his goose egg on the floor. *face palm* I gave myself another chance still at the park. I threw away my empty cup and in those 3 seconds, Noah decided he was a big boy now and tried to go down some cement steps like the grownups. This ended in a somersault down said steps and a scraped scalp. It was only three steps down, but still, he's itty bitty. After that he tumbled down the metal staircase of the play structure, hitting his head, and later face planted into another step and hit his cheek.

This is why I am currently an unapologetic helicopter parent, the kind of mother who hovers and is ready to catch her baby and everyone else's babies in the vicinity of her own. If you have seen your sweet baby injured, bleeding or in pain, you know why. My Small Human is solid on his feet, but he has his off days like everyone else. Maybe when he's bigger I can go back to being more laid back, but I am currently on tenterhooks with this zippy 15 month old.

Oh well, good for the waistline I guess. Maybe not so much for the grey hairs. ;) May you all have a glorious May weekend!

xoxo

Even the television knows he's being bad

Of Course!

The Small Human is slowly but surely learning his body parts. He can also very clearly distinguish the difference between English and other languages. When he hears my parents speak in Tagalog to me, after a while he puts his hands on his ears and shakes his head! Probably because he can't understand what's going on, which I need to work on somehow.

When I sing to him in French he thinks everything is normal, but when I speak to him in French he just grins and giggles at me like I'm telling a joke. Then when he hears Spanish he laughs his little face off! He can seriously distinguish between each one! Babies are incredible, and I need to work on making him into a little polyglot like his Tita Joy who speaks English, French, Tagalog and Japanese.

So far he responds to simple commands like, "bring me your sippy" and "put your blocks away". If I ask him where dada is when he's at work, he goes to the door to see if he's there. I plan on teaching him the parts of the body in three languages, but so far these are the English ones he can point to on himself and some on others:

1. Nose
2. Mouth
3. Feet
4. Ears
5. Hands
6. Penis
7. Belly

Is anyone at all surprised that he knows his penis? He's such a boy! What's funny is that he talks so much, but I just don't know what the heck he's saying. :) Soon! Happy May everybody!

This has been his favourite book, that he inherited from the O'Meara kids! <3