mom-mode post # 89 - on daddy's birthday

So I'm a month late on this post. Life has been... busy, challenging, exciting.
We celebrated hubby's birthday with a simple lunch out at a new western restaurant with found in town that sells burgers and that doesn't start with Burger and end with king ( see pic)
A couple of weeks later we celebrated with an all out american cook out with turks, canadians, a brazilian (moir!) and the guest of honor, an american.:)
I even busted out a special yellow cake mix and cream cheese frosting. I wish I had taken a picture of how I decorated it, but like I said life has been busier than usual.

To the man of my life, man of my dreams, I hope you had a lovely little birthday. O and I love you!

Here O is working on slightly bored look that most kids only master when they are teenagers. My kid is smart like that.:)

mom-mode post # 88 - on fake beaches, real islands and whatnot

If you are not going to the beach.Bring the beach to you. Or something like that.
These hot summer days have got me longing to take O ( and myself) to the beach. Given that we are as landlocked as "landlockedness" gets (which makes this long lost island girl incredibly sad), I took matters into my own hands. I am determined to make O into a little fish like I was when I was a little girl. So we went to Carrefour, bought the one pool that could fit into our balcony and voila, instant beach sans sand. O actually felt quite relaxed, enthralled in his must-have summer read: "Water, water everywhere".

All the while I kept reassuring him ( or myself?): One of these days O, mama will introduce you to a real beach on a island far far away... One of these days.

mom-mode post # 86 - on mommy guilt

If there is one thing about motherhood no one warned me about was this: guilt. Stemming from your own high standards, from other moms in your family, from that friend just seems to have it together,  from your nosy neighbor, from that craft blog, from the parenting magazines... Mommy guilt set in before O was even  a month old. It starts with a little bit of second guessing yourself: Am I doing this right? Should I be doing something different? And it escalates to full blown guilt, keeping you awake at night ( as if your baby wasn't already doing a great job at that), making you feel less of a mommy, a wife, a person.

If you are a young mom and are being eaten alive by mommy guilt, I share with you this article. Hope it is a refreshing to you as it was to me. This has been one of the most to-the-point articles I've ever read on the subject.

If you have not come to this stage in life or have long passed it, would you do me a favor? Would you be willing to say a little prayer for me? Pray that I'll "be all here" and my ministry to O will be my biggest expression of love for him. So I can live "mommy-guilt" free, knowing that I am right where I'm supposed to be.

Much love,

P.

mom-mode post # 86 - on beautifying sleep

It's as if every morning he wakes up just a little bit cuter. And I fall for him just a little bit harder. :)