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. :)

mom-mode post # 85 - on momfessions

Inspired by this post by my friend Sheila. Perfectionism has long been my middle name and now more than ever I struggle with the high expectations I set for my self. So in an effort to just let go and remind myself that there's not such thing as the perfect mom and wife, here are my momfessions:

1. I have half a cheese quesadilla for lunch almost everyday. Call it stuck in a rut lunch, I call it an easy way to fill me up.

2. I feel guilty when my baby doesn't nap  right on cue. Or that I still rock him to sleep. But he is a baby, not an exact science and I'm finally OK with that. Besides I love the extra snuggles I get when I hold his sleepy little body in my arms.

3. I often pretend I don't understand the local language when locals tell me to put socks on my baby when it is 100 degrees outside ( or insert any other cultural custom here). Would this be considered lying? I call it surviving.

4. I've gone to bed having forgotten to brush my teeth only to remember it right as I'm falling asleep. Some days I don't get back up.

5. I envy those moms that snapped right back into shape after the baby and wonder why I have to work twice as hard to get everything back? Then I'm reminded of my genetics and how it's always been this way when it comes to losing weight.

6. My windows are probably the dirtiest in all of my building. I just haven't had the guts (or the time nor the will) to prop myself up on the window seal to clean them.

And I'll end like my friend Sheila did:

I’m not sure why I’m telling you all of this.  Maybe I just needed to get it off my chest.  I’m not the perfect woman, and I don’t think I mind all that much.

mom-mode post # 84 - on father's day

To my daddy - Who is far away today. And it is not even "Father's Day" in Brazil today. But I celebrate you today. We have been through thick and thin and I'll always think of you when I hear Steve Wonder's song: "I just called to say I love you". Today I just wrote to say I love you. We celebrated you today. O is blessed to have a vovo like you.

To my dad-in-law - Who is also far away today. You've modeled what it means to be a Godly man to my husband. You've raised him to be the same. You've taken me as your own daughter. Your hard-work to provide for your family all these years is so admirable and inspiring. We celebrate you today. O is blessed to have a gramps like you.

To hubby - O's daddy. Back in our dating days I knew you were going to be a great daddy. But I have to say that the day Oliver was born you've exceeded all and any expectations I had. I am so blessed to be together with you in this parenting journey. And if it's possible I love you even more now that I've seen you as O's daddy. O and I are blessed beyond measure to have you as the leader of our little family. We celebrate you today.

mom-mode post 83 - on cheering for mommy's team

                                                         It's the world cup and it's a big deal.