M.I.A

In the past few weeks, we have celebrated our grandmother's 90th birthday, my mom's birthday, my niece's birthday, Mother's Day...
and those were the big moments.

In between and on top of that we had family get-togethers and mini reunions, M's days out, the random night out with friends, playgroups, children's parties, faced some personal battles, gotten busy with work, work, work and even endured another cycle of the common cold. How I wish I could blog more often. But any free time is best spent with the little one and okay fine, catching up with the Gs- Grey's, Game of Thrones and Gossip Girl. Forget the latter. That show jumped the shark a season ago when everyone started dating everyone and their best friends and best friend's partners *cough* Dair *cough*. Gotta still love the fashion though. I digress. Realistically, the best I can do for now and in the interim is post daily photos on instagram (@jajarama).

These last few weeks have felt like a lifetime. But such is life and like I always say, being busy is always a blessing and with each day comes new experiences and learnings. (click on read more)





So just to sum up what I've been up to and some random things I have done and learned:
For lola's birthday, I learned to make an audio video presentation, or AVP from scratch with the help of my nephew. But boy, doesn't iMovie just make things so much easier? Scratch that. MAC makes things so much easier. I have yet to maximize my computer's full potential much to my husband's frustration. Baby steps.

'Fairytales can come true, it can happen to you...' I practically memorized the lyrics of Sinatra's Young at Heart and the Beatles' Here Comes the Sun and In My Life due to continuous playback of the said AVP. Gotta love the classics though.

Conquered my fear of public speaking (just for one day anyway) when I hosted lola's party. Thanks to the aid of a script and nights of practice.

Baby photography is an art. Jumping, clapping, baby-talking adults behind the camera are a must when doing a photoshoot with a baby. Had one with M for a local daily's Mother's Day feature which I will post here soon. (soon meaning before the next Mother's day rolls around. That's the target)

Blogger has an iPhone app. Using it right now in fact. So here's to hitting the publish button more than twice a month.

Reached the 14th month mark of breastfeeding purely, coupled with solids. My initial goal was six months but here we are. It's not easy but after a few months it becomes the most natural thing. It's painful, but it gets better. I'm here to encourage all moms and moms to be that it can be done, even with a full time job. More on this soon. (My blog bucket list is growing)

Detachment is key. When wearing many hats, one must learn to choose the right battles to be able to maintain an ideal work-life balance. Or even attempt to maintain, as all moms can related. Motherhood is the hardest job in the world. You're on call 24/7, no holidays, no weekends, no overtime pay. But it's also the best and most rewarding of all.

M on the other hand at 14 months:
Points to objects
Points to a photo of me and says Ma-ma
Points his thumbs up
Points to the star in his favorite bedtime storybook "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
Drinks from a straw top sippy cup
Wants to eat whatever and whenever we are eating. Middle of the night-midnight snack, notwithstanding.
(Finally) Plays with our fur babies Gizmo and Gruffy.
Makes 'cute eyes'
Walks more steadily now although he still is my little drunken master
Mimics a lot
Speaks in a different language- sounds Chinese to me.
Plays hide and seek.
Cries whenever I leave for work. Always a heartbreaking moment.

Mommy: I love you when you're happy
M: ha ha ha
Mommy: I love you when you're sad
M: hu hu hu
Mommy: What's the sound of the sheep
M: Ba Ba Ba

And when he goes to me, lays his head on my chest, looks up and into my eyes and says 'ma-maaa?' in just the sweetest most heartwarming tone... It's just the best feeling in the world.

Cheers to being M.I.A - a Mom In Action. Hello June and all the wonderful things you bring with you.

Yes, life is good.

P.S.

Yaya-less until Monday. First time too. Here's hoping we get through it in one piece. Happy Weekend!