Put your feet up...Happy Mother's Day.

I recently heard two women having a conversation about how they hate Mother's Day. It's not the first time I have heard that. 

Their reason- "mother's guilt." To them it was a day of feeling guilty for all the things they didn't feel like they measured up to.

I mean... really?

I know mom guilt can exist....but only if you let it be there. Let's stop comparing ourselves to others and be proud of the title we have been blessed with. 

 So instead of dreading the day... 

Put your feet up.

Let those who love and appreciate you- serve you.

You deserve it. 

Here is the sweetest little video that my sister-in-law Darlene did for this post on Howdoesshe.com! My belly just make a debut so be on the lookout. 

You can find more Darlene's work here.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who make an impact on the life of children every day in some way, shape, or form.

The other day I saw an older man at a restaurant sit down and help a mother of  newborn twins feed a bottle to one of the babies. I over heard him telling her how amazing mothers were.

He is right. I wish every mom could just see that.

besitos, 

xo

The lessons I learned from mi Mami.

Side Note: This post was supposed to be up on Mother's Day (yesterday) as a gift to my mom...but seeing as my husband was out of town and I spent the day making my own breakfast, dinner, preparing a lesson, baking cookies, and chasing after a two year old who decided to nap at church and not at home- It didn't happen. I must admit that I was somewhat envious of the mother's who reported on their breakfast in beds, flowers, and bubble baths. But the trail of a two-year-old (literally chocolate finger prints everywhere) was a reminder that I am very much a mother of a young child and to me that is the greatest gift I could ask for. 

So on with this post...

I was going through some photos and came across this family photo. I noticed my little hand grasping onto my mom's finger. This is all too familiar. How I love to have Little Man's hands in mine. Being a mother myself I realize the love and connection that my mom and I must have and still have. Every stage that Little man is going through (good moments and tough moments) my mom has been through. She is an exceptional woman who taught me so many things. 

I just had to ask her a few questions:

ME: What advice to you give mothers of this generation?

MOM: The advice I can give mothers of this generation is the same advice I was given by a middle aged woman at the time when I had a five and two year old: "Enjoy each precious moment with your girls because they do grow up way too fast." I now understand exactly what she meant.

ME: How do you put service in your daily life?

MOM: Service needs to come from the heart, it can't be forced. Be an example by serving others and most likely your children will do the same.

ME: What is your favorite thing about being a mother?

MOM: My greatest satisfaction as a mom is to watch my children do things better than me and to know that despite of their mother, they turned out great!

   

ME: Any other thoughts?

MOM: I am grateful for the opportunity I had to be a mom. What a great honor it is. I am also mindful of women who never had this blessing  and for them, Mother's day must be hard. I can only hope that they may find ways to help other children in need of love and attention and that eventually they can also be called "mom". The sweetest words a woman could ever hear.

 

What have I personally learned from my mom? 

1. Education is important. 

She was doing homework along side of us and graduated from BYU last year!

2. Stand up for what you believe in.

 My mom has been an advocate for women, children , and the latino population. She has volunteered countless hours as the Honorary Consulate of El Salvador, teaching parenting as a parent advocate,  and serving the people El Salvador. She is so not afraid to get on the microphone and tell others what she believes. 

3. Serve others- even while you are on vacation. 
My mom always had her hand in service everywhere she went. As a family we always packed a suitcase for ourselves and one for someone in need when we traveled. 

4. Love your children and their spouses.

My mom is each of our number one fans. I can always count on her to be one of those who actually reads my blog or shares everything we do on facebook. And she adores her son-in-laws as well and is constantly telling all of us and (other people) how proud she is of us. I love that. 

Happy Mother's Day Mamita. 
Te amo mamá. 
Besitos, xo

How to take care of your man- in the words of Mami Gloria

As a child, I spent many of summers in El Salvador living in my Mami Gloria's home. Every afternoon everyone would come home for "siesta" and sit down to warm lunch for a chance to put their feet up until it was time to go back to work. Although my grandma was a very busy business owner, she not only always was fashionably dressed but she always was home when my grandpa- (Papi Meme) came home.  

Together they would eat lunch and she would spend the afternoon by his side nurturing him with masajitos (massages) or mini facials. As old-fashioned as that sounds- she genuinly loved doing it. And old-fashioned she is anything but. In fact, to this day you can find her wearing denim jeans and sylish shades while sporting a flaming red hairdo. Although, her role as a wife seems very 1950's housewife...one thing is for sure- she adored my grandpa. I would often find these two holding hands in the car or arm in arm while they relaxed at the beach house.  Taking care of him was not considered a task but in her eyes the least she could do to show her love. 
 I think there is something to be learned here.

I thought there was no better person to ask relationship advice than Mami Gloria. So I asked her  to give us "mujeres modernas" (modern women) some advice on how to keep our man happy and therefore have a happy relationship.

Her response:

1. "El hombre es como un nino grande. Hay que alimentarle tanto su estomago como su ego. Hay que hacerlo sentir bien"

(The man is like a big kid. It is necessary to feed his stomach like his ego. You must make him feel good.)

2. "Cuando el hombre esta enojado, salirse del ring. No seguir discutiendo, eso envena la relacion. Despues cuando esta calmado proseguir con el argumento."

(When the man is angry, get out of the "ring." Don't continue arguing; it's poison to the relationship. Then when he's calm continue with your argument.

3. Tratar de siempre estar bien atractiva.

(Try to always look really attractive.)

 4. "El hogar debe de ser un oasis y un verdadero descanso. No darle malas noticias al nomas verlo que llega del trabajo. Si hay que hablar de algun problema, esperar el apropiado momento. Ellos deben de ver a una esposa feliz y sonriente cuando enran a la casa."

(The home should be an oasis and a true place to rest. Don't give him bad news the minute he gets home from work. If there is a need to talk about a problem, wait for a appropriate moment. They must see a wife who is happy and smiling when they arrive home.)

5. "Querer a la familia del esposo porque hay que comprender que es una extencion de la familia nuclear que estan formando."

(Love your husband's family because you must understand that it is an extension of the nuclear family that is forming.)

6. Ser una buena administradora de las finanzas porque no hay peor cosa que agobie a una pareja que las cuentas pendientes

(Be a good administrator of finances because there is not a worse burden on a couple than outstanding balances.)  

I loved these anwers. Many of us women hate to admit that these things do in fact make our men happy... I think she is on to something.

 Te quiero Mami Gloria! Feliz Dia de la Madre!

Happy Mother's Day!!

besitos, xoxo

5 things that Grandma Shirley taught me...

 Today I had to fight the urge to just let my dishes "soak" while I sat down at the computer and begin this post. It's the free spirit yellow in me that is constantly battling with my overpowering and very blue side. (color code) I know I "should" tidy up the kitchen before diving into a creative project but where's the fun in dishes? But today before sitting down to write, I cleaned up my kitchen. According to my grandma Shirley "It only takes a few minutes." However, for me today that didn't apply...I may have had a few days worth of dishes to tackle. ;)

I remember my grandma's house as always spotless. White carpets and white couches with a lot of crystal figurines locked behind glass were eye candy for the curious child. I am surprised I never broke anything (not that I could remember at least). Everything was in it's place and polished clean. I remember her constantly spotting unnoticeable specks of dust or paper on the carpet and bending down to pick it up. (She still tries to do that and we quickly hurry to the rescue before she hurts herself) I can remember picking up pine cones or vacuuming her stairs when I went over there. My dad reports that he always had to do a job or chore of some sort before he could play. He also noted that "She always had a place for everything and to this day she knows exactly where her scissors are- they have been in the same place for 65 years."

Photos of Shirley May Van Leeuwen

{Grandparents wedding day}

So, in honor of Mother's Day- I am thinking about something that I learned (or am still learning) from Grandma Shirley. Her secrets to a clean home. I asked her to give me and other new moms some tips and this is what she said:

1. Never go to bed with a dirty kitchen.

Shirley reports: "It feels great to wake up to a clean kitchen.  I never let dishes pile up or sit in the sink. It  makes such a difference in the feel of the room to have an empty sink."

2. Include your kids.

She reports: "I used to have a little chore chart where the kids got to choose three small jobs to do. They were simple jobs like find 10 weeds or dust three pieces of furniture. They never seemed to complain because afterwards we got to sit and have a treat like ice cream sandwiches."

3. Wash the tub even before the little ones get out.

She reports: "I would start cleaning the ring around the tub even before they were getting out. I made sure that the toys were cleaned up and towels hung up before doing anything else. It was always ready for the next bath and I hardly had to scrub the tub on another day."

4. Safety Pin your socks.

She reports: "I used to safety pin the socks together so they would always be together in the wash. It saved a lot of time!'"

5. Fold laundry right out of the dryer.

She reports: "It only takes a few minutes to fold the laundry right out of the dryer. I would always see women who would bring it into the living room and set it on the couch. I had no idea why they went through all the effort to move the laundry when it was just as easy to fold right away."

When I asked what her favorite cleaning solutions are- she said; 

"vinegar and baking soda"- She claims they leave your floor extra shiny. 

I can learn a lot from these tips. I love to procrastinate dishes and laundry and have a huge basket full of mismatched socks just waiting for me to sit down and match them one of these days.

Grandma- I love you and admire you. 

Thanks for these tips. 

I am going to implement them into my life! 

besitos,

xo

Got Art? Make a Mother's Day card!

I have so many finger paintings around my home from Little Man that I am not sure what to do with them all. At first, I just hung them on the fridge (until they fell off each time opening the fridge) or on a little art display wall and admired at what talent my little boy had in making incredible squiggles and hand prints... that is until we made more... and more... and more art... and the piles around the house began to grow. Yes, it's true. I confess- I am a pile person. I have a problem of piling something that I plan on putting away later. (sometimes it could be months though)

And obviously- I don't have the heart to throw out these beautiful lovelies. After-all, it is his self-expression and his own little art journal.  But I am afraid if   if I don't do something quick then I am going to be on The Hoarders episode titled: "Buried Alive in Finger Paintings" 

So here is a cute idea my friend Nicole came up with to make Mother's Day cards that are similar to Eric Carle Books. If you don't know these books...you are missing out. I LOVE them!

1. Take your child's masterpiece (with their permission of course) and find different interesting shapes.

2. Cut out shapes. 

  

3. Glue it to your card.

4. Give this to your mom for mother's day. 

Easy huh? Here are some other flowers I laid out.

It's perfect for a last minute mother's day card don't you think??

Besitos, xo

P.S. Thanks for those of you who commented or emailed for the visual schedule printables part one. I am working up some more and will have a way for you to download right here on the blog! So-stay tuned.