My daughter loves her mommy, but she is a daddy’s little girl through and through. Father’s Day is only a few weeks away and we were eager to start making special projects for dad. This Father’s Day card has a movable pounding hammer that the kids will get a big kick out of and that their daddies will love.
Today is Valentine’s Day, a day for love & romance. It is also a day that I scramble to try to figure out what kind of gift to buy my husband. Hallmark, Russell Stover’s and every jewelry store and flower shop in town are kept busy with the swarms of boyfriends and husbands grabbing their clichéd Valentine’s trinkets for their wives at home. The men have it easy. It is us women that have to play the guessing game. There will be no stuffed animals or lip shaped chocolates being given to my husband. Perhaps if they made stuffed animals stuffed with bacon or chocolate covered beer cordials this might fly, but otherwise no. Luckily for me, the Patriots made things easy this year & won the Superbowl, which opened up my gift list to Patriots’ paraphernalia. Thanks guys. I owe you one. Before the Pats’ brought home the victory, Mai & I had another idea in mind for our favorite guy.
Slim Jims & Nuts Beer Mug
Tape two canisters of nuts together.
Tape a string of mini Slim Jims together so that they are even. I used 16 of them.
Wrap the Slim Jims around the outside of the canisters with the label facing the outside. Secure with a rubber band & then tape into place.
On a piece of construction paper, cut out an oval & write your message.
Mat it to another piece of construction. Dab the back edges of the paper with a glue gun & secure.
Cut out a handle shape . Bend the edge of the paper that will secure to the mug & lightly glue into place with a glue gun. Add cotton or tissue paper to the top for the foam.
Now on to to our link-up. Welcome to week 7 of the Sunday’s Best Link-Up.
Welcome to Week 7 of Mother 2 Mother’s Sunday’s Best Linkup. Each month we will feature a theme, this month the theme is Love Is In the Air. Smooches! Please share your favorite posts on anything or anyone that you love. This can be recipes, Valentine’s crafts, scrapbook layouts, how you met your husband or significant other, your children, how you spend Valentine’s Day etc. You decide.
Don’t have posts that fit into the theme, link up whatever post you would like to share. Anything goes here. You may link as many posts as you would like. Each week a post will be selected and featured the following week. An image from your post will be used on my blog the following week with a link back to your blog. Be sure to check back to see if you’re the Sunday’s Best featured blogger of the week.
Please meet my new co-host, Kim, and her beautiful daughter from Pinterested Parent. Kim shared a great post last week Pasta Love Bug Crafts. They are adorable and perfect for rainy or snowy day. Please check it out and connect with her.
Rhonda – Mother 2 Mother Kim – Pinterested Parent
If you are interested in co-hosting the next Sunday’s Best linkup, please contact me for details.
Get your post(s) ready for March. The theme is Spring Forward. We’re looking for spring crafts, Easter decorating ideas, Easter tablescapes, recipes, anything that you love to do in the spring and would like to share.
Here’s the rules, please connect with Kim and Me on social media before you leave or subscribe to our blogs :
Mother 2 Mother: Please like my Facebook Page, follow me on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, BlogLovin or subscribe/join my blog on the right before you leave.
The Pinterested Parent: Please like Kim’s Facebook Page, follow her on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Bloglovin before you leave.
One last thing before we get the party started, please grab the Sunday’s Best button above and place it on your sidebar or Tweet the linkup using the hashtag #SundaysBest. I appreciate your help in promoting the linkup with Re-tweets and shares.
Kim selected 15 Pretty In Pink Valentine’s Day Treats by – Dreaming of Leaving
and
I selected Peanut Butter Hearts by – Dabbling Momma
All of the posts were great, and I appreciate each of you linking up. We honestly had a hard time making selections, and would like to invite all of you back to linkup your post again this week. While your’re here take a minute to visit these great blog and connect with Jessica and Susen. These ladies are quite crafty.
There was a lot of controversy this week regarding a photo that was released of Bill Belichick kissing his grown daughter on the lips after the Superbowl. I saw all of the jokes on social media & the jabs at him from news outlets. Jokes of incest and words of disgust were aimed at this family over what people perceived as inappropriate.
I have heard this topic debated often. Should we kiss our children on the lips?
I am not sure if you can put a yes or no answer to this question. This is for each parent to decide. Who are we to judge how a parent kisses their child? Why is this so taboo? Why does it make on-lookers so squeamish? What makes it so weird?
I come from a family of mouth kissers. At 40 years old, I still kiss my father on the lips. I also kiss my aunts & uncles in a similar fashion. When my husband & I kiss our daughter, it is sometimes on the head, it is sometimes on the cheek & often times, yes, it is on the lips. There is nothing sexual about these kisses. They are not perverse. They are quick, close lipped smooches with our child.
For those that are looking at me with appall, I look back at you with equal appall. It disgusts me that a symbol of affection such as a kiss with my daughter could be viewed as anything but. It sickens me to think that a kiss from my father could be construed as passionate & not paternal. We all were raised in different households, with different family cultures. Every family is different. For me, I don’t know any other way. It is as natural for me to kiss my family on the mouth, as it is for others to give a peck on the cheek. While you may not understand it or agree with it, please respect it.
Like many young girls, my daughter is caught up in the fairy tale world of princesses and princes. She parades around our home in her princess dresses and tiaras almost every day. “Princesses don’t wear pants, mama.” They do however, wear gowns & sneakers like it is their job.
Lately, she has been bringing her father into her world of make believe.
“Prince, prince, where are you prince?”
“Prince, please get me some juice.”
Her prince is always happy to oblige.
I think about this fairy tale world that she lives in right now. In these stories the prince is always dashing and handsome with great hair, a sparkling smile and the ability to slay dragons. It is love at first sight. True love is portrayed with song and dance routines and of course everyone always lives happily ever after.
In the real world if you went around singing & dancing, they might have you committed. Love is seldom at first sight & that dashing prince might be a wise cracking bald guy. Not every relationship is a whirlwind romance, but that does not mean that it is not a great love story. The man that wins your heart might not be handsome or dashing, but he makes your heart skip a beat. In a real fairy tale the prince & princess have their ups & downs. They fight, they make up. You might not get a happy ending. You might get left with a broken heart. Life is not a fairy tale.
I hope that as you get older, you realize that real love is not what you read in your story books or see in the movies. There are no big dramatic gestures. John Cusack will not be outside of your window holding up a boom box. There will not be a mail box full of love letters from Ryan Gosling. Real love is flawed, it takes work. It requires communication, patience & understanding.
Real princes are men like your father. They clean off your car when it snows outside. They make supper when you are running late. They get up in the middle of the night to change poopy diapers and they are great fathers. Prince Charming may have slayed a dragon, but he never slept on the floor at the foot of his sick daughter’s bed. That’s a real prince.
As you already know from my ‘Football Widow’s Rant’, I am not a football fan. I could care less about it. My husband loves it. He loves all sports really, but football is his favorite. From the day our daughter was born, we both hoped that we would be able to share our interests with our daughter. For me, I hoped that she would enjoy art & doing crafts with mommy. She does & I couldn’t be happier. My husband has a longer list of interests. He dreams of running marathons with her as she gets older, playing golf and taking her to sporting events. He is off to a good start as she has already run her first fun run, loves golfing with daddy & at 2 years old is already a Pats fan.
At only 7 days old, Mai watched her first game with her father. Fast forward to today where she gets excited when she sees the Patriots emblem, cries if her Pats sweatshirt is dirty and screams “Good job, Tom Brady!!” at the game while stuffing popcorn down her gullet.
Who knows if her love for football & the Patriots will continue as she gets older, but for now daddy is enjoying his little New England fan. I thought we could make a keepsake for them to look back on some day.
Mai loves foot & hand crafts. She thinks it is fun to paint her feet up. I had to help to ensure that we had the colors in the right spots.
While the paint dried, Mai thought it was only fair that she got to paint mommy’s feet too.
When the paint dried, we painted on our Patriot’s game face, dated it & framed it for daddy. He loved it of course. GO PATS!
There are many things in motherhood that are a complete mystery to me.
Why does our daughter ask for something and then cry when I give it to her?
How can she be so utterly sweet & adorable one minute and then such a monster the next?
The thing that confuses me the most is why do tantrums & meltdowns seem to be reserved only for me? Why does she eat with no arguments at daycare and take naps for Nana & most importantly why is she so sweet for her father & yet gives me such a hard time.
I share my exasperations with my husband. I tell him about my traumatic morning battles with our daughter. I explain how trying it is to wake her up & get her dressed and off to daycare. He looks at me and responds “Really, when I have her, she wakes right up and says she is ready to go to Miss Laura’s. We get dressed without any problems” Of course you do. Of course. Once again, not only do I feel as if I am an inadequate mother, but I feel as if it my stories of these difficult mornings seem like nothing more than an over-exaggeration or a figment of my imagination. Am I perhaps crazy? Is she really not as difficult as I think?
On the mornings that my husband is home to bring our daughter to daycare, I am relieved. There are no fights, no struggles. I just get to hug and kiss everyone goodbye knowing that my husband will flawlessly carry out the morning routine.
This morning was one of his mornings. I heard our daughter stirring early & I immediately thought to myself “Here we go, another easy morning for hubby.” Then something strange happened. As I quickly moved around the house to get ready for work, I overheard something so familiar. “No Dada, I don’t want to change the diaper. No! Leave the dirty diaper on. I don’t like to go to Miss Laura’s. I want my owl shirt, not the polka dots.” For a half hour, I listened as they went back & forth. I intervened to offer a hand a couple of times, but had to leave for work.
En route to work, my husband called me.
“Is that what you go through when you take her to daycare in the morning?”
“Yes, every time.”
“Oh my god! Don’t ever leave us. That was horrible”
The edges of my lips slowly raised into a satisfied smile. Silly daddy, I would never leave either of you. I love my family, meltdowns & all.
Once upon a time not so long ago I had a sweet little mama’s girl. One day she woke up and decided that mommy was old news & that daddy was the new headliner. It stung a little, alright it stung a lot, but it made perfect sense. I am not nearly as much fun as daddy is. They do have a lot in common after all & I am not just talking about the blond hair, blue eyes and dimples.
1. They both have a keen sense of fashion.
2. They think farts are funny.
3. They both have a hard time getting their pee into the toilet.
4. Neither one listens to me when I speak.
5. They would both prefer to run around the house naked.
6. They think Doritos & jelly beans are an acceptable lunch.
7. Neither has an issue wearing stained clothing.
8. They both laugh at there own jokes.
9. Both get cranky when they haven’t had a nap.
10. Neither one will eat their vegetables.
11. They both like Elsa from Frozen.
12. They leave crumbs everywhere.
13. I have to remind them both to brush their teeth.
14. They both will eat food that fell on the ground.
15. Most importantly, they both love me.
Check out Living In Momarchy’s list of 12 things her toddler & dogs have in common.
One of the comments that bothers me most is “Your daughter look nothing like you”. When I was pregnant, I was always waiting for my next ultrasound. I remember my first one, there was nothing but the yolk sac yet. I was so anxious for my next visit. I could not wait until she started to take on the form of a baby. I was excited & relieved on that next visit when I saw her & got to hear her heart beat. I envisioned what she would look like. Would she take on some of my Asian features? Would she get her daddy’s blue eyes? Would she be short like her grandmas or tall like her grandpas? I could not wait to meet her.
I have to admit that in my mind I was about 98% certain that she was going to come out looking exactly like me. I was convinced. It only seemed fair right? I was the one who had to carry her for nine months & endure morning sickness, cramps, carpal tunnel, edema & a treacherous birth, why shouldn’t she look just like me.?
When the big day came & I finally got to see my baby girl for the first time, all I saw was me. I looked at that baby & just knew that she was my own. So it really took me off guard as family and friends visited and said “Wow! She looks like Chris, doesn’t she?” She does? Awwwww crap!
As she grew it was apparent that she definitely took on some of her father’s features. She had his fair skin, eye shape and color, his signature dimple and long torso and she certainly did not get her strawberry blond hair from me, but still I saw me in there. Some agreed that there was a mix, but mostly they saw daddy’s girl. I had people say “She looks nothing like you, huh? Ha, ha, ha.” Not ha ha ha, boo hoo hoo.
One day at a museum during a particularly disturbing meltdown, I was trying to carry my daughter out while she kicked & screamed. She began to scream, “Doooon’t take me, don’t take me!” I saw all eyes on me & I couldn’t help thinking that someone was going to call the police on me. “Hey, there is an Asian lady abducting a cute little blond girl. Get here quick.!” Don’t worry folks, nothing to see here. She is my daughter.
I know that it really does not matter one way or another whether she looks like me or my husband the only things that matters is that she is a happy, healthy little girl that spreads her sunshine and joy everywhere she goes, but when I look her in dimply, blue eyed face, I see a mirror image of me. I have stared, watched her play & laugh for hours on end. I see me in her creativity & her stubborn nature. I see my nose in the center of her face. As much as her physical attributes are her fathers, from that first look I knew she was my girl. So though you might not see it, I do, so don’t burst my bubble.
We all do it differently, but have the same goal.
Our other relationships & even our selves will take a backseat
We all want to be the best parents that we can be.
We will have days that we feel like super-mom or dad & there will be days that we feel as if we are failures.
It can be frustrating, exhausting & rewarding all in a matter of just moments.
You will judge other parents even if you don’t mean too. (Admit it, you do)
You always worry.
You will make mistakes.
Nobody warns you just how hard it is or maybe you just weren’t listening.
Time goes by quicker than it did before you had children.
You will accidentally injure your child at some point.
It is full of surprises.
You will get pooped on or peed on.
You will have disagreements with your spouse on how to raise your children.
You always want to talk about your kids, even if no one wants to listen.
You will not always have all the answers.
It makes you appreciate your parents more.
You see bits of yourself in your children & it is not always good thing.
You can hardly remember what life was like before you had kids.
It makes you redefine your ideas of a clean house.
You waste a lot of food.
You will always love your children, but you might not always like them.
You understand unconditional love.
It is a full time job, but the best career choice you will ever make.
It is beautiful!
What is parenting to you?
There are many memorable events over the course of one’s life. From the time that you are born you are creating memories. As an infant the memories you create are more for your parents then for yourself; the first time you roll over, your first laugh, those first steps & your first word. As you get older those firsts continue to be important; the first time you ride a bike, your first crush, your first kiss & even the difficult firsts like the first time you get your heart broken. Today was a first for my daughter and my husband. It was the first time that either of them went to the circus. Alright, alright, I realize that this is not a major milestone, but it was certainly a most memorable day for our whole family. We arrived to the circus early. We were greeted by clowns and a music played by a glockenspiel before walking into the building.
Inside Mai’s face lit up with delight at the sight of balloons, glow sticks and elephant rides. I was nervous that with all of these distractions that we would never keep her in her seat, but we settled into our seats and she happily snacked on popcorn and waited for the show to begin. 
Over the course of the next 2 1/2 hours, we were entertained and awed by acrobats, jugglers, wild animals, plate spinners and daring stunts. Nobody was more awed than I. With my daughter’s short attention span, I went to the circus just being hopeful that she would make it through a half hour of the show. I had visions of running out of the big top with a screaming toddler. This was not the case. She loved every aspect of the show. She laughed at the clowns and oohed and awed over the sparkling ladies on the trapeze. She yelled & cheered at the motorcyclists and clapped for the animals. I spent more time watching the fun she was having and the smiles on her and my husband’s faces than watching the show. 
Mai stayed cuddled up on her daddy’s lap. They shared a popcorn and created a first memory of the circus for both of them. But it was not only a first for them, it was one for me as well. It was the first time I went to the circus with my family & I will never forget it. 
