Full-Time Mom Thriving Motherhood

Yup, I say so myself. As a mother of two, I no longer strive for survival, I thrive. The conventional wisdom said what doesn't kill you makes you stronger; it is brutally true. Now I can single-handedly lift up a 35lbs kid while lugging two big bags of groceries. Try me.

Being a mom makes me discover my greatest self, I never knew I could be so patient that I could be Chloe's walking cradle for 2 hours; but at the same time, I also uncover the darkest side of myself, I never knew the unrelenting frustrations of mismanaging expectations could make me totally lose it. Throughout the whole journey of this glorious motherhood, there's a "gray period" that I tend to fall between these two extremes (well, it could also be just hormonal changes, anyway.) It takes me two years to pick myself up again and to figure this whole new ball game (hopefully you buy this explanation as it is the best excuse I can ever come up with on why I disappear in the blogosphere for 2 years :p) and I am ready to share what I've been through...

Before I begin with my story, here's a little introduction in case you don't know me yet and just happen to stumble upon this blog. I call myself a full-time mom (FTM) and I think in fact all moms are full-time moms doesn't matter if you work outside of the house or not. Once you are a mom, there's no resignation. However, to make motherhood even more confusing and challenging, the society labels me a stay-at-home mom (SAHM). Whatever. I am a mom, or should I say I am just a mom but more than that, and I take pride in it. I have a beautiful 5 years old daughter and I recently gave birth to a new baby girl, that upgrades me to a mother of two. In the world of motherhood, your combat effectiveness is determined by the number of children you have. That being said, if you have only one child, you're pretty much on the lowest tier of the pyramid (per say); but the moment you give birth to another baby, congratulations, you successfully evolve and instantly you will be crowned as a "better, stronger and greater" mom. If you have five or more children, your are nuts, oops, sorry, mind my language, I mean you are the Yoda. Now I assume all moms with single child pay me higher respect okay :p

Joke aside, motherhood is one of the toughest assignment of life, I've been told that kids do not come with an instruction manual, but guess what, it does. It does. That's why I'm thrilled to share my journey. While gathering my thoughts to best present them to you in the next post (in written or audio format), here are some of the pictures that best conclude my full-time mommyhood in past two years...


#1 July, 2016. Chloe & I walking over to a retirement home for her first recital.


#2 Sept, 2016. At Carmel, California. I was 4 months pregnant with Chloe's baby sister.


#3 Sept, 2016. We braved the strong waves by Carmel Beach. Btw, this picture doesn't do the waves justice.


#4 Sept 2016. At one of Chloe's favorite "playground" aka MoMA New York.


#5 Dec, 2016. Spending our weekend ritual making art at de Young Museum.


#6 Dec, 2016. Lake Tahoe, California. Pregnancy, icy path, the snowy weather never stop me from rocking my role as Chloe's mom. She wanted to see snow, and we brought her to it albeit my burgeoning belly that time.


#7 Dec, 2016. Napa Valley, California. It was probably one of the most relaxing trips for me although without a drop of alcohol; it was also our last trip together as a family of three.

I know, I once loudly proclaimed that I will not want another baby after Chloe but yet... I'd like you to hear me out although I don't owe anyone an explanation, you guys are important to me. For now, start supporting each other, pass along the positive energy and good vibe, we will all sail through this life together!


A Moscow Mule please, I'll see you again soon! C.H.E.E.R.S~



xoxo,
Beverly

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

Still busy packing but I'd like to leave a footprint here about Boulder before moving to San Francisco, ya, I'm moving to SF really soon. Chean & I are excited about the move, SF is a beautiful city but deep down, we both know that we are going to miss Boulder very very very badly...

If you do not already know, I have been living in Boulder, CO for approximately 3 years now. After going through all the ups and downs in this sweet little town, I feel utterly sad to bid goodbye for good. Ok, right now I'm hearing a voice asking how do I find Portland, OR then... Hmm, you know what, I really like Portland a lot, but I'm in love with Boulder.

Let me put it this way...

Portland is kinda like an A+ boyfriend which you don't really have much to hate about, and you don't regret all the things you've done together but you always know you can still find a better one if you step out of the comfort zone and be a little more adventurous. On the other hand, Boulder is like a husband material, you're mature enough to understand your needs and ready for marriage thus you put in as much effort as you could (even when things didn't work out as you wish), hoping the relationship will flourish and grow strong, and eventually settle down in a safe cocoon.

That how I feel about Boulder... Simply good life, no hassle, no rush, no stress. It really is a G.R.E.A.T and S.A.F.E place to raise a family. How safe? All my neighbors store their expensive & high-end strollers at the front porch (I store it at home or in car due to the dust), they also place the children outdoor toys at the sidewalk (I do the same too), and well, I sometimes forgot to lock my car but I can just leave Mr. Bronze unlock for a night without worrying much... That's how I define a safe neighborhood...

Now, some not-so-awesome pics to remember the awesome life in Boulder (T____T)


#1 Chloe BB & I lazing & chilling at the park on a random evening :)


#2 Hello-ing with our neighbor's cute pup~


#3 Went to a furniture store nearby for some home improvement stuff.


#4 Met a tons of friendly and very well-educated kids every time we're out & about, like this one, I still fondly remember our conversation...

5 y/o Boy: You've the cutest baby, how old is she? (Good manners and very sociable)
Me: Thanks. She is 14 months.
(Then Chloe suddenly decided to pull his sunglasses!!! Ohhh Nooo!!!)
Me: I'm so sorry, she is very into sunglasses lately.
5 y/o Boy: That's ok, she can play with it (waving the sunglasses to Chloe). Oh, you know what, I have an extra pair at home, should have brought it with me so that I can give it to her (Willingness to share, checked).

W.A.L.A.O! I nearly wanted to ask his babysitter what school does he go to, such a good kid! So confident and well educated. Later, I found out that basically this articulate kid is just one of many super smart kids in town. I would love to see Chloe growing up in Boulder, together with them.


#5 Another typical evening, riding on her car then drawing on the sidewalk. Now that she befriends with the neighbor kids and we will walk down a block for some fun time with her new friends.

Then these were taken yesterday, at the park too...


#6 The trainer and the soccer team. Cute enough? Wait til you hear their conversation.

Trainer: Dominic, you're not doing your best, move faster! Tell me your name!
4-5 y/o Dominic: Golden Tornado!!!
Trainer: That's a strong name, I like that.

Laugh die me. Hahahaha...


#7 Saying Hi to Baby Grant, the family just moved to Boulder from San Francisco! What a coincidence ;)


#8 That's Daddy Chean being an angel to his baby when Chloe's busy doing her baby stuff aka running away from us, tossing sand, pulling grasses, chasing birdies, climbing the unclimbable object & etc (now the wings make sense because speed is everything when it comes to parenthood)...

Last but definitely not least...

A meaningful pic to end this unorganized blog post...


#9 Meaningful because I was so wasted yesterday, LOL...

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to you, Darling Chean ❤❤❤

We got married, we had the bestest time together til God decided to add some bumps to the smooth ride... We got lost in life til we almost lost hope, we broke down so many times but we always remember to lift each other up, we been through the toughest challenge and sailed through the storms shoulder to shoulder... Life taught us hard and we learned a tons throughout the bumpy ride, but most of all, we learn to love each other better.

And all these, the happiest and the saddest moments took place in Boulder, a place where we grow the most. Thank you Lord for the complete healing and blessings; thanks Darling for completing my life, and for being such a wonderful & fun daddy to our baby.



Boulder, thanks for all the great memories, so long! Watch out San Francisco, the Laws are coming!!!



p/s: I always ask whenever I take pictures of others or strangers, no worries ;)

 

Love & Kisses,
Bev

Butterfly Pavilion

久久也來篇中文的吧！呵呵~

目前的生活狀態，一切還是以家庭日為主。因為之前住在馬來西亞的關係，寶寶整整四個月沒法兒跟粑粑一起玩，所以回來后只要：1）寶寶的午覺時間允許，2）Chean工作量ok的話，幾乎每個週末我們都外出耶。再說，這裡的親子活動實在太多了，日曆都幾乎被填滿，而且好多都是不收費的，出席那樣的活動常常有一種“賺到了”的滿足感，哈哈~~

不過，今天介紹的Butterfly Pavilion是需要購買入門卷的，但不貴非常值得。


#1 看到了吧，Chean都只拍寶寶，這圖都拍歪了！Hmm...


#2 好特別的昆蟲！寶寶那天一整天赤腳耶，麻麻把鞋子忘了在另一個包，對！不！起！:'(


#3 這個“樹桐”是小蜜蜂們的家！可以看見蜜蜂們從外面採花蜜以及在蜂窩里的一切活動，超有教育性的！


#4 第一次零距離看見Bumble Bee本人，激動得很，久久不捨離開，嘻嘻。


#5


#6 這個spot超受歡迎的，所幸那天人潮不多。


#7


#8 我們好像哦，哈哈！


#9 樂翻~~


#10 聽見了蜜蜂的聲音。


#11 三歲以上的孩子可以讓Rosie在手上遊戲哦！美國的小孩真的還蠻大膽的...


#12 快嚇死了！我只能說很geli！！！


#13 Chean拍的Rosie，很恐怖吧？


#14 裡頭還有一個小型水族館。


#15 哈哈！甚麼狀況啊？


#16 可愛 :D


#17 室內的“蝴蝶觀察室”，整個都是熱帶森林的溫度和濕度。因為Colorado的humidity超底，所以裡面一直不斷地下霧耶！照片都不需要用filter了。


#18 寶寶的頭髮溼了...


#19 蝴蝶還是馬來西亞的漂亮一些，種類多一些，呵呵~~ 希望下次回去可以到動物園或蝴蝶山莊走一趟。


#20


#21


#22 太開心Chean可以陪我們出去玩（其實他工作真的超忙），給Daddy Chean一百個Like！


#23 “麻麻，夠了...”


#24 “再一張就好，要扮蝴蝶嗎？”


#25 “我要睡午覺了！！！”  完全不給面子的說...

真的，午覺很重要。記得有本育兒書說甚麼baby們睡覺的時候正是腦部發育的時候，好像是那樣，呵呵，所以很多有趣的活動不能參與是因為我太不想犧牲寶寶珍貴的睡眠。

好吧，就這樣咯，下一次再跟大家分享有趣的事，拜拜！



祝幸福安康，
Bev

Ikea Outing

Really sick of seeing all the baby stuff and toys scattering around the house; my previously tidy home (it wasn't very tidy but still manageable ok) is now a disaster, a war zone, no exaggeration. I'm not really finicky about tidiness and cleanliness but still get a bit frustrated to see the clutter getting no way in the house. Thing gets totally out of hand especially when Chloe gets more mobile and messing up the house is now officially her new hobby...

So I thought I can take up the housewife's responsibility and start organizing instead of complaining, and Ikea is the answer to the most affordable option when it comes to home storage & organization.


#1 Posted this pic on FB because we're too cute together, wakaka~~


#2 Maybe this one is cuter, help me decide :p


#3 S.E.L.F.I.E of the day, without cosmetic lenses, without falsies, without retouching. Hmm... I honestly think I look better in the U.S, is it the weather? The sunlight? Or maybe just my perception :)


#4 Did the gel nail in S'ban. Wanted to add a nautical touch to them but ended up making them looking so 4th-of-July @.@


#5 It's her first trip to Ikea btw.


#6 Happy face~~


#7 Feeding herself! Great job! *tap dancing*


#8 Thank god for Daddy Chean~~ Love you so much as a father, a husband, a man and a very best friend of mine.


#9


#10 Shopping, shopping, shopping...


#11 There goes my happy face when I find something I want, and a baby so busy occupying her down time with new discovery, hehe~~



Alright, I better go get clean up and get organized before Chloe woke up from her nap. See you soon~~



Best,
Bev