What It Means to be a Mother

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful moms out there. And a special greetings to my very own mother and mother-in-law. Two wonderful mothers and grandmothers whom I've considered to be such a great blessing in my life. As you can see, beautifully ageless women run in the family and I just hope that when I reach their age (believe it or not, 60 and 55) I would be just as youthful and fabulous. I love you Ma and Mom...

Any woman can give birth to a child, but it takes a special kind of woman to mother that child and raise them up in a loving, nurturing and uplifting way. What does being a mother mean? Being around my mother, grandmothers, and aunts for 18 years and being a mother myself for the last 8 years, I think I have a pretty good idea what being a mother means. Behold, the definition of a mother...

 
M is for Multitasker. Have you ever seen a non-mother (a.k.a. father) breastfeed an infant while feeding a toddler lunch and talking on the phone at the same time? Or cooking a dinner while helping kids with homework and playing Angry Birds on the computer? Didn't think so. 

O is for Omniscient. Because we know EVERYTHING our children do and if we don't know, we pretend to know until they confess to whatever it is we didn't know we knew they did. This goes for husbands as well...

T is for Teacher. We are constantly teaching our children new things like how to talk, how to walk, how to eat, how to tie their shoes, how to do their homework and how to signal when daddy's about to walk into the office so we can ex out the Facebook tab and continue as if we were working the whole time (or maybe that's just me).   

H is for Housekeeper. "A place for everything and everything in its place!" I'm pretty sure a mother made that saying up.

E is for  Everlasting. Our love is everlasting, our words endure in the hearts of our children, the impressions we make on them are endless and the memories of us in them are eternal.

R is for Retriever. We find everything from lost socks to missing keys and even misplaced children (not our own of course, but someone else's child). 

 





















I had a great Mother's Day today. Kids gave me a heart balloon bouquet and made me Mother's Day cards, then we went to church, ate Japanese for lunch, took pictures in a photobooth as part of a Mother's Day expo thingy-ma-jig at the mall, and then stuffed our faces with ice cream, donuts, and other snacks.

Leave it to my kids to make me homemade cards decorated with pictures of them handing me the homemade card. LOL. It was a great day and I hope you had an awesome Mother's Day too! 

Think What You Want NOW

A bit of food for thought for some people out there who still manage to drop by here every once in awhile...

People live their day to day life without really thinking about what they want. Sure from time to time we think about that dress that we want to buy, the kind of side dish we want with our steak or what movie we want to go see. But aside from that, how many of us really stop to think about the deeper more profound desires of our hearts. Like, I want to be financially stable or better yet financially free. I want to be healthier and be in the best shape of my life. I want to end poverty, etc. etc.

Are these wants too out of reach for us to even consider wanting? If you think so then you have to ask yourself the question why? 

For the last few weeks, my husband has been on a spiritual journey and has really been seeking out truths which have been making a profound impact on our life. And while on his journey he's managed to positively impact me along the way. Do you know how powerful the human mind is? A lot of things start out as a thought, and when you think about it long enough it has the ability to consume your being. So much so that you'll start to act or be or live the thoughts that are in your mind. And eventually that thought will manifest into reality or rather, physically. This is why "crazy" people start to see their hallucinations because it's what consumes their minds. 

But let me give you a more positive and encouraging example...

A few months ago, business was business as usual. A few orders here, a few clients here, and that's all. Business was good, but it could've been better. It was sustainable, but it needed to grow. It wasn't until one day my husband started to speak life into the business. Some would say prophetic words or affirmations, but that wasn't quite what it was. He was talking as if the business was already where we wanted it. Saying things like "we have more business than we can handle, we have orders coming in everyday, we have new clients every week" etc. etc. etc. And as I sit at my desk working, I would say, "Yes, business is going to grow, it's going to get better." Then he'd correct me and say, "NO, it IS growing, it IS expansive, it IS progressive. This board IS filled with orders from clients. You HAVE 100 orders lined up every week."

I'd smile in my kind wifely way and nod in agreement. But then there's that thought in you that's like, "but it's not or at least not yet." I've always been a positive person, then again I call things the way I see it with the hopes of improvement. It wasn't but a few short days when things we're quickly and drastically changing...

Before we'd average about 10-25 orders a week, maybe 40 on a good week. Then shortly after my husband began talking like some enlightened spiritual monk from Tibet, our orders shot up to 50, then 60, then 75, and now 100 and more orders a week. And this was all within just a few days. Not only do we have more business than we can handle, but we're having to finally hire someone to assist with the load.  Not to mention by butt is expanding from all the extra hours I've been putting in on the computer, but that's another story.

My point is we don't have to wait months or years or even a very long time to be the person we want to be, or to be able to live the life we want to live. Consume your mind with positivity, erase all negativity and doubt. Think and be and live what you want. And it will come to pass. It's not even the question of maybe, but definitely. It can and will happen. 

Your thoughts are powerful. That's why people who think they can't do something, or always thinking negative about their situation don't get very far. Thinking negative will stunt your growth in all aspects of your life. Before anything can ever be it starts out as a thought. And whether that thought is positive or negative, it will manifest itself if you keep thinking about it. So why not think positive and think about what you want your life, your situation, and what you want to be now.   

This might sound a bit "hippie" or "new age" for some of you. Think what you may. But I know it works. I've been putting this "thinking positive and what you want" theory into action and the other day at church all the seats were filled and my husband was like, "Want to just sit outside and watch on the big screen?" I said, "I don't want to sit outside." Then he whispered, "Tell me what you want, not what you don't want." Then I smuggly rephrased, "I WANT to sit inside." Then about 3 minutes later, the ushers found us a seat in a section that was previously already full.

Think what you want, believe in what you want, and it'll happen. That's all...

"What a man thinketh, so IS he"

   

8 and Great!

It's back to back birthday celebrations here at Cool Beans...and today we celebrated my eldest 8th birthday (which of course was also a continuation of my daughter's 6th birthday). The mornings began with a sweet surprise. A very, very sweet surprise.

Following his surprise donut cake, we got ready and went to church where he and his sister continued their birthday celebration with their sunday school friends whom I baked almost 7 dozen cookies for. Yes it was another sleepless night the night before, but all worth it.

After church we had lunch at their favorite pizza place, Papa Johns. Where there's "Better ingredients, better pizza, Papa Johns!" I just love their pizza. And once lunch was over we headed straight to Star City where the kids had their fill of rides, games, and junk food. It was a great 8th birthday for my big boy.

To end this tribute, here are 8 things I love about him...

1.) He's funny without even trying.

2.) He tells me I'm the best cook in the world.

3.) He takes good care of his brother and sister.

4.) He listens, even when you think he's not listening.

5.) He has his own quirky sense of style I would best describe as geeky boyband.

6.) He pretends to know all the words to songs like One Direction's "You Got That One Thing!" but ends up making his own lyrics.

7.) He easily scares...bad for him, good for me ;)

8.) He always tells my husband and me he wants to live with us FOREVER. Good for him, bad for us. Haha. But then again that just shows how much he loves us. 

Happy 8th Birthday Junior! I love you!

Fabulously 6!

Featuring the birthday girl and her chocolate cake with strawberry cream filling, strawberries and Kit Kats

Today my daughter turned 6 years old. We commemorated the day with a special birthday lunch which included her favorite foods (hot wings), a surprise gift, and of course, a special request cake which never fails to rob mommy of her beauty sleep the night before. She's grown up to be such a beautiful, bold and very clever little girl. And below are 6 things I love about her...

1. Her long, gorgeous straight hair which she refuses to cut because she's a "Princess". 

2. Her willingness to try anything and everything once, including barbecued chicken intestines which she thinks is actually barbecued baby snakes. (And I thought the chicken intestines would be intimidating enough)

3. Her tendency to question the validity of everything, like the existence of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and her brothers.

4. Her adventurous and courageous spirit. She loves zip lining, bungee jumping, and eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos with her dad....WITHOUT drinking water I might add. 

5. Her artistic and creative abilities, which have recently been displayed in her many works of art and fashion designs she's created for her Barbie dolls using mommy's handkerchiefs and wash rags. 

6. And finally...because she reminds me a lot of me when I was younger, but with better hair. (Mine was always so unruly, tangled, frizzy and curly...which I have my parent's wonderful genes to thank)   

Happy 6th Birthday Zoe Girl! I love you!

An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Peso?

It has finally happened! Someone knocked a tooth from my baby girl's beautiful smile! OK, nobody really "knocked" the tooth out, but it has finally decided to give way to her more permanent pearly whites. Behold, my 5 year old daughter's first lost tooth!

 

That night, she was standing near my desk as I was working and kept wiggling the little sucker in front of me. I finally turned to her and said;

Me: Do you want me to pull that out?

Her: Will it hurt?

Me: No.

And being the trustworthy (gullible) sweet little 5 year old she is she said "OK". So with my thumb and forefinger I firmly grasped the tooth and pluck! It was out. Fast and painless, well almost painless. She shouted "Ow!" and after a few seconds of minor bleeding, everything was fine again. 

Me: See, told you it wouldn't hurt. (Me, blatantly ignoring her previous I'm-in-pain yelp)

Her: Yeah, you're right.

Power of suggestion people, the power of suggestion. That night she went to bed, put the tooth under her pillow and went to sleep. The following morning, she came downstairs for breakfast. Her brother was already at the table eating. She had a rather unsatisfied look on her face when she approached me and said with a matter-of-fact tone, "Mommy, I think you're the tooth fairy."

Me: What makes you think that?

Her: Because I found a 5 Peso under my pillow and not a dollar! So that means the tooth fairy isn't real.

Overhearing our conversation, her rather inquisitive brother interrupted.

Him: Tooth fairies are real Zoe!

Her: Well how come I got a peso and not a dollar like in that one movie?!?

Him: Because it was a FILIPINO tooth fairy, duhhhh.

Satisfied with that answer, she happily grasped her 5 peso and started to tell me how she wanted to spend it. And when any other child would spend their hard earned tooth money on things like candy or toys, that evening my daughter decided to buy chicharon...deep fried pork rinds. That's my Filipina girl!

Happy Valen-TIME

It's Valentines time, therefore it's Valentimes according to my children. I love this time of the year, so many gestures of sweetness and love. I remember my Valentine's Day celebrations when I was a little girl in school. It was really exciting to receive Valentine cards from friends, sweets from the teacher, and special gifts from admirers. 

Since I homeschool my kids they haven't really gotten to experience all that hooplah, but I wanted to make the day special and let them take part in all the lovey-doveyness of it all. So we made our very own special Valentine's Day cookies and gave them out to friends and neighbors. 

I baked heart shaped chocolate chip cookies and had them decorate them with icing, chocolate, sprinkles and nuts. Afterwards, we wrapped and labeled them "Happy Valentines Day".

You may notice more Halloween themed decor on the cookies with the spiders, bugs and angry looking faces. I guess I wasn't too clear on the fact that these were suppose to be "Valentine" cookies. At least they wrote the labels correctly...errr close enough.

 
"Huppy Valentim Es" everyone!!!

Ben's 3rd Birthday

Today my baby boy turns 3. I can't believe how fast time goes. It seems as if it was only yesterday he was crawling around the floor and putting all sorts of things in his mouth. Now he's running all over the place, speaking in an adult like manner, wearing big boy briefs and completely potty trained. Albeit he still puts things in his mouth, but mostly food items.

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said, "Cars!"  He loves cars and not just Disney Pixar's Cars, but any type of car. Big, small, real, fake, plastic, metal, you name it.  

Because of our hectic daily schedules, I wasn't able to plan a party for him this year but I still managed to make the day special and what better way to do it than with a car themed cake. This was going to be my first fondant 3D car cake. Watching all those cake shows on TLC has finally gotten to me and somehow gave me the impression that I could do that to. Haha...we'll see.

I don't have the proper tools nor the know-how when it comes to making one of those really cool cakes you see on Cake Boss or Fabulous Cakes but I was determined. So after the kids went off to bed and I finished my shift in the office, I began a night long assignment. From 1 am to 6am I was in our kitchen creating all sorts of mess.

 
After a while, what started off looking like a log of poop eventually began taking it's vehicular shape. Behind the cars is my four layer vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling already covered in fondant, which I made from scratch using marshmallows and powdered sugar. 

 
And after 5 hours of straight baking and decorating, no sleep, and blue hands stained from food coloring, I finally created this!

When my little boy woke up and saw the car cake sitting on the table, he lit up with excitement and joy. He wanted to dive right in and take a bite of the hood, but I told him he had to wait for lunch. His grandpa and a neighbor would be joining us for his birthday lunch, which consisted of his favorite foods; spaghetti, chicken fingers, and fruits. 

Afterwards he opened his gift, which of course was a set of brand new cars to add to his growing collection. Even though I was running on no sleep and had Smurf hands, it was all worth it for this 3 year old car lover. After all, how can you resist the simple request of such a cute little face...

Happy 3rd Birthday Ben!