Im not a cool mom, I’m a regular mom. There, I said it.

I’m a stickler when it comes to bedtimes and nap-times, and not just for my son — for myself too. If I’m to stay out past 11pm, it has to really, really worth my while.

My t-shirts are perpetually stained; in fact, I’ve given up on wearing nice clothes altogether when I’m with Levi. My hair is always in a ponytail and I almost never remember to wear lipstick.

I’m constantly chasing Levi around with baby wipes, and a dust buster has recently become a permanent fixture in my car. Woah, that was a hard one to admit.

My house is extensively baby proofed (even my fridge has a lock) because I have the kind of kid who will get into anything and everything and thinks lighters make for the best toys.

I couldn’t figure out how to breast feed in public without looking —and more importantly — feeling like a hot mess, so I spent the majority of Levi’s first year at home. It backfired and I wouldn’t recommend it.

I say “no” a lot and I give time outs when I don’t see a logical alternative. I get impatient and annoyed easily and I don’t think toddlers are “so much fun”.

I’ve been known to use food as a method of bribery. I refer to it as “mental health food” (I.e. food for mom’s sanity).

I find myself on the verge of losing it on a fairly regular basis, and I routinely question whether I’m a good mom. If you’ve been following this blog, you know I struggle with anxiety, and while some days are great, others can feel extremely hard. Medication helps.

I’m in zero rush to take my son to Disney Land (the lines! The crowds!). Truth be told, the only way you’ll see me traveling with my toddler is if it’s to visit family and if the flight is under four hours long. And even so, I’ll do it begrudgingly.

So yeah, I don’t think I fit the standard definition of a so-called cool mom. But guess what? I don’t really care. That’s not my goal. I’m taking care of myself and my family in a way that makes sense and feels most natural to me. I’m a work in progress and I’m figuring out this motherhood thing as I go along — making mistakes and learning plenty along the way. I love Levi more than anything in this world and I will do everything to protect him. He’s my magic angel boy, and being his *regular* mom is my greatest joy.

XOXO

Val

With each passing month I find myself marveling over how much Levi has changed. One minute he’s got a vocabulary of 20 words — and the next he’s stringing words together to make a sentence! The other day he said to me: “close the door,” and then looked over at David and said “come, Daddy, please.”

I don’t know if it was something about the Canadian air, or simply his age, but Levi’s growth was exponential during our trip to Montreal at 20 months. Suddenly he seemed to understand everything we were saying and could even respond to some of our questions. He even learnt how to say please, which I’m quite proud of.

I was so nervous about flying solo with him since he literally doesn’t sit still, but thankfully the trip went really smoothly. I bought him his own seat and put him in his car seat. At first he protested, but once he understood he was stuck in there — he decided to make the best of it. It helped that I brought plenty of snacks he normally doesn’t get, and that the flight was during his nap time. He slept half the way and mama got to watch a little Runaway Bride. If you have a rambunctious toddler like me, I highly recommend strapping them into their car seat and not taking them out for the duration of the entire flight (provided it’s a short flight).

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