Count Down 'til Hawaii...

Miles' mother's day gift:


Hope all you mamas had a good one! And for those that are not mamas, hope you made some time to appreciate your own mama, aka "portal" as my homegirl Bern calls us!

...in 14 days, we will be in Hawaii! We are just so excited to leave the bay and get away, hang out with mom & dad (aka gramma & papa) and enjoy being outside--and on a beach, with a clear blue ocean (unlike SF's murky grey waters!)! But from now until the day we leave, there is just so much to do--finals week, a couple gigs, cleaning, etc. I should be studying but I figure, let me just blog (and procrastinate). I am super excited for Miles because his gramma is planning all kinds of activities for them to do while he's there for a month. Yes, a month! I really wish, ahem, that they lived here so Miles could just be homeschooled by them. They are some of Miles' best teachers. Anyway, as gramma was telling me about some of the activites, such as star gazing in Kaneohe, and art time in the park--I was thinking, "I wanna be there to do that also!" Who needs to go out and party when you can just do that!?

I'm excited for Miles to have this opportunity to just experience living there--even for just a month of each year, but I'm also feeling anxious just thinking about what in the world I'll be doing without him!? I'm so use to planning my days with Miles. I guess for one thing, Justin and I will get to spend time with each other and actually go on dates (I can count the times we've been able to do that this year...about 4 times so far). And of course, with Miles away, we will time to do our own thing!! A month will feel like forever without Miles but at the same time, days go by so quickly, I am going to maximize my time with the following:

1) Spend quality time with Justin. Nurturing our relationship is so important as nurturing Miles. It's so easy for us to put everything into Miles and skimp on putting energy into each other. Justin, you are the best partner a womyn could ever ask for!
2) Take care of myself... & take another yoga class (or just keep doing what I've learned this year on my own). My teacher really has been a blesssing this semester. This semester was not as stressful as last because of yoga!! Namaste.
3) This is part of taking care of myself but with a group effort--Detox. Live food detox with Miles' ninang Erica, and Aunty Xtina. Not as extreme as the master cleanse but a great way to make my cells healthier w/ the support of my homegirls.
4) Read the Twilight books Rizalene sent me as a b-day gift. Not a big fan of the movie, but Riz swears by the book. She said, "if you loved the Anne of Green Gables series, then you'll love this."
5) Read The Power of Play by David Elkind for some parenting inspiration & insight for when Miles gets back. I bought the book a year ago and still haven't had the time to read it.
6) and, train with Miles' ninang Dee, for DMC. I've always wanted to do this. I think we were 18 when we said we would one day "be champs." Might as well enter now before I turn 30, right?!

Sounds like a lot, but as a mom, I think I get so much done and then some in an average day. What more, being child-less for a whole month?

From now until then, I'm trying to maximize my time with Miles. When we get home from school, as much as possible, I just spend the remainder of the day doing things with him (studying can wait until he goes to sleep). Today, we had a play date at the firetruck park with Miles' buddy Tyler & his mamas. Miles and Tyler ended up running around with all the other boys on the playground. It's great seeing Miles interact with other kids. He usually says, "What's your name?...I'm Miles...do you want to play with me?" But when he's at school, he has a little posse and his best homeboy, Deonte, and him have their own way of greeting each other with so much swagger. "Wassup Deonte?" "Wassup man?" Then they both give each other pounds and walk off together with a strut.