Oh you know who I’m talking about.

She’s the lady at the grocery store putting as many items back on the shelf as she is tossing into her cart. You know how that one goes…1 item in, 3 back out.

She’s the one in line apologizing for all the fishy crackers spilled across the conveyor belt; an emergency snack that just couldn’t wait.

She’s got boogers on the back of her shirt, her pants are sagging from pockets full of pacifiers, toys and left over pretzel bites.

She’s also probably bare foot because her kids hid her shoes (once again).

She’s the lady you blaze by in the parking lot because her kids are refusing to sit in their car seats. Oh and she’s driving a mini van.

Wait…I’m driving a mini van!

Oh yes, it is happening and I’m pretty damn thrilled about it.

So is this guy:

Not to dwell on the *ahem* disaster of a first Mother’s Day I had last year but the perfect day I was just showered with deserves a major shout out in comparison.

Palm trees.

Adventure.

Surfing babes.

Sandy smiles.

And a death hike with a sleeping babe strapped to my chest with a makeshift carrier.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Margaritas and Moons…can life get much better than that?

Lime cupcakes, a Mexican food fiesta, a bit of last minute costuming, a birthday and graduation celebration and one fantastic “super” moon say it can.

To really seal the deal we ended up scoring a FREE babysitter while we paddled out for a late night full super moon surf. The moon really was pretty darn spectacular, lighting our way through unusually chilly water into a line up of fellow glowstick wearing surfers. It’s nights like this that you realize how connected and like minded surfers are; each one of us braving the ominous dark waters for a chance to surf under such a rare and beautiful phenomenon. The line up was packed, the waves were small, I was cold and it was fantastic. We returned to a sitter engulfed in her novel and a sleeping baby.

Photo: Eugene Tanner/AP (click on photo for original source)

If there is one thing I’m learning from my son over and over it is to never give up, to be an eternal optimist and to try try try again.   

For all we know somewhere in that handful of dirt, trash and marine debri there may be a hidden treasure, a left over fruit snack and Harper is out there to find it.

And so it with this approach to life that I sit in admiration watching Harper try try try again until he works his sippy cup into the little notch cut into his lunch tray, or the laborious task of pinning slippery chunks of papaya between the prongs of his fork, the way he twists and turns and bangs each puzzle piece until it finally sits rested in it’s appropriate place and how he politely and enthusiastically waves at each passerby learning the rules of social norms, smiling waiting for a friendly wave in return.

He lives life experimenting, adjusting, learning and trying again. He isn’t afraid to get dirty, to mess up, to be passed by or ignored. He isn’t afraid to fail or to let anyone down. He simply lives and his energy and curiosity about the world is contagious.

Everyday I am learning from him…to be a bit braver, to try a little harder, to laugh a lot more and to never ever give up.

After reading the Hippie Housewife’s post and taking to heart her message of seeking balance and reconnecting I embraced life today with a fresh perspective. I soaked in as much yumminess as I could. I looked at the world differently today, I challenged myself to pause and drink it all in. I looked at the world as I imagine a child does and man does the world deliver when you decide to pay attention!

Like on our walk this afternoon, Harper chowed down on his succulent pear like it was a gift straight out of the heavens. The sweet juices poured down his dimpled chin and his eyes closed in a moment of pure bliss. I couldn’t resist sitting there alongside him, watching for fish in the dirty Ala Wai canal. As soon as I sunk my teeth into my over ripe pear, my tongue dancing back and forth against the rough fruit, I was transported. We were no longer straining to see four eyes fish through thick, muddy and polluted water, we were some place magical. In that moment we were in our own world, a world that dripped with Comice pears, sunshine and my boys beloved gilled friends. Yes, it was that good.

I have a thing for tree silhouettes these days. I can’t pass a tree without stopping to admire how the sun dances upon the blossoms, setting them aglow against a bright blue sky. I stop and smell the plumerias, I smile and I tuck a fallen flower behind my ear.

This tree had a kite stuck in it and I wanted with all my might to climb up these perfect branches and reclaim this bright gem. What a perfect day for kite flying, light breezes, open fields and my buddy by my side.

Speaking of my buddy, his dreams came true today. Every time we go to the park he watches with intensity as the big kids run past. He reaches out for them, waves hello and does his best to imitate their play. Usually the big kids just keep on playing. Usually.

Today, they came back for him. Harper became their official mascot. He learned to play tag, hide and go seek, monkey in the middle, lava monster, dodge ball (I watched with hands over my eyes for most of this game), how to sit on the swing by himself and even a secret handshake. He was beaming and I watched as my toddler became one of the big kids…at least for the afternoon. He is sleeping soundly now and I imagine reliving all the fun he had on the playground today, one of the big kids, just another one of the boys.

And on the way home? We joined a row of strollers, dog walkers and joggers and watched as the birds of the neighborhood gathered for a sundown feast. My little man squealed with delight as birds dove in, out and all around us pecking at our feet begging for more crumbs. It was quite the show and we’ll be back armed with our own leftovers to share.

Oh yes, we’ll be back for tomorrow is another day. Another chance to get it right, to seal in the memories that do define us and our children’s childhood. I think it’s safe to say this day deserves that gold star.

The truth is some days just aren’t “my day”. My patience is thin, my responses are short, the clock cannot move fast enough towards bedtime where I anxiously await closing the door behind me and saying goodnight to my never ending responsibility.

Days like this become more about me and how frustrated I am, how overwhelmed or tired I’m feeling and less and less about the gift that I am so lucky to spend my days with. After a long day the deep exhale of all that I did wrong ways heavily on my heart. I feel like a bad mom, like a bad person, like I’m failing at my job, disappointing everyone and fucking up at every which way.

Reading this article today made me realize even more that most everyone has these kinds of days, feels this mix of emotions of “mommy guilt” and that not everyday is going to be a gold star.

What’s important to remember is “that these days do not define us and they don’t define my children’s childhood, either”. After a deep exhale and on most occasions some tears of regret, what is really important is letting go and moving forward. As the Hippie Housewife says “yesterday’s failures do not define our lives unless we allow them to consume us. Instead, I choose grace, letting those days fall away like dead skin so that I can move forward with today, new and clean and lighter.”

Thank you to the Hippie Housewife for putting into words the struggle and guilt many of us mamas feel and for laying out some tips on how to get back on track.

Read the full article here.

Most people want to know when we started exposing Harper to our love of the water and if you’ve been following along for a while you already know the answer!

We started Harper in the water the day he came home from the hospital!

Our introduction began with nightly swim baths with papa.

Next we graduated to a slow stand up paddle around Maunalua Bay when Harper was just a few weeks old. Papa paddled us while I carried Harper in our beloved Baby Nest. Then came the kayaking and to our delight our bundle of joy fit perfectly in the dry bin! We did a lot of water time like this in the early days and when he grew out of the dry bin I once again grabbed my Baby Nest and snuggled him close for a day out on the sea.

As soon as the little guys belly button fell off we started bringing him into the hot tub with us (we are able to control the temperature and kept it low so he didn’t over heat). These pictures are dated February 14th so he was exactly a month and 1 day old for his first dip.

At 3 months Harper would sit on the edge of the pool and jump to us. He also perfected the art of “dolphin dives” and scaring the beejeezus out of his mother.

Around 4 months I finally put on a brave face and we brought Harper along for a Friday night fireworks sail on our boat. I had probably the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a panic attack as we pulled away from our dock but luckily the night was as uneventful as I could have ever hoped for.

This boy has pretty much lived in the water and it’s a joke among my “mainland” family that Harper visits the beach everyday…umm guilty.

Call us crazy but we graduated from Friday night sails to 10 days in the Caribbean pretty quickly and at 5 months old we not only survived 18 hours of flying, but a boat crash and some nasty weather. (ok, that makes the trip sound horrible but I promise it was amazeballs and you can read all about it in the archives).

When Harper started crawling our lazy beach days quickly turned into more a game of chase…me chasing after Harper who at the blink of an eye was headed into the water. Fearless is the way to describe his approach to the water, both a dream of mine and a nightmare thinking about his complete disregard for safety.

Once he started walking…oh man…if we are anywhere near a body of water you can bet he has one foot already in and the other close behind. His love of the water and his amazing vocabulary with sign language has proven to be a match made in heaven for us. Harper asks to surf, he tells us he wants “more” and the tells us when he has had enough. It’s a pretty amazing thing and without his ability to communicate I don’t think we would have been as likely to try so much with him.

The big question still remains though…when did Harper first start surfing? I would say somewhere close to his 1st birthday we started taking Harper out to the inside waves near our house (Baby Queens to be exact). Hubby would push Harper onto little rolling waves and I would stand on the inside ready to catch him. Most of the time there would be a whole crew of us in the water, (ready to catch if anything went wrong) enjoying the experience with him. One such afternoon we were lucky enough to bring the Go Pro camera along for the ride.

Check out how awesome this little guy is:

We’re at the point now where Harper has paddled out into the lineup with us and surfs with daddy. He absolutely loves being in the water with all of our friends and family and it’s almost always a huge party whenever we decide conditions are right for a family surf. I can’t tell you how crazy it is to me that we are already at this point, it was a dream of ours to have a baby that took to the water so naturally and has completely blown our minds how much he enjoys this special time.

I’m still working on getting together some recent photos of Harper surfing and will share with you soon. We spent a few days in Kauai celebrating hubby’s birthday and Harper surfed with us in Hanalei for nearly 2 hours! When our rental time was up he was so upset and kept signing for “more surf”!

With all the water time Harper has and all the opportunities he has around to dive right in (pools, ocean, canals, etc..) we’ve decided to start him in Infant Swimming Resource classes. Tomorrow is our first day and I”m a bag of nerves and excitement. The goal for the end of the class is to teach Harper how to fall in the pool safely, swim to the surface, float, go back to swimming and floating until he reaches safety. I’ll keep you posted on how everything goes!