a day in HER Life - Manuela

 

Hi! 

 

I'm Manuela, a mother of two little wild beings, Luna  (a 20-month-old) and Pablo (a 3-year-old) and the soon-to-be wife of my kids dad and the love of my life. We live in a small apartment in the Plateau neighborhood in Montreal, Canada and we live a very happy and simple life. When we became parents, it was instinctively clear to us that we wanted to prioritize the time we spent with our kids so we decided I was only going to work part time doing something I love (taking pictures of kids and families) and that I was going to be with our kids and in our home as much as I could so we could have a peaceful and unhurried life. 

 

 

We are also very lucky to have my mom's daycare only a ten-minute walk from our place. They go there part-time and they love being with their grandmother and playing with their friends. I'm there very often too and I love being able to share all those beautiful moments with them. My boyfriend is an amazing portrait and advertising photographer and he's a living example of what hard work, faith and creativity can accomplish. I was born in Colombia so Pablo and Luna are half Colombian and half Canadian. I speak to them only in Spanish and their dad speaks to them in French. It is very important to me that they understand their roots. We've been to Colombia 3 times in the last 3 years and it is fantastic to see how much they learn and enjoy every trip. Being a mom is simply the most eye-opening, overwhelming and exciting adventure! 

 

 

Our morning routine is pretty similar every day. Pablo and Luna always wake up before the both of us at 7 a.m. We let them play with their toys and with each other and sometimes they do it for a bit but they always end up in our bed smiling and giving us hugs and kisses which is the BEST way to get up, really! Then I go make breakfast and while I do that they often make a fruit smoothie with dad (they love it!). We have breakfast together and then my boyfriend makes me the most important thing to start the day right, COFFEE! At that point I let them play again while I clean the kitchen a little bit and then dad goes to work and we shower and get dressed for the day! That's the part that's very similar each day but once that is done, the rest is always different. 

 

 

On the days they both go to their grandma's daycare, we walk together and get there around 9-10 am. I go back home and work for a while and then I go back around 3-4 p.m. and sometimes I stay for a little bit and do some kind of activity with them. On the days we stay home, we go play outside in the morning and we get back around 11 a.m. to start making dinner. Most of the time they're somewhere in the kitchen (they're never too far from me) and when it's ready, we eat and then we go to their room and we read stories until it's time for their nap. Pablo isn't napping everyday now, but we still lay down and if he doesn't want to sleep we knows he has to wait until Luna falls asleep and then he can go back to reading books or just resting for a bit. After their nap, around 3 p.m., they play again! They used to each have their separate room but it wasn't working well with both of them still waking up most nights so we decided they would share a room and it has been going very well! They now have a small playroom and a bedroom where they can rest and sleep. They're starting to play together a little bit more and they both love playing with their toys and making up stories.  We've moved a lot of furniture and the beds around since we moved but I think we finally found a way that works well for us. 

 

 

Once a week I have a day just with Pablo and on those days we often go for a croissant at a café in our neighborhood, we go play outside and we play a lot with LEGOs. We also go to the supermarket and/or the pharmacy together which is something I think is great to do with him and we talk, a lot! I also have one day just with Luna and we mostly play while doing the laundry and cleaning. We also play with dolls because it's her favourite game or with a spiderman figurine which she loves! Those days I get to spend with each of them are very special to me because I know it is an incredible opportunity and it's amazing how many good things come out from one-on-one time with your kids. 

That's what our different week days look like. Our week nights are pretty similar though.  Their dad gets home around 5h30 p.m. and their faces light up when he arrives! We always welcome him with kisses and we often talk way too much to him before he even gets the chance to take off his coat! After that I finish supper if I haven't already and we eat together around 6 p.m. We then run a bath for the kids and let them play there for a little bit. Around 7 p.m. it's story time! Pablo LOVES books, I could read 15 stories straight and he would still be listening!  After a couple of stories, we turn off the light and I stay with them until they fall asleep. I love that time with them. We hug and they often say beautiful things to me!

The weekends are their favourite time with dad! We visit our family or have friends over and it's always about enjoying our time together as a family. 

I've never been more tired, I often feel lost or scared but being a mom is best thing that ever happened to me. When I look at my kids, everything seems possible, life makes perfect sense and time slows down. I feel more present, whole and at peace than ever and that's the whole point, isn't it?  :)

Thanks Manuela! I'm so glad we're neighbours!
Instagram - @lelagomez