Thursday, May 08, 2008

girly mama

before we had children, i just knew that our first child would be a boy. there was no doubt in my mind! i'm not sure why i was so convinced. maybe it is because i am a second child and i have an older brother, so i just assumed that's how it would work for us!

when i became pregnant we called the baby "he". when we went in for the ultrasound and the technician told us we were having a girl, i didn't believe her. these were my exact words, "are you sure? can you check again?!" until nani was born, i still secretly knew that we were having a boy! expectations die hard i guess, right?!

well, i'm sure you are all aware of the fact that our first child was NOT a boy. our second child, NOT a boy. our third child, NOT a boy!

don't get me wrong, i absolutely L.O.V.E. having three girls. i dream of the day when we can have "mom/daughter" weekend getaways, and i look forward to being there for when our grandchildren are born. i am excited that they have each other and that they are close in age.

i have a problem, though. you see i am not a really girly mom! growing up i always had more guy friends than girl friends, again i credit this to having an older brother. i hung out a lot with my brother and his friends! i wouldn't go so far as to say that i am a tomboy, but i am definitely not a girly mom!

i don't paint nails, unless the girls beg and plead, and i only do it to get them to stop asking! i would much rather send the girls to school without fixing their hair, but i don't! i don't do the dress-up thing, the only time you will see me in a dress or skirt is at church! i only wear make-up when absolutely necessary, you know like when i look like death warmed over, which seems to be happening a lot more as i get older, or i go to church! i don't really do the jewelry thing, other than my wedding rings and my one pair of earrings. so, do you see my problem? if the girls want the "girl stuff", they are pretty much on their own.

so, this morning lala came home from preschool with some nail polish that she picked from the "prize box" at school. immediately, she asked if she could go into the garage and paint her nails (the garage provides mess control and helps me to not freak out about nail polish on the carpet). she grabbed some paper towels and several bottles of nail polish and headed downstairs into the garage. when she came upstairs this is what she proudly showed me:


i know, she did a pretty good job for a 4 year old, right?! although, parts of her hands and toes look vaguely like something you might see in a low budget horror film!

she quickly disappeared to the upstairs and 5 minutes later she came down with this look on her face (notice the nail polish on her cheek!):
and exuberantly exclaimed, "i am pretty much like a mom, now!"

me: "and why is that?"

lala: "because my nails are painted and i have sparkly lips!"

i am still trying to figure out why she thinks that is what makes a mom, because she doesn't see those things on me!!

27 comments:

Darilyn said...

I love that girl. You are a rockin mom Mahina. And you are a total girl. I know you say you aren't but you are teaching your girls other things that are way more important than painting nails and wearing lip gloss ( maybe she sees that stuff on her buddy darilyn ) Send your girls over here to use all my girl stuff. I have plenty and my girls would be happy to do all the girly stuff with them. They'd love it in fact.

Bridget said...

That is so cute! Lala does lOVE her makeup. She makes that beeline to Maren's drawer in the bathroom here to do her eyeshadow.

I also was convinced Maren was a boy. My brother is the oldest in our family so maybe that's why I thought that too. That and everyone would tell me when I was pregnant that I was "carrying like a boy." Seriously, EVERYONE. Maren was such a surprise.

Amanda D said...

We just had the same thing happen! I am also not a girly girl. I don't ever wake make-up (although I probably should!), and I seldom wear dresses. I would much rather play trucks or sports than dress up.

My daughter is a total girl though. She recently painted her nails, and it looked almost identical! Except she did it in the bathroom with out asking so there was nail polish on the sink, floor, counter and cabinet. Luckily I have a bottle of remover!

Mandy said...

I recently found Mikaila in a similar situation. She has learned to open bottles and so of course she tried to paint her toenails. I now have bright pink polish on my carpet in my closet. Thats what I get for being a girly mom and painting her toes so young.
Its funny how girls just naturally gravitate towards makeup and nail polish even if there moms don't. Believe me if I looked half as beautiful as you without makeup I wouldnt wear it either!!
I too thought Mikaila was a boy!! What is that all about?! That is so funny

Erika said...

I'm the same here-not "girly" at all :-) I secretly hope we have all boys so I don't have to deal with this kind of stuff :-)
She's a cutie!

Michal said...

it doesn't sound like your girls are missing out on anything that critical. it also sounds like girls are girly or not based on nature, not nurture!:)

lala is such a character. where do they get these ideas?

Melissa-Mc said...

Oh how funny! I am the same way. When Megan was 3 and asked to play barbies with me, I didn't know how to play with them.

tutu lady said...

Tell Lala, I love her! and I like her lovely nails. I don't think I have ever worn RED nail polish in my life. I know that look on her face, I've seen it before. She's so enthusiastic!

Merilee said...

That face is just so dang cute. Luckily you are all natural beauties, just in case she ever changes her mind about make up & junk.

Scott-n-Allison said...

LOL...she did such a thorough job. It will last for weeks! :)

Kristi David said...

Hmmm, sounds oddly familiar. I'm just glad that my Charley doesn't know what nail polish is yet. I'm a little afraid of when she figures it out - I have a feeling that Madeleine may turn out to be the guinea pig!

calibosmom said...

Oh my, she is absolutely beautiful! What a lucky mama you are and the perfect person to take care of your girly girls!

Chelle said...

It's a good thing I don't wear polish much because the few times I have Anders also wants some on. Why not? It's like coloring your body.

I love that you have them do nails in the garage, that's such a great idea!

Robin and Stephenie said...

Hi! you don't know me but...I found you when dustin woodhouse accidentally emailed me his blog address instead of his sister shauna(who is my aunt) I work for a photographer and I really love the quality of your pictures... so I was wondering what kind of camera you use, I think I might be loathing it.:) you are welcome to lurk on my blog if you want. We have something in common we both have the cutest kids on earth.
Stephenie

Malia said...

How cute... it did look a little like low budget horror film stuff =) I didn't know that was what made a mom... maybe I need to start painting my nails and wearing sparkly lip gloss... to better my chances! ha! jk

jessica said...

I totally thought Maya was a boy. I was sure of it! I had an ultra sound at 8 months and Aric and I both couldn't believe it. I thought I was for sure having a boy. I thought it was moms intuition and besides I'm drama enough, we didn't need anymore female hormones in this house. And he we are two girls later...This is a house exploding with drama and all things girl. Can't wait for those teenage years!

Ilene said...

This gives me comfort if I have a girl one day because I am not girly either. You and your girls are so cute that all the fluff is not necessary.

Dustin and Camila said...

LLOOOLL - As I read and saw the first pic out of the corner of my eye I thought YOU did that to her, and laughed out loud (really). Then I read that she did it, but still, that's danged funny!

Lauren in GA said...

I love it!

She looks positively beautiful in that last picture...

Those bright eyes say it all...she looks so happy :)

Flyin' Hawaiian said...

that's cool .. i like it when girls don't wear/don't have to wear makeup ..

ashley said...

ha ha that is so funny!

i'm totally the same way, so anti-girl, and look at me 2 girls and i won't be suprised if that's all i have. i was sure velzy and ivy were boys too...so funny.

happy mothers day!

Elizabeth Dimit said...

I was so sure Alexis was a boy, and not because I have an older brother. Lala is a cutie, and when she's a mom, she'll be the girly girl mom! :-)

Sarah said...

That's too funny Mahina. I was convinced Riley was a girl. In fact I vividly remember my mom's best friend (who was like an aunt to me) saying, your going to have a girl. Your a girl mom! Even though I had four brothers, I am a total girly gir. I would be the one always fixing hair, painting nails, ruffles and more ruffles. And here I am with 3 boys. : ) It makes me laugh. I wouldn't change it for the world though!

I just had to laugh as I read your post being that we're opposite on that aspect and yet your have 3 girls and I have 3 boys.

Tonya said...

Everytime I see you you look gorgous Mahina! You are more girly than you think and this world isn't about pretty, pretty nail polish and painted lips anyways, so who cares that you don't teach your girls about that stuff! Lala sure looks proud of herself;0) I love that you let her just go for it.

Unknown said...

That is adorable! Your girls are so fun. Send them over to me if they need some girly moments bc I can't wait to be girly with a girl of my own!

Katie Smith said...

Oh my gosh...I literally laughed out loud when I saw the picture of Lala's toes and nails. Too funny! I'm totally with you Mahina...I swear I'll have all boys because I feel much more like I am into "boy" things than "girl" things. I've tried to be more girly lately in my life, but deep down I'd rather play in the dirt and go play something involving a ball then sit around and paint my nails.

kelly said...

too cute. i know exactly how you feel. each time i've been prego i've been a bit worried about having a girl, and having to do girl things. so far i've got two little boys. and although they keep me busy & entertained, i occasionally long for a little girly time.