Whatzzzzzzz up! Good weekend? Mine was fine. Thanks for asking. Let’s kick this week off with a good ol’ Show Off Show Downnnnnnnnn!

Today let me introduce Ana and Gabriel. Hailing from NYC…these two are BK all day and wouldn’t have it any other way. Gabriel is fifteen months and Ana calls him Gabo for short. Ana say’s her favorite activity with G-Money is ‘chasing him, only to have him run towards me to hug me instead of running away’ . Gabo rules because he’s been spreading peace since the womb.

Short, sweet and beautiful.

Lisa wasn’t sure if this was exactly what I had in mind for the show off but went ahead and submitted her fetus anyway. Well, I know the first time I saw my babies sonogram pictures I thought they were the most beautiful things in the world. Ok, maybe not that one where I could just see Lola’s skull and eye sockets, that one was kinda freaky. But the first time you see that sketchy image of  your baby on that black and white T.V monitor it all becomes very, very real. That’s your baby and you are damn proud! So Lisa, of course you can show off your fetus!

Lisa’s baby is named Lily and she is six months gestated. She already has a ton of nicknames, some are Lulu, Lily Lulu Butt, My Little Bunny Rabbit, Bunny and Bun Buns. This momma and little bean hail from North Jersey. Lisa is bonding with her baby by reading “the monster at the end of this book” to her nightly. They love to eat french fries and drink OJ. And Lulu looooves to give her mum heartburn. Lisa plans on buying her a sailor suit as payback. Sucka! They’ve also been listening to the Ipod quite a bit and by the time Lulu is born she’ll probably know all the words to “Southern Girls” by Cheap Trick. And finally Lisa say’s her kid rules because…’ look at that pic - she’s picking her nose already! she knows how we do! She’s not even born yet and I already know how amazingly awesome my lulu is going to be. It melts my heart to hear her dad call her “my little girl” and I know that he’s going to teach her everything he knows about being a big ol’ nerd.’

Congratulations girl!! Make sure to keep us posted and send in a picture of you guys when she arrives!

Let’s start this Monday morning off proper with another installment of Show Off Show Down! Today it’s all about one of my favorite commenters Adriana. Yea, I pick favorites..so what! Check out her cutie pie Hendrix. Some of her nicknames for him are Smooshy, Shmucka Wucka, lil Chub Chubs, Little Man-Man. This super dooper brood resides in Boston Massachusetts. FYI, Adriana writes for Highsnobette as well as her own blog Just By Living. Also, Adriana and I have a fantasy of coming together to make a cool mommy super site. That would be pretty rad, right? Anyway, some of her favorite activities with Smooshy are… ‘cuddling with lil’ dude, reading ‘The Runaway Bunny”( our fav), hanging at the book store reading trashy magazines while he snoozes in my arms, and taking long baths where we kick and splash ‘till there’s not water left in the tub. Hendrix likes to play kick the crap outta stuff, rip up paper and try to shove it in my mouth when my mom’s not looking, and a game we like to call “licky licky loo” which involves H licking his hand like an ice cream cone over and over while profusely drooling all over the sleeve of his arm.’ This just reinforces the fact that babies are, what I like to call, da bomb. This amazing mommy say’s her kid rocks because…’he’s a survivor. He has awesomely bad hair. He said a big F you to his gene pool and is super tall for his age even though his mama is teeny tiny. He makes the greatest lil baby dinosaur noises. He finds an incredible amount of enjoyment out of kicking hisdaddy in the crotch. He can have 15 minute long conversations with his ‘Best Friend Forever’ who happens to be a bright orange giraffe. He loves to chill and listen to music, everything from The Cure to Trouble and Bass. He finds sneezing to be the funniest thing done by us big humans. He is the easiest bebe to breast feed. He makes me feel like, if I could produce such a sweet, happy baby then anything could be possible. He is my greatest muse and my one true love.’

Now do you know why she’s one of my favorites! Give it up for Adriana and Hendrix!

Hey peeps! FYI I’m a disaster. I’ve been up since 3 am. First I had to feed Lola then Fritz climbed into our bed. He’s sick and was mega congested and kept tossing and turning and messing around. I finally caved and we went downstairs to watch cartoons at 6 am. Essentially I have nothing to show off today so let’s hear from one of our lovely mommas!

This is Rachel and her ‘little bug’ Cullen Xavier. She wants you to know he was NOT named after Twilight. Cullen just turned four on Valentine’s Day. His aliases include Cully, Cully-bully, Lovey, Cully X, and Javier, which he acquired one day while not listening to his mom. One day when Rachel was trying to get him to get his shoes on, and he was engrossed in Dora (aka the devil) she exclaimed “Cullen. Cullen, go get your shoes. GO. Javier, andale! Ahora!” He definitely seems to respond better to Spanish. He was born in Minneapolis, MN, but this fam now lives ‘in the asshole of the US’, Grand Forks, ND. Favorite activities include: play-doh, coloring, listening to music, and reading. Cullen has had Where the Wild Things Are memorized for forever, and his first full sentence was “I will eat you up!” He also liked to say boobies. Ah, Men. Rachel says her kid rules because ‘he never freaks out, he loves to talk and talk and talk and is very concerned with other people’s feelings and emotions. I love how inquisitive he is all the time, and I try to always be honest with him. I figure there will come a day when he doesn’t want to talk to me, so let’s stock up our reserve while we can, no? Also, he thinks I rule, which is nice. The picture with the scarf of him is right after he said “I want to wear scarves like you, mommy.” He regularly uses “touche” in sentences, and asked me how babies get in and out of tummies shortly after his 3rd birthday. He LOVES Portugal. The Man, City and Colour, Phantograms, The Smiths, and The Beatles. The first time I heard him sing was in the car to “Hey Jude.” I looked back and he was all smiles and nanana naaaaa! nanana naaaa! aaayy oohhh! See? Pretty awesome. ‘

Ahhhh just what I needed to cheer me up! Now back to bed!

So, are you guys into this?? I’m loving putting all the faces with commenter monikers and seeing all these gorgeous mommies and their awesome kidletts. Commence Show off…

Today we’ll get to know Kristina and Julien. Kristina comments on THM as Kri and also has a blog about her life called Half The World In Sweetness. She’s always sharing art she’s working on and takes lovely images for a post series she calls ‘From What I Saw’. Very inspiring. Her nickname for this handsome little devil is Jules but sometimes he’s referred to as Julezee or Mr. Disaster. She say’s he’s four going on fifteen. What a dude! Kri used to live right here in NYC but now resides in the ever lovely neighborhood of Bay View in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When asked what her favorite activites with her son are Kri say’s ‘I try to introduce a little bit of magic into his day-to-day. We love a good adventure - whether that be looking for treasure in a thrift-store or playing Indiana Jones on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. As a family, we don’t have a ton of money - but travel is a definite priority for us. We are always up for a good craft-time sesh and can throw down with the best of them.’

And why does her kid rule?  ’Because, when he was born - I was reborn as well. Selfishly speaking, Julien is the reason for turning my life around. In short, he saved me and I went from a self-destructive Party Girl living in Brooklyn, to an Ambitious Mama-To-Be in the Magical Midwest. Jules is my muse. My heart. And my one-man-band. He could keep a drumbeat at 2-years-old and wrote his first punk song alongside it. He is unique, original, and an independent thinker. He is also one of the kindest and friendliest kids you will ever meet on the playground. He is hella smart and is currently reading on a 1st grade level. At the moment, his most favorite thing in the world is Michael Jackson’s music. He sings “Billie Jean” for his music teacher and spends a lot of time trying to imitate his dance style. Although the first 3 years of his life were a total challenge for me - behavior wise and health wise - he has now transformed into a less-crazy little dude and is a thriving, happy, beautiful 4-year-old boy. My life would not be even close to complete, without him.’

I don’t know about you guys but my heart just skipped a beat for these two. Love and sparkles THM.

What a dynamic duo! Meet Kelly B. and Kimani Dior. Fabulous name for a fabulous little lady. FYI ya’ll Kelly is founder of girlie brand Princess of The Posse otherwise known as P.O.P. Kimani is about to turn four in April. Some of Kelly’s nicknames for her are Mani, Boo Bear, Muffin, Mami and sometimes, Ki-Monster and K-Money :). This killer combo hails from Harlem NYC! Keep holdin’ it down girls. Some of their favorite activities include painting, being out and about in the city together and reading. Kelly say’s her kid rules because “She is soooo funny and so sweet and caring!!! She really is always concerned about people’s feelings, so cute!!! She always surprises me with her sense of humor! And because I love her so much it makes me wanna cry!”.

And that’s some mother daughter realness!

Today Charlie is showing off her little head-banging hellion Hayden (say that three times fast). Charlie has a blog called Domestic Rockstar . It’s pretty radicool. The tag line, ‘Balancing Motherhood and Metal’. Check it out! Charlie say’s that the best explanation of her child and where he comes from is displayed in the above video. Agreed! Hayden is 3 1/2 and his a.k.a’s are HAH & Lil’ Dude. This terrible twosome lives in Las Vegas. Favorite activities include pretend fighting (natch), playing with Spiderman and CHUCK E CHEESE aka Crack Den for kids. Charlie say’s her kid rules because ‘He’s the sweetest, coolest, most awesomest kid. The perfect mixture of me (hardcore, crazy tempered, sincere) and my husband (laid back, fun loving, caring and sweet).

Raise your horns and bang your head (common just once) for Charlie and Hayden!!

Good morning mommies! It’s time for our second installment of Show Off Show Down. Let the games begin!

Today it’s Etsuko’s day to show off. Just so you know Momma Etsuko comments on THM as Suki Bang. Meet her baby doll Kumiko. I don’t know what Kumiko is wearing on her head in the first photo, pants?, a shirt?, a pair of tights? but it’s kinda the cutest thing ever. Some of her nicknames for Kumiko are “Kumi, KuKuCachoo, Kukaloo, AAANNnnnGELLL of the morning (5am and you have to sing it)”. One of Kumi’s favorite pastimes is putting dangerous objects in her mouth and watching her mom freak out. She also enjoys somersaults! Etsuko say’s “My kid rules because …. (so sappy I know) She’s my best friend.  Most of my girlfriends kind of bailed on me after Kumiko came.  I’m a stay-at-home mom and their idea of fun isn’t really watching me play patty cake.  I’m having such a blast and I love her so much.  She’s a really good listener and I hope we can be this close forever.”

All together now “Awwwwwwwwwwww”

Everyone meet Carla & Rhys. Rhys is six months old and is often referred to as Rhysie Bo Beesie, Bobo Singo, Reesh Bo Beesh, Reeshu Bu Beeshu. Carla admits she may have a problem with nicknames. They hail from Maryland and love going out on adventures together in the Moby Wrap! Carla say’s her kid rules because ‘He has the most amazing smile I’ve ever seen and the best laugh I’ve ever heard.  I’ve never had a smile completely light up my heart before but his manages to do that and then some.’

Let’s hear it for Carla & Rhys! Your are both Gorgeous!

Becoming a stay at home mom really reshaped my family. It seems that the mom/dad roles have become very, very traditional, meaning BD brings home the bacon and I do mostly everything regarding Fritz. This is my job. When I was going to work everyday, just like him, and we had a nanny, things with Fritz were more shared…not too much more, but more. To give you an idea, as a SAHM my duties include changing diapers, feeding, bathing, waking up/putting to sleep, changing clothes, playing, doing arts & crafts and reading stories. Then there’s keeping house, all the cooking, cleaning and tyding up. It can be pretty chill or totally hectic, but it’s pretty much around the clock and for the record, in no way am I complaining, just laying the groundwork for my point. BD’s role with Fritz is taking him to school (I pick up) and maybe a little play when he arrives home. Most nights we all have dinner together as a family. I’d say most of BD’s interaction with Fritz happens on the weekends when we all do a family activity together. So over all we can say my hands on time with our son is 85% to BD’s 15%.

This is never how I pictured things when we decided to have kids. But it’s how it is and I love it…for now at least. I wanted to explain the roles that me and my husband play because while he is the one forging ahead in a career outside the home and making all the cash money, it may look as if his job is more important or fulfilling in someway. On many occasions I’ve thought this to myself. But as I grow in to my role as a SAHM, which like I described puts pretty much all the child rearing duties on me, I find a huge satisfaction in it. I am in no way resentful and the better I get at it the happier it makes me. I can see my influence on Fritz. I am helping to shape his personality with all this interaction.

A few months ago I wrote a post about how I hated reading the same books at night over and over. It’s still not tops on my list but you know what, I find a much greater pleasure in it now because I know that with my patience, reading those books to my son for close to half an hour before he goes to bed at night is helping him in some way. I also feel proud that I have developed this kind of patience, it’s something I know my husband could never do and I begin to relish in the fact that it’s our thing, mine and Fritz’s.

I am proud that I give Fritz my undivided attention to play puzzles, make a painting or sculpt monsters and spaceships out of play-doh. While these things may seems silly or non-important to the average person, they’ve got it all wrong. Some parents, mothers and fathers, don’t have or simply won’t make the time for these sorts of activities. They are too busy or too preoccupied and the tasks are left to someone else or no one else. My mother always prides me on being a good mom because she never did those kinds of things with me. Now I have begun to see the value in what I am doing and It’s every bit as important as what my husband is doing.

‘I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up…’ -Santogold

I am very curious to know what all your home lives are like regarding the mom/dad roles. Who does what? Who’s do the majority of the child rearing? Who’s keeping the home together? Who’s working? Who’s not? Do you feel things are equal or unfair?