More from Maura: Disneyland, TEDxTalks and a special thank you note

In my last column I wrote about how I’m juggling lots of balls in the air these days and hands down one of the reasons I’m able to keep many of those going is because of my lovely helper Theresa. She came into our lives a month before Eve was born and she has been so amazing at keeping things afloat at home and most importantly, taking care of Eve when I’m at work. I’m so thankful for her every day and she has definitely become part of my Hong Kong family.

This past week we headed to Manila for a mini family getaway and Theresa came with us so she could show us where she’s from. We were lucky enough to meet Theresa’s mama, aunts and kids and enjoy being a part of her family for the weekend (versus the other way around!). I spend my days so thankful for her and the help she brings my family and I’m now even more appreciative to the rest of her family for letting us share her with them. I know first hand how hard it is to be away from your mama (after almost 7 years living here it never becomes easier being away from her!) and I am thankful that Theresa’s kids are happy to share her with my family.

So Theresa, this is a special shout out to you for being great and for being totally cool when I sometimes miss Kinder Kicks because I am running late from a meeting. It doesn’t erase the mama guilt but it certainly makes it better knowing my little Eve is with someone that makes her smile each day!

And now, here is a little glimpse of some of the things I got up to this week …

• I live in Pok Fu Lam so I am loving that Kennedy Town is blowing up these days. One of the hottest places to open up in this hood is Chino so my husband and I decided to do a Friday date night and check it out. It is no reservations so we popped in, put our name down and then had a pre dinner cocktail at Kinsale. It worked out fab for us as they called us when our table was ready, so I totally recommend this plan. Add it to your date night or girls night out list!
• Telling your passion in four minutes is kind of hard but that is what I had to do last week at the TEDxWanchai Open Mic Night. I put all of my public speaking fears aside and got up on stage to chat about Sassy and how momentum feeds into what we do. It was an open audition for a huge event in May and you should definitely put the event on your radar as the speakers were so inspiring. Don’t worry – we’ll make sure you know when it’s happening!
• At the moment I am obsessed with Typo, and snapped up these Light Boxes recently for Eve’s room, Sassy HQ and a few friends. They are so cute and you can swap in and out whatever message or feel good vibe you want to bring to your home. Typo is a part of Cotton On Group and you can find Typo products in the Causeway Bay and TST Cotton On Stores.
• Okay, so I am a yoga failure these days so I’ve resorted to planning yoga sessions at the office. This week the fab team from The Yoga Room came by and did an after work yoga session for our team. The Yoga Room is in Sheung Wan but if you are a working mama you should beg your boss to schedule a chill (not too sweaty!) lunchtime yoga session as they love doing office visits. It does wonders for the whole work/life balance thing!

Some things Eve and I did this week…

• Eve had her first celebrity sighting when we went to Disney and she waited in line to see her idol – Minnie Mouse. We had a bit of a star struck/”I’m not sure about this” moment when she got close enough to touch her but the love affair has continued as we’ve been watching Minnie episodes everyday since at Thompson HQ.
• We are dreaming ahead to the upcoming CNY holiday and while I still need to get all of my lai see organised I have already bought the cutest dress for Eve to rock as she rings in the Year of the Goat. Little Valley has the most adorable Cheongsam’s and they are currently offering free shipping on orders placed before 19 February.
• Eve is almost 1 and a half and the poor girl has already had 3 baby friends move away. One of her besties, who now lives in Amsterdam, was back for a visit last week so the old gang got together for a fun play date at Sun Yet Sen Memorial Park. It was my first time there and I loved it! It’s great for letting the little ones run around and they even have a playground area so it gets two thumbs up from me! I am already brainstorming on how we can maybe do a future Mama Meet up there!

So, there you have it. There’s no more from me for now but if you ever have any questions or comments I would love, love, love to hear from you. Just shoot me an email at [email protected]. Chat soon, mamas!