Hao Po to the Rescue

As soon as she heard I was expecting again, my mother booked her ticket to Los Angeles from her home in China. Just as she did when I was preggers with the Boo, she planned on helping me out in the weeks leading up to the birth and for the month after. Then, when she found out I was exhausting myself out to the point that I was racking up frequent flyer miles in the maternity wing of the ER, she pushed her arrival date up - way up.
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For most couples, the thought of your mother/mother-in-law unexpectedly crashing with you during one of the most stressful times of your life might be enough to make you run for the hills, but not us. Vince and I knew that her arrival would bring us the relief we needed. Yes, she's not as spry as she used to be. And yes, the woman can be, um... Idiosyncratic. I mean, where do you think I get it from? This particular brand of crazy runs in the family! But even so, my mother likes nothing more than to be a mother. When she's with us, she cooks our meals, she takes care of Benjamin, and she helps me clean. And all she wants in return is to watch Wheel of Fortune at night.
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My mom arrived several weeks ago, and within days I was feeling better. The contractions lessened, my back stopped hurting as much, and I stopped being as much of a cranky b*tch to Vince. The Boo's been having the time of his life, too. Suddenly, he has a second person there to love him, play with him, wipe his butt, and feed him his favorite treats. Like Pinkberry.

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Even more than Pinkberry, however, Benjamin loves to eat Hao Po's cooking. Check out what happens after he inhales his first helping of her Chinese BBQ short ribs. The two things you'll hear him repeating are mo (Benja-speak for "more") and mei you (Chinese for "no more"), as in "give me MORE because there is NO MORE."

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Wow, cool it there, Benjamin! If you keep that up, you'll wear your Hao Po out. Luckily, Hao Gong arrived just in time to give us all a break!

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