Hey moms! Find all sorts of useful tips and parenting hacks from other moms just like you. The Mom Life: Real Moms Interview Series is a place to get support and advice from people who have been there… or are there. Today we’re hearing about Hiromi’s Mom Life.
Hiromi is a Disney-loving mom who teaches karate and has a son with severe allergies. She has great tips for moms of kiddos with allergies and for mom life in general.
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I love hearing advice from other moms. Learning tips from moms who are rocking motherhood is so inspiring to me! Moms who have tips for easy weeknight meals, creating family moments, cleaning hacks, money saving, family travel, and just Mom Life in general.
Today, we’re hearing about Hiromi’s Mom Life!
Hiromi is a fantastic mom I’ve been friends with on Twitter for a while. We share interests in Disney, Mabel’s Labels, and Anne with an E, so we have connected on many levels!
I’m so excited to share Hiromi’s Mom Life! If you’d like to hear more from her you can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok!
Hiromi’s Mom Life
Tell us about your family
My husband and I have 2 kids, a teenage daughter who is 15 years old and a son who is 5 years old. We live in a lovely suburban city just outside of Toronto, Canada.
My son has severe anaphylactic food allergies (dairy, wheat, egg and sesame), so that has been the focus for us the past few years, navigating his allergies. And he has various other special needs as well. I am currently homeschooling him.
My daughter is a fun, typical teen, she attends a Public Arts High School.
As for myself, I am a Karate teacher, actor and freelance blogger/writer.
As a mom, what is the best part of your day?
When my kids wake up. It makes me very thankful to have them in my life. I help my teen get ready for school (pre-quarantine time). My son is so adorable when he wakes up, he has this wonderment in his eyes, like he is excited to wake up to a new morning and experience all that life has to offer.
3 Words that Describe your parenting style?
Recovering Tiger Mom
What parenting rule you never break?
This rule started when my husband and I were first dating. I was so impressed with how kind he is to other people, especially when we are at a restaurant or any service type industry. He is never rude and always tips very well.
As a family, we have modeled this behaviour and we hope our children are mindful to others and never take people for granted.
What is a parenting rule you always break?
Early bed times
How do you prioritize family-time and me-time?
Family time is tricky in our household because of the huge difference in our children’s age. Also, my husband works a lot and when he is not working, I’m working. We don’t get to do a lot of family outings so we really really cherish going on vacations together. Family vacations is our true Family-time.
What is your go-to, easy weeknight meal?
For my teen and I – anything from Skip the Dishes!!!!!!!!!
For my son with anaphylactic food allergies, he LOVES Daiya Brand “Mac & Cheese” (it is gluten-free and vegan). If I want to give my son more vegetables or protein, I throw in some spinach or broccoli and cut up meat.
For my husband, he BBQ’s all year long! Even on the coldest Winter day in Canada, he is outside BBQing.
What is your favorite family activity?
Again, its hard for us to all get together at the same time so we love family vacations! We really enjoy going to Walt Disney World, Cruises and we hope to visit Universal Orlando one day.
Also Read: 7 Overlook Items to Pack for Disney
Do you have a “Mom Hack” you can’t live without?
When my teen was a baby, I was a guest on a Canadian show called “The Mom Show”. I remember one tip a mom gave and that was to do laundry EVERY DAY so it doesn’t pile up. Since I heard that tip, I have been doing at least one load a day and also devote a full day to do multiple loads. This way I don’t get overwhelmed with laundry. If it’s a super busy day, I would do something easy, like just towels. It really helps a lot to keep up on top of it daily.
What are you reading to your kids?
When my teen was younger, I absolutely loved reading “Anne of Green Gables” to her, the whole series (there are 8 books).
With my 5 year old, we read together books for his level but every night, before he goes to bed and as he is falling asleep, I read “The Lord of the Rings” to him (we finished “The Hobbit” a month ago). I read about a page until he sleeps. He doesn’t understand most of what I’m reading but it’s nice that he is listening to my voice and hearing the words and story. It’s a very special time.
Do you make a point to stay healthy and fit? If so, how do you fit it into your busy lifestyle?
I teach Karate so that really keeps me fit. I also like to walk with my son a lot, he is a very busy kid so I’m practically chasing him around everywhere. He keeps me fit!
Family Travel: What is your favorite spot or family travel memory?
We love Walt Disney World. Especially with my son’s severe food allergies, Walt Disney World has been amazing to visit because they accommodate Food Allergies so very well. We have had great experiences on Cruise lines with allergies too. A Disney Cruise is definitely on our bucket list.
Also Read: Seasonal Allergy Relief at Walt Disney World
Do you have a can’t-live-without Mom/family products to share?
Many companies that make safe allergy-friendly products are a true blessing. My son really loves Daiya Foods, Enjoy Life products, So Good products and Made Good Foods for quick snacks and treats. A lot of bigger companies are starting to make allergy-friendly products as well.
My son drinks KIJU brand Lemonade like it’s water. There is not many products in general that he can have so it has been very nice that he can have KIJU Lemonade as his beverage staple. We also love Dolled Up Desserts Baking Mixes. They make baking mixes that are safe for my son and my son can bake with!
And to take a page for your own feature Kristin, we also adore Mabel’s Labels. It has saved us a lot of money when things got lost and found again. I really like how the company really appreciates their customers, they have great customer service and are always engaging with customers on social media.
After being a customer of Mabel’s Labels for many years, I was so honoured to be invited to their Mabel Mom Cave to talk about Food Allergies (I love their Food Allergy Labels) and I recently wrote a guest post for their blog too.
Last is PracMedic Bags – we use them to carry our epi pens for our son. They are great for everyday use and especially for travel as they keep the temperature for medications even.
What advice would you give to new moms?
Find a support system of friends. If you find out your child may have special needs, or have a disease (for example, my daughter has a rare eye condition) or any other type of medical issue, search on Social Media for other moms who are in a similar situation and join groups to have support.
Also, GET THERAPY if you can. EVERYONE needs therapy for their overall mental health and for new moms, it’s especially important to take care of your mental health as well as physical health.
Such a huge thank you to Hiromi for sharing her Mom Life!
If you’d like to hear more from Hiromi you can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok!
I loved reading about Hiromi’s Mom Life! Meet more moms and read their advice and experiences every Saturday! You can also find more Mom Life tips on our Mom Life Pinterest Board.
If you’d like to join in on the fun, leave a comment below or send an email to exploringdomesticity(at)gmail(dot)com with subject “Mom Life Interview Series.”
If you enjoyed reading about Hiromi’s Mom Life, check out all of our Mom Life Interviews.
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