Photo by Nikki Cruz | Chicago, IL

Philippines | Photo by Sharmaine Monticalbo from Pexels

Philippines | Photo by Gerald Yambao from Pexels

Maarté Mami

(mama who's doin' the most)

BEHIND THE NAME

So "Mami" is how my son used to pronounce mommy when he was younger :D. Maarté is a word in Tagalog (official language of the Philippines). It literally translates to be creative or "with art", but over the years it's developed a negative connotation that's usually directed towards women - to describe them as pretentious, overkill or just "doin' the most".

I'm reclaiming the word to transform the sentiment. Maarté means yes, I am doin' the most I can for my son, for my health, for my planet etc. and it's nothing to be ashamed of. If doing everything you can, for what matters to you, whether that's an elaborate calming corner or composting, is considered "doin' the most", so be it.

Ever since I recall first being called maarté (for crying because I wanted to buy my little brothers playdoh but couldn't because it was "too messy" lol) the term has really served as a guiding principle. It stands for relentless self-reflection, pushing ourselves to the highest caliber, never getting complacent, and constantly elevating ourselves and what matters to us so that we can LIVE the possibility we envision and want to create.

Our life is art because we CREATE each day. God made us all to be artists to create our lives, and he'd want us to be doin' the most we could to make it one heck of a creation.

What do you want to create for your life?

PEACE = POSSIBILITY

SHOW UP FOR YOURSELF

and

Join

the journey

MISSION

Maarté Mami seeks to empower individuals to recognize the limiting beliefs they've either knowingly or unknowingly placed on themselves so that they can take charge of their own lives as CREATORS. We seek to provide individuals and families with information and tools so that they are equipped to effectively practice mindfulness, heighten the level of peace in the household, elevate level of engagement with one another, increase moments of presence, strengthen child-parent connections, connections with one another and the world, and ultimately empower possibility through peace.

ABOUT NIKKI

Before I was a mama I was a just a girl from the Bay Area - born in San Francisco and grew up in different cities. I attended Cal Berkeley and moved to Chicago once I landed my first big corporate gig. Since then I've added boy mama to my resume, and it has been a wild, beautiful, blessed ride. When my son came into my life l was a bit (okay, a lot) arrogant and was set on maintaining a strict, authoritarian "tiger mother" parenting style that I was quite proud of just due to inherited/generational thinking. Three years later, I learned the hard way it was ineffective and not a necessary way to live. I made a choice, when I realized I had one, to completely shift dynamics and transition to an authoritative and more nurturing parenting approach. I learned I not only had a choice, but I actually had the power to be the parent I wanted to be and live the life I wanted.

How? I envisioned what I wanted; I created a vision of what could be POSSIBLE. Once I did that, I put in the work to start living my vision. At the time, it seemed like rocket science to me but I discovered PEACE was the path to these possibilities. I had to start living and breathing peace and calm. Do I still lose my SH%T? Sometimes, but those days are becoming less frequent and I've accepted that peace is really a journey, not a destination. It's been such a blessing to be able to use social media as a platform to share my journey on the positive parenting path, along with resources and techniques I've encountered and developed along the way.

In a nutshell, learned the hard way that anything was truly possible once I chose peace and love. Now if someone had told me this 4 years ago I would have laughed it off and dismissed it as hippie sh*t. I mean, it just sounds like magic or voodoo..."just choose peace and anything is possible"? But it REALLY is as simple as that, possibilities start to be imagined and brought to fruition the second you take that step to actively and intentionally CHOOSE peace. My journey has been WILD because life does happen, I am human and I have setbacks but what's been key is my continuing to choose this path and journey of peace and happiness...and it's what I want to share with the world, that anything is possible through this shift. This is the main principle behind this blog and I am working to create and provide information and products to help people get and stay empowered to choose and stay on this journey of possibility. I am excited for what's to come, please stay tuned!

Thanks for letting me share my story with you.

#maartemami @maarte_mami @maartemami