My Expat Mommy: Introducing My Expat Mommy, a.k.a. The Stage Mom!

Our fashion model wannabe

And the ad agency tells me: "Please, please no matter what you do, please don't post the photos on Facebook yet, until we have launched the ads!" Oh wow, such a strict reminder, and I'm following it, ain't I? Have you seen it on My Expat Mommy Official Facebook Page? Not really, eh? LOL!

Yes I'm a self confessed stage mom! Ha ha ha! And no matter how hard I try to keep it under my sleeve, I just can't stop giving you a tiny little hint of another proud mommy moment for the Expat Mommy --- our Small Ate has been chosen to be part of a print ad here in Qatar! Yaaay!
Ok, there. Much as I'd love to, I really can't share any more details yet. Of course, also out of respect to the people who we had worked with. I brought our Small Ate for a go-see sometime last year and totally forgot about it. Actually, I was so sure, we won't get it hehe! Not that I don't have faith in our Small Ate, but nobody told me there's going to be an interview! Hahaha! Of course, we weren't ready for it. Then they asked her to sing --- and we don't sing (not me, just the little one, hehe!) then they asked us to dance --- and we don't dance (not me, just the little one, hehe!). The thing is it's her first time to do these kind of stuff. I actually just thought of bringing her there just for the fun of it. She had always been a star since she was born. Really, no joke! She was born barely 7 months and even then, as tiny and fragile as she is in the NICU of the Women's Hospital, everyone just keeps on telling me how beautiful she is. Terrified as I am if she'll make it or not, still I can't help but feel so proud, she really is such a beautiful baby! Ok, ok, fine she's my daughter therefore I am excused in praising her to high heavens haha! As she grows older, she's always been called the "magandang bata" or "ms. beautiful" so I guess (no I'm not guessing here, I'm being smug, ha ha!) it won't hurt if we capitalize on that asset. Am I right or am I right?
I think no matter how far fetched, every mommy somehow wildly dreams that at any point in their lives, they become a model or actor/actress, host, beauty queen, sports star, etc. Of course for most of us, it was nothing serious, just that, a wild dream. So when that opportunity came up, I just tried to grab it as much as I can. It's no big deal if we don't get it anyway... I mean, as I said, just for the fun of it! So imagine my surprise and elation when we received a call back last Thursday. The Expat Daddy and I are actually on our way to the birthday party of a very close friend, but when I received the call, you guessed it, we flaked the party! :)
It turned out that the call back was just for a short confirmation that they have called the right candidate. We were asked to come back the following day for the shoot. We were asked to bring her own clothes and shoes to be used. And so this is where the stage mom part came in. Right after the meeting, we immediately headed to the Villagio Mall to shop for clothes. They asked for a few pairs, and I may have gone wild a bit, spending almost a thousand Riyals for the next day's shoot! LOL! Good thing our ever dependable yaya is now with us (I now call her our Expat Yaya), she helped me prepare everything, from clothes to shoes, to accessories, to water and snacks, it was not until a bit after midnight that we finished packing. A box full of clothes and a bag full of shoes and knick knacks.
The shoot was scheduled for a full day from 10AM till 4PM, the first part of the day was patience I tell you. We have come on time at 10AM. However, when we arrived at the designated place, nobody was there. No one even informed us if there is going to be a delay or if the shoot had been cancelled. I was a bit concerned since the Expat Daddy had only 1 day off and I know we are wasting his day off, sitting there. Good thing I was able to get the mobile no. of their Filipina secretary who advised me that the shoot is pushing through, just getting delayed. They arrived at past 12 noon. Yeah, I know, we have already been waiting for a couple of hours now. In my mind, I was just thinking... oh well, this is also what the other famous celebrities have gone through when they were just starting out, hehe! Ganyan talaga sa showbiz! Ha ha ha!
It was a good thing that the people involved in the shoot were such nice people so I have just let the delay slide. They have been very accommodating and their energy is just rubbing unto us. It took them about half an hour to set up. You may think that with this long wait our Small Ate would be restless and cranky at this point... Well, a little but not so much as I bribed her to cooperate, hehe! I wouldn't really call it bribe though, I am calling it "salary". I showed her a QR50 bill and told her that if she sits it through and they say she's been a good girl then she will get QR50 from me, which she can spend as she pleases. So she is looking forward to the 50! And when they started with make up... all the impatience had totally left her! She was just so thrilled to be made up to her heart's content! I'm not sure anymore how many times she went back to the make up artist to have a retouch!
Truly, she enjoyed the experience as much as the Expat Mommy did. Just too bad, we are not yet allowed to post any pictures from the "official shoot" but nobody told me I could not post my sidelights pictures. And that's exactly what I'm doing now.
Of course I'll update you once the ads are out! For now, just sharing another proud mommy moment, hope you share the thrill.
And by the way, I have just recently published another blog 3 Mini Ladies and a Mommy, which I intend to post parenting experiences, things I try to teach the girls and also the learnings I got from them in return. Hope you visit that too sometime... Ooops! not yet though, let me just post a few more entries before you do. :) I'm thinking to post this on that blog too, so see you there!