My Mother’s Day Weekend at SM Aura

How did you spend your mother’s day weekend? Z’s nanny took her day off over the weekend to celebrate her birthday with her relatives living nearby. So it was just a mother-and-son weekend for me.

I didn’t have any specific plans for mother’s day weekend.  I was thinking of bringing the little boy to Bonifacio Highstreet but last Saturday afternoon was too hot to stay outdoors. So, I decided to go to SM Aura instead. I rarely visit that mall since there are a couple of SM malls nearer my place. The plan was to roam around the mall first then head to Highstreet by late afternoon. I didn’t realize that we will be having so much fun at the mall that day, though. I’ll be sharing a lot of photos in this post. 🙂

Over the weekend, SM malls have special activities planned for mommies in celebration of mother’s day called #NationalSuperMomsDayAtSM. I thought everything would be on Sunday so I was happy to have seen the floral staircase at SM Aura with a floral installation.

mother's day weekend
Mom 🙂 My mother’s day weekend starts with this lovely floral installation 🙂

I am not that familiar with the layout of SM Aura so Z and I just looked around and see what we will find. It was like getting lost in a mall kind of thing. Haha!

We saw Jo Malone London’s outpost near one of the entrances and they have this cherry blossom theme that really looks pretty. I don’t normally take photos of these things but I really find this cute. Unfortunately, I cannot get a good photo of Z in front of it. LOL!

mother's day weekend
It looks like a giant perfume bottle 🙂
mother's day weekend
The only clear photo I got of Z sitting down. He wouldn’t even look at the camera for a quick snap LOL!

I wanted to take a few more photos of Z with this background, but apparently, the little boy had something else in mind. He pulled me to the nearby restaurant, Providore. There were no tables available as the place was full but the little boy insisted on going in just the same. I was starting to get embarrassed because the little boy was about to throw a tantrum. So I had to ask the staff who was already looking at us to include us in their wait list. LOL!

mother's day weekend
Checking out Providore’s menu while waiting for our table

Good thing we didn’t have to wait long. About five minutes of waiting, we were assisted to one of the booths.  And I had to ask for another menu since Z needed to check out the food, too.

mother's day weekend
Checking out the menu

I got pasta for the little boy, banana tea cake and a macchiato for me. The little boy seemed satisfied because he finished the whole plate of pasta. I only had two small bites and it was really good. The banana tea cake was good, too. And for the coffee? The tiny cup of macchiato was not enough as I am used to drinking coffee by big mugs. LOL!

snacking with the little boy
snacking with the little boy

After eating, we roamed around more and saw an art exhibit nearby. He enjoyed looking at this photo.

mother's day weekend
wingspread

This photo is very apt for mother’s day, that’s for sure:

mother's day weekend
This one’s called “Ina-alay”

When Z started running out on me, I decided to bring him up to the fifth floor. SM Aura has a pretty open space at the fifth floor. On one end, there were installations of the creatures from Fantastic Beasts. I was hoping to take a few photos of the little boy with those. But again, Z had wanted something else. So we walked around further until the little boy saw the fountains. He sat there quietly, just enjoying watching the water spurting up.

mother's day weekend
he just loves fountains he could sit there just watching the whole day

After a while, Z and I roamed around again until we reached the courtyard. There’s a small bazaar happening and they have this bohemian vibe that was very relaxing. Z and I stayed to hang out while we waited for the live performances.

mother's day weekend
Love the colorful stage set up #ArtInAura
mother's day weekend
cozy seating area in front. Perfect for watching the performances on stage
mother's day weekend
mwah!
mother's day weekend
bazaar behind the cozy seating area. The tables are being used for the afternoon workshops
mother's day weekend
The little boy getting comfortable while waiting for the first stage performance 🙂

Once the first performer started, the little boy sat up, leaned on me and quieted down as he listened and watched. I think he was also tired from all the walking and running around that he did earlier that day. Haha!

Oh, and Ninang Tess came and joined us at the courtyard, too.

mother's day weekend
with Ninang Tess

While waiting for the live performances, I was able to have a small chat with one of the organizers of the event. (What can I say, Z attracts people with his cuteness. Haha!). SM Aura launched Art in Aura, a campaign to showcase local art in contemporary spaces. A few of their activities are: art exhibits showcased at the atrium (hence the art exhibit we saw earlier that day), weekend performances at the courtyard to promote local musicians, and art workshops (such as the collage making they had that we missed, apparently) for kids and adults.

Growing up in Baguio, where local artists are every where and are highly regarded, finding a mall in the big metro that promotes local art and turning every space into some sort of art gallery is really nice. The courtyard in SM Aura felt homey. It reminded me of the places I used to hang out in back home.

Anyway, for mother’s day, May 14, Art in Aura scheduled a mother and child portraits by Andrei Suleik for free. Apart from that, they had art workshops for kids, too, where they can paint a card for moms. I got excited with these activities so I had planned to bring Z back to SM Aura the next day.

Unfortunately, the little boy had fever late Saturday night and a little bit elevated temperature by Sunday morning so I had to cancel our plan to go back on Sunday.

It was really nice of SM to honor Moms by incorporating activities all throughout their malls for moms to enjoy. I may not have been able to spend the actual mother’s day in the mall, but I appreciate the fact that their activities were not limited on the day itself. I still enjoyed my weekend. The only downside of it all, not having a lot of photos of Z and I because no one would take it for us. LOL! It was mostly selfie shots or just photos of Z. Until Ninang Tess arrived. So, thank you Ninang Tess for taking our beautiful photo by the floral installation.

Overall, regardless of the day or the time, I am so honored to be a mom to a very special boy. My son has brought me so much joy since he came to my life. He forced me to become a better person and to push myself further to achieve my goals. Most of all, he showed me how it feels to be loved and to love unconditionally. For that alone, I am thankful. 🙂

mother's day weekend
Having fun on a warm and windy early evening at Weekends at the Courtyard by Art in Aura

Belated happy mother’s day to all mommies as well as to the daddies who are fulfilling dual roles for their kids. I hope you all enjoyed your  mother’s day weekend as much as I did. Feel free to share how your mother’s day weekend went in the comments. 🙂

You may also like

43 Comments

  1. Awww! It sounds like you had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Glad to hear your family was so good to you.

  2. Wow! What a great day and it wasn’t even pre-planned! You guys had way more fun than most moms that just get lunch.

  3. Z is such a stinkin’ cutie pie!! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. From the look of the photos, you totally did!!

  4. Your little man is so cute and so well dressed. One on one time is the best, and so beneficial to kiddies.

  5. Wow that seems like a great fun filled day! Seems like your family is great! 🙂

  6. what a fun day. such a sweet boy! and the locations you ventured to were stunning!

    1. Oh, I miss camping! I hope my son and I can do that when he grows older. I hope you enjoyed Mother’s Day as much as I did 🙂

  7. What a great way to celebrate mother’s day! Indeed it was a mother and son bonding. I a sure you had a great time.

  8. Look at you so cute together! We spent the day strolling by the beach and it was really nice!

  9. Such cute photos with your child here. It looks like you had an amazing time. Sounds like it was a lot of fun. I just spent time with my mother and my family that weekend, plus I had to work.

  10. It sounds like you had a great weekend with you son, that’s very nice! It’s definitely more fun when you’re with the kids.

  11. An al fresco type of event is always fun! SM Aura is one of my favorite plan because of its regular shows of arts.

    1. Thank you! He’s about to outgrow it and it’s a challenge finding a replacement, LOL! We had fun indeed 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.