I Don't Want To Go, You Can't Make Me--Reunions Are Stupid!

When class reunion time comes around I want to scream and roll around on the floor like my toddler does mid tantrum. I DON'T WANT TO GO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME I WOULD RATHER HAVE A NICE DINNER AND GO SEE A MOVIE INSTEAD OF GOING TO ANOTHER STUPID REUNION!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Alright I didn't really roll around on the floor when my husband told me his reunion was coming up. But alas, I don't want to go. I hate to make conversation with a bunch of people I knew a long time ago and haven't seen in a million years. It seems kind of a pointless way to spend an evening. Especially considering we hardly ever go out and leave our two girls with a sitter. My in-laws are usually only good for one night out a month babysitting. I know I could hire a sitte but (A). It is expensive, I think the going rate in my neighboorhood is 7-8 bucks an hour and (B). I can't let a tween or teen watch my precious baby girls! What if there is an emergency? Or the baby chokes on something? Or won't sleep or bumps her head? AHHHHH it's just too much too worry about. So I know it's totally my fault that we only go out once a month.

The reunion is tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time in high school. I had lots of friends and I did copius amounts of activites. I don't want to brag or anything, but I am doing well now too with a great husband, nice house, and two beautiful daughters. It's not like I'm living in my parents basement at 30, working at Starbucks or anything. Really I'm not. My writing career is humming along nicely. People are paying me to write and yet I still don't feel like going. I think part of the reason is that when I think of high school I like to remember people as they were, and not form new opinions about them now. I don't want to know who got fat, lives with their parents, or can't pass the bar. I am just not interested.

*Beauty Tip* Here is a special occasion makeup tip. To make your cheekbones POP, rub on a slightly shimmery highlighter starting from the top of the apple of your cheek and blend up along your cheekbone towards your ear. When the light hits your face at just the right angle, it creates a beautifully defined cheekbone. My favorites are Prescriptives Beam Cream in Sheen($20)at Gloss.com and Kevyn Aucoin's Liquid Shimmer in White($22)at KevynAucoin.com or NeimanMarcus.com

Big News! Lance Bass Is Gay!

I admit it. I faithfully read People and US practically everyweek. I love celebrity gossip and news stories. I don't know why I find this information about people I don't even know interesting, but I do. Bump watches! Who's sleeping with whom! Celebrities with out makeup photos! Love it all. Now I don't read Star or the Enquirer, I have to draw the line somewhere. I want reliable information, right? So yesterday the big news story on the cover of People was that "Lance Bass Is Gay!" Now being more of a Backstreet Boys fan(I even went to one of their concerts in 1999, and I was easily the oldest person there with my gay guy friend of course. And he screamed louder then all of those little girls! So I didn't really get into the whole N'Sync craze. Yet I can still tell you all of the names of the boys in that band and probably some other useless info about them that I have read. I don't think I would have pegged Lance Bass for the gay one though. Maybe that little dark haired guy in the band that wasn't that cute. I thought he was maybe gay, because obviously out of the five of them, the odds are that someone is probably gay. I do think it's great that Lance has finally decided to come out and just be relaxed about it. I know I am one of those super liberal people who are in the minority in the small suburb where I live, but I do believe in gay marriage. It should be legal for anyone that wants to get married who are in a loving committed relationship. Why should only heterosexuals get to experience marriage? We as a whole group of heterosexuals have a pretty high divorce rate. It's not something to be proud of. Let's see if gay marriage works better! Someday I do think it will be legal in all states, it's just a matter of time.

*Beauty Tip* "Today I see beauty everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul, and sometimes even in myself."-Kevyn AucoinCheck out my favorite all time makeup artist's website. KevynAucoin.com He was a pioneer in the beauty field as an influential makeup artist for almost 20 years.
Two of my favorites books by Kevyn are "Making Faces" and "Face Forward". Both of these books offer step-by-step guides on achieving the exact makeup look you want. His before-and-after pictures of people and celebrities he has worked with are amazing. Kevyn always felt that true beauty lies in discovering your own individuality. Check out these books sometime on Amazon.com, they are a beautiful reference to have.
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Mommy Guilt Outings-Toys R Us Here We Come!

My youngest isn't sleeping that well lately. We are right smack in the middle of separation anxiety and teething city hell. This combination is killer for a sleeping 15 month old. So in the mornings now I am just bone tired from waking up at night with her. So this morning I just basically laid all the couch all morning until it was practically lunch time and I could muster up enough energy to make myself a cup of coffee. Luckily my four year old knows how to work the tv and was happy to watch various kid shows all morning. She didn't even bother me half as much as she usually does. By the afternoon and after a glorious 20 oz coffee the size of my head, I was ready to take them out somewhere, anywhere! The first stop we made was to the Donut Store, as my daughter calls it. Like any kid, she adores donuts and usually asks for a chocolate sprinkle one on a daily basis. Usually I ignore this request, but today the "mommy guilt" kicked in for practically ignoring them all day. So we headed off to Dunkin Donuts first. I shared a glazed one with the baby and my oldest had her treasured chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. After having our donuts, which incidentally were awesome. Did I mention I love donuts too? I guess the apple or donut really doesn't fall far from the tree. We then headed across the street to Toys R Us.

I was looking for new squirt guns for outside, but unfortunately this late in the season they were all sold out. I have since looked at five other place and have not had any luck in finding some. Blah. I bet I could find some online. Anyway we ended up leaving with a "My Little Pony" pink princess pony for my daughter. I can't believe those are back on the market. I probably had 15 of them as a kid. Can you say spoiled? I think they are still at my parents in a box somewhere. I should look for them.

So the third stop on the "Mommy Guilt Express" was to the pet store. My girls both love the pet store. Probably because I have told them a million times that it will be NEVER when we get a pet, because I am allergic to cats and dogs are too much work. So I feel like it's a good substitute to at least go look at all the pets. I don't even want a fish at this point. I have my hands full thank you very much!

Even after all these fun kid stops my daughter still says to me when we get back in the car..."where else can we go that's fun?" OH MY LORD! Wasn't the donut store, toy store and pet store enough? Haven't I made up for being a lazy Mommy all morning? Kids! I will tell you this...it's never enough. They always want more! And oddly enough it seems like the more you do with them or the more fun that you have, makes them want even more. I give up. But you know where I will probably take her tomorrow? Chuckie Cheese.

*Beauty Tip* In order to save a few calories, instead of eating a cinnamon bun, why don't you try washing with some? Have you tried Philosophy's Cinnamon Bun Body Wash($16)? It smells just like the real thing, and it's calorie free! They make all kinds of yummy flavors of body wash. Some others to sample are Strawberry Milkshake, Frozen Lemon Custard, Peach, Sweet Coconut Milk, Powdered Sugar Cookie, Waffle Cone, and Vanilla Birthday Cake. And the list goes on! You can find these sweet flavors at Sephora.com or Nordstrom.

Nordstrom Nirvana

I am so proud of myself. I shouldn't feel guilty right? Yesterday I really really really wanted to go check out the big sale at Nordstom's. So I left my husband with our two kids and took off. Yipee! Two hours to myself to wander around the mall! No children begging for cookies, ice cream or happy meals or trying to manipulate a double stroller between the aisles of clothing. I try to avoid taking my children shopping to the mall at all costs. It's annoying to me and it's very annoying to them. What little kid wants to look at clothes, shoes or cosmetics? None that I know. I see mothers all the time trying to drag their children around department stores. I just feel bad for the kids and for the poor hassled mom.

Don't take them to the mall unless it's specifically a kid centric trip, like the pet store or riding the little train. My daughter also likes the homeade soap store. I can't think of the name of it, but they have huge blocks of all different kinds of soap. Tons of flavors and colors and usually we smell most of them. My four year old's favorite is the ice cream one, of course. Did I mention that we don't ever buy anything at the soap store because it's ridiculously expensive. Luckily looking is still fun for my daughter.

So back to my Nordstrom experience...all their good stuff was on sale for fall. Now I know it would be industrious of me to pre-buy things for fall, but I just can't do it. It's still July and I don't even want to think about boots or long sleeve anything yet. Summer goes by so fast that I feel like if I were to buy stuff for fall that the rest of summmer would just slip right by. The tutition bill for preschool for fall already came in the mall! Darn them! Not that I don't look forward to my daughter going back to school, but summer truly does go by way too fast. In fact it seems to go by so fast, just like my time at the mall yesterday. I was there for a total of two hours, but my "Nordstrom Nivana" seemed to go by in like two mintues. Not fair! Then I was headed back to my family...at least by then it was only two hours til their bedtime. Let me tell you that two hours did NOT go by in two mintues. Time is a funny thing.

*Beauty Tip* To make your own soap with your kids try this simple recipe...
Glycerin soap in lots of colors*Soap or candy molds(our favorite is the rubber ducky shape)MicrowaveMicrowavable cupsPlastic or metal spoons and/or woodenPopsicle sticks or coffee stirrersSharp knife
* This only works with glycerin soap. Transparent Neutrogena bars will work fine.
Set out everything you need, all ingredients, etc. on top of the kitchen table (or other comfortable working area) that has been covered in newspaper.
Cut bars of soap into about three pieces.
Put a piece into a cup (cut the pieces in half if you are going to mix colors).
Put soap in microwave and melt it on HIGH for about 10 to 15 seconds. It may take a bit longer on low-wattage microwaves. If it doesn't start to liquefy in 15 seconds or it starts to bubble or boil, you may not have a pure glycerin soap bar.
Remove soap using a potholder, and stir it to mix thoroughly.
Pour melted soap (you have to work quickly here as it hardens fast) into molds.
Wait about 5 minutes for soap to harden and cool.
Remove soap from molds, and put soap into gift bags or bath bags.
NOTES:If you are having difficulty getting the soap out of the molds, put molds in the freezer for up to 30 minutes.
If the soap still sticks to the molds, you can put olive oil in the soap or oil the molds with oil or cooking spray.
***Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the liquid soap for a great yummy smell! Your kids will love it! These soaps make great gifts too!

Trader Joe's and My Juicy Shirt Make Life Worth Living

This morning did not start out very well. My older daughter came stomping down the stairs at 6:30am, used the bathroom, and then proceeded to stomp into our room and demand pancakes. Loudly. We have been over this before. She is supposed to stay in bed until 7am. I just cannot stand to see any of my children before 7am. She knows this and obviously didn't care this morning. She just wanted pancakes. Well I wasn't going to make her pancakes at 6:30am so I sent her away to watch tv. Needless to say, she did not go quietly and proceeded to throw a fit. Lovely way to start a morning. After 7am I got up and got her cheerios and cinnamon toast...which she was dismayed were NOT pancakes. Ha ha.

So by lunchtime I decided to make her pancakes. I had just bought this new pancake mix from Trader Joe's, and wanted to try it out. We usually buy Aunt Jemima mix, which to be honest kind of sucks. Now I love Trader Joe's, if you have one you know how lucky you are. If you don't, pray that one comes to your area soon. It's fantastic. Super cheap and the food is usually top notch. I love going there. It's like a new and exciting experience everytime. Are you getting that I LOVE it? So back to the pancakes...they came out perfect. I have never made such great pancakes from a mix in my life. Love you Trader Joe's pancakes, love you. Both my kids gobbled them right up. Yipee!

In the theme of things that I love besides my children, and my adoring husband, I love the t-shirt I am wearing today. It's a Juicy Couture shirt and before you go thinking that I am some well to do stay at home Mom who can afford a $65 shirt, I will tell you I got it on sale for $15 bucks. Yeah bargain. So this shirt is hot pink, super soft, and in bright yellow letters on the front says:
SELF
ABS
ORBED
which is so totally contrarry to being a parent. I love to wear it, cracks me up. Obviously I am not self absorbed because practically my every waking moment is dedicated to caring for two small needy children. I can't barely take a shower or grab a cup of coffee without doing at least 6 things for them in the mean time.

I just put my youngest down for a nap and I guess I will go play with my older daughter. She loves to play pretend with her "My Little Pony" horses and make up all kind of scenerios for them to act out. It's honestly not my favorite game, but she loves it and I have basically ignored her all morning so I am going to try to make up for it. Maybe I am self absorbed...

*Beauty Tip* In the spirit of being self absorbed...my tip today is to go treat yourself to a manicure/pedicure. I would like to but I probably won't so if you could go that would be great. At least someone will have pretty feet. See! I am not self absorbed, I care about your feet! And if you want to care about someone else today, go out a buy a bottle of OPI's RED-Y TO HELP nailpolish before you head to the salon. It's a beautiful wine red polish that with every bottle sold OPI will donate $1 to help the American Red Cross in it's life-saving work. Trade Secret and other salons usually carry OPI for around $7.

Would You Pay $17,000 For A Binky?

So last night I accidentaly started watching this show on VHI called "The Fabulous Life of Brad and Angelina's Baby." Big mistake. This show was ridiculous! You know how companies send celebrities all sorts of things for free in the hopes that they will be photographed wearing the items. Well I guess "Brangelina's" new baby has been getting sent a ton of free baby stuff. Including expensive clothes, toys, and a $3000 stroller, just to name a few! What really kills me is that these people are so wealthy that they are the last people on the planet who need free baby stuff. What about all the real families that struggle just to afford formula or diapers? But here is the real kicker...one company sent the baby a white gold, diamond studded binky worth $17,000. That is more money then some people make in a year! Can you believe $17,000 for a binky? I was at Babies R Us yesterday and thought about buying my one year old another set of Gerber plastic binkies, but decided against it because they cost $5.36. Money is a little tight in my own family right now, which I am sure is the case in most one income families. And honestly even with all their money, and being able to afford practically anything in the world for their kids, I would hope that Brad and Angelina think that a $17,000 binky is pretty ridiculous too.

*Beauty Tip* If you want to achieve full luscious lips, just like Angelina Jolie-Pitt's, try one of the new lip plumping glosses avalible. They tend to make the lips appear fuller with ingrediants to safely swell them like fiery cinnamon or tingly mint. Try the original lip plumper, Du Wop's Lip Venom for $16 at Sephora.com

Yay or Nay For Rachel Ray?

The question of the day is, do you like Rachel Ray? You know who I am talking about right? The super perky Food Network star, cookbook author, and soon to be daytime talk show host? I find that I am annoyed by her and like her in equal parts. It's very odd. I sometimes watch her show "30 Minute Meals" on the Food Network and I am perplexed by ber popularity. She's fairly cute and spunky, but I find her delivery kind of forced and hokey.

People really seem to like her. She has been on the Oprah show a bunch of times and I think teamed with Oprah on her magazine, Everyday With Rachel Ray. I have to say that I have read her magazine and I really like it. I don't like some of the goofy words she uses though, like "yummo" and "evoo" for extra virgin olive oil. Annoying! Yet she reminds me of a a college buddy, you know the type that was extra positive happy even on the way to an 8am econ class. Blah.

*Beauty Tip* Make your own Mediterranean Foot Scrub using "Evoo" in honor of Rachel Ray!1/2 cup "Evoo"(Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in case you weren't paying attention!)1/2 cup Sea Salt1 lemon wedgeGlass of red wine(optional to drink)Mix the first two ingrediants together in a bowl and squeeze in a dash of lemon. Scrub your feet and hands for two minutes and rinse. Apply a thick layer of Mosturizer after. My favorite at the moment is Avon's PLANET SPA Mediterranean Olive Oil Whipped Body Crème for $11.50. It's got anti-oxidant rich "evoo", that is whipped into a luxurious cream to soothe and nourish skin.

The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Yesterday was truly one of those "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days." Have you ever read that book? I think it was about a boy named Alexander and it was obviously about his bad day. Our day started out ok, and it wasn't until 4pm when things took a turn for the worse. We needed to get out of our house because we are trying to sell it and there was a showing from 4:30-5:30. It was a perfect day to spend the late afternoon at the pool. I get both of the kids and myself slathered from head to toe in sunscreen and we put on our suits and coverups. As I am stapping the kids into their car seats I look up at the sky towards the west. Big black dark grey rain clounds are forming off into the distance. Shoot. We are not really dressed for anything but the pool. Just then big drops of rain start to fall. I jump in the car and decide to just drive around for a bit to see if it passes. The rain does not pass. It's pouring and the baby is screaming because she is ready for a bottle. My older daughter is pissed because we aren't going to the pool. Chaos in the car!

I decide to head to the library so my oldest can play and I can feed the baby. We jet from the car into the library. Soaking wet. At least we have our suits on right? I feel a little bizarre in the library in just my coverup, but oh well. I am feeding the baby her bottle and the other one is playing with the library's dollhouse.Well all of a sudden there is a warm wetness spreading on my lap. My youngest who I forgot was wearing a swim diaper has just peed all over me! Blah! Why didn't someone tell me that Pampers swim diapers are not nearly as absorbant as a regular diaper? Should they put a warning on the package or something?So to make a long horrible story short...I am covered in baby pee, it didn't stop raining, the pool didn't open back up, and there was lots more crying and tantrums had by all.

*Beauty Tip* For gorgeous simple nails, file them into a rounded square shape or "squaoval", then buff them for high shine. Or try the new Neutrogena's Instant Nail Enhancer in Buffed Sheen($7). It dries instantly and is a super fast way to have beautiful healthy looking nails.

An Entry By My Daughter

Iam too tired to write an entry today, so my daughter is going to fill in. She's 14 months old. Well, this is probably what she would write, if she could actually type or talk.

Hi Everyone,
I went to bed really easy last night at 7, like a good girl, but then I decided to wake up an hour later. I miss my Momma and Dadda and if I cry, they will come and get me. So I got to play downstairs a little. Then they took me back up again, and I fooled them for 5 minutes by being very quiet, but then I decided to start crying again so they would come and get me. I was so happy when Momma came upstairs and held me. I put my head on her chest and fell right asleep. I even let her tiptoe out of my room before I started crying again! Silly Momma! Come back! So this went on for about four hours, until I think I really broke them, because lo and behold Momma brought me downstairs and I got to sleep in their big bed with Momma. Dadda went to sleep on the couch. I think he was afraid he would roll over on me. I slept fine after that. I like to sleep with Momma. This was the second time I have tried it and I really sleep very well. I like to snuggle up close to her and sometimes she tries to move me to the middle, but I just scoot right back over to her and put my fist under her chin or in her eye. I like to wave my arms around alot in my sleep. I hope I didn't disturb Momma, oh well.Have a great day everyone,:) C

*Beauty Tip* My Momma says I have to write a beauty tip for today...Desitin works well for diaper rash. The blue tube is fun to play with too. Oh and here is a hair tip too, BOWS SUCKS! And not in a good way. I like to pull them out of my hair right after Mom puts them in.

There Is No Off Switch.

My children may be the light of my life, but there is no off switch to motherhood. Motherhood is a full time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all consuming task. It's hard. Brutally hard at times. Other times motherhood is easy for me. I look at my children and think about how lucky I am that I have two healthy beautiful daughters. Not everyone has that opportunity. Other times like today, I am so beat down by "my job" as a mother that I can hardly see strait, and I am shaking with exhaustion.

I just had to rock my 14 month old to sleep, and it's 9:30. Bedtime at our house is 7pm. Unfortunately she is not a classically good sleeper like her older sister. Right now she is teething and wakes up easily. Plus she has a cold. Not a good combination for sleep. We have been trying to get her to go to bed since 7. Friends of mine tell me to just let her cry herself to sleep. I know it's just separation aniexty because she knows she's up there in her crib alone and we are downstairs. So I let her cry a few minutes, 15 at the most. It's the most I can stand. I then go upstairs and rest my hand on her tummy and she stops crying. Sometimes she will even fall back asleep, but the moment I leave the room, she knows. And then the crying begins again. Eventually I will pick her up, and she gratefully rests her head on my chest, and it feels like her whole body is just relaxed and peaceful against mine. I am not one of those big attachment parents. I didn't breastfeed, have a baby sling, or co-sleep. I don't knock parents who do those things, but it's not my style. My older daughter was more independent. I can't remember her as a baby ever resting her head on my shoulder. My younger daughter is more clingy, my little koala baby.

Now that it is almost 10pm, I am going to go try to read a magazine and relax for the first time today since 7am. I know my baby will probably wake up again sometime tonight and break time will be over. I will have to hold her. I will want to hold her. This job never ends, and that's a good thing.

*Beauty Tip* Deep condition while you sleep, if you can get any as a parent, with my favorite hair mask, Kerastase Masquintense($40) for dry hair. Just wash and towel dry and apply a thick layer of the conditioner and comb through. Rinse out in the morning and bask in the softness of your hair.

New Celebrity Moms And Their Nighttime...

Baby Nurses. There are many celebrities that have just had babies and I know they have help at night. They try to keep it a secret. You know who I am talking about. Those celebrities that claim that they get up in the middle of the night for feedings, and then appear on a morning talk show all "bright eyed and bushy tailed?" It's because they have help, and lots of it. Especially at night. DO NOT BE FOOLED>and really if you had all the money in the world, and had a new baby at home, wouldn't you hire a little help at night too? I know I would. I admit it. If I could have skipped that 2am feeding or that 5 am feeding, I would have and gladly. I have two daughters now who are out of the infant stage, and I loved every minute of their babyhood. I adore new babies, but I still did not enjoy getting up in the middle of the night, stumbling around trying to grab a bottle and change a squirmy newborn. I think that if a lovely baby nurse had been there for the first couple of months it wouldn't have interfered with the bonding process at all. I love my baby girls, but I need my sleep too.

*Beauty Tip* For puffy eye relief try putting on a cooling eye gel in the morning. You can even leave it in the fridge for that extra cool effect. Pat it gentley around the eye area with your ring finger to diffuse puffiness. A couple of great ones for new moms or anyone to try are Prescriptives Super Line Preventer Intensive Eye Treatment($45)and Olay Age Defying Revitalizing Eye Gel($10)

New Celebrity Moms And Their Nighttime...

Baby Nurses. There are many celebrities that have just had babies and I know they have help at night. They try to keep it a secret. You know who I am talking about. Those celebrities that claim that they get up in the middle of the night for feedings, and then appear on a morning talk show all "bright eyed and bushy tailed?" It's because they have help, and lots of it. Especially at night. DO NOT BE FOOLED>and really if you had all the money in the world, and had a new baby at home, wouldn't you hire a little help at night too? I know I would. I admit it. If I could have skipped that 2am feeding or that 5 am feeding, I would have and gladly. I have two daughters now who are out of the infant stage, and I loved every minute of their babyhood. I adore new babies, but I still did not enjoy getting up in the middle of the night, stumbling around trying to grab a bottle and change a squirmy newborn. I think that if a lovely baby nurse had been there for the first couple of months it wouldn't have interfered with the bonding process at all. I love my baby girls, but I need my sleep too.

*Beauty Tip* For puffy eye relief try putting on a cooling eye gel in the morning. You can even leave it in the fridge for that extra cool effect. Pat it gentley around the eye area with your ring finger to diffuse puffiness. A couple of great ones for new moms or anyone to try are Prescriptives Super Line Preventer Intensive Eye Treatment($45)and Olay Age Defying Revitalizing Eye Gel($10)

Can Someone Build Me A Boat?

I had to get some errands done yesterday and my Mother-In-Law graciously said she would watch my two children. Alright after some begging on my part, she agreed to it. Not that she doesn't want to be with her grandchildren, it's just that she has quite the active social life for a senior citizen. I was supposed to be back to pick them up by 4:30. I am coming home from the mall and it starts raining. Now I hadn't seen a forcast to know that it was going to rain, so I didn't think anything of it. If I had seen some weather radar, I would have been panicked. You know how the radar is red over the area that is getting the worst rain? Well over the entire area I was traveling back to my Mother-In-Laws from the mall was red red RED. Flash flood warnings were coming rapidly over the radio in the exact area I was in. I had never seen so much rain in my life. It was pouring down so hard that I couldn't see anything, unless there was a car in front of me and I could follow their brake lights. The pounding rain was deafening, and as I drove through more and more pooling rainwater. I got to the center of town and there was just water rushing down the street. There were some orange construction cones that were floating down with it, slamming into everyone cars. Very scary. Constant lightening and thunder. I finally get down to my in-laws street. It's completely flooded. Cars are stalled out everywhere who have gone through and broke down in the high water. So I make a quick u-turn, going through more rushing water. I almost didn't make it out, and my car is making an awful noise, but I plow through. I just wanted to get to my children! I mean I know they were fine at my in-laws, but I still wanted to get there safely. What if something were to happen to me? I now feel as a mother that I am more protective of myself--obviously for them. I don't like to fly, but I do, and bad weather freaks me out.

So I try another route to my in-laws. I go down a back a residential road and everyone's yards have their very own lake from the flooding rains. I get to another street and can't even turn onto it because it's like a rushing rapid. So I officially can't get to my children. I pull into the church parking lot that my in-laws go to because it's up on a big hill, so I figure I can wait there for a bit. There is probably about 15 other people in their cars who have taken refuge up there. So I waited about 20 minutes and finally the rain slowed down a bit. I slowly venture out again and luckily some of the water has receeded a bit on the roads. I pass at least 7 stalled cars that have just been abandoned in the street, having been stopped by the water. I finally get to my inlaws. Hooray! My children are safe! I am safe! I have never seen rain or flooding like that in my life. You can bet I hugged my children extra tight when I finally saw them.

I feel like the wrath of mother nature has been more intense in recent years. I don't remember it being like this when I was a kid. We didn't worry so much about the weather. I was even in a hurricane when I was little, but it was nothing like all the trouble we have had recently in the world weather wise. Instead of a beauty tip today, I am posting the link to the American Red Cross. They are still taking donations for many of the weather related tragedies that have affected so many people.http://www.redcross.org/

I Love Starbucks, But...

I admit I am a total coffee addict. What stay-at- home mom isn't? I try to just have one cup, one very large cup in the morning, but I do like it later in the day too. I especially love Starbucks. I know Starbucks is a huge coorporate money sucking racket and I know that and I still love it. I can usually make do with a tall coffee, but sometimes I spluge on a Non-fat-sugar-free-grande-vanilla-latte. Can you belive how complicated coffe can be? But it's soooo good. I know it's ridiculously expensive and pointless to pay almost $4 for a cup of coffee, and I pretty much hate myself everytime I get one, but oh well. I saw a segment on the Today show this morning about how Starbucks is trying to get kids hooked on their coffee drinks. I believe it. You want to know why? It seems like everytime I am in a Starbucks, someone in line ahead of me is ordering their kid or "tween" some kind of large ridiculous coffee drink. Don't people know caffeine is not good for kids? Just because it's packaged in some gigantic frothy drink doesn't make the caffeine part go away. I know when I was a kid, my parents didn't let me drink coffee. They said it would stunt my growth. I don't think that's changed.
*Beauty Tip*-No time today, I have to take my daughter to swim lessons!

Naked Britney-Yuck

Oops she's done it again...cheesy I know, but I had to say it. Britney Spears is naked on the upcoming August issue of Bazaar. Yuck. Now being the magazine addict that I am, I subscribe to Bazaar, and read it monthly. Honestly I am not looking forward to seeing Britney naked and pregnant on the cover. Haven't we seen enough naked pregnant celebrities? And I say if you are going to pose naked and pregnant you should pose 9 months pregnant and not itty bitty 5 months pregnant. It's kind of like cheating. Britney's saying "hey look at me, look how great I look!" I am not fooled, come back in that third trimester when you are bigger than a house and that will make a statement. Plus with all the airbrushing in the world, ANYONE can look great pregnant and naked.

*Beauty Tip*- All the moisturizer in the world is not going to prevent stretch marks, if you are prone to them during pregnancy. Skin is going to stretch, that's just the way it goes. Britney has stretch marks all over her stomach too. Not that it makes me feel any better about mine though. Now if I could just find out a way to airbrush myself before heading to the pool! At the very least self tanner will help minimize the appearance of newer redish stretch marks. Lancome and Loreal make fantastic self tanners that go on evenly and don't have that horrible scent associated with the active ingredient, DHA. So spread some on and flaut your post baby body!

Two Nannies Are Better Than One

I was looking around AOL yesterday at the lastest news stories, well actually celebrity news, I admit it. I checked out a video of Gwyneth Paltrow walking in NYC with her daughter and what appeared to be two nannies. Two nannies, people! Can you imagine? One of the nannies opened the car door for them and the other nanny was trailing behind them with Gwyneth's baby boy. How easy must her life be? I know people with four kids that don't have any help. I can barely get my mother-in-law to come over for even an hour so that I can go to a dentist appointment.
I guess it just goes back to how easy life must be if you have tons and tons of money. Now I know money doesn't buy happiness and blah blah blah, but I would love to be able to have even one day a week of nanny help. Not that I can't handle my kids on my own, but I would be able to take my oldest to the pool just the two of us if I had a nanny to watch the baby. But if I had two nannies I could have one of the nannies take my oldest to the pool, and the other nanny could watch the baby at home. Then I could go have coffee or shop or get a facial or see a movie or write the great american novel...well you get the picture. It's all just a silly fantasy, obviously I love being a stay at home Mom. I wouldn't want to be away from my kids all the time at a full time job outside of my home. I can't imagine missing all the smiles and sloppy baby kisses from my youngest or walking hand and hand with my four year old while she tells me silly knock knock jokes that don't make any sense, but are still hilarious. So I guess Gwyneth can have her two nannies, but she doesn't know what she's missing!

*Beauty Tip* For a quick at home facial invest in a gentle facial scrub made for your skin type. If you have dry skin there is a new kit by Philosophy called "Are you a raisin or a grape" which includes a great scrub and nighttime moisturizer. You always want to hydrate your skin after you exfoliate. You can find this kit at Sephora.com for $35.

Nutty Buddies

We had a breakthrough moment last night. This one is a really big deal. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. Here it goes...my children actually entertained themselves by playing together while my husband and I ate dinner! The TV wasn't even on! Hooray! We knew this day was coming, but we had no idea it would be so soon. My daughters are 4 years old and 15 months old. For some reason my oldest kept calling her baby sister, "Todd" and putting her red mickey mouse cap on her head backwards. The baby kept trying to get it off by standing on her head. Super cute. They both found this hilarious and were occupied with each other for at least a good 15 minutes. Which if you are a parent, 15 minutes of eating dinner without having to get up and do something for your kids is gold. Plus my enchiladas were awesome if I do say so myself.
So then after dinner, we all had "nutty buddies", which are Drumstick sundae cones for dessert. My oldest kept giving the baby licks of her ice cream, and both of them were giggling hysterically. The baby would then throw her head back and roar that great baby belly laugh. My husband and I were laughing with them. It was a great moment. You would think these great moments come in parenting all the time, and don't get me wrong, they do. But lately it seems like there have been more frustrating moments. The baby teething and not sleeping. My oldest waking up at the crack of dawn for no reason or refusing to eat a food she's had a million times, like stupid toast. Me wanting to pull my hair out after carrying her upstairs kicking and screaming for yet another time out. So last night watching my two girls together was just pure parenting joy. Thank goodness for my two little nutty buddies!

*Beauty Tip* Play beauty parlor with your girls! Little girls as young as four can have their nails painted as long as the polish doesn't have any formaldehyde and are formulated without toluene. Avon and Estee Lauder's nail polishes don't have these ingrediants and come in a wide variety of fun shades!

The Best Celebrity Without Makeup Photo Ever!

http://www.tmz.com/2006/07/10/loreals-worst-nightmare/
Oh my goodness gracious makeupness...copy and paste this link to feel much better about yourself. This is photo of Eva Longoria the resident "hottie housewife" on Desperate Houswives sporting a bare face out on the town. It's really too good to be true. Could she really be that plain? Now as a makeup artist and all around makeup addict, I never really leave the house without something on my face. Call me vain, but I just feel a little better with some concealer and a swipe of mascara. I truely applaud women who don't wear makeup because they don't like it. But I LOVE it, so bring on the gloss and blush. And someone please tell Eva Longoria to take a look at my beauty tip of today--how to make yourself up in under a minute.

*Beauty Tip* For one minute makeup, you only need these three items...

Concealer-one with a wand that you can quickly swipe under the eyes, on the lids, around the nose area, and to dab on any spots. Blend with fingers.

Mascara-in Black, otherwise why bother? Swipe just on the top lashes. Don't do the bottom, it's not 1966.

Lip Gloss- It can be applied on the go, and with gloss you can be less precise then with lipstick.
Only 60 seconds to make yourself look polished and ready to go face the world!

My Shampoo Smells Like Strippers

I just bought this new shampoo that I have never used before. I normally buy a ridiculously expenisive shampoo, usually Kerastase or Frederic Fekkai, but this time in order to save a little dough I decided to try a drugstore shampoo. I know shampoo should just be shampoo and the cost shouldn't matter because they all have the same main cleansing ingrediant. But let me tell you, my new cheapie shampoo smells like strippers. I am not kidding. I was in the shower this morning washing my hair and I paused and thought to myself "what is this smell?"

And why do I even know what strippers smell like? Well to be totally honest, sometimes when my husband and I are on vacation we will go to a strip club. It's not his idea either, it's mine. We have only done it twice really. Scores in New York because it's super famous and a local strip club on an overnight trip two hours away from our home. I like to take my husband to strip clubs because well he was really tame in his teen years and early twenties and didn't get to do all that rowdy guy stuff. So sometimes I like to blow his mind a little and take him somewhere debaucherous. The last time we went, the girls were VERY friendly. It might have helped that we had a stack of singles and sat up front at center stage. We got quite a show, up close and personal and I could really smell them. Yikes. Yuck. Way too flowerly cheapie body sprays permeated the air between us. My husband explained to me that guys must really like the olfactory experience of smelling the ladies giving them the lap dance, so they really pile it on. Which takes me back to my shampoo. I guess shampoo isn't really just shampoo if it reminds me of strippers.

*Beauty Tip* For a more subtle fragrance in the summer, many companies make a softer version of their originals. Calvin Klein's CK One Summer or Eternity Summer are limited editions and are effervescently light, making them perfect for hot steamy weather.

10 Reason Why It's Worth It...

In response to my last post...of course I think parenthood is worth it. I may have moments where I feel like running off to a deserted island just to get five minutes of alone time, but overall it's been a life changing event in the best possible way. So here are ten reasons why parenthood IS worth it.
1. Sleepy newborn smiles-you know when they smile in their sleep and it's just muscle twitching that looks like a smile, but it just melts you.
2. Newborn stretches-when they wake up and you pick them up mid stretch with their little fists in the air and face all scrunched up. Beautiful.
3. Uncontrollable baby giggles-My one year old was giggling like crazy when she was watching her big sister hide under the table and then jump out over and over.
4. The head on your shoulder-my one year old will put her head on my shoulder and wrap her arms around my arm and my neck. Her grip is tight and she's like a little koala bear. Heaven.
5. Sloppy wet baby kisses-sometime you even get a little teeth with it.
6. The Songs-my four year old sings the funniest songs that she learns in preschool. Have you heard "Fried Ham?"
7. Pigtails-I love it when my four year old wants me to do her hair. I put it in low pigtails and she is possibly the cutest kid ever.
8. Holding hands
9. Funny Jokes- My four year old told me this one the other day...Why do bunnies make friends? So they always have someBUNNY to love! Cracked me up!
10. Hearing "I love you Mommy" totally unprompted.
There are about a million more reasons why it's worth it, but I have to go play princesses now.
*Beauty Tip* Just bask in the glow of motherhood! Well if that doesn't work a great daily mosturizer with a hint of self tanner will fake it for you. Try Olay's Touch of Sun Daily Mosturizer with SPF 15.

Is It Worth It?

I know no one likes to admit this, but is parenthood worth it? Don't you feel as a parent that sometimes you are in over your head? Yesterday was a great example of this sentiment. As I was strapping my oldest who is four into her booster seat in the car, she was screaming like I have never heard anyone scream in my life, I did wonder to myself...is this worth it? Plus you want to know the reason why she was having a screaming fit? Over cookies. We were leaving her grandparents house and her Gramma had just given her a package of cookies to take home. To take home, not to eat right at that moment. I know this is a hard concept for a kid to understand, but it was close to dinner time and I told her she could have a cookie after dinner. So she threw the package of cookies on the floor and commenced screaming like a banshee. So of course we left the cookies there and I carried her kicking and screaming out to the car. Should I have just let her have a cookie? Right before dinner? Maybe. But the kids eats a ton of sweets and is super picky, so don't feel sorry for her because I wouldn't let her have a cookie before dinner. I sometimes even let her have cake for breakfast. So I am definitely not one of those crunchy eco, soy, no sweets, eat your carob chip cookies, kind of mom.

So then we were driving along the highway with my oldest still screaming, and kicking the seat in front of her that happened to be where my husband was sitting. This made him furious! So now he has joined in screaming at her. I am trying to drive, and yelling at them to cut it out. Chaos. The poor baby is looking around the car like "what the hell kind of family have I gotten my little one year old self into?" So I see this situation is not improving. Yelling seems to beget more yelling. How about singing? So I start to sing "Old McDonald" which I know is my four year old's favorite. She stops mid scream and starts to calm down and shout out the animals for each verse that are on the farm. Thank god for good ol' old Mcdonald. Dude is a lifesaver. I don't think I could have finished driving home listening to her scream. And she quickly became her cute charming self again. My husband looked at me and whispered how does she go from complete demon child to charming in the span of five mintues? I just shook my head with wonder and continued singing...

*Beauty Tip* To make your own fabulous summer "Margarita" foot scrub try mixing1/2 cup kosher salt1/8 cup olive oila few squirts of limescrub for at least 5 minutes per foot and then rub in a rich foot cream. Your feet will be smoothed and primed for a great pedicure color like OPI's best selling-I'm Not Really a Waitress.

Alone At Last

It's noon, and I finally got my husband to leave the house with our oldest daughter. I just put the baby down for her afternoon nap. I am alone. It's glorious. If you are a parent you know what I mean. If you aren't then my advice to you if you are going to be a parent sometime in the future...savior your alone time. Besides being a wife and mother of two, I am a makeup artist. So I will give you a little heads up about what I will be discussing. Mostly it's going to be about exactly what the title says..."Makeup & Motherhood." I will dole out some daily beauty tips and tricks along with the various trials of mothering my two small adorable daughters. You can also check out some of my articles on ClubMom.com. I am one of their "Go-To Experts" in the hair and makeup catagory. Plus they actually pay me to write. Hooray for money! Here is the link to my articles, and feel free to let me know what you think. I appreciate any and all feedback. Really. Even if it's bad, lay it on me.
http://www.clubmom.com/display/219947?expertId=456374586&fromModule=topnav_mem&fromPage=250925