A Little Beauty Basic – My Style

January 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

I will be honest, I don’t wear a lot of makeup….. but at the same time, I rarely leave the house without ANYTHING on anymore either.  A *little* seems to go a long way for me….or at least it goes a long way towards making me feel good, and that’s what really matters, yes?

So, just for fun…. and because my lovely friends at Babble told me they were wondering if I had any make-up musts, any hair styles I trend towards…any products I love…  Here’s the scoop:

If you know me…  you know that I almost always wear my hear down.  It has been long, long, long ever since I stopped reporting and those crazy TV stations couldn’t make me have an’anchor bob’ anymore (don’t laugh – you know what I’m talking about!)  Sometimes I add a little curl, sometimes it’s mainly straight, but really?  It is just down and long.  Probably fairly boring – I should branch out.  It is on my ‘do it before I turn 40′ list.

As for make up – my ‘musts’ start with my eyes.  I have small eyes.  Itty bitty eyes.  So small, you probably don’t ever notice the color… at least no one ever did *before*.  Mascara was always the ONE thing I refused to leave the house without.  And my number one choice in mascara has been Cover Girl’s Lash Blast Volume for years.  I can’t live without it.  And now?  To supplement that?  I have fallen in love with Xtreme Lashes.  And I have a divine friend/stylist, Autumn LaTour (STL Makeup) who does an amazing job.  No, they aren’t traditional fake lashes – they are extensions to your individual lashes that help your lashes to grow thicker and stronger.  And for the first time in my life, I’ve been given compliments on my eyes.

And finally….LIPS.

It is the only other ‘must’ I feel compelled to cover.  If I’m wearing mascara and something on my lips I feel mainly makeup complete.

I haven’t been a big lipstick girl in years, so I typically opt for gloss….possibly because I have never been able to pull off bright colors…or it could be that I stopped wearing anything for a time when my small people were really small (I kissed them too often – and babies covered in lipstick starts to look a little bizarre after awhile)

So my ‘go-to’ for my lips: I cannot live without Bare Escentuals, Buxom Lips.  It is a lip gloss to die for and I have to thank my friend Alli for bringing it into my world.  Is it wrong to say it has changed my life?

So there you have it….  a few of my deep, dark beauty secrets.  Let me know what you think if you try any of them – AND, better yet – what are your favorites??

 

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Happy 5th Birthday Small Dude

June 2, 2011 By 1 Comment

I’m not quite sure where the time has gone…  but my sweet small dude turns FIVE today.  FIVE.  It just seems so darn grown up.  And he behaves like a real person now -he asks questions, shares his opinion – and rarely listens to me.

This is a video I’ve done to celebrate my little buddy…

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What has most surprised you about Motherhood?

May 5, 2011 By 11 Comments

I must have been 16, maybe 17…. Locked in one of many teen vs. mom battles of wills and I thought to myself “when I have a daughter, I will NEVER treat her like this!!”  cue the heavenly orchestra because really?  I KNEW BEST.

That sentiment was followed by many other variations:

“I will never say that….”

“Because I said so?…. What kind of B.S. is that anyway?”

“I will never make my daughter wear that….”

“Curfew?  What curfew?  I will TRUST my children….”

“My brother has different rules?  I will treat my children the SAME….”

So, it was surprising to me when, the moment my small girl was placed in my arms, the world shifted on its axis.  I always knew I would love her.  But I didn’t know I would LOVE her.  Because no one can really prepare you for what that feels like – the emotion that sweeps your soul – the commitment you make to yourself, to her – in that split second, “I will take care of you, baby….  Even when you fight me.”

And I knew.

I knew that all of those teen angst moments would come back to haunt me.  I will be hard on my children – because I love them.  I will have high expectations for them – because they deserve that.  There are rules.  Because they need them to shape their sense of right and wrong. And no, they don’t like some of them – but you know what?  I can make those rules….  Because I said so.

It surprised me to realize I had this in me.  It surprised me to realize that while I was wrong all that time, I really just didn’t know – how could I?  And you know what?  My kids will feel the same way.  And someday… I imagine, they will be surprised to realize that I too, like my Mom (and Dad) really did know what I was doing…

What has been most surprising to you about Motherhood?

As a side note:  Other things that I have found surprising?

  • When your child is sick or hurting, you can and will tolerate anything – even vomit in you hair.
  • I’m not nearly as patient as I thought I was
  • I can operate on 4 hours of sleep a night.  For a very long time.
  • The love you feel as a parent is fierce.  Like I-will-knock-you-down kind of fierce.  I hope I am never tested.
  • I believe kids are born with a certain personality – and no amount or ‘kind’ of parenting will change that

This Mother’s Day conversation is sponsored by a company I love (and use!) Tiny Prints.  I love that they have given me some beautiful things to think about as Mother’s Day approaches.  All of their Mother’s day cards(and Father’s day cards too!) are fully customizable and can be sent straight to the recipient. You can even schedule the cards to be sent ahead of time too.

 

 

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If I could only teach my children one thing…..

April 20, 2011 By 14 Comments

Photo by Gina Kelly, Art By Gina, St. Louis

Seven years ago I was starting to waddle.  Within another month I would say goodbye to my nearly perfect posture, my long stride and worst *gasp* my desire to wear high heels.  I was growing a baby.  I would talk to her daily – sometimes as I went about my day and often as I crawled into bed, exhausted at the end of the day. This was, naturally, when my sweet girl was most active.  8pm and a tired Mommy-to-be were an invitation for the small one to graduate into a full-fledged punter.  There are field goals in her future, I’m still certain.

My chatting was often idle, but filled with dreams and doings, wishes and would-be-wisdom.  As if it was even remotely possible that I could possess any child-rearing wisdom at this point in my life.  I would rub my belly (or if I’m honest sometimes push her back after an hour of kidney-football) and consider the many things I hoped to teach….

How to instill confidence?  And Independence? A desire to stand up for people who can’t do it for themselves? A kind heart? A strong work ethic? A love of family?  A willingness to embrace her strengths and acknowledge her weaknesses? Loyalty? Honesty? A commitment to trying her best?  Have fun? Laugh every day if you can?

Then, and now, my head spins and my shoulders fall under the weight of this responsibility.  I’m no longer growing a baby.  I’m growing a child, a person…someone who will eventually be an adult. (eventually being a VERY LONG TIME FROM NOW, thank heavens….) And she may eventually carry this same responsibility.

So, I comfort myself (with wine…. I kid, I kid) by ruminating….  how did I come to have the desire to pass on these qualities?  If I’m passing them on…  I must have learned them at some point.  Right?

And that means this woman, my mother, gets the credit for living the example.

Photo by Carey Schumacher, Barefoot Memories, San Diego

If I could only teach Delaney (and of course, Cooper too) one thing, it would be this:

Live the example.  And do it with a kind heart.

I have to believe that the rest will fall into place.  If I show my children what it means to be kind, to be independent, to give?  They will understand in a way my words could never convey.

What one lesson do you hope to teach your children?

This Mother’s Day conversation is sponsored by a company I love (and use!) Tiny Prints.  I love that they have given me some beautiful things to think about as Mother’s Day approaches.  All of their Mother’s day cards (and Father’s day cards too!) are fully customizable and can be sent straight to the recipient. You can even schedule the cards to be sent ahead of time too.

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The First Lady and Martha Stewart join Operation Shower in celebrating Military Moms-to-Be

April 20, 2011 By 21 Comments

I stood right next to the First Lady of the United States.  I took the microphone from her and thanked her and Dr. Jill Biden for visiting the Operation Shower event.  I Introduced Martha Stewart to a roomful of beautiful, military moms-to-be.  I joked with Martha’s ‘people’ about my assumption that Ms. Stewart was likely not a hugger (I was right)….  I shook her hand and brought her to her table where she taught the art of preserving memories to these women who are about to become moms – many for the first time.

I was only feet away from Michelle Obama as she talked about her new military initiative with Jill Biden, Joining Forces.  I listened as she talked about Operation Shower, about the moms in front of her, and about the items everyone at the White House had collected for these brave women.

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Where my heart is….

April 19, 2011 By 21 Comments

My small people?  They are wise.

Too wise.

Wise enough to recognize my absence and brave enough to pretend it is all ok.

But I can see we are wading into new territory.  I’ve traveled before.  Three days here.  The odd weekend there…  but never like this.  Never gone more than I am home.  For a while when I only traveled three days in a two month period, they would whine and moan, attaching themselves vise-like to my ankles.  I would drag us both down the stairs fearing one wrong move and we would all tumble.  And I’d end up with a broken hip.

Now that I’m traveling – sometimes a week at a time, they comfort each other and it is their silence that speaks to me.  It is the joy in their eyes searching for recognition, for love, for placement in mine…. this is what I hear echoing in my ears even when they don’t say a word.  It is the enthusiasm of a first goal hooted and high-fived as I hop in the car from the airport…

It is the, “Mommy-will-you-tie-my-shoe-get-me-some-milk-look-at-this-picture-I-made-you-HOLD-MY-HAND-fix-my-ponytail-carry-my-soccer-ball-LOOK-AT-ME-read-me-a-story-dance-with-me-pet-the-puppy-TELL-ME-YOU-LOVE-ME….”  that screams to me….

And I hear them.  Not in my head.

But in my heart.

I hear them.  I hold them.

When I arrived home yesterday, I didn’t answer my phone.  I didn’t shoot you a quick email.  I didn’t even plug in my computer for the first 6 hours I was here.  Because I wasn’t really here.

I was waaaaayyyyy over here.

And I like it over here.  It is soft.  And warm.  And full of giggles and light, goodness and heart.

If home is where the heart is?  Well….  my home is wrapped tightly between a small girl with freckles and brown curls and a spunky blond dude prone to yelling, “hugs, Momma!”

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Dancing at Hollywood Studios to Mickey Mouse ClubHouse

March 23, 2011 By 16 Comments

This past weekend, at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference, we were lucky enough to have a private dance party with some of the crew from Disney Junior…..  this is simply a small sampling of the fun I had with my small people – Cooper in particular.  We like to dance. Try not to mock me.

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