a little t.l.c...

Last night Amalia slept in her own crib, in her own room. She did great and slept right through the night. The boys, however, did not. Jack was up three times and sneaked into our bed at some point before dawn. George woke up twice. Once to use the bathroom and another for, well, who knows really. They have never been consistently great sleepers but last night was extraordinarily awful. Pass the coffee.

My favorite BB cream and mineral foundation have been no match for the circles under my eyes the past few months. And, as I am rapidly approaching another ::coughmiddleagecough:: birthday, the fine lines wrinkles are making their presence known along with more than a few grey hairs. Super fun stuff. Each time I have more than 1.43 seconds to  look in the mirror, I think, "Really time to do something about this." Then a wrestling match ensues or a baby squawks to be fed and dreams of skin care regimes and hair salon bookings are once again forgotten.

I have three children under school age. My shopping trips with them are timed and orchestrated to the minute with lists by aisle. One misstep can and will result in one or more small person melting down in the checkout lane. Gone are the days of browsing the beauty aisles, reading package labels and fawning over lovely packaging. Mall trips? Ha! Only because our Target is attached to one. And by Target, I mean the diaper and grocery aisles.

When my Influenster TLC Vox Box arrived in June, I was thrilled. Every mom can use a little pampering. I pawed through the contents and my eyes went straight to the sleek little Avon package: Anew Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother. It had me at Express. I moved the box up to my bathroom counter and there it sat for awhile. One day when I managed more than a rushed moment for my makeup routine, I slid open the mirrored cover and gave the balm a try on my forehead. And, it worked.

No, really. It worked right away. As in, that moment. My deepening wrinkles were instantly smoothed out to a few fine lines. This is my forehead, right out of the shower with (before) only my BB cream and (after) the balm patted over the lines.

When a product actually works and takes next to zero time? Huge mom win. And, Avon. Who knew?

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for testing purposes. All opinions and commentary are my own.

wordless wednesday: silliness at the park...

wordless wednesday: the luckiest...

 

 

 

wordless wednesday: the gift of a boy, park edition

{hold this for me, mama}

dirt and noise and joy...oh BOY!!!

Becoming a boymom to G has been one of the greatest joys of my life.  From holding his tiny, squishy, newborn self to wrangling the super active toddler of today, I have cherished every moment.  And, I have learned so much in these past 21 months.  Being a boymom means:

• Embracing dirt.  The dirt will find it's way into pant cuffs, under fingernails, in their hair and scattered all over the floors.  There will be lots and lots of dirt.  Boymoms: arm yourself with a fully charged dust buster at all times.
• Noise.  There are very few quiet moments in a home where a young boy resides.  Even in solitary play there are grunts, howls, beeping things, shouts of "vroom, vroom", "choo-choo" and (beware this one), "uh-oh!"  Boys are noisy creatures by nature.  Your ears will adjust, I promise.
• Things that go. Anything that can be turned into a vehicle or projectile object (a.k.a. anything not nailed down) will move, fly, be pushed or slid across floors.  Boys like things that move.  Chances are, if it is stationary, it will quickly fall by the wayside.
• Being adored. When people first heard we were having a boy, I was told time and again that "Boys love their Mama."  How true it is.  Boys will love you with a leg hugging, finger-crushing hand holding, sloppy kissed, burrow into your neck and heart adoration. This, above all others, is my very favorite part of this job.  No number on a paycheck could ever compare to the love of my little guy.

Learning and embracing all things boy has been a joy and, coincidentally, has prepared me well for the next step in my journey of mommyhood...

Meeting another noisy, dirt-loving, squishy and sweet little boy in February 2012!

{20 week portrait}

We are already in love and so excited to welcome this little one into our family.