The Best Things

She will make anything into a scarf.

Looking Good No Matter What?

When you look at this ad what do you see? What comes to mind? Are you distracted by the couch? Do you think of Mad Men? Do you see the necklace as a strangulation device?

I'm partial to that last one. When I first looked at this photo my first thought was that the necklace and the man had sinister intentions. When I saw the black eye and the slogan, "Look good in all you do" I was appalled. My question is this- are you offended? Do you see this ad as controversial and depicting domestic violence as acceptable?

And to think that I was all set to post this photo only. It seems that "my sensitivity", my "political correctness" is too high these days. Maybe its because I'm an emotional mum who has two kids starting school this fall. Maybe the 11th anniversary of my grandfather's death just hit me harder than normal. Yeah, that was me all red-eyed and teary yesterday. I couldn't keep my wits about me for half the day. Maybe I just think it is totally unacceptable to tolerate this type of ad and t-shirt for anyone.

Where's Mummy

I'm hosting a manners party for little girls at my house this weekend. Why yes, I am wearing a floral dress and just had my hair set. Why do you ask? I have three girls, I'm the etiquette bitch and my brood needs to know the importance of writing timely thank you notes and how to set a table. TD does get an allowance for that after all.

Check out The DC Moms, where I imagine myself the site's own Miranda Priestly. Right, OK. I'm just the fashion/beauty editor but still. This week its Fall Trends.

Read about Organic Glam nails and enter to win some fun items from Post-It notes.

Stay safe this hurricane weekend!

*Image courtesy of corbis.com

Five. No Jive.

When TD was little she went nuts for the Elmo video, "Five. No Jive!"  That seems like eons ago. Today, my oldest girl, my first baby turns five. 

When you were my little bean.

 I've been going through photos this week, looking over our past few years and seeing how she has changed and yet stayed the same.  Those same big eyes looked up at me as a baby that exude an excited charm today.  As a toddler her blond hair took its sweet time growing in and now look.

You are tying your shoes, getting your own snacks, getting ready to ride the big yellow bus to kindergarten next year and already asking me if it is possible to be a "sweets maker", dancer, paleontologist, mommy, a writer and be just like me.  You melt my heart.  You make me smile with your funny words like "Fwuffle" (meaning: warm and cozy.  "I'm going to get all fwuffly now.") and sayings like, "Oh! Peas and Butterscotch!"  Both of which I think should be trending right now and added to the Webster's Dictionary. 

Happy Birthday my sweet girl.  As much as I hate to admit it, you are my little princess.  I love you.

Disney on Ice- Pure Bliss

They say "Go Big or Go Home."  Well, I believe that sometimes you just have to go "Princess!"  Full on Disney on Ice- Princess Wishes.

Backstage in the Coach's Club before the big show.  Crowns, Princesses and cookies galore!

The Comedian meets her favorite princess, Belle and gets a hug.  Pure bliss.

For dicount ticket prices for the DC Metro area show, visit here!  

Camouflage or Make-up?

You decide. I let the girls play with some of my make-up yesterday. 

I also let them do my make-up.

How Much Do You Tell Your Children?

Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post from May 13, 2008.



Recently, The Washington Post ran a cover story for their Magazine titled, "The Secret Lives of Moms". The mother on the cover was portrayed as a June Cleaver type woman with a bottle of Jack Daniels and handcuffs hanging out of her apron pockets which made me cringe just looking at it. The line beside it began with, "If you have bongs or thongs in your past..." Thongs? What heck is wrong with a thong? Yes, they are uncomfortable but that is why there is the g-string. Are Moms not supposed to wear these?!

But, I digress. The point of this piece is how much do we tell our children about our pasts? Do we lie and cover up our mistakes for fear they will follow in our footsteps? Do we use the brutal honesty approach and hope they learn the same valuable lessons we did? Or do we use a combination of truth and white lie? Really, what will come back from our past and bit us in the butt via our kids?

This is something that my husband and I have discussed on numerous occasions despite our daughter being only two. We want to be prepared when she asks us about drugs, s-e-x, and all those other issues that children naturally have questions about. Overall, we want her to feel comfortable enough to ask us first and not some kid on the playground or other parent.

When I think back to my own childhood my parents had two totally separate approaches. My Dad was all about divulging stories of his past if I asked and then telling me about how sometimes they were not the best choices. I respected him for that and felt that I would know how to handle myself in these situations because of our discussions. My mother on the other hand was all fire and brimstone. If I so much as asked to go to a Vanilla Ice concert with my friends and a chaperone I was in for a lecture on how concerts were places where illicit drugs were abundant, kids were lost and I would be sucked into some dark hole of an abyss possibly never to be heard from again. By the time I made it to my first concert I was in college and the most I saw was some cigarette smoking. The subject of sex was equally as awful and I always thought I was one grope away from being dragged away by some demons into the depths of hell while on the way to my second period history class.

I realize now that the subjects my parents were honest about and didn't fuss over offered up no attraction to me. I knew the stories, the consequences and felt prepared. It was the classic stuff that they outlawed that seemed mysterious and thus held more allure. So you tell me, what do you plan on telling your kids? Half-truths? Total lies? Or something in between?


Comments

Jessica @ A Bushel and a Peck said...


My parents were always pretty honest with me and my sisters, which I think made us realize that A) they were not going to be fooled b/c they had done it all too, and B)they had made mistakes and learned from them and were trying to help us do the same. I think it was a good approach and I plan to do the same thing with my kids. Hopefully they will see where I messed up (or did well) and take it to heart.


Reply May 13, 2008 at 09:19 AM Paulette said...


This one's sort of difficult for me because my mom truly never did anything wrong! The poor woman never even played cards. My dad was incredibly strict, but he had a bit of a past. He shared some of it with us, but I didn't find out a lot of it until I was married with a child of my own.






I'd like to be honest with my little girl (she's two); I don't want her to feel guilty about having the occasional margarita or *gasp* kissing a boy before she's married! I think there's a fine line between sharing and being too open though- there are some things that are just plain inappropriate to share with one's kiddo.


Reply May 13, 2008 at 11:40 AM JessicaAPISS said...


I plan on divulging increasing amounts of info regarding my past experiences as my kids grow older. I am not ashamed per se, just reluctant to tell a 13 year old things that I will have no problem telling a college sophomore.


Reply May 13, 2008 at 04:41 PM feener said...


not sure how honest i will be but i will sure talk to them more than my folks talked to me which was zero bout that stuff.


Reply May 13, 2008 at 06:08 PM Meg said...


I wrote about this, too, today. That story in the Post grabbed hold of me and would not let me go!


http://soupisnotafingerfood.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/mommys-little-secrets/






Reply May 13, 2008 at 06:40 PM dadshouse (David at svmoms) said...


I'm a single dad with a teen daughter, and I was the parent who talked to her about sex. For whatever reasons, her mom wanted no part of the discussion.






My daughter was 11 at the time, and she and I talked candidly about the subject for an hour. I wasn't embarrassed, and neither was she. A day later, she called her aunt with follow up questions.






My daughter knows I date, and met two girlfriends of mine, and saw how I handled both breakups. She's met her mom's boyfriend. Maybe it's easier for dating single parents to relate to kids about these subjects. My daughter sees some of my struggles and knows I don't have all the answers, but she also sees me as a pretty darn good resource.

The Last Resort in Exercise?

Flirty Girl. Holy Schiznit. Even the opening music of this website makes me cringe. Gah!

I'm not going to diss (yeah, I just said diss) Flirty Girl's results because I think that dance and fitness can show remarkable results and for some this is what is needed to motivate them to exercise. I will admit that prior to having TD I invested in some Carmen Electra workout DVD's. Did I see a difference? Not so much.

The idea of doing segments like 'Booty Beat' and using a feather boa in my living room though just gives me an ick factor that I can't even describe. Part of it is probably due to the fact that I have two small girls living under my roof who watch my every move. TD loves to follow my lead and shred right along with Jillian (Yes, Jillian it is true. You had my three year old at "gargle your heart". She even has tiny weights her father made out of painters tape.) So do I really want my two impressionable girls asking for feather boas and gyrating and "teasing" right alongside me?

No, I think not. I'd much rather have my girls thinking that their abs don't come for free.

Also, check this out! Jillian knows we exist!

A Complicated Girl

If you are a fan of Sex and the City then you probably already know about the debate regarding "complicated and simple girls". I myself remember this episode distinctly as it not only capped off an excellent season but also finally gave me a way in which I could describe myself.

I am a complicated girl.

So are most of my friends. I guess we thrive in packs. However, back in the day not even a pack or two of guys wanted to deal with us.

Throughout my life- as a child growing up and in my dating years in particular people were always telling me I was, "difficult", "weird" and yes, "complicated". It was all so very frustrating. I was not going to change who I was just to appear that I wanted less out of life or that I desired less from my friends, family and the men I dated. Why should I compromise like that? Why should I be a "simple girl" just to make others feel more at ease? Once a complicated girl then a complicated woman.

When an old friend of H's recently came into town and asked him what TD is like he replied (H, calm down! I am paraphrasing.) "She's like her mother. She's a difficult girl." To be fair, he meant to say complicated. While we can be difficult, I would never refer to TD that way. She is complicated enough. She doesn't need a complex on top of that! However, I think describing her as 'complex' is probably a good way to go in her formative years. She is complex. She has strong emotions, opinions and can be quite stubborn. She is smart, strong and challenging. She knows what she wants and how she wants it and she doesn't like to back down.

I posed this question to H after that, "Would you rather her be a complicated girl or a simple one? Life might be easier for her if she were a simple girl. There is no harm in that." As a typical loving parent, he answered that he wants her the way she is and is proud of her for whom she is and would not want her any other way.

For myself, I know it will be hard to watch my own 'complicated girl' go through life's obstacles. The challenges she will face regardless will sometimes be made doubly hard because her personality will demand so much from everything and everyone around her. It can be exhausting on both sides of the coin. In some respects, I almost wish she were more of a simple girl who was content to just go with the flow and follow the crowd. To be happy with the way things are and what she is given or finds in life. I have sometimes wished I were that way myself.

If you have a daughter which do you want her to be and why? Are you a complicated girl yourself?