A Few of My Favorite Things...

Well, I had a great month of earnings last month on eHow and decided to spend a little of it on myself guilt free! I had a fun trip to the mall and picked up some summer essentials!

Number 1 item on my summer essentials list is this black Maxi Dress. I found one I LOVE at Old Navy on sale for $15. I got it in a chic black as pictured to the left (from the Old Navy website). However, any color/style of Maxi Dress this summer is a major "DO"!







Next item was the braided-Trim Camis. These are WONDERFUL! The have a slightly loose fit, giving you room to breath, while being slimming at the same time. I can wear my capris that normally give me a muffin top, but this top camoflauges any extra lumps around the middle. YAY. It is also very chic and casual. I've worn this one a lot already. Also at Old Navy. I got mine in black but am thinking of going back for more.



Mix and Match Tankini/Bikini's at Old Navy are another must have. They have an awesome selection of cute affordable swimwear!


Stripped Slub Tank from Forever 21. I picked up a couple of these in different colors. This is the perfect light weight casual tank that you will live in this summer. I'm so exicted about mine! And even more exciting? only $5.50 each!




My other favorite new item this year are my Seven for All Mankind Dojo Short (Capris). These can vary in price and are one of the more spendy items. I found a pair that was slightly damaged on eBay for $40. They are like the ones pictured here (in a slightly darker wash), that are going for $171 on Zappos.

A youthful glow or greasy goop?

Some people use lips gloss on their lips, other's apparently use it on their legs! Check out Gwenyth Paltrow's overly shiney legs. It looks like she oiled them up to go sun bathing. Although it's helpful to look to celeb moms for style and beauty tips, this one is a fashion DON'T.


HOWEVER, it IS okay to dust your body with a shimmery body bronzer to add subtle sheen and definition, giving your legs, arms, shoulders and chest a more youthful glow. My favorite product for this is Bobbie Brown Beach shimmer body powder. I think it comes with a fluffy applicator. I have this myself, however, their Shimmer Brick for Body looks great too.
Visit the Bobbie Brown Website to learn how to create a beautiful, effortless looking Illuminating Bronze Look.

Fake Tan = Hot Mom

Everyone looks better with a tan. I forgot how much of a difference it can make! I pulled out a bottle of self tanner today that I must have bought 2 or 3 years ago because I really don't remember having ever taken the time and effort to apply self tanner since I became a mom 2 years ago. Well, my husband was on a road trip for work and I wanted to look extra good when he came home so I pulled out the tanning lotion. I had to do it during nap time and it was a big pain to have to stand around in my room in my birthday suit for 30-40 minutes careful to not touch anything for fear of staining anything or messing up the tan. I stood and read a book (The "Hug and a Kiss and a Kick in the Pants" book actually). Anyways, Finally it dried and I was very pleased with the results. It was maybe the best application I'd ever done...minus my right ankle and the white spot in the middle of my back that I couldn't reach.

Anyways, when I looked in the mirror with my new tan, I felt like a younger version of myself again. My hair looked lighter and my teeth looked whiter. When my husband got home, he instant commented on how great I looked and he was like, "what did you do? Something is different! Did you get your hair highlighted while I was gone? It looks lighter".

Later that evening we went out to the pool and my husband and daughter played in the water while I lounged. It was so exciting looking down at tan legs rather than being BLINDED BY THE LIGHT!

It was worth the trouble and the stupid looking spot on my ankle. However, I called my sister and apparently she was applying a fake tan at the exact same time that I was (we're in sync like that), however, it only took her 10 minutes and she didn't miss or mess up any spots. Next time I'm going to use what she uses, it's called Loreal Sublime Bronze Airbrush, a tanning spray. She says it dries almost instantly, has a great color and has no smell.

YAY for fake tans!

As for indoor tanning lotion tips, I came across some solutions after the fact:

*Rub lotion around ankles and tops of feet to blend with legs.

*Use a sponge paintbrush, available at any hardware store, to apply self tanner to your back. Look for one that is from two to three inches in size. Wash before use and let it air dry. The brushes with wooden handles are better, as the plastic handles can scratch skin.

Mom Jeans

Funny Mom Jeans Spoof Funny Video! This is a spoof on how some women start wearing those high waisted pants after they get to be a certain age. You know this is true because you see women wearing them all the time.

So how do you find the PERFECT pair of jeans for your body? Well, depends on your body type, however, the muffin top and the bend over to pick-up kid butt crack show seems to be a common problem for most moms as we try to avoid the awful high waisted jeans, but then it's hard to find jeans that aren't too low cut.

The most flattering style is probably a midrise bootcut jean. But with so many stores and so many brands, how do you find the right pair for you? Easy! Here is How To Find the Perfect Jeans for your Body.

Postpartum Thyroiditis

We've all heard of the Baby Blues and Post Partum Depression as well as fatigue, anemia and pain as problems new moms can face. When those symptoms don't clear up by around 3 months, however, one lesser known problem that could be keeping the mother from returning to normal health is called Postpartum Thryroiditis. It is due to inflamation of the thyroid gland cause by anitbodies which work against the thyroid. The antibodies seem to reach their highest concentration around 5-7 months postpartum and can take up to a year to level off. These are some of the symptoms a woman may face as a result:

Common Symptoms of Thyroid Disfunction

Hyperactive (overactive)

• Anxiousness
• Tremousness
• Rapid Heartbeat
• A feeling of warmth
• Difficulty Concentrating
• Muscle weakness
• Weight Loss

Hypoactive (underactive)

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Weight Gain
• Constipation
• Memory Impairment
• Sensitivity to Cold
• Muscle Cramps

After this happens, a woman can eventually level off and go back to normal with or without treatment depending on severity, or they may become permanently hypothyroid after this due to the damage on their thyroid.

Some women who experience fatique or depression 3-6 months after giving birth might really have a thyroid problem. This can improve with simple thyroid treatment, usually taking one pill a day of prescribed thyroid medication if you are hypothryroid. Your dr. can diagnose you through a blood test and physical examination.

Postpartum thyroiditis is a common dissorder which often goes unrecognized. Mainly because women assume these feelings are a normal part of the recovery from childbirth, or they assume they have postpartum depression, but do not report it to their Dr.
Treatment is painless and simple. If you are hypothyroid, even just temporarily after giving birth, you can safely take levothyroxine synthroid while breastfeeding.

If you have or suspect you have a thyroid problem, I would highly suggest (from personal experience) that you see a thyroid specialise. Many dr.'s are not informed about the details of Thyroid problems. If you feel you have anxiety or depression symptoms from it, they will give you an anti depressant, if you can concentrate, you might get ADD medication. A thyroid Dr will know that you need more Thyroid medicine and NOT a generic as they are NOT the same when it comes to Thyroid medicine.

If you didn't seem to bounce back from pregnancy the same as most women do, this may have been the reason. If you had a long slow recovery from your last childbirth and are planning on having more, go to an endocrinologist/Thyroid Dr during your pregnancy.

Just a quick note

I just wanted to make a note about this parenting book I'm reading. My daughter is 2 and all the sudden, my hubby and I had to really figure out how to properly discipline our daughter in a loving and effective way. Anyways, my mother-in-law was visiting and gave me this old book that she had called A Hug and a Kiss and a Kick in the Pants. I'm about 1/3 through it and I just think every parent should have a copy. This isn't my first book on the topic, but so far it's the best. Instead of having a hundred rules of don't this and don't that....you have 3 rules.
No hurting yourself
No hurting others
No hurting things
It also teaches about logical consequences rather than spanking or time out for every infraction. My favorite examples were about a 4-yr old who didn't clean his room in the allotted time. His mom couldn't think of a good consequence and she had warned him there would be a consequence if he didn't do what she asked, but she wasn't prepared to follow through. Then she had an idea, she said "bye, I'm going for ice cream". Her boy said "wait I'm coming with you!" Mom replies "no you're not, you didn't clean your room" so she left him home with dad and went for ice cream. She came home with a quadruple scoop ice cream and ate it in front of him. The next time she asked him to clean his room, he did it in 5 minutes. There were other funny stories too. This book actually makes me laugh a lot!

I've already found the info I've learned from this book so helpful in correcting my daughter's behavior. Honestly, since I started reading it and getting new ideas, I haven't really had any tantrums or issues with my daughter, I'm finding her to be a lot more compliant! And I haven't had turn into the "monster mommy".

Anyways, so this is just a shout out for that book! Look up the book "A Hug and a Kiss and a Kick in the Pants" by Kay Kuzma on Amazon to find a copy.