by Heather
I’ve read in some well-meaning parenting magazines that the secret to looking fresh and awesome despite sleep-deprivation lies in a “quick” makeup routine that is five times more involved than what I would do before going to a party. Thanks but no thanks.
I give you two images to consider. First, this is me immediately after childbirth:
Next, this is me after having my eyebrows and eyelashes “done” by a professional:
Next time, I vow to have my eyebrows and eyelashes done before labor and delivery so that I can look just a tad bit more awake during any pictures that may be taken. This is probably more a red-head and blonde issue, so you dark hair or dark-skinned beauty queens can feel free to ignore me.
My suggestion for you is that you schedule this as part of your birth plan (contractions 5 minutes apart, hit the eyebrow salon!) or take one of your few, brief outings away from the baby to have the professionals dye you a makeup job. Tint those lashes, dye and shape the brows, go even crazier if you want (watch out for those hormones though — you may hate it!). This is far more efficient than daily make up application and allows the truly lazy among us to look somewhat put together with little effort.
Then, just grab some tinted lip balm and you’re ready to leave the house. Just wait for those compliments to start rolling in (”have you lost weight?” and “motherhood really agrees with you” maybe). 
If the feminist inside you is repulsed by this suggestion, simply move on to the next activity suggestion. I won’t be hurt.
I read this in the BabyCenter Newborn Magazine and I couldn’t have said it better myself:
Bleeding done? Breast pain gone? Feet back to normal? Try pretty panties, new shoes, and a full-body massage.
Awww, yeah!
by Whitney
Olivia, who is not a rookie mom, but rather a veteran step-mom, forwarded me an email explaining that ICE in this case stands for “In Case of Emergency.”
Do this: Add a contact in your cell phone for the number you want called in an emergency.
The forwarded email read
We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.
If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn’t know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency?
Hence this “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.
The concept of “ICE” is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name “ICE” ( In Case Of Emergency).
The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn’t know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as “ICE.”
by Whitney
When I saw this picture of Caley’s belly on her blog, I laughed and asked her to describe what she’d done.
She wrote:
After visiting the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago and having a stranger comment that I’d “better PAY for that pumpkin being smuggled under [my] shirt! Ha, ha!” I decided, Why not? I’ve seen TLC’s A Baby Story a gajillion times and they’re always doing things like belly casts or painting their bellies, and I didn’t do anything like that with my first pregnancy. I figured it’d make a cute picture, and be something fun to do with my toddler.
The safest paint to use is an FDA approved, water-based paint. Any paint labeled as “face paint” should work, and you can get them at Target or Walmart or such. Or you can go with some kind of “professional” paint, like this one. (However, I’m not an expert on paints, so don’t quote me on this. This site has some good tips; like it says, just because a paint says “non-toxic” does not mean it is safe for skin!) Or you could just purchase a kit.
My husband put the orange paint all over my belly with a sponge, and since we only bought the one color (I wasn’t going to buy a separate container of brown just for a little part like the stem), I gave him permission to do the stem and the lines with washable Crayola markers. My toddler, on the other hand, wanted absolutely nothing to do with our little project and busied himself by getting into things while both his parents were occupied. So much for bonding over Family Craft Time, right?
I washed the paint off shortly after taking a picture, but faint Crayola lines remained for a day or so, just to remind me of how pumpkin-esque my belly really is.
Thank you, Caley! And congratulations on becoming a foursome!
by Heather
Funny story: The phone rang today during one of Holden’s crying fits. Alec looked at the caller id and it was mystery area code 113 (does that even exist in the US?!). We both thought the same thing instantly: telemarketers! So, he picked up the phone and directed Holden’s wailing into the unsuspecting caller’s ear. Ha ha.
The joke was on us because it was my friend Rachel, now 30 weeks pregnant, calling from the UK. Oops. Sorry, you don’t have kids (yet), so we need to keep the illusion going that its all cuddling and peaceful moments doing wooden puzzles on the floor before the child is old enough for Scrabble and cards.
So, I got to thinking that a fun photo assignment for her (and any parent-to-be or new parent) is to pick a room or nook in your house and photograph it over time Will it or won’t it devolve into a den of plastic baby crap? Only time will tell.
My house last month with two babies and two babes and a lot of crap.
