Don't grow up too quickly!

I'm not sure who this is more about - the kids or the parents...meaning me and my kids, or anyone who can relate. I was watching a show called X-weighted the other day with my daughter. It's a show about weight loss, usually a whole family is involved. In this particular episode it was about a girl, 17, her sister 14, and her parents. They were all trying to lose weight. First off, the Mom in this show was an absolute cow about everything, all she did was bitch and complain. Then the older daughter celebrated her 18th birthday. The parents took her out to the bar with their friends and got her completely plastered. Not only that, but the Mom kept saying "that's my girl" as the kid did shot after shot. I was horrified. Now please don't think I am a total prude - I used to drink too. I don't much anymore, and maybe that is why my opinion is so strong about this.

Why do we have to make the kids grow up so quickly? That kid was eighteen, sure she can experiment with drinking, but to have her parents push it on her, I found that disgusting. From what I gathered on the show, the girl didn't really even want to drink.

Kids only get to be kids for a VERY short while, why can't we just let them play and have fun? Why do we - as the parents - put such adult things on kids at a young age? Dating, sex, drinking - these are all things that are for grown ups, and it should stay that way!

My daughter is almost 12 and I have told her that she is not allowed to date. She is allowed to hang out with boys, like boys, be friends with boys. But there is no "dating". No kissing, none of that stuff. Why you ask? Because it leads to more. Believe me I know. There are girls in her grade dating, kissing, and god knows what else. I know that my daughter has a crush on a boy, we talk about it all the time. He has tried to hold her hand a few times, and she was sort of ok with it, but not so much that she let it be held for very long. Do you think I am delusional to think that she isn't telling me everything? Well I'm not. I stay very close to her, I never judge her, but I also make it very plain to her that I am her MOTHER, not her friend. My job is to keep her safe, answer her questions and make sure she has all the information she needs to grow up to be a smart, independent woman. She is very aware that I love her more than she can imagine, and that she can tell me anything. I am very open and honest with her - to an age appropriate point. I share my opinions with her and I value her opinions. We don't agree on everything, but she always gets an explanation as to why I feel the way I do.

This sounds like an essay for school, so, in conclusion, I think that kids should get to be kids for as long as they can. Let them play, let them goof off. Tell them about drinking, sex, drugs, give them the information so that they aren't stupid or ignorant about things. But why encourage them to do any of these things? They will have the rest of their lives to figure out stuff, to have sex and drink. But for now, let them not have to worry about grown up things like puking their guts out, having sex for the wrong reasons or having their hearts broken.

Spring break, how I love thee

Today is the first day of spring break and I am so excited! A whole week off with my kids is like heaven to me. I've never understood those parents that dread break times, Christmas, spring break, summer vacation. I live for these times. I think that school keeps my kids away from me way too much! We were considering home schooling again, but my daughter has decided that she has to go to Junior High, no exceptions! Today starts off the break kind of boring - the kids can't decide what they want to do, one of them wants to go out, the other wants to stay home and play Lego all day! I have to do the dishes...they've been piling up since Thursday. I just hate dishes. We have plans for the rest of the week and Friday - being my son's 8th birthday- will be the most exciting day of the week. I have even carved out a day this week to go shopping! The kids need summer clothes and I can't buy them without the kids being there anymore. I have tried and it's more work than fun - all that returning of clothes is just painful. We discovered last night that our summer starts in less than 90 days!!!! I have this great week with the kids, then school, then a few days off for Easter, then school, and then finally I get my kids back! Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom of getting to do whatever I want while the kids are at school, but I still miss them. My daughter babysat for a friend the other weekend and I cried when she got home. I missed her, but that thought of her growing up really got to me. I treasure every moment with the kids. I have even figured out the best way to keep them on their best behavior! They have to rub my feet for 5 minutes for punishment every time they are bad! Feel free to steal that little gem - make it your own with whatever you want! My kids are my life, and I love every minute I get to spend with them. So I am going to go do that right now. Happy spring break!

I was called fashionable....Part 2

I was called fashionable again!! Ok, so it was by the same person who said it last time, but she did say I was the most fashionable person she knows. Weird right? She knows a lot of people though, she's a teacher, she must.

I must admit that I have really stepped up my "fashion" game lately. Before, I'd wear a skirt once a year, maybe once every 2 years. Now I wear one at least once a week, usually more. Even in the crap weather. I also wear dresses. I'm not sure what happened, or even when. I know I found 2 really cute skirts a few months back and told myself that I had to wear them right away or I might lose my nerve and just let them linger in my closet. Maybe that was the pivotal moment.

I know that I love the whole skirt with tights, or leggings, whatever you want to call them. Really light, snug fitting pants that don't have feet. I think that's why I hate pantyhose, the feet. I really do hate pantyhose, but I think I might have to try them again just to see if I still hate them after all the tight wearing.

I change my jewelry to go with my outfits, I do my hair in different ways, I wear skirts and dresses, and I really feel a whole lot prettier these days. The boots with all these things help - they are super sexy, even if it's just me that thinks that! I can't stop checking myself out when I go past mirrors. I am so vain.

There are so many days that I don't get out of yoga pants, I wear them to the gym, to clean the house, everyday that I'm not doing a whole lot. That's why I dress nicer the other days, it makes me feel better. I know that the clothes don't make the person, but when you feel really good about how you look, you hold your head higher, you dream bigger and you feel like you are really doing things better. That's my theory and it's working for me.

Lipstain VS Lipstick

I have very pale lips, they are practically the same color of my skin. It never used to bother me, until last year. I saw some pictures of myself, and they were ok, but I kept thinking, would it kill me to put on some lipstick??

If you know me, you know I LOVE my chap stick. Some people may say I am addicted to the stuff. That may be true, I have dry lips and I don't like the way it feels when they are dry! I even keep chap stick in my bra at the gym - my lips get super dry there as I am a mouth breather when I exercise. Hot, I know.

Over the last few months I have been experimenting with various lip stains. I have tried.....Revlon's Just Bitten, Tarte LipSurgence, Maybelline Color Sensational, Cover Girl Outlast and Laura Mercier Lipstain just to name the few I found in my purse and car.

I thought that lip stain was the perfect solution because I don't like lipstick - it tastes funny if you accidentally lick it, it will smudge and I am always afraid it is on my teeth! It seems that no one has perfected the lip stain just yet. I find that most of the stains go on very uneven and stain parts of your lip very dark and then don't stain other parts that well at all. Why? Who knows, maybe my lips have a different texture in some places. I also found that most of the lip stains leave color dots everywhere that you have to fight to get off. They also dry out VERY quickly in the tube. If I had to pick my favorites though I would go with the Laura Mercier - it goes on nice and smooth, they have great colors and it seems to last well. The only downfall is that it is in a pot and not a tube - I usually end up wiping the excess off my finger and on to my pants, but whatever. My second choice would be the Tarte, it's in a pencil with a good size tip, it goes on nice and lasts well. I didn't get a color I love, but I would buy another color. The other ones are really, just a waste of time and money.

I do have some lipsticks in my make up arsenal that I have been trying over the last few weeks. I have to admit, it's not so bad. The taste and the smell turn me off, but it I put it on after powder and blot, it seems to last. These days, you won't catch me without a lip color very often.

My only question is why can't they make a stain that truly stains your lips? Like Koolaide. That stuff would make your lips stay colored for days! They should harness that technology. I would use Koolaide if they had better colors. The reds are way to red for me and the blue raspberry made me look like I was just about dead!

I guess I will keep my experiment going, I will try to find the perfect color and I will try very hard not to worry so much that my lip color is on my teeth, or all over my face!

Stealing Ideas

I was watching the OWN network the other night - and I hate to admit that I really liked some of the shows. I am not a fan of Oprah. I find her self righteous and she always interrupts people - that bugs me. But to each their own opinion right?

Anyway - I was watching a show called "Enough Already". It's kind of like hoarders, but scaled down quite a bit. What I took from this show was the best idea. I have been trying to purge things out of my house for a cleaner looking house. I went through my closet and threw out almost nothing. I hate to part with my clothes. The idea they had was to put ALL of your clothes on hangers in your closet and hang them backwards. Once you've worn them and they've come back from the laundry into the closet, you simply put them back up the right way. After 6 months you can see what you haven't worn and get rid of it!

Now living in Canada, we might have to make that time frame a bit longer. I am not getting rid of my summer wear just because I can only wear it for 3 weeks out of the year!

I just thought that was such a great idea. I have already done it in the kids closets, my husband's is next and then mine. I am going to try to purge just a bit more before I try this trick. I have to do, what we call, a fashion show, to see what doesn't fit and what I just don't like anymore. I've also got a few bins for the top of the closet for clothes that I don't want to get rid of, but I don't want taking up prime space. Things like painting clothes and junk clothes that you have to have when you are doing reno's and various painting projects.

So that's my tip of this week. I think it will really help me get rid of stuff!

You know you are stressed when..

I had the worst dream last night. I woke up late, I had 3 friends (the girls from sex in the city -all except Carrie - that must have been me) come over and just sit on the couch and want to talk to me. My husband was home and trying to get ready for work while fixing the computer, my other friend came over with her 2 kids and was trying to chat with me, the kids were late for school and hadn't eaten yet, my son had peed his pants, I had 2 very large Christmas trees in my front room that were shedding needles like crazy and to top it all off, 4 teenage girls had broken into the house. Needless to say I was relieved when I woke up...until I realized that we had slept in by quite a bit.

The good news is that I fed the kids and got them to school before the 2nd bell rang. So that is way better than my dream!

I feel like I have things piling up around me. Now I know that it's not that bad, I have cleaned the house, and it's still clean. I did a bunch of phone calls for volunteers last night, I have the kids schedule written up. I think the fact that I have a bunch of overlaps in the next few weeks is making me a bit crazy. My husband has been working REALLY long hours trying to get a project done on time. The kids have soccer evaluations on the same day, and almost the same time as their piano lessons. They also have evaluations that are at the same time as a meeting that we have with the school board of trustees. I can get it all done, if I have help rom my husband, and if traffic doesn't get in my way! I used to dread June because it got so busy, but we are only in March!!

Most of the things we have going on are good things, I am not dreading any of them, so that helps. The kids and I have been asked to make a presentation to the School board of trustees about why our school is great, which I am terribly flattered by.

I just have to remind myself to calm down, breathe deeply and make sure I keep on top of things before they get out of hand. I also need to make sure that I schedule in a day for me to relax! That will help.

So tired...

I have been in such a fog this last week. I am not sure if I'm just tired or if my body is trying really hard to fight off something. I just can't seem to get enough sleep. There are days that I have to keep myself away from the house so that I don't have a nap, or go back to bed after dropping the kids off at school! Which is what I did yesterday. I swear I could have slept all day!

I've been taking my vitamins, lots of B's, and I have been trying really hard to eat healthy food. For the most part, I am succeeding at that too. Of course I did drink 3 diet Pepsi's and one diet ginger ale yesterday - I don't know about other people out there, but I don't think drinking that much pop in one day is a good thing! I did also drink a ton of water. Maybe I'm just dehydrated.

Whatever the reason, I sure hope this passes soon. I am seriously tired of being tired! We are off to Edmonton this weekend for my daughter's soccer tournament. I don't see how it will get me over anything, but I still hope it does.

If anyone has any suggestions to get me to wake up, I am more than happy to try them!