Think Back Thursday

My children are growing way too fast... I know every parent says that but I just don't understand how my baby just turned five months yesterday.  Didn't we just bring him home from the hospital last week?  It definitely feels that way. Here is Christian earlier this week sitting by himself for the first time:

He was starting to fall forward but he really was sitting up for about 20 seconds.

Today I am taking part in Think Back Thursday, a blog meme hosted by Debbie at Debbie's Digest.

I'm thinking back to when Liam was Christian's age, five months old.  Are you ready for the cutest...I mean scariest villian you've ever seen?  Presenting Darth Liam!

And after a long day of Halloween evil-doing:

Excuse my language but how effin' cute is that?  It is so hard to believe that little peanut is now this big peanut:

Even though I am still completely sleep deprived and stressed out all the time, I really need to remind myself that Christian (and Liam for that matter) will not be so tiny for very long and I should really appreciate it while I still can... easier said than done, I know.

Sneak Peek at The Wedge Right In Sandals With Review

As a mark. rep, I have access to the following magalog's (this is what we call our catalog, since it is like a mini magazine as well as a catalog) products at a 35% discount from what the product will go for. This is a great perk! Not only do I get the goods a month early but I get it at a pretty amazing price. This month, I purchased myself the Wedge Right In Sandals.  I am completely in love with these sandals!  Unfortunately there is still snow on the ground so I have only worn them in my apartment so far.  Next week I will be on vacation in Florida so I'm sure I'll be wearing these just about every day.

Here is a picture of them on my feet (I am also wearing one of the new Nailed It Mini Nail Lacquers in this pic):

Now, I have been trying to get back into wearing heels lately.  I have not been wearing them since...well, honestly since I was pregnant with my older son Liam who is almost 3 years old now!  It started with the pregnancy, then he was a baby and I was afraid I would drop him, and after that I had just gotten used to being in sneakers all the time and I was just plain lazy about my appearance.

So, I have been taking baby steps to get back into heels.  No stilettos just yet but I have been wearing boots with a chunky heel this winter and now I have these Wedge Right In sandals for spring.  I still consider this a baby step since wedges are usually easy to wear and comfortable but these shoes give a total of 5 inches including the platform!  This is amazing for me since I am 5'2".  These bring me up to 5'7" so I can actually kiss my 6'2" husband without standing on my toes and straining my neck. So score for making me feel a normal height and not such a short-arse (my husband's words)!

But what about the real test - comfort and walkability?  These get an A+ from me, and as I've established, I'm a complete wuss now when it comes to shoes.  I am normally a 7 1/2 shoe size.  These only come in full sizes so I got a 7 since mark. recommends that half sizes size down.  As you can see in the picture, mark. was right.  These fit my feet like a glove...a foot glove...or a well-fitting shoe...that makes more sense. The straps are adjustable and very comfortable.  I haven't worn them for a full day yet but they haven't dug into my feet or ankles at all.  As far as walkability goes, the wedges make me feel completely stable.  No stumbling, even after a couple glasses of wine (don't judge me!).  I even carried my 5 month old baby around with me with no worries.

Plus, they are super cute and go with everything.  So, these shoes are a big hit with me and I plan on getting a lot of wear out of them this spring and next week on vacation.  I will let you guys know if I have any discomfort after a full day of wear outside but so far, I don't have a bad thing to say about these.

The Wedge Right In sandals will be available in my eboutique on 03/22/13 and they will sell for $34.  If you like some height but also like being comfortable, do yourself a favor and pick up a pair.

On Becoming A mark. Girl

I love makeup. I don't consider myself a girly girl at all but I really, truly adore makeup. The problem is I just don't have the budget to shell out a ton of cash at Sephora. Even if I did, I would feel too guilty (there's that mom guilt) to spend that much on myself on a regular basis. Drugstore makeup can be great but you have to really try a lot of brands to find decent quality.  mark. is the answer to my prayers.  I have been using mark. makeup and skincare products (and jewelry and dresses and shoes...) for quite some time now and I adore it.  It is really great quality with an even better price tag.  Even so, after giving them so much of my money I finally decided to bite the bullet and become a rep myself.  Especially now that I'm on Mission Hot Mom (can we call it that?), I could really use the 30-35% rep discount and believe me, I've taken full advantage of it recently.  I am so glad I joined because it has been a lot of fun so far!

Here is what came in my kit:

It came with $135 worth of product for $38! That alone was reason enough for me to join. 
Here is what came in my kit:
A big mark. reversible tote bag
Full- size For Goodness Face Moisturizer (my favorite every day moisturizer!)
full-size Juice Gem in Snow Peach (This smells so amazing!)
Scanda-lash Hook-Up Mascara in Black-Lash
Brow Factor Hook-Up Clear Brow Gel
Hook-Up connector
No Place To Run Longwear Eye Liner in Jet Set
Touch & Glow Shimmer Cream Cubes All-Over Face Palette
On The Dot Eye Color Compact in Bold
Lipclick lipstick in Cha-Cha (great red color!  Looks great on those who think they can't pull off a red lip)
Go With The Pro Mini Brush Kit
Order forms, invitations, thank you notes, Get-The-Look cards, Min-A-Real Foundation color sample, and two perfume sample sets (Celebrate and Jewel)

That is a lot of stuff for $38! Plus I get a 30-35% discount forever. No sales quotas. I am a mark. girl fo' life (see that street cred?)!

If you are interested in joining, I would be happy to refer you and put you on my team.  Just comment below and I'll send you more information.

The Slippery Slope To Fanny-Pack-Ville

When I got pregnant with my first son, I didn't think there was any way I would fall into the "mom trap"- that dreaded state of "I don't have the time for makeup today," or "I can't even manage a shower so why bother getting dressed at all?" You see that is how it all starts...

I was 22 years old and just married when we started trying for our first baby.  Trying isn't really the right word because it only took a month for me to get pregnant (we were lucky, I know).  I was so excited.  I began daydreaming of what my life was going to be like as a new wife and mother.  I wasn't deluded.  I knew having a baby was very difficult and I read all the books.  However, I did picture myself looking fantastic and fresh with perfect hair and makeup in all of these little daydreams of mine.  At least as fantastic and fresh as I've ever been.

Then the baby came and I quickly realized how silly those dreams were.  This little person took up every moment of my life (and I wouldn't have had it any other way).  He screamed if I put him down so showers were out of the question until my husband came home from work.  I nursed around the clock so what was the point of putting on a shirt?  These habits quickly escalated into me lounging around in pajama pants with my hair pulled back every day and my makeup brushes gathering dust in the bathroom.  My wonderful husband put on a good face and pretended he didn't notice my plunge into slob-town but I know he was hoping I would at least be showered on his way home from work every night.

Now, I don't want to sound as if those days were awful.  While I was extremely sleep-deprived and falling into some poor hygiene habits, the time I was spending with my new son was completely worth all that and more.  It's just that it's hard to feel like more than a milk-machine when you're half-naked and covered in spit-up all day.

This stage quickly passed and I was back to cleaning myself again in a few short extremely long months.  There was a change in me though.  I didn't have time to apply much makeup, if any, most days.  I wore sneakers exclusively, terrified that I would trip and drop my baby in heels. My wardrobe consisted of exclusively nursing-friendly clothing which is pretty boring and plain. No jewelry unless I wanted to be prying it out of my son's impressively tight little fist all day. I was never a major fashionista or anything but this was frumpy even for me.

I'm telling you all this because I know how easy it is to fall into that mom trap. I never made it as far as fanny-pack-ville (where would I fit the diapers?) but I came quite close.  It's so easy to cut corners from your own life when your little ones are demanding so much time and all you want to do is catch up on some sleep.  We are all guilty of it.

Now, my older son is almost 3 years old and we also have another boy who is 5 months old.  I have emerged from my slob-mom phase recently and I'm ready to start putting some more effort into myself again.   This blog will be partly about my family and partly about my mark. products (I'm a mark. rep and a lover of their products), but mostly it will be about the little bit of time I set for myself every day so I can feel like a woman as well as a mother and wife. And after all the puke and poop I've cleaned up, I think I deserve those few moments to myself.

I hope this blog will inspire other moms to invest a little more time into themselves.  It will really keep your spirits up for the otherwise selfless job of being a mother.