Adding memories to your daily ritual

I am by no means a beauty person but I've found a beauty staple that is doing the job while conjuring up some great memories. How many of you remember Noxema cream?

Growing up in Trinidad, Noxema was a staple in most households, including mine. It was the go to product for my late grandmother, with whom I spent a great deal of my childhood as we lived as an extended family for many years and even when my mom moved out, we moved about 5 minutes away. I think her entire beauty regimen consisted of washing her face with Noxema twice a day! What was even more alluring about Noxema was that it was the only "grown-up" product that my grandmother would allow me to use even as a child.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were talking about our family's skincare rituals and realized that both my grandmother in Trinidad and his in Pennsylvania, religiously used Noxema. Well, we got a bottle - just because. On the first night of use, hubby remarked about the wonderfully pleasant familiar medicinal scent of Noxema! I laughed because he was right, and much to his dismay, I have continued using it.

I have the cleanser and it's doing the job without drying my skin out. But, in all honesty, the real reason I continue to use it is because for that 137 seconds while washing my face, it reminds me of my childhood and it reminds me of my grandmother. What a wonderful ritual to re-institute into my daily regimen? I love that the scent takes me back on each and every use without avail. It makes the day so much more pleasant to be reminded of a loved one when time otherwise does not permit. I hope you can find something to re-integrate into your daily rituals that conjures up beautiful memories too!

Arizonahhhh...

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Hubby and I had the rare opportunity to go on a trip together, sans kids. The last time we did that was in 2007 for my 30th birthday when we went to New Orleans. For a couple that has 3 kids 5 years old and younger, 2 full-time jobs and 2 side companies, we were long overdue for a break! My mom (who flew in from Miami) and sister offered to babysit for 4 days and off we went!

A fun fact about me: I love planning trips. Just give me your vision and a budget, and I'll make it happen. So the challenge for me this time was to find a destination that wouldn't break the bank, that was a reasonable flying distance and that would allow us to relax. Seeing as how we chose the busiest travel season of the year to plan our little getaway, the options were pretty scarce. But! I settled on Arizona fairly quickly (I had always been wanting to go) and thanks to several amazing recommendations from Travel Jonez, we booked a fantastic hotel and even got a free night!

Let me digress for a moment to tell you about how awesome Travel Jonez was: she's one of my sister's best friends and is a travel agent who....happens to live in Phoenix. Were the stars aligned or what? She put together an oh-so-fabulous itinerary for us; complete with weather forecasts, travel directions, restaurant recommendations - she hooked us up! So if you're in need of some help with your next trip, give her a holler. You'll be thrilled.

Ok, back to AZ. It was wonderful. We stayed at the Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, right next to Camelback Mountain. OMG. As Hubby said: "this is one of those rare occasions where the hotel looks exactly like the website." And that's saying a whole lot. Take a peek.

Our suite was in the couples only section of the resort and was just perfect. We had a huge balcony that overlooked the pools and the mountains. The staff was great, the amenities were great - I can't say enough. Most of all, the place was just gorgeous. The spa was out of this world - I had a body scrub and mud wrap and Hubby and I met up for a couples' massage. Throw in a sauna, steam room, cold deluge and hot whirpool and this lady was in heaven.

Onto the food. I had heard that AZ's cuisine was on point and boy, was it ever. We started off with Thanksgiving dinner at The Mission. AM.A.ZING. No words. Next.

Each place we went to was a winner: Lon's at the Hermosa; White Chocolate Grill; Prado; La Grande Orange; Kaz Wine Bar; even Lolo's Chicken and Waffles. Seriously - Phoenix does not play.

I have to say the one of the most fun parts of our trip was hiking Camelback Mountain. Of course I didn't think it was so much fun about an hour into it (when we were only halfway to the top!), but making it to the top was totally worth it. The worst part of the 4-hour hike was that I turned both my ankles on the way down. Note to self: don't go hiking in cute sneakers.

We also managed to squeeze in some excellent shopping. The mall there was insane! And we even checked out Old Town Scottsdale which looked like an old western flick. They had the coolest artwork and jewelry made the by local Native Americans.

And that was our trip. Of course we missed The Crew like crazy, but they had a blast wearing out Grandma and Auntie and before we knew it, we were right back in the chaos.

Home sweet home.

I'm Coming Over!

I've been so overrun with home, work, outside committments, and just life, generally that I haven't been reading my blog friends nearly as much as I used to. And I miss y'all. So I'm taking this week to dust off my Google Reader, stop by and see how you're doing.

So hide the laundry piles (no really, don't) and put the lemonade on ice because I'm coming over.

Me Time

On two separate occasions recently, my Dad and a good friend both asked if I was taking time for myself. Are they serious? Me time? What a joke.

It seems that for the past 6 months I have been living in a whirlwind. Between work, home, kids, blogging, and Blogalicious, I have barely had a chance to breathe, let alone find time for myself. I have literally been running every waking moment. It used to be that I would have an hour or so to unwind and relax after the kids went to sleep, but now that time is usurped by conference planning. I haven't even watched a full episode of Top Chef this season and you know how much I love Top Chef!

The pace of things is taking its toll on me though. I've been having skin breakouts and my upper back and neck is so tight and stiff that it hurts. I even decided to take off this past Monday as a "mental health day" and get my hair done (which is a frizzy mess right now) and a massage. Do you think that happened? No. I ended up spending the day running household errands and picking up kids from school. So much for me time!

But, there are two things keeping me afloat. The first is looking forward to a girls getaway in two weeks that I go on each year. The weekend is always very relaxing and a chance to come up for air. Of course, it's not the best idea for me to go away for a weekend right before Blogalicious and come back the very same day that Hubby leaves to go on a conference for work, but I'm taking it anyway. I know I'll regret not going and, more importantly, that I need to go. The other thing that I'm so anticipating is a Thanksgiving trip, just for me and Hubby, to somewhere warm and sunny. We haven't been on a trip alone together in years and we're trying to make it happen in November. Of course there's all sorts of logistical issues (i.e. What To Do With The Kids), but we know that we need to go, so we're going to do our darndest to make it work.

While fitting it in Me Time feels impossible, it really is crucial. In fact, tonight, I just might ignore my flooded inbox and catch up on Padma and my fave shows on Prime Time In No Time. Because after all, I have no time.

The Gratitude Challenge: Week 1

The sweet folks over at Tiny*Prints must have sensed my funky mood of late, because they invited me to be one of the amazing bloggers participating in their awesome project called: The Gratitude Challenge. The Gratitude Challenge is a 21-day project created to help me take note of the brighter side of life. For a few minutes each day, I will be encouraged to spend a few minutes counting all of life's little blessings. Right on time, don't you think?

Each day there is a list of tasks for me to do, reminiscent of The Love Dare that Hubby and I recently finished, but this one is just for me. I'm very much looking forward to taking the Challenge since it seems like lately I've been caught up on the wrong side of things, focusing on what I don't have rather than all the precious things that I do.

My Gratitude Challenge Kit arrived at my doorstep in a pretty box, filled with beautiful things - most of which I can't open just yet! First, I took The Gratitude Pledge, promising to fulfill the terms of the Challenge. Here is where I need your help friends. I need you all to hold me accountable and to support and encourage me in living on the brighter side of life.

I'm hoping that this exercise will be that reminder that we all somethimes need of just how blessed we really are. For this reason, I am embracing the theme of Week 1:

BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE.

And I am.

Because I'm 32 Years Old and I Deserve It

Lately I have been driving Hubby crazy with that line. I don't know what it is, but since turning 32 (and actually even a little before then), I have taken the attitude that there are just some things that I should have or do simply because I am a grown up now for Pete's sake.

Take for example, my watch situation. Up until my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I was rocking the same cheap, bland watch every.day. I do have 2 "nice" watches sitting in my jewelry box on my dresser, but the battery is dead in one and the strap is broken on the other, so I have been relegated to my Avon specials out of sheer necessity. So when it came time for me to tell Hubby what I wanted for my birthday (no, he did not actually ask in case you were wondering. but a smart woman should always be prepared in these situations.) I told him what kind of watch I wanted, to which he replied: "But you have a perfectly functional watch now." To which I replied: "Yes, but it's wack. And I'm 32 years old and deserve a decent watch dammit." Apparently he tried to find the watch on his lunch break on my birthday but they didn't have the color I wanted. So I got steak instead. Luckily my good friend observed my sad watch situation and gave me a stylish one as my birthday gift.

Speaking of my dresser. It's much like the dining room situation I recently described. Well, ok, not that bad, but the fact of the matter is that we don't have nearly enough room for our my toiletries, jewelry, makeup, etc., so our dresser is a piled-high disaster. I recently decided that I was getting a vanity for our room to have a proper place to put my stuff. I made my big announcement to Hubby, prefacing it with: "I'm 32 years old and I deserve to have a proper place for my crap dammit." To which he did not reply.

This weekend we were shopping for bath towels (riveting, I know). But we need to replace our towels in a bad way. Let's just say we still have some left from our college days. No lie. Anyway, we went to this awesome housewares store that sells designer goods at discounted prices. I was choosing these plush, thick towels for us to purchase when Hubby aka El Cheapo said: "Do we really need those? What about those ones down there?" and points to the cheapest, thinnest ones available. To which I replied: "I am 32 years old and deserve nice towels dammit." To which he sighed and caved.

I don't know what it is, but these days I will not settle for less. I'm tired of skimping and "getting by" with less. I'm 32 years old and I deserve it dammit.

When Mommy's away princess will have her way

I was away for a couple days at BlogHer in Chicago (incidentally, I had a blast) and I returned from the conference a little early. Much to my surprise, I returned home and princess had had a ball. Apparently, daddy went to Sears shopping for god only knows what and princess must have stumbled across a Hannah Montana showcase because there was a plethora of random items H.M.-related in MY bed when I returned.

• H.M. flip flops - two sizes bigger than she wears and she can't even walk in them!
  
• H.M. socks - really, is it that serious? The H.M. logo is on the bottom of the foot so no one will ever see it! (see pic)


• Three dresses that must have been on or near the display because otherwise daddy would never have bought them


• H.M. hair accessories out the wazoo - about eight hairbands and 50 million elastics - by the way, her hair is about 4 inches long; it's going to be at least a few years before she can even use these things

Clearly, when mommy's away princess reigns the day - so it worked out well for both ladies in my household -- mommy got some me (and girl) time and princess had her time!

Shower Yourself Beautiful with Suave (It's a Giveaway!)

Let's face it - we're busy. More often than not, we barely have time to get through our daily to-do lists let alone carve in time for pampering. (I wish!) Sometimes, the only "me time" we get is those few moments alone in the shower. Why not take that time to Shower Yourself Beautiful? Suave and Holly Robinson Peete want you to indulge and rejuvenate yourself and are giving you the chance to to just that!

Suave sent me a fab Shower Yourself Beautiful gift set to try out and one to giveaway to a lucky MamaLaw fan.

The gift bag contains the following New Suave products:

a 12 oz. bottle of Naturals Wild Cherry Blossom Indulgent Body Wash infused with cherry blossom extract;

a 12 oz. bottle of Apricot Exfoliating Body Wash infused with apricot and coconut extracts; and
a 18 oz. bottle of Suave Skin Therapy Advanced Therapy Moisturizer.

Check out this piece of awesome - Suave is so convinced that you'll love their skin care line, that they have a "beautiful skin guarantee." Get beautiful skin, or get your money back. You can't beat that with a stick!

Thanks Suave, for "getting" moms and meeting our needs!

To win, all you have to do is (1) become a follower on this blog (if you aren't already) and (2) leave us a comment with a quick tip on how to pamper yourself when you're pressed for time. Add our button to your blog and/or tweet about this giveaway for an extra entry and come back to let us know. Giveaway ends Sunday, July 26 at midnight.

Better Tuesdays: Exercise should be fun!

As you know the mamas here will be participating in the AHA's Better U program beginning on June 1st and we are on our journey to become Better Us for a myriad of reasons. I decided about three weeks to get a bit of a jump start and I have been making little changes here and there in hopes that when I actually start the program it won't be such a shock to my body.

So, on Saturday I worked out!!!! Yes, me...I can say it with a straight face. I'm in a little bit of pain, but I did it and it felt really good. I hate working out with a passion. I've always admired those people who love to work out and can't go a day without it - I'm the opposite, the thought of actually getting off my butt and doing something is not at all appealing. But this time was a little different and I am so excited to start doing it on a regular basis.

Hubby and I went to a tennis court and did our own little routine. I know the tennis fanatics out there will balk at the thought of someone doing something other than tennis on their court, but it really worked for me. Maybe it was the padded flooring - I don't know. Anyway, we did a few laps, did some sprints, jumped rope, did some strength exercises with a medicine ball and then ran around the court with princess. It was so much fun and I didn't even really feel it - at least not until I woke up on Sunday morning!

That's what working out should be - it should be fun! Well I enjoyed it and I felt so good that I think I want to do it again today. I might be crazy - but summer is right around the corner. In fact I want to also buy a tennis racket and just run around the court - I don't care that I'm not good just as long as I'm out and moving.

Also, I've found that wearing a pedometer has been very effective. It's like I'm in competition with myself. I check it ALL the time (I might be a little obsessed) and when I see that I'm not near my target of 10,000 steps I've been getting up and doing some walking.

Wish me luck today. If you have any other suggestions for making it fun, let me know. And, check out our Better U bloggy partner Joshilyn at her her blog.

Here's to 35!

I am turning the big 35 tomorrow. It seems a little surreal for me though. I'm officially crossing over into that next box - you know, I'm moving from the 25-34 box into the 35 to what, 44 box - I guess! Or is the 35-50 box - OMG!!!!!

I feel like it snuck up on me. I can remember turning 25 and I definitely remember turning 31 because that was the weekend that I finally got over my horrible bout of morning sickness and it was the birthday that my husband coined "the last birthday of not being anyone's mama". But where have the last 5 years disappeared? I got married and had a baby, switched jobs three times, gained about 25 pounds and everything else is a blur. It seems like ever since having my daughter it has really been about her.

I never wanted to be one of the mothers whose life revolved around her kids but it seems like that's exactly what I've become. And I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It just seems to be! I have tried to stay a little fly - but c'mon though how fly can I really be when I'm 25 pounds overweight? I have tried to get my hair and nails done when I can. I have had a few facials and spa days. But in all honesty I don't think that I've done enough of those things - the things that I should be doing for myself. I've been on one girls trip and that was our trip to Dallas with the AHA. There have been no mommy-daddy vacations. I hardly shop for myself. And a night out is a dinner for three - not two.

I would like to change these things (and I've said it before) and I think that this is the perfect time. Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter with all my heart and I love the person that she's becoming. I also like the place that I've reached as a mommy (and a wife). But I also believe that my daughter needs to see not a perfect mommy, but a mother who can keep it together. And I think my hubby would like to see the same too! I don't think it's healthy to be so caught up with your kids that you lose yourself in the process. I feel like I'm slipping away.

So, I guess this birthday is another turning point in my journey....and gosh, there seems to have been a lot recently. My birthday wish for this year is to "keep it together!"

Treasure time

You may remember that I was laid off in February and then about 1 month ago I accepted a position at my old, old job and I've just been waiting on a start date. Well, I will be starting on Monday. I'm excited to start and I know hubby is excited too although he won't actually say it.

So....why do I feel like this? I feel sooooo blue. I am excited to get back out there and make some money, but I am so afraid that I will just get right back into the flow of things and I'm even more afraid that I'm going to lose what I just found.

You see, for various reasons I don't think I've ever really been a good wife nor a good mother (see this post). I don't think I ever really embraced either role very well and I know for sure that I've never quite been able to balance them simultaneously. When hubby and I first got married, I had about a month's gap in between jobs and I was adjusting to being married. You know...that transitional period where you're not quite sure what you're doing and you're moving from that me stage to the we stage. Then, three years later I spent a year at home when daughter was born and I loved it - being able to be here to nurture and love her and have the comfort of knowing that she was safe and well cared for. However, during that entire year, I wasn't really much of a wife.

For some reason when I got laid off a couple months things were just different with me. I think I've matured as a person and wanted to try to do better for my daughter and my husband and ultimately for myself. I actually felt a sense of accomplishment taking care of them - cooking, cleaning, laundry, school related activities, involvement with hubby's job etc. I have NEVER felt that way before. I also de-stressed and did a lot of reflection and dreaming during this time as well. Another first for me. I believe I can say that I've been happy - truly happy during this time.

I sit here on Thursday almost in tears because I am honestly afraid of what's going to unfold come Monday morning. I am fearful that I'm going to fall back in line and back into the rat race. I'm afraid that I'm going to be stressed out and not take care of us anymore. I'm afraid that I'm going to get wrapped up in my job and bring all that stuff home. I'm sad that I probably will not be able to provide hot meals when they come home in the afternoon, not be able to play pretend with daughter, not have a clean house everyday, not spend time at the playground on the weekend, not run all household errands during the week so that we can spend time together on the weekend.

I am sad that I'm not going to have time any more. Maybe that was the treasure that I discovered during this period - I discovered the beauty and endless possibilities that come with time. I hope that my fears are just fears and that I don't become overwhelmed by this feeling.

Better Tuesdays

Last Tuesday we were in Dallas with the AHA doing our fitness assessments as we gear up to the begin the Go Red Better U program on June 1st. So, we're dedicating Tuesdays to becoming Better Us. Each of the three mamas will dedicate a Tuesday post to what we are doing to change our lives as we strive to become better "U"s.

I have the honor this week!

When I returned from Dallas I realized that I am in really, really bad shape -- I'm not just talking about the extra 20-25 pounds that I'm carrying around (which is bad enough!), but also my cholesterol levels are not where they should be (HDL; LDL - I don't know which is good), my BMI indicates that I'm officially 'overweight', and I have very little stamina. It was the wake up call that I think I've needed for a while now. So, I can't wait until June 1st, I have to start making some small changes right now and then step it up as we progress through the program.

Here are my changes thus far:
- I can't believe it's not butter rather than butter - Both my hubby and I have started using it; it's a little odd tasting, but I'll stick with it a little longer.
- Egg beaters but I haven't yet made eggs.
- Whole grain english muffins instead of bagels - I'm so sad about this one because I honestly believe that I could live on bagels and cream cheese only.
- Yogurt and fresh fruit for snacks - This is not too bad because I like yogurt but I'm never been a snacker and I think it's well settled that six little meals are better than three big ones, so I would like to have yogurt and fruit for a few of those little meals.
- Light soups - vegetable based and not the yummy creamy ones that I love so dearly. This has been a little hard because who wants italian vegetable over corn and chicken chowder?
- Low fat frozen entrees - I hope to have these for lunch instead of just grabbing whatever I can find.
- Wearing a pedometer to track the number of steps taken on a daily basis - I wore one yesterday and I fell below the ideal 10,000 mark. I was about 9,000 steps so that's not too bad. But, I went shopping and to the grocery store today - not my typical day, so hopefully I can find ways to add some steps during the day.
- The biggest little change that I've made is engaging my hubby in a discussion about healthy eating - that's what I'm most proud of.

These changes are small but hard because I'm trying to change the way I look at food and exercise. I've never understood why I've put on so much weight because I don't eat a lot - but in the past week I've come to understand that it's not only how much I eat, but what and when.

So....here's to a healthy and better me and hopefully a healthy and better you!

Gosh It's Quiet

So this is what it feels like to have only me to worry about!

I arrived in Seattle last night for a work event and am still getting used to flying "solo". The plane ride was so uneventful - no diaper bags to lug; no preschoolers to entertain on the plane; only one bathroom run for ME...I felt like I was on vacation. And I guess I sort of am! I slept the entire night (which I haven't done since June 22, 2008) and then woke up and went to the fitness center. I didn't have to warm anyone's milk; change the tv channel from the Today Show to Handy Manny, or get.anybody.dressed. How indulgent!

And now I'm sitting here, gazing out of my 27th floor hotel room window with a panoramic view of the city, leisurely reading blogs and contemplating where to go for a quiet and relaxing breakfast. It's all forcing me to ask myself: "Will I ever return home?"

But we all know that's a big fat joke because by approximately 3pm today, the novelty of it all will wear off and I'll be wondering how school went, what new thing the baby did today, and missing Giggles' giggles. So here's to me enjoying the next few hours of my Mommy Vacay.

I wonder if they miss me?

Thirteen Minutes Before I'm Cut Off

I've been sitting here at Panera for several hours, catching up on emails, work, blogging, Facebook (okay, not really FB see below), and some much needed me time. My battery now has 11 minutes of juice left before my laptop dies. This means that in 11 minutes my me time will probably have to end because I have accomplished all that I wanted to and really, there's nothing pressing that I have to do.

Today the weather was really beautiful and I took the entire day for myself. It was this or else I wouldn't even want to be around me. I really enjoyed my me time. Much needed. We all need it, but we never take it, or at least not enough.

I've been sitting here people watching and working. I've seen all kinds of people. Students studying, doing group work, hanging out, whatever. Folks catching a quick bite to eat or taking a break from shopping. I also saw many couples and families come and go. I watched as a young mom worryied over her young infant that looked a few weeks old. You could tell nothing else mattered to her except for making sure her baby's milk was warm. She made me think back to my family when we were just three. As a new mom you worry about everything. You are so caught up in the moment. Life seemed so hard, but in hindsight, I can't help thinking how easy just having one child was. A family of five is really hard. Paying for tuition times three is really hard. Getting us all ready for church is really hard. Making sure the (one) baby had a good burp before I put him back in his infant carrier, not so hard. Hoping my food isn't cold when I finally could eat, not so hard.

As I saw bigger families come and go, I couldn't help but chuckle. Either things went smooth or they didn't. You know how it goes. Made me wonder about what my kids were doing at home. Whether the kids were giving Hubby a run for his money, what they ate for lunch, what he planned on doing for dinner (whether he would call me to ask me what the plan was for dinner), how today would have been a great day to go fishing. I started to feel guilty, for a moment. Shouldn't I be home, taking part in the beautiful day with my family? Probably. Maybe? Maybe not? No, I wasn't going home.

But that time is over, I'm down to my last few seconds. My battery light is flashing.....BYE!

Remote Control

The kids are in bed. The kitchen is clean. Backpacks are ready for the next day. And it's finally time for Hubby & I to chill. We plunk ourselves into bed, grab the remote, turn on the tv...and then it starts.


On Mondays and Tuesdays (24 and RH nights), we're good because we both like those shows (ok, I'm almost certain that I'm in trouble for divulging that little tidbit). But, any other day of the week it's a battle as to who gets to choose what to watch. Usually whoever wins agrees to flip to the loser's show during commercial breaks. But neither is us is 100% happy in that situation. Tonight I had to badger and lobby to convince him that we had to watch Top Chef. But I know that little "favor" is gonna come back to bite me smack in the middle of NBA Playoff season. Do y'all have a tv-sharing system that works?


Oh and we're committed tv junkies, so don't bother suggesting that we do something cerebral like read or play Scrabble. Because, really who are we kidding?

Relax, Relate, Release

First let me say how JEALOUS I am of Justice Jonesie's trip to Disney to the Mommy Blogger Weekend! I had to miss it because one of my best friends got married on Saturday - of course the wedding was wonderful and beautiful (another post for another day) but I am still sad that I didn't get to meet all of the sista-mommy-bloggers out there! Sounds like you guys had a blast.

October has been a busy month though! Last weekend I went on (which has become) my annual girls' trip to Bethany Beach, DE. After agonizing for days as to whether I should go and leave my little baby behind, I decided to just do it and am I ever glad that I did! We had the best time. There were 6 of us that went, including A Shorter Mama (who is so much fun). The weekend kicked off with the roadtrip to our friend's beach condo, just a couple hours away, while we chatted and looked forward to sleeping "in" (after all, 8:30am is late when you have small kids) and getting in some "me" time. The weekend did not disappoint: we stayed up late, slept in, relaxed on the beach -- the weather was surprisly warm -- went shopping, drank martinis and ate good seafood. Really for me, the best parts of the trip were the heart-to-heart conversations, the uncontrollable laughter and the feeling of being carefree, if only for 36 hours.

Well, except for the continuous breastpumping of course.

It was a wonderful way to wrap up my summer. Since this was my last weekend before returning to work after being on maternity leave, the girl time was just what the doctor ordered. And of course the kids and the baby were completely fine and barely even missed me all weekend.

I'm already looking forward to next year!

Mama's Going to Disney World!

Hello all, This has been a hectic week. The usual running around, kids, work, etc. But there's one thing that has kept me going. The fact that this weekend I'm off to a Disney Mom Blogger's Getaway hosted by the generous folks at Walt Disney World. Disney has activities planned for the entire weekend and therefore has requested that we not bring our husbands or children. Rats! I was so disappointed that the family couldn't join me. A whole room at one of Disney's finest resorts, all to myself? What on earth will I do with myself? It will be tough, but I think I'll manage without them.

Toodles!

Painting the Town Red

I have no idea how it happened, but last week this mama went out on the town, sans kids, THREE times!! On Tuesday night, some friends and I went to Shecky's Girls Night Out for an evening of shopping, free cocktails, and a fly goodie bag. Can't beat that. It was really fun. It was nice to get dressed up and hang out with other women my age in a hip and relaxed atmosphere. Even though I could only manage one cocktail (because I'm a lightweight and because I'm nursing), it was a great outing. I even got myself a fabulous watch. When it was time to go, the rest of the gals went to a late night happy hour, but I headed home -- exhausted, but content.

On Friday hubby and I went out on a "date" to a trendy restaurant and then bar hopping! The meal was delish and we were both rejuvenated by hanging out downtown on a Friday evening, which is something we never do. It made us vow to resume our monthly date nights again. It was nice to dress up for each other - I had my hair done, wore stilettos, and everything. The only drag was rushing back home to make it in time for to relieve the babysitter. This is where overnights for the kids at Grandma's would come in handy.

Saturday night I went out with friends to see my all-time favorite artist, Mary J. Blige. By then I was feeling downright neglectful as a mom, but really and truly the kids were all pretty asleep each time I went out, but you know how the mommy guilt goes. The concert was great as usual (I've seen Mary at least 5 times before) and she looks better than ever. Robin Thicke was the opening act, and he was alright. I sung my heart out and enjoyed every minute of the show. I didn't get home until *gasp* after midnight, but hey, it's not like I sleep at night anyway. The baby makes sure of that.

I have to say that all of those outings made me feel like me again. I am officially out of the baby phase and it's time to steal some time for myself again. This Friday is Moms Night Out with my moms group. I almost want to skip it since I was out so much last week.

Almost.