DATE ARCHIVES : March 2017

Can We Make Girls’ Bathing Suits Less Sexy Please?

Last week I took my girls bathing suit shopping because they had an indoor pool party coming up.

Perfect! They’ll be plenty of bathing suits to choose from because it’s so early in the season. We shouldn’t have a problem.

Boy was I wrong. Who knew shopping for a bathing suit for a seven-year-old girl (not so much my 5-year-old) could be so tedious and disturbing at the same time?

As we looked through the racks, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of one-piece bathing suits available for my daughters.

Hmmm. Okay, perhaps a tankini? I’m a fan of those myself.

Hmmm.  A few of those out there.

As I continued to survey our options, one disturbing animal print bikini after another, my daughter chimed in that she found one.

Great! I thought. Boy was I wrong.

She proceeded to show me a teeny weeny bikini, made just for her size. When I immediately said no and was questioned why I wouldn’t be buying that so-called bathing suit. I told my daughter, “There’s no reason for a 7-year-old girl to wear something like that.”

Meanwhile, my 5-year-old went straight for the Shopkins one-piece bathing suit and said she wanted that one.

Sold! That one was easy.

Back to the 7-year-old who has now picked up a crocheted number, bikini-style of course. I just looked at her and shook my head. This cycle went on for a few more suits through some ruffles and leopard prints until we found and agreed on an appropriate tankini set that even came with a matching skirt. It covered everything and was cute at the same time.

Sold!

By this time I was mentally exhausted. I thought the days of difficult bathing suit shopping were still at least another six years ahead of us. Boy was I wrong.

Here’s the thing I have an issue with…when it comes to bathing suits for little girls, why are manufacturers producing such sexy numbers? Is there anyone on the decision-making team who has children and who may think that it’s inappropriate? Or is it a case of “anything goes” much like a lot of things these days?

When little girls see these bathing suits out there made in their size, of course they’re going to want them. Of course they’re going to think it’s okay to wear them. Call me a prude, but I have a problem with that. I think we’re just feeding into a culture that is making it too easy for our kids to grow up too fast. All the innocence that existed when I was a kid is long gone. As a parent that’s downright scary.

Some may say to lighten up, it’s just a bathing suit. But, it’s really not. It’s troublesome that these teeny bikinis are more the norm rather than the exception. If you thought they didn’t exist for my five-year-old too, think again. There were plenty of bikinis for her, but she was blinded by Shopkins as usual. If parents weren’t buying those suits, clothing makers wouldn’t still be putting them out there. That tells me that many parents don’t find issue with this.

As a mother, it’s not easy to explain to your daughter why she can’t wear something that everyone else seems to be wearing. I constantly tell her I don’t care what others kids do and to be her own person when it comes to bathing suits and everything else in life. That’s the best I can do as a parent…that and write blogs like this to express my frustration!

Would it be so bad to provide clothes and bathing suits that show less of our young daughters’ skin? You don’t need a bikini to swim or make sand castles at age seven or any other age for that matter. Clothing makers, can you hear me? Can you help a momma out?

 

 

 

The Pros and Cons of Working from Home

“What do you do?”

“I’m a freelance writer.”

“Where?”

“Oh, I work from home.”

Crickets. Then a snide smirk.

Yep, that’s the what usually happens when people ask me what I “do”.

When people hear you work from home it can go two ways. One is that they think you really do nothing all day but surf social media sites. Two is that they think working from home is a dream. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part it is great. Especially coming from a unique schedule where I used to get up at 4 a.m. for my 9-5 gig. People love the idea of working from home for many reasons. The biggies are that you can mainly make your own schedule, take vacation whenever you want, and can stay home when your kids are sick. Everyone wants to be on team work from home. But, like anything, it has its drawbacks. Drawbacks like not getting a steady paycheck because some weeks there ain’t much out there and you spend a lot of time cleaning your closets. Drawbacks like trying to balance the kids at “Camp Mom” while trying to be somewhat productive.

I started thinking about all of these pros and cons over the past few days when my kids had two snow days in a row. This after having a three-day weekend the previous week due to yet another snow day. The kids thought it was the best thing since “Frozen” came out. Me? I was hiding like Elsa when my kids kept asking me if I wanted to build a snowman. So what does a day look like when you work from home and unexpected days off arise?

6:55 Kids wake up even though there’s no school.

7:10 First round of “mommy let’s play a game” happens

7:11 Mommy makes a cup of coffee

7:30 Switch games

8:00 Breakfast

8:30 Mommy tries to get work done while kids play “nicely”

8:40 First round of “I hate yous exchanged” and “Mommeee” come from playroom

8:41 Mommy says go back and play and work it out until she’s done

8:45 “Mommy are you done working yet?”

8:50 Kids go back to playing and mommy goes back to work

9:00 Dance party karaoke begins

9:10 Mommy shuts down dance party karaoke because kids not get a permit

9:15-10:00 Kids play nicely and Mommy actually gets work done

10:01 Mommy plays for a bit

10:30-11:30 Mommy gets more work done! Yeah!

11:30-12:30 Prep, make and eat lunch

12:30-2:00 Playing & reading time

2:00-3:00 Mommy back to work, kids are once again trying not to kill one another

3:00-3:30 Cleaning the breakfast and lunch dishes to get ready for the dinner load later

3:30-4:30 Google Justin Bieber facts for daughter who is writing a book while trying to fix Baby Alive’s diaper and explain to daughter number two why we can’t feed her doll milk

4:30-5:45 Prep, Cook & eat dinner

5:45-6:15 Clean up

6:15-6:30 Sit down & chill out

6:30-7:00 Prep for day ahead, make lunches, pack snack etc.

7:00-7:30 Showers

8:00 Down to start the bedtime process

8:45 Mommy pours one…okay two glasses of wine…and tries to get more work done

9:30 Time to shut it down, watch TV and pray there’s not another snow day tomorrow

At some point it’s time for bed.

Trust me, I know it’s hard for parents who work outside the home too when a snow day pops up. I’ve been there before. Working from home brings a different set of challenges. In a nutshell you get an unorthodox work day interrupted by various rounds of games and dance parties, but you do get to stay home.

Kids’ scheduled days off when you work from home are also like trying to solve a Rubix cube. You work around the kids and hopefully send them to Grandma’s house for a few hours so you can get stuff done without Justin Bieber playing in the background.

Would I trade working from home for working a regular 9-5? Probably not now. It’s nice being your own boss even when your little bosses are around unexpectedly.

 

 

 

LuLaRoe Giveaway

Chances are you have heard about the clothing brand LuLaRoe and their buttery soft leggings. If you haven’t heard of LuLaRoe, let me be the first to tell you that this company makes the softest leggings. Ever.

LuLaRoe not only makes amazing buttery soft leggings in a gazillion fun prints, they also make tops, kimonos, skirts, and dresses. Soft fabric and colorful patterns galore!

The exciting part is that each LuLaRoe print is made in limited quantities, so when you see a print you like you should be sure to grab it!

If you haven’t had a chance to try LuLaRoe, I urge you to give them a try. Once you try some items on for yourself you will see what all the rage is all about.

Now, you can’t simply go to a store and pick up a pair of LuLaRoe leggings. LuLaRoe is sold only by its consultants. Sarah Cool is a wonderful LuLaRoe consultant who stocks a variety of LuLaRoe styles with sizes ranging from XXS-3XL. She runs a Facebook Group where she posts her LuLaRoe inventory for members to browse and shop. Join Sarah Cool’s VIP Facebook Group here to browse her inventory! The Mommy Rundown has info on a great giveaway!

Host: Dorky’s Deals

Sponsor: LuLaRoe Sarah Cool VIP

Prize: $50 credit to spend in LuLaRoe Sarah Cool VIP

Open to US residents, ages 18+ only

Ends 3/24/17 at 11:59 PM EST

Enter to win using the widget below.

Good luck!

 

 

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Nice, Chocolate-Free Kids…Must Be Lent

Daughter: “Mommy, I’m going to be nice to my sister for Lent.”

Me: “You know, Lent lasts for 40 days.”

Daughter: “That’s a long time. Never mind.”

Yep, this was a recent exchange I had with my 7-year-old daughter this past weekend. She learned about Lent in her CCD class. They learned about doing nice things for Lent and maybe even making sacrifices when it comes to their favorite things. My daughter’s CCD teacher said my daughter told the class she was going to give up McDonald’s and chocolate. I find this more doable than being nice to her sister for 40 days. Even then, I know this is not going to happen.

As with anything else that goes on in my house, my younger daughter needs to follow her sister.

Daughter 2: “What should I do for Lent?”

Me: “How about not pinching your sister when she wins a game and you lose?”

Pause….

Daughter 2: “I don’t think so.”

Me: “Okay…how about only using nice words?”

Giggle…

Daughter 2: “Sure.”

For some reason I think that “sure” was to appease me. I can see that lasting for about 40 seconds, not 40 days.

Daughter2: “Mommy, what are you going to give up for Lent?”

I paused and thought about this for a few minutes.

Chocolate? No. This is unrealistic seeing that Girl Scout cookies come in this weekend. I’m Team Samoa all the way.

Wine? No. Just no.

Soda? Sure. But, that really wouldn’t mean anything to me seeing that I don’t really drink soda anyway.

Finally I got one.

Me: “Mommy is going to try not to yell as much.”

Dramatic pause. Some giggles. Then, serious faces.

Daughters: “Sounds good.”

It was settled, my Lenten “thing” will be to try to yell less. Sometimes it’s easier said than done. But, we’re going to see how it works out…at least for 40 days!

As for the little divas, they’re still undecided. I’m trying to get them to do something rather than give something up. I know Lent is about sacrifice, but I don’t really see how giving up something like Oreos is going to make them a better person at the end. If they can’t have an Oreo, they’ll have a chocolate chip cookie. There’s really no sacrifice there.

But, not throwing a shoe at your sister or pinching her takes much more restraint. That is a real sacrifice around here. You see, if there’s less of that going on, chances are there will be less yelling on my part. So, it’s a win-win for everyone. Go Team Lent! Let’s have an Oreo…or two!