The Boob Tube

The boob tube is always on in our house...even if it is just in the background. Unfortunately, my daughter just has to watch "her shows"!! Guh! I hate how much she feels like she needs to watch TV. What makes it even worse is that she seems to be trying to grow up too fast. The kind of hold that the television has on her and the kind of influences it's characters often portray aren't always the best. I am not the type of mom that follows every parenting rule out there, but I do have certain boundaries in this category. I grew up on PBS and the Disney Channel as a kid. So, of course, I thought it was fine for my kids to watch both as well. Then I realized that my child would act out the shows she was watching. Totally fine - except that she was hooked on episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and what used to be The Suite Life of Zack and Cody/The Suite Life on Deck. All of these shows are fine and dandy except that each has a character that is spoiled, rambunctious, and a rule breaker. Needless to say, my children don't get to watch afternoon shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Instead, they are hooked on PBS and Nick Jr. These teach lessons geared more toward the 5 and under age range. However, even these warrant keeping an eye on.

I don't have a problem with any of the shows on PBS. These all offer educational options and opportunities even if the songs get rather repetitive and the characters can be rather annoying to most adults - but that is how children learn isn't it? My hubby hates how often the same episodes air and often motions the shape of a  gun to his head when certain songs are sung. But at least she's not picking up any sort of bad attitude from the characters. My kids' favorites are Caillou, Curious George, and Sesame Street. To the youngsters, these are innocent cartoons that they can relate to. Yet, adults get it in their minds that the creators of these shows are trying to send mixed messages to our children. Adults question, "Are Ernie and Bert gay?," "Why is Caillou bald at the age of 4?," and "What does the man in the yellow hat actually do?" Really? The minds of children don't work that way. There are very smart and advanced children in the audience, but they are simple at the same time. So, instead it's more manageable to adults to have their children watching Spongebob Squarepants which offers no real educational value at all. We should be more open-minded to what appeals to our children while offering some type of depth rather than what we can manage listening to over and over.

As for Nick Jr., I really don't take up issues with most of the shows on this channel. However, there are a couple that get to me. For example, Max and Ruby. Why are two young children living on their own? And since my daughter has become rather jealous of her little brothers, it is hard to accept that Ruby always has to have it her way and disregards her little brother, Max, on a regular basis. And then there is Olivia. It is fun to have such a girly character who is ambitious and portrays a realistic big sister who finds her younger brother a "bother" yet still attempts to get along with him. On the other hand, she can be a little too self-centered of a character when I am trying to teach my own daughter how to empathize with others.

But for the most part, television has been a great tool at teaching my children valuable lessons. My daughter was never one to learn much from me. I tried teaching her to write and teaching her colors and to count, but of course it produced nada results. But as soon as Barney started to sing or Dora counted in both English and Spanish, etc., she picked up on them right away. I agree that one on one time or imaginary play or socializing shouldn't be replaced by the boob tube, but I do appreciate the number of positive shows there actually are and I also appreciate the occasional break I get from kids hollering "MOM." "MOM." "MOOOOM!" all afternoon.

The whole point here is merely to discuss positives and negatives of our children watching TV. My personal view is that it's fine for kids to have screen time because it reserves some of my sanity and also that a lot can be taken away from many kids' shows on these days, but only if we filter what they watch and take our children into consideration rather than just ourselves. I'm not judging you for allowing your children to watch episodes that offer no educational content. I mean, our minds need a break from flexing those brain muscles sometimes (which is why I watch ridiculous "reality" TV like Keeping up with the Kardashians and all of it's spin offs). But we should take as many opportunities as we can to flex those same muscles as well.

Have a great one!!!

Real Live Barbie Doll

I decided that today, I wanted to erk my daughter just as much as she had been erking me...that's what 5-year-olds are supposed to do apparently. Anyway, I tortured her by making her participate in a "photo shoot" in five different outfits.  I had to bribe her to do this for me by allowing her to use some of my lipgloss. The shade - Fancy Nancy. As you will see, it didn't take long for her to get into the whole idea. She posed herself while I just kept pressing the shutter button. I took today's trends and translated them into girls' outfits and the best part is that each piece was $20 AND UNDER!!! I love quality brands, especially when they are on SALE!!

BOLD IS BEAUTIFUL

Here we used a bold colored flower applique shirt (Crew Cuts Outlet) paired with colorful striped tights (Circo @ Target) and of course, a sequined tutu from (Gap). Every girly girl owns tulle skirts in every girl...I know mine does. The color of the year is tangerine, but my daughter's fav color is purple so we went with that. Besides, I think tangerine would wash out with the tan she's been getting from playing outside at school.

PRETTY PASTELS

I chose a teal skirt (Gap) for this look because it's flowy and cool for summer and paired it with a grey bowed tank (also Gap). We can't forget the accessories. Here I chose a brown zebra print scarf (Gymboree). It's very light and airy so still great for summer. I thought the grey toned down the color of the skirt. Colors are great for children, but if I were to let my daughter pick out her own outfits for the day, she would have one color on top, a totally different color on bottom. I am loving pastels this summer. I am working on dyeing my own pastel pink jeans at the moment, in fact.

SUMMER DRESS

Summer dresses are a staple for the season. They are light, and flowy and cool in the warm weather. I chose a neutral butterfly sleeveless dress with gold accents and a matching gold butterfly headband (both Gap). So precious.

CASUAL COOL

Layering has been a trend for years now. This is a hip way to layer for the warm weather. The side tie pink tank (Gap) layered with a denim vest (H&M) is boho chic over a pinstriped denim skirt (Target). The vest is versatile and would look adorable with a floral dress and pink flatters every little girl!

AHOY MATEY!!!

A simple white tank (Gymboree) over a nautical skirt (TJ Maxx) is essential for the summer months. It's classy, sophisticated, yet playful. And we especially love this style since daddy is, after all, a sailor!

Who says that kids can't be stylish in their play wear? Our children are a reflection of us so why not take a little extra care in how they look, too? And it doesn't have to break the bank, either. Super cute outfits can be found at many consignment shops and thrift stores, too. Plus, it's so much fun to dress our little girls up as if they are real live Barbie dolls. I know my daughter is my little protege or mini-me as many people refer to her. 

Have fun dressing your little doll!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!

The Today Show is the on every weekday morning in my household. It is the primary source of my national "news" information seeing as I'm home with just the boys and the rest of the afternoon the TV is either on Nick Jr. or ESPN. This morning I found it particularly disturbing to see a segment regarding bullying of an elderly school bus monitor by a handful of middle schoolers! Oh my goodness!!!! I realize at the preteen age, kids are still finding their place amongst their peers and it's a difficult time. I remember getting in some trouble at that age, but never to this extent.

If you haven't seen anything about it, basically a 68-year-old woman was harassed and insulted by middle school students on a bus in upstate New York to the point of tears. They called her nasty names, made fun of her weight and even threatened her. The language these children used was horrific! I refuse to give examples of some of the things that were said toward this woman.

First of all, there are 3 things that scare the bejesus out of me when it comes to my children. One. Maintaining a positive relationship with my children - knowing how to create a balance between being their friend and their parent. Two. I am afraid of the ease of access my kids will have to drugs. And three. Bullying has become such a front and center issue with kids speaking way more harshly toward one another and the lack of respect kids have for authority, each other, and elders. I will not allow my children to become bullies nor will I stand for them being bullied. 


This topic obviously deals with my third fear. I don't see any warning signs at the moment of my children becoming bullies at this point. They are all still rather young and maintain their innocence. But they will grow up to learn to respect other people. I get that growing up is difficult. There's peer pressure everywhere. But there is a time and place for joking around and there's also a point at which joking around and teasing becomes more than just innocent fun. I was also brought up to respect my elders. I may not have agreed to everything someone did or said. I may not have liked someone. But I was always respectful and bit my tongue when I was amongst people older than me. An elder is an elder no matter what. Respect seems to have gone by the wayside these days. I would never think to say such terrible things to someone that way...and really I wouldn't say that to anyone elder or not.


It also didn't look like any of the other children on the bus stepped in and tried to stop the verbal bashing. Of course, I would like to think that I would have and that I would like my child to step in when they see someone being bullied. But I can also understand the fear that the children may have experienced witnessing what they did and seeing how they hurt an adult, let alone one of their classmates. 


These leads to how the children involved should be punished. This was a debatable topic on the Today Show. They discussed having the children expelled and apologizing and even punishing the parents of these children. The idea of expelling kids from school raises questions. Will this allow children to do as they please and roam the world with no sense of structure and education? Or will removing children and cutting them off from those they aim to please help alleviate the peer pressure and open their eyes to what they have actually done? I think it could go either way. I do blame the parents for the way that their children behave - kids are a direct reflection of the people who raise them. But does that mean that their parents should be punished and how? Of course each and every child ought to apologize face to face with the woman that they hurt. And I do believe that they should experience the same level of shame and hurt that they placed upon her, but of course I would never wish on anyone the kind of treatment that they showed their victim. So how does one go about teaching these children a lesson and teaching them to empathize with the bus monitor. 


I know I'm not a perfect mother and I know that there are many things that I have yet to teach my children and have yet to experience with them. I can tell you that being a mom is the most rewarding, the most difficult and the most scary thing that I've ever encountered. How do I know that I'm teaching my children the right tools to deal with life? This has all got me thinking about how I'm teaching my children. I do not know how I, myself, would handle it if one of my children turned out to be like one of those mean-spirited children. I do not stand here judging those parents, but somewhere, somehow they learned it was OK to treat others that way.

These are all thoughts to ponder. I would love to know how other moms out there feel on this topic.

On a lighter note, the Northeastern area of the US is experiencing record high temperatures. I am currently indoors with the a/c on, but would love to take my children to the splash pad in a nearby neighborhood to burn some energy and get their cool on. But I'm afraid of how to keep my infant cool on this hot summer day. He's too young for me to want to take him into the water...especially water spraying in all different directions. But I don't want him burning up in his car seat either. Even under the shade the temperatures are scorching with the humidity in the air. I've made some fudgesicles for the family to eat and at school, my daughters' teachers had her drinking water while at the playground. How is everyone else keeping cool?

Stay cool and enjoy summer!

Summer Sweetness

So, as I was browsing on Pinterest (yet again), I came across a recipe for Fruit Salsa w/ Baked Cinnamon Chips. It looked super delicious, but familiar as well. I realized, this was one of the recipes that we had used at a Pampered Chef party I hosted last year. It was yummy. I decided to make it again tonight and it was still equally as yummy!!! My hubby stood near the kitchen counter where my chips were cooling and the bowl of salsa laid open and he just kept on munching. :) First off, I had to ward him off from eating the fruits before I got the chance to start chopping them off.

I just thought I'd share and let you enjoy in this summer deliciousness as well. It's made with all of the fruits that are currently in season - strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, golden delicious apples.

(My glasses isn't actually shaped that way, it was just some funky photo editing app I have.)

FYI, all the freezer meals that I got off of Pinterest and wrote about under Easy Recipes Even For Me previously all turned out pretty good. I'm all about simplicity and deliciousness in the same sentence. The Teriyaki Chicken was pretty savory, but the Savory Chicken was just good...still something I would make again, though. My daughter loved the mini Pizza cups. I mentioned that I would let you all know how everything turned out once I made them...so there ya go!

The first day of summer here in New England is ridiculously hot and humid. I hope you're keeping cool wherever you are and staying fabulous while doing so!!!

From Takeoff to Landing

The Summer Solstice is Wednesday and it's the start of family vacation season. The roads will be busier (that is if gas prices continue to go down...fingers crossed!) and airplanes will be full of children screaming, running a muck, and making childless passengers want to jump out the nearest exit. I'm hoping my children will not be those children. We will be taking our first family vacation as a family of 5 and I'm a little nervous. I've traveled with one and two (child)ren and it wasn't bad. Although with 3 little ones and a ten hour cross country flight, it may be quite different. I'm not worried about No. 1 because she is old enough to occupy herself and is kind of a veteran at flying. She has never really given us any issues there. No. 3 shouldn't be very difficult because he's still in the eat, sleep, poop, repeat stage. But No. 2 is a different story. He is 19 months old and all boy! He's moving right into that Terrible Two's stage and I'm a little concerned about the non-stop flight where he won't really get to burn any energy. We planned it to be a non-stop flight merely because we want to get on a plane, get settled and not worry about packing up and running to the next connection until we get to our destination. Yet, we planned to go with the kids at this age because we saved on 2 tickets being that both our boys are under the age of 2. Just thought I'd put that out there in case you decided we were just plain insane to be traveling so far with such young children. And yes, that means that both boys will be in our laps the entire time.

That all brings me to the point of this post. What in the world am I going to pack to keep them occupied on the plane so that they will not be driving everyone mad! Of course, we plan on taking the portable DVD player. But it is only meant to last half of the flight time, not that kids should be having that much screen time anyway!!! But a couple of DVDs may help.I came up with a list of must-have items.

For the soon-to-be Kindergartener (all packed in her own little backpack)
Movies (of her choosing)
3-4 books (including one she will want for bedtime, also of her choosing)
Homework books (books that she can practice her writing, counting, shape identification and other educational skills she should not forget over the summer)
Coloring notebook/Crayola twistables (should I succeed at locating all of them before we leave)
Individual snack packs
A couple changes of clothes
Her little piggy neck pillow
Maybe one of her dolls or stuffed animals

For the Energetic Tot
Several packs of blended foods like Happy Tot fruit and vegetable blends
Individual snack packs
3 books or perhaps even his LeapFrog Tag Junior reading buddy
A couple of his favorite cars/trucks/choochoos
Pacifiers (for takeoff, landing, and napping)
A familiar blanket
A couple changes of clothes w/ diapers

For the First-time Flyer (Luckily, he is still nursing which is preferred over fumbling with baby bottles)
Pacifiers
Blanket
Changes of clothes w/ diapers and wipes

Now, we can't forget those necessities that will help to keep the kids comfortable and healthy for the remainder of their vacation. Those items include hand sanitizer, any required medications your children are on, proper forms of identification (we are going to need No. 2's birth certificate to verify that he is indeed under the age of 2, because by his looks, he could pass for older).

I know that many recommend Benadryl as well. I have not yet given my younger children this medication so I'm not sure if this will help or harm us on our flight. I will be chatting with their pediatrician at their next appointment before the trip.

Now, this looks like a whole lot to pack! It sure is! I will be discussing packing for a family of 5 efficiently and economically in the near future. I do not intend on paying baggage fees for all the members of our family. Keep an eye out for that specific post.

Who Doesn't Love A Lil' Somethin' Extra

Gosh, it's been a while since I let the chatterbox in me loose online! Eek! Haha. Well, it's kind of been a busy week for us. Today is Father's Day and although I would like to say we spent all day out and about with the Father of the house, I actually had to wait on my hubby to finish his homework on the computer all afternoon. That's not to say we didn't celebrate. For us, sleeping in is a celebration and we got more sleep in today than we have in a long time...even with the 3 children squished between us most of the morning. Then we went out to dinner and dessert. It was a nice, chill day. The rest of the week was spent preparing for the yard/tag sale I decided to do this weekend. And we had an impromptu dinner at a friend's house Friday night. They are in the middle of renovating it and we were curious to see how it turned out. Somehow, we ended up having dinner there, too. The place looks amazing and I can't believe how similar their taste is to mine - modern, but maintaining a sense of traditional coziness and character. It's got me itchin' for our own home. I hate renting and not having a place to call our own, but am a little nervous about all the responsibility home ownership brings. Anyway, Saturday was the yard sale and we were out from 8a - 1p. After that, we were quite content just laying around for the rest of the afternoon. Actually, I sat here at the desk doing work - Mary Kay related. and posting the items we didn't sell on Craigslist. Unfortunately, there wasn't much traffic so it didn't pan out so well. Which leads me to the topic of today - how to make money at yard sales.

Growing up, I was quite lucky...not that I saw it that way when I was kid. I never got whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. But my parents really provided for my sister and I. The cabinets and fridge were always packed with food and snacks. And we never missed out on any opportunities for financial reasons. So, I was never really keen on the idea of going to or having yard sales or thrift stores. But as an adult, I get a thrill in finding a good deal or finding a hidden treasure amongst other people's trash or making an extra buck. Oh yes, it's the little things in life :) I also get very bored with stuff. So, I decided to plan a yard sale.

(We moved things around as items sold or as we realized that they weren't be displayed effectively).

I took businesses classes in college so I think of myself as being pretty business-savvy. So boy was I disappointed when I made a mere $25. But I'm thinking of having another sale before my family goes on our vacation if I have any of those items I posted on Craigslist left. So, in preparation for that day, here is a list of ways to make any yard/tag sale more successful.

- Set the date for the weekend after pay day, it should preferably not fall on a holiday weekend. I did this thinking that Father's Day wasn't going to be a big deal, but perhaps it was a factor to my failure.
- Start early in the morning, say 7 or 8am. For whatever reason, bargain hunters don't believe in sleeping in so we set up shop at 8am.
- Advertise properly. I put up only 2 signs, but they were in 2 very prime locations - the corner of a very busy intersection and the local mini mart. However, I should have put up a couple more throughout the adjacent neighborhoods and maybe even drew arrows in the direction of our street. I also advertised on my Facebook page and a community Facebook page, but Craigslist is a good resource as well.
- Have a good assortment of items. I included a bunch of newborn baby boy clothes...literally they were sizes newborn to 6 months. Unfortunately, everyone that was out seemed to be looking for clothes for girls or older boys.
- Make sure your items are presentable. Yard sale shoppers shouldn't expect items to be in mint condition, but if you make the effort to clean up furniture or remove stains as best as possible from clothing or what have you, people will be more likely to pay more or buy at all. We didn't really have an issue in this department as I did my best to clean up as much as possible, but there was one pretty finicky individual.
- Price items accordingly. People go to yard sales looking for a deal. There are many a peeps out there who aren't afraid to haggle so if you don't want to get ripped off, you might want to think about pricing just a little more than you hope to get for an item and let your "customers" offer an amount. Or, if it's not one of your big ticket items, go ahead and let it go...at least it's out of your house. :) Also, you might want to do some research on big ticket items to make sure you are pricing accordingly...that is, to make sure you are getting what you deserve or are not overcharging. Most of the clothing that we put out were 25 cents to $3, but nothing over $5. We also charged only about 10% of the original retail cost for the big ticket items.
- Make sure to have change on hand. You should have plenty of ones and quarters on hand because most bargain hunters are shopping with cash and if you don't have change, they may very well change their minds or round down to a lower, even amount. We went hunting in nightstand drawers and on countertops the morning of to find dollar bills and change.
- Display matters. You want to spread your items out so that everything can be seen. We don't have any of those fold-up tables or party tables so we ended up bring the dining table at patio tables out. It wasn't really sufficient, but didn't want to have to pay to borrow tables and couldn't think of anyone we knew who had tables. Therefore, people who stopped by didn't get the opportunity to sort threw the women's clothes we had out and the men's items were stacked on top of each other. And it was difficult to see a coffee table we had out because we kind of used it as a display table for other items like throw pillows and a tea set. We did, however, label sections for women, men, baby boy, etc.
- Be friendly - Yes, you're probably wishing you were still cuddled in bed watching Saturday morning cartoons with the kids, but at least act like what you have could be someone else's treasurers. I personally don't like to buy anything from anyone who doesn't have a good attitude unless it's something that I seriously can't pass up!!

Gosh, that seems like a lot to take in, but it's not so bad, really. A lot of it is common sense. If there's anything I missed, I would love to know about it. I hope to learn from my mistakes and become more successful next time. Oh, and don't forget to get your kids involved. My daughter really enjoyed telling people about some of the items or the cost of the items. She was also pretty good at advertising. She went on and on to my neighbor that we were having a yard sale (not that it wasn't obvious or anything). Haha...let me know your success stories, too!


Hope the fathers in your lives had a special day and felt much appreciated as they should be!

It Takes Being Away From Your Children...

Much like many, if not all parents out there, we crave/need/hope for some adult time with no kids present. It's very important to your relationship with each other as well as with your children. It takes having children to appreciate adulthood and it takes being away from your children to appreciate parenthood. My children are my rock. I have experienced deployments pre- and post-children. I had my friends before my children came along, but they were mostly single and considering that I was pregnant the first time, it was hard to fit into a college crowd going out drinking and dancing all the time. The next time, it was difficult because I had to care for a young child for the first time all by myself. On the other hand, I was never alone. It always made me feel better to hold my baby in my arms whenever I was missing my hubby and to look into her eyes and see the most precious gift that my husband had given me. Having children also made the time go by MUCH quicker. But then there are times that I cannot run away quick enough.

Unfortunately, for the most part, my hubby and I have had a hard time finding opportunities to go out alone whether it be just the two of us or with other couples or friends. We've always lived too far for any family members to babysit. In Hawaii, my close family lived on other islands and here in New England, the closest family member is 2 hours away. I have never used a babysitting service and we don't know too many teenagers in the area capable of babysitting. My daughter's school occasionally hosts parents night where they take your children for about 4 hours on a designated night, but that doesn't leave us a whole lot of time since we have to go searching for things to do and these nights are far and few between. So what are we to do?

I've considered joining Care.com where they do background checks and you can choose the credentials you would like your babysitter to have. Has anyone out there tried that site and found success? My only hesitation would be the cost and since my baby is still so young I am very hesitant on the people we leave him with. And if I were to hire a sitter, I don't really know where to start on what kinds of qualifications I should expect. I obviously don't want anyone too young to be handling my newborn. I also need someone who would actively "watch" my children - playing with them, keeping them comfortable, and following the routine I set out for them. I have trust/worry issues when it comes to my children. I'm sure most of you out there would recommend finding someone who is CPR certified for children and babies. And of course, I have to trust the person not to damage or steal anything in our home. Then there is the question of how much to pay the person. I assume the rate depends on the experience of the individual and may even vary from area to area. All of these questions have lead me to do some research. Feel free to give me your input as well.

Here is what I found.

According to Care.com, babysitters should be playful, active, responsible, trustworthy and have some experience. They should be fair in the rate they charge, patient, and authoritative. These were pretty obvious and I've already listed them above. But they also included a few things that I didn't think of right off the bat. Things like being flexible with schedules (in case we were to run longer than negotiated hours). This website also has a rate calculator! Now I have my answer for that going rate question. :)

After browsing around a little more, I realized that most credible websites had similar answers. And that as a mom, I pretty much knew all of this and needed some reassurance and to make sure I wasn't missing anything. :) Like I said, if you have anything to add, please do so. If you're like me and haven't really used babysitters before, I hope some of this helps you out too! Now go and set up a date with your partner! I've already got someone in mind that may fit all of these qualifications and a date idea in mind as well.

I did one of my Mary Kay facial parties last night. It was my first time out alone in a very long time and I was really looking forward to it. There was a good turnout of guests and I had fun. So, this got me thinking of my next post. I know that many of us mommies are extremely busy...especially if you are working outside of the home or have more than one child. Either way, once you become a mom, life changes dramatically and your world revolves more around your child(ren) and less around yourself. But I believe that part of feeling good on the inside has to do with looking good on the outside. I rarely leave home without at least a little bit of face paint. Even when I have literally 5 minutes to get myself ready, I can pull what I call (and what the Mary Kay company has labeled) the 2-minute-look.

The 2-minute-look is made up of only 3 key ingredients: mascara, blush/bronzer, and lip color be it lipstick, lip gloss or some kind of hybrid. Of course, we all brush our teeth and style our hair or, in my case, throw it up in a messy bun. Then we often run out the door without a second look in the mirror because quite frankly, that might scare us straight. That's where the 2-minute-look comes in. A good routine consists of washing and moisturizing your face twice a day. Once you've gotten that taken care of, your skin should look and feel good naked...no foundation, no powder...just you. But eyes are often one of those characteristics that draw others in. Adding some mascara helps make them pop no matter what color they are and without the extra fumbling around.

One of Mary Kay's newest mascara products is the Lash Love mascara which gives a fuller, thicker look to your lashes.

Second, adding some color to your cheeks gives dimension to your face and offers a beautiful glow to the natural color of your skin. Being that it's summer, bronzer is a great option and gives you that sun-kissed glow without the damaging affects of soaking up the rays.

Mary Kay has four amazing bronzing powders in various shades. They come in dual color compacts. Mixed together the two shades offer more dimension and the ability to blend well with your natural color. Used as is (light on top and dark on bottom) along your cheek bones can enhance your cheek bones or give the appearance of high cheek bones even if you don't have them.

Last, but not least, the perfect pout makes a world of difference. Lipstick often adds more color to your lips while lip gloss offers a less dramatic, fuller look with its sheer and often shimmery components. Come on, haven't you been obsessed with lip gloss since you were a young lady? It's typically the first makeup product we're introduced to and remains a staple in every woman's cosmetic bag.

Mary Kay's Liquid Lip Color offers the color of a lipstick, but the feel of a lip gloss with the added vitamins and nutrients to keep your lips feeling soft even after all the face paint is removed.

Now, time yourself the next time you're getting ready and let me know how you feel with the natural, quick look you get in 2 minutes or less!!!

You can find similar products to these listed in your local super store or drugstore or you can contact your Mary Kay representative for the ones you see here. For those of you in the Hawaii or Connecticut area, you can shop online with me at www.marykay.com/s_elkins.

Hope you found this helpful! Come back soon!

Martha Stewart Momma

So, most of the day was spent huddled under the covers with my 3 bambinos because it was raining off and on and when it was on, it was on. But later in the afternoon, I got motivated to work on a couple of projects that I have been putting off.

First, my daughter and I finished the seashell frame that we were going to make for my dad for Father's Day. The only tools we needed were a 5x7 frame, a glue gun, the picture, and seashells that we picked at the beach this past weekend. This was the perfect project for a preschooler and I only had to pay for the cost of the frame ($2.99 at Target) as we had everything else. It's a cheap but sentimental gift. (Don't worry, I'm sending a few other odds and ends for him as well because he's worth it. Hehe). I worked the glue gun while my daughter placed the seashells and this is what we came out with. :D



The other project I decided to put together is a "chandelier" that I've been meaning to do for my boys' room. For my middle child's 1st birthday, we threw a party with a rock 'n roll theme. One of the activities that the children took part in was decorating some CDs with stickers (they were all so young after all). Since we were left with a few of the masterpieces at the end of the day, I thought it might be fun to use them as decoration in his room. So I bought a round lampshade and used clear nylon beading string to hang the CDs from the lampshade to make a chandelier that I hung in the middle of their room.

These were simple and didn't take more than about 15 minutes each. Fun to do with my young kids. :) Hope you stayed dry if it was raining wherever in the world you are. :)

It's All About Me

Alright, as a mommy blogger, I have not yet posted anything about my role as a mom. After the last couple of days, I am pretty motivated to post my first mommy-related blog.

I am truly perplexed by the mind of 5-year-olds, more specifically MY 5-year-old. I read articles in Parenting magazine and talk to other moms and have even talked to my child's preschool teacher and pediatrician. I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I am perplexed about why it seems as though my offspring intentionally does the opposite of what we ask of her and all that we've taught her; why it seems as though when we talk it sounds like static as her eyes glaze over; why it seems as though she thinks the entire world revolves primarily around her!!! This frustrates my husband and I to no end!!!!

In reading the magazine articles and even watching Super Nanny, I've come to the conclusion that children this age really are just looking for attention and to feel important and assert their decision-making abilities and that they may not have the ability to empathize with others. I can get that. I think. But I feel like we've tried everything that we possibly can to make things work for her as well as us as her parents. We've tried the whole time out thing - when she can't play nicely and share with her brothers she gets sent to a corner and sits for 5 minutes and then have a short discussion about what she did wrong, apologize, etc, etc, etc. We've also tried the whole reward chart thing - she seems to enjoy getting stickers to put on her chart and earning prizes, but isn't phased at all by not receiving her reward or having one even taken away. At one point, we even gathered up all of her toys and put them in trash bags and hid them so she would understand that she would not get whatever she wants despite her attitude. But then she realized that as she behaved better, we would return one toy and then another and it all went downhill fast. We have tried speaking to her nicely and giving her one-on-one time and even grounding. All of which have gone kaput.

I will be the first to admit that I do not necessarily stick to one process for too long. That could be my biggest downfall. I get excited when I see progress and I praise my child whenever she does things that make me happy, but the moment things start not going my way, I revert back to hollering and yelling and all that good stuff. I hate this "game" very much. It may be too much to ask, but I just want for my child to think about others as much as she does herself. I don't want to resent her for the way she upsets us and I do not want her to resent us for the way we react. She is our first-born and therefore our experimental child. But our experiments are producing no positive results. She is also extremely jealous of her little brothers craves soooooo much attention. It's quite exhausting. Any advice or other moms experiencing similar things out there?

One Foot Out of the Box

There are a whole bunch of curious and colorful trends out there these days - 80's neon, printed nail art, and colorful hair. I'm more on the conservative end of the spectrum when it comes to style, but I still love fashion! So, I saw an ad in InStyle Magazine for Sultra hair extensions sold at Sephora for $18. These are just small chunks of vibrant-colored hair. They come in red, pink, purple, blue and various cheetah patterns as well. Against my hubby's disapproval, I decided to pick up a box and try the purple since I have very dark hair and thought it would blend the best. I kind of like it and am thinking of picking up a couple more boxes just to spread it out more throughout my hair. I'm very lazy when it comes to doing my hair in the mornings...mostly because I am NOT a morning person. But this pop of color gives it some of the attitude that I want without much effort. It's a snap...literally!

Even after seeing it in my hair, my husband is not the least bit convinced. In fact, the first time I wore it (I didn't tell him I had purchased it) I asked him if he had noticed anything different. He said that he saw it, but didn't want to acknowledge it. Oh geez...haha. Whatever. I love his admiration, but I don't need his approval for everything I do to myself. It is something fun that I wanted to try out. At least it's removable and not permanently colored ROYAL PURPLE! I don't have the guts to actually dye my hair anyhow. :P

Yesterday we spent the morning at the beach. Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind between rain or shine, so once it started coming down, we packed it up and headed back home. It was kind a family day...just being together snuggling or playing. I had the slow cooker on since about midnight with a pork roast in it seasoned with coarse sea salt and liquid smoke. This made a fabulous Kalua Pork meal. It tasted almost like home. Kalua Pork is a great family meal they make by cooking a pig in an underground oven (an imu) and is often served at luaus. My husband was quite excited for it and had 2 large servings while my son tried to take over my plate after his own dinner. 

Hope you had a great weekend, too, whether it was rainy or shiny. I'm going to enjoy the peacefulness of the rest of the morning while my boys nap doing odds and ends around the house. And after I pick my daughter up from school, it's all up in the air. We'll see what kind of mood my rat pack is in. :) Have a fabulous day!

Side Notes Galore

Phew! All 3 children and the dog are asleep...did I mention I had a dog, too? Yes...I do. He's a part Airedale, part Pit Bull mix...if you don't know dog breeds (which I don't and had to learn the hard way), these are 2 of the biggest terrier dogs and terriers are synonymous with high energy! So it's like I have 4 children (unless you want to count my hubby on occassion, too). Nonetheless, he is great with the kids even if he is absolutely not a very good watch dog.

Anyway, I am on my own tonight as my husband is on a 24 hour work day today and therefore, I had the honors of entertaining the kids all day. Getting ready for bed was a little more challenging, though. I decided, against better judgement, to bathe all 3 at the same time in the same tub. Luckily, my eldest has recently started bathing herself. (Speaking of which, when do you think is a good time to let your children become a bit more independent and letting them bathe/shower on their own?) But my 18 month old could not keep his hands off the baby even though I tried separating the two with their big sis. At one point, my middle child turned the shower on and next minute he was trying to press his brother's "button" (South of his belly button). There is never a dull moment in my household.

So in my last post (yesterday) I said I would be back next time to discuss Father's Day gifts. My children only have one grandpa and one great-grandpa. In addition to their Daddy, that makes only 3 gifts that I need to come up with. But for some reason, it is impossible to think of anything to get these men. For Mother's Day (so much easier!) my children have 2 grandmas, 4 great-grandmas and yours truly. This year I bought my own Mother's Day gift :) and my daughter made gifts for 3 of the other wonderful women in their lives leaving me to think of 3 others. Luckily, I am a Mary Kay consultant and sent them some lovely cosmetics I thought they would like. The homemade gifts consisted of 2 ceramic plates that my daughter had painted and pressed hand- and footprints on from all 3 kids as well as potholders that were made from a piece of artwork she had created in school. I added a few odds and ends to each of the Mother's Day gifts, but this was it in general. Everyone seemed to love their gifts. I'm thinking of going the handmade route again for Father's Day. I took a picture of my 3 kids each holding a piece of paper spelling out G-P-A (that's a nickname he got from my daughter's preschool teacher...Grandma is also known as G-ma).

We are supposed to be going to the beach tomorrow, weather permitting, and I was hoping we could find some seashells by the seashore to glue to a simple frame and send that to my dad for his office. He is so very proud of his grandchildren and is always passing photos around his workplace. But that still leaves me 2 more gifts. I can't decide. A search online doesn't produce anything of real substance. There are all kinds of crazy technological products out there and none of the men in our lives are your typical tie-wearing dudes. So I don't know what to do. Any ideas out there?!

Before I go, I wanted to let you all know that I had made the Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans I posted about yesterday, too. It wasn't bad. In fact, my husband went so far as to say it was good. It was perfectly fine for every day dinners and I do recommend it, however, it probably wasn't something that's going to stick out in my mind weeks or months from now. My family was also treated to Mochi (a Japanese food) for dessert.

Recipe for Butter Mochi from T's All Kine Ono Grinds on Facebook.

Ingredients: 1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, melted; 1 1/2 c. sugar; 1 box mochiko flour; 1 can evaporated milk + 1/2 c. water; 1 can coconut milk; 4 large eggs; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter in microwave for 30 seconds. Add sugar until incorporated well. Add vanilla extract, then eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add mochiko and baking powder and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and water. Add to mochiko mixture in two parts, mixing well between parts. Next, add coconut milk and whisk until blended. Pour into 9" x 13" pan and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Promptly remove from oven and let cool. To serve, cut into bars.

We had leftovers tonight (I was not about to cook for myself and 2 kids that would be perfectly fine eating frozen chicken nuggets or cereal for dinner). But tomorrow we will be having Kalua Pork, a dish from Hawai'i. I will be putting that in the slow cooker tonight so it will be nice and tender for dinner tomorrow. I may also decide to make Potstickers.

Since I didn't cook dinner tonight, I prepared another frozen recipe for Mini Pizza Cups that I baked and threw into the freezer for my daughter's school lunches. I made them heart shaped because I only have holiday cookie cutters...no simple round ones. : P They were super easy and looked pretty good...even the daughter who hates homemade meals said it looked yummy.

Hope you have a great rest of the night and I will be back again very soon!

Social Media = Yum!

So, how many of you are social media freaks like me? Well, I guess I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a freak, but definitely an addict. I keep getting introduced to new sites despite my efforts to steer clear. For me it all started with MySpace a good 6 or 7 years ago...I was a late bloomer there. That became old news as soon as Facebook went live. My mother-in-law introduced me to the famed blue logo. I was satisfied with sharing a profile page with my hubby, but before I knew it, the chatterbox in me decided to start a blog chronicling the progress and development of my first child for family members. Again, I decided that was good enough for me. Two more facebook pages, two websites, two more blogs, and a Pinterest membership later and here I am today. My husband often complains that I'm on the internet way too much, but then again I think he's on his Xbox way too much. Not that he should be complaining, though. These various forms of media have helped me to introduce my business to more people as well as help me evolve into a slightly more domesticated wife and mother. :)


Yada yada yada...I've gotten slightly off track.


The point of this particular post was in regards to one particular social media website...Pinterest. Are you addicted like I am? I was only recently introduced because I attempted to put my foot down, but once I was I could not wait for my request for an invitation had been accepted!! Here, I have found numerous helpful tips to save money, upkeep the house, style ideas for functionally fashionable clothes that scream cuuuuute yet still appropriate for mommyhood, and recipes for delicious and easy meals.


I often find myself having a nightly brain fart and asking the same question of my hubby, "What do you want to do for dinner?" He always has the same answer, "I don't know." And there is absolutely no point in asking my daughter because she never fails to surprise me...she would much rather go out to eat at a restaurant than eat what Mommy prepares...even if it is just McDonald's. And don't even get me started on recipes that call for ingredients that will crystallize, harden or mold before I can use it again. I'm huge on saving money and time, but do not want to sacrifice a good meal so I was happy to find so many posts on prep-and-freeze meals that have similar ingredients, but taste completely different and that I could prepare in one kitchen mess rather than a nightly one. 


I'm a foreigner to freezing foods so I've started off with only a couple of meals for now. I've packed and stored all of the ingredients I need for Teriyaki Chicken and Savory Chicken that was pinned by Jaima of Ring Around the Rosies. I will also soon be trying her Mini Pizza Cups for my daughter's lunches she takes to school. Is it just me or do these sound awesome, mostly because they were super easy to prepare and I can just throw them in the crockpot on whatever day I feel like eating it?!?!


Last week I made Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Chicken Salad Sandwiches. It was like Panera Bread express in my home. They were pretty good. :) The hubby and kids were pleased. I wasn't much of a chef when I first got married so I frequently need the hubby's endorsement. 


Tonight I will be making Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans. I look forward to seeing how that will come out! I will share my reviews on all the items listed above once I've made them. For my next post, we can discuss some Father's Day gift ideas. My dad lives all the way across country in lovely Hawaii so I need to get on that if I want it to arrive by June 17th. If you have any ideas, please share them with me!!!

From Me to You...

Hello All!

I would like to introduce myself to the blogosphere here on my new blog for moms! I am a mother of three – I have a 5-year-old, a 19-month-old and a 3-month-old. I am also a US Navy wife to a wonderful submariner that I am extremely proud of. My husband is supportive of all my crazy ideas, is my best friend, and the love of my life. We’ve been together for 6 ½ years and married for 4.

I love my munchkins with every fiber of my being and being a mommy defines a good portion of who I am. However, in order to maintain a balance in my life, there are other dimensions of myself that need to be kept alive. In order to preserve some sanity, there is a certain amount of outside adult interaction a mommy needs, especially if she is a stay-at-home mom like myself. Sounds kind of like a child needing to socialize at school or on play dates. :D

Anyway, this site will cater to that need to be a part of society from the comfort of my own home where I can keep a close eye on my young children. High Chairs/High Heels will serve as a creative outlet to all moms out there interested in sharing about their interests and passions relevant to being a mom as well as a woman, sharing advice on all things mommy-related and discussing significant topics in the media that may concern moms (kind of like the Times magazine article on attachment parenting, but we won’t get into anything that deep right here and now…let’s become closer friends first).

Now, let’s get off on the right foot here…I think a slightly more formal introduction is in order. My name is Stephanie. I am originally from Hawaii, but have been living here in New England for almost 2 years. I have an entrepreneurial spirit as I own a photography business, Happy Child Images, and a Mary Kay cosmetic business (I'd love to be your personal beauty consultant). I love photography, makeup, fashion, arts and crafts, and food!

Those are the types of things we will likely be discussing here. Now that you know a little bit about me and what High Chairs/High Heels is all about, I hope you come back for a visit very soon.