Please, take my picture!

Its the holiday season. I consider Thanksgiving pretty much the start of the holiday season, that brings along the photo sessions together at the table, near the fire place, everybody in costumes, and so forth. I do try and stay away from the camera as I don't feel comfortable looking at myself these days. More often than not I hate myself on the photos I see. Plus, my kid and my relatives all look much better than me, so I just wait aside for all the snapping cameras to stop.

I am wrong doing that. I do have a few pictures of myself with Santino, but I somehow now I feel its not enough. He will want to see as much of me as possible when he grows up. He loves me as I am, loves my tummy, my hands, my smile, and never pays attention to my make up or hair.

I spend my life trying to make my son's life happier, better and fuller. I don't really have much energy left for myself, so should I be left out and always be on the background? The answer is NO! I want to be there as much as possible, be in the picture, in the life and in the memories.

This article here really made me change my attitude towards picture taking as a mom with a child. Well, first it made me cry, and then I changed my attitude. Such a great article, so true, so down to earth simple and ingeniously positive. I tagged this post under "easy tips for beautiful moms" because it is so easy and so simple: we all are already beautiful as we are! So let's just be in that picture.

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5 Minutes of Beauty in 5 Easy Steps! You're Worth It!

As I’ve mentioned before I really love beauty. I love doing my hair, and makeup, especially if I’m going somewhere which may require a little beautification. But these days with taking care of baby girl, time is not on my side. I needed to figure out a way to look and feel good about myself when leaving the house with a total of about 5-7 minutes of prep time! (the amount of time I could keep Aud busy in her crib with a book or stuffed animal). I think I’ve mastered it so I thought I would share with you how I do it!

- Wash, tone and apply moisturizer. This step alone will leave you looking totally fresh faced! Make sure you are using the proper products to go with your skin type, if you have oily skin, don’t use products meant for dry skin!!

- Concealer- just to hide those unwanted blemishes, sun spots, or redness. While I was pregnant I got what they call the “pregnancy mask” and it is more noticeable when I get some sun on my face. And I really find applying concealer with a brush is better than my fingertips and you’re not transferring any oil or bacteria from finger to face.

- A little blush or bronzer goes a long way! Be careful of how much you use and apply on staple areas ie. Cheekbones, forehead, nose, chin.

- Mascara!! Ok if you are not a makeup person and can go without the above steps, trust me when I say Mascara really does a body good especially for a busy mum! For the sleepless nights and busy mornings when you just have to get out the door, take the few seconds and put on some mascara! It will really help with your “I was up all night with a cranky, teething baby who refuses to sleep anywhere but in my arms so I don’t care if I have two different shoes on” look (but I can’t promise it will help with the feeling).

- Lipgloss/chap. Whether it’s the bottom on the purse chapstick or havn’t worn this is 3 months lipgloss, put it on and pucker up!

Ok one more little tip for the eyes- applying white eyeliner to the inside of your lids will really help with the above mentioned look! Trust me.

And if you have a minute to spare, throw your hair in low or high bun, side braid, or high pony. If not, at least give it a brush through and you can always use that Dry Shampoo or baby powder trick I told you about before!!

FYI's: 

The products shown in the picture are what I use on a daily basis. I invested in the Bare Minerals starter kit and I love it, it works well as a concealer as well as an all over cover up. The kit comes with a bronzer and a setting powder as well but I tend to use those more for a "special" occasion. You can pick one up at 

Sephora.

The Bourjois bronzer I use is great too and I don't find it has an orange tinge like most out there. Also found at Sephora or some Shopper's Drug Mart Boutiques. 

The C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve I actually use as my lip gloss. It smell's great, and it leaves your lips with a nice sheer, translucent look. Also at Sephora but I have also seen it for cheaper at Bath and Body Works. 

If you would like to read more about my experiences, insights, and more about being a new Mum please visit my blog at http://newmumontheblog.wordpress.com

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Little tip for easier cooking

So this is my new "don't cook without it" tool: sieve!

Before I would either collect all the vegetable clippings in a bowl, or collect them in a plate, and dump them in my little compost bin every few minutes. Which is not hard, just time consuming, annoying and requires lots of bending and wiping the counter. For some time I just used the sink, then I would have to again scoop out all the cuttings by hand.

And then I suddenly came up with this idea! It is probably not much of a revelation to most of you, but if you are like me, and always looking to save time and energy, consider putting the sieve in the sink! You can peel your veggies into it, leaving the peels in the sieve until you are done prepping, simply washing the veggies or your hands over the sieve. See, its better than a bowl, that collects water, and better than just using a sink with a little mesh in the drain, because its easier to clean.

Now my cooking time is several minutes shorter, and 10 times less bending, that's for sure!

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Easy Peasy Sugar Lemon Scrub

I have always had this complex about germs, I won’t often ask for a sip of your drink, or a bite of your food. I’ve been surprised that over the last few months my ‘germaphobia’ has eased off especially after having a baby. But one thing I have always been very persistent about is hand washing. I probably wash my hands about 100 times in a day! Not to mention I have a bottle of hand sanitizer at every sink, in every purse, in the car,  the diaper bag...pretty much in every corner of my house. So if you are anything like me, then you probably suffer from extremely dry hands all the time- cracked knuckles, dry cuticles, rough palms. I came across a quick, super easy and cost-friendly solution that really leaves your hands (or anywhere on your body) feeling hydrated and rejuvenated.    

Sugar Lemon Scrub

Ingredients:

Sugar (The coarser the sugar the more exfoliating, I used fine white sugar

Lemon and zest

Oil (your choice)

Mason Jar for storage (dollar store)      

At Christmas time I decided that I wanted to make the majority of my gifts (because being on Maternity doesn’t really leave a lot of room for buying elaborate gifts, and because I was feeling ‘crafty’). I made a big batch and jarred it to give away. Since I was making a big batch of the scrub I used much larger measurements then if you were making it for yourself so I would suggest one part of oil to two parts of sugar and to start with the juice from half a lemon. I used olive oil as my choice and found that by adding lemon zest it didn’t leave you with much of the ‘olive oil’ scent.  Just mix it all together and pour into your mason jar for storage.

 I leave mine by the kitchen sink and when I’m done the dishes, scrub a spoonful onto my hands for at least a minute and rinse off with warm water. I’ve even caught Jon, my partner, using it daily on his hands after work!

 Feel free to use it anywhere that gets dry! Feet, hands, elbows, knees, really you can use it as a full body scrub...It exfoliates well from the sugar, locks in the moisture from the oil, and leaves you feeling fully invigorated from the lemon! Not to mention it smells like you just had a day at the spa! What busy mom doesn’t love that feeling?

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Simple Solution to the Day Old Mom Hair

Do you wake up in the mornings and say to yourself, “Today’s the day I am going to have a shower, shave my legs, and maybe even wash my hair!’ Well we’ve all been there as moms. Before having a baby I didn’t realize these are just some of the simple luxuries after baby! If you’re anything like me, I try to squeeze in a little me-time during babies morning nap, along with having breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, sorting the laundry, making the bed, and anything else I can get done on my to-do list. I thought I would share a little insight into the different ways I try to keep up with myself and my appearance even if I’m going to be home all day. Let’s face it, some days it’s just nice to feel a little more put together then the usual sweats, t-shirt and hair in a messy bun, you know, the mom look.

One thing I swear by and is worth the small investment is dry shampoo. For the days I limit my shower time to 5 minutes and have to choose between washing my hair and shaving my legs, this is one product I can count on! Dry shampoo is a way to refresh your hair without having to wash and dry it if you had to skip a day. Simply spray the powder on your hair and it absorbs the oils on your hair and scalp, then brush it out. The one I use is by Beyond the Zone and it’s called ‘Rock On, Dry Shampoo,’ I picked up at Sally Beauty Supply for about $8.
 If you’re looking for a more ‘economical’ quick fix that you probably have in your house now, baby powder also does the trick. I find it tends to work better with blonde hair but it can work with brunettes as well, you just have to be a bit more careful with how much you apply.  Just shake a bit on the roots and brush it out with a soft bristle brush, and voila! Your 3 day old hair now looks totally refreshed and even adds a bit of volume to the roots for the just style dried hair look. So give it a try and let me know what you think of this tip!


Just an FYI, Sally Beauty Supply is a great place to find beauty products that salons may carry but at a lower price. They have everything from O.P.I. nail polish to salon brand hair dye. 

Sally Beauty Supply Locations:
Aurora- Nearest intersection is Wellington St. And Leslie St. (in the Wal-Mart Plaza)
Richmond Hill- Nearest intersection is Leslie St. and Elgin Mills (In the Home Depot Plaza)

http://www.sallybeauty.com

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