Get the Skinny on Your Wardrobe
Category: beauty, fashion, yourchicself
By: Kelliann Bateman
Everyone has a favorite pair of blue jeans. You know the pair. The faded fabric has worn to a soft texture and they fit like they were designed specifically for you. They are the jeans you wore to your son’s baseball game when he hit his first homerun and you went hoarse from cheering. You wore them to the concert in the park on your anniversary date last summer.
Donning these jeans is like slipping into a warm bath. It is disheartening when after a long day your plans include these denim friends and a glass of wine on the patio; yet, when you go to pull them on, you find you have to suck in your breath-or worse-lay on the bed to wrestle them on.
The Sexy Mom Summer Survival Guide
Category: beauty, fashion, yourchicselfSo here it is the middle of SUMMER! How are you holding up? – Are you balancing having the kids around a lot more, a little more chaos in your daily schedule, the organization of those social activities that summer demands and YOUR needs as a sexy, chic mom? The answers lie within the pages of The Sexy Mom Summer Survival Guide, a fun filled road map to your mid-year contentment. Escape to this lovely experience of self-indulgence and ideas to make Moms feel incredibly feminine and beautiful.
Summer is a favorite time of year for the whole family, especially so for the kids. But mom needs to have fun as well! This seems so far from reality when you have to drop everything at a moment’s notice to look after the needs of the kids and the hubby and that never-ending spiral of chores.
How do you make this summer memorable and stress-free with everything that’s on your plate? Tara Marino’s The Sexy Mom Summer Survival Guide is free to all moms out there who need a little ‘pick me up.’ Someone who has been down this troubled road before you wrote it! The guide has plenty of tips and tricks to help you through those hazy days. If you are not sure what to wear for the barbecue, look here. Clueless about what to throw together for dinner? Then check out some of the great recipes within the book.
If you find that the day’s schedule is wearing you down, look for some quick beauty tips within this book to fix up your nails and style your hair. For all of your needs including beauty, fashion and culinary, this is the ultimate mom’s guide.
Don’t let your summer become a chore leaving you resentful and angry, when all you need is a handy personal reference guide. The book is filled with over 112 tips for moms on personal care, clothing, travel, food, summer camps and more. Without a doubt this book will save you time, money and heartache. In addition to tips on how to make you look and feel your best, read up on fun and free activities that you could do with the kids, without losing your mind.
Click here to get your hands on a copy of The Sexy Mom Summer Survival Guide
Moms Group Leader Gets Gorgeous
Category: beauty
This month, we feature Sarah, a mom from Ohio, who received a makeover from head to toe. Sarah was the president of her local moms group when her co-leader was struck with cancer and passed away. Sarah showed great grace and leadership in pulling the community together to help her co-leader’s family, and the Mom’s group she headed up nominated her for a well deserved makeover.
This was the last makeover Chic Mom Magazine sponsored when we were a local print magazine.
A local salon owner, Christine, graciously volunteered her time and talent, and transformed Sarah from a regular mommy into a dazzling diva! Sarah was like the other Chic Mom Makeover recipients – putty in Christine’s hands. Christine gave her a “wash and wear” haircut – shorter in the back, longer in the front with some point cutting which made the ends more free to give the hair some movement. She used two shades of color – lowlighting in a chocolate/mocha color, and highlighting in caramel. It looked delicious after it was done…
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Some ‘must haves’ that Christine said would help moms out in the morning were a concealor and powder all in one, cream blush, and moon glow – a bronzer which brightens up the whole face without damaging sun rays.
After Sarah had her hair done, nails painted and make up applied, she put on a fabulous outfit which was provided for us by a local boutique. We then went to the monthly Mom’s meeting and the owners of the boutique were present with several other outfits for Sarah to model to the other moms. Sarah’s mother in law attended, and had tears in her eyes when she saw Sarah. It was truly a lovely and moving evening.
Sarah and I talked about how getting a makeover on the outside is similar to what happens to us as women after we have children. It is an internal makeover. Becoming a mother forces you to surrender aspects of yourself. If one is willing to do this, it becomes an opportunity to access skills she never knew she possessed. Sarah was trained in Occupational Therapy, and held positions in her field prior to motherhood. Having the opportunity to lead the Mom’s group has given her a chance to learn other things about herself that may, in the future, lead to professional opportunities she had never planned on. If she does not return to paid work, she can use the gifts that motherhood has taught her in guiding her children – helping them to grow as people and learn from life rather than feeling like they have to have things perfectly planned out. Major life events, like becoming a mother, teach us to be flexible, and think of ourselves outside the boxes we may put ourselves in.
Facts about Sarah:
From: Muncie, Indiana
Married: 10 years to Andy who is a PhD engineer. (For a year, he was literally a ‘rocket scientist!)
Children: Three aged 6 and under.
Educated: Purdue University – BS, University of Indianapolis – MS
Dreams: Living them.
It’s coming! Summer, that is.
Category: beauty, yourchicfamilyThe last days of school are creeping up on me. I think I’ve got a good plan for summer, and I’m looking forward to most of it. But the adjustment can be a little hard for moms. We want our kids to mellow out from the stresses of the daily grind of school, but let’s face it; they’re hanging around home more! It can get on our nerves, and we get a lot less done. Arm yourselves with a plan! Have you looked into camps your community has to offer? Do you have a great sitter who can occasionally take them to the pool without you? Do you have some time carved out for yourself each day to exercise or replenish? We support you in making one.
I hope there will be ample opportunity for fun with your kids this summer. For those of you who have a really hard time ‘just being’ with your kids, make sure you check out the book Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry, by Katrina Kenison. The title implies it is a religious book, but it is really just a sweet phrase her son mumbled to her one day when he was on her lap while she was knitting mittens. This beautiful book encourages peaceful, simple moments with your kids – like chasing fireflies, watching the clouds, and having a day without any plans. It is a great reminder to stop the noise of life and tune into the soul of our families.
Check out the following blogs and websites I’ve come across to enrich your lives this summer:
www.kidsoffthecouch.com. This site literally gets your kids off of the couch! They offer reviews of films, books, music and other digital media and combine the theme of what they review with an accompanying adventure. Reviews and things to do for all ages of kids are offered, and they are creating a section specifically for adolescents.
If you or your kids have goals you want to reach this summer, or if you want them to be motivated to get them to do their chores, check out www.goalforit.com. This site offers charts to help kids complete chores, organize their time, make good choices, behave appropriately or whatever other goals they (or you) may have. Points are earned and racked up so that customized rewards can be selected after a designated amount of points are accrued. Everything on the site is free of charge.
The last site I’ll recommend is www.trekaroo.com. It is a fairly new site and provides advice and input from readers on traveling with kids. They cover ideas on how to make traveling easier as well as specific places people have been and the ease (or lack of) of their travelling experience. Trekaroo says it covers traveling with kids from newborn through the teen years, but most of the information is catered to younger children. Honest reviews of several destinations are posted and users of the site are encouraged to write reviews of where they went.
Brace yourselves, chic moms. Summer is rolling in with a vengeance! Have a great one!
