Dear Pimple, thanks for ruining my day!

Happy Hump Day! Feels like summer to me here in NYC we have temps in the 50's!!! I actually got to wear a pair of Winter boots other than my snow boots. Today I am super excited because I had another article published over at theindiechicks.com I call it, It's Ok to Enjoy Sex go sneak a peek. So grateful to be able to share more of my writing and photography at this time with you guys. It is going to be a great year of change and growth for sure and I look forward to sharing it with you all.

One of the things I am always looking into and sharing is better natural skin care. A while back I shared a new routine ( beautiful ) I started using to take better care of my skin. I was finding that yes even at my age every now and then I was getting a pimple or two here and there and it wasn't just a "certain" time of the month. I don't care how old you are, you don't want to wake up in the morning and deal with that! I am happy to say that I am pleased with the changes so far and going natural is absolutely the best thing for me. Last month I found an article that said Olive oil was good for skin care globalhealingcenter.com. So I decided to give it a try. I started cleaning my face with a cotton ball and some Olive oil every night. I use a circular motion gently, leave on for a few minutes then take a warm cloth and wipe away, it leaves my face feeling amazing. I will continue to do this for a whole month and let you know how it goes.

As we age "gracefully" we shouldn't have to give up our youthful look and we shouldn't have to settle for the lies the media shares about products and procedures. Accepting we are getting older doesn't mean the end of our vanity or that we don't have the right to be vain every now and then.

This got me thinking about when I was younger and about Puberty. I thought, if this is how I feel today at my age, what about that poor teen just getting started on this road? I recall how I helped my daughter on this journey but how my mom wasn't very helpful on this end. So I decided to revisit a past share just in case some of you have teens dealing with this as we speak.

This is what I shared:

Certain things in puberty just have to run their course but we can certainly make the trip easier and happier.
To do this we must and I stress the must, start to teach our children to be mindful of their hygiene. This means washing our hands often and our faces before bedtime. The earlier we get them use to this routine the smoother it will be when breakouts start to appear.
When you have your own breakout show them how you take care of it, let them know that no one likes to get a pimple but it does and will happen.
• Wash face with mild soap or breakout product
• Use lukewarm water
• Don’t over exfoliate, you will only cause extra dryness
• Pat face dry. Never rub.
• Use medication in infected area only, not the whole face
• Some home remedies do work, like toothpaste. A little dot on pimple reduces swelling.
• If problem is severe, visit a dermatologist sooner than later. We all know how self-conscious we can be about our appearance; we don't want our kids to feel unnecessary discomfort
• Drink plenty of water and eat well. Fruits and veggies, good diet does help.
• Get a cover up stick as close to skin tone as possible to reduce appearance of pimple and help in dealing with the breakout. Boys can use it too, no big deal.

Last but certainly not least, teach your kids to just be patient. Be kind, understand that they are going through changes and this is part of many changes to come. Take things in stride.

What do you think? What is your hygiene routine? Has it changed since you were a teen? How did you deal with your teens breakouts? Share your story.

Always stress free xo.

Pearly Whites

Who doesn't like or want a bright smile?

Do we leave it up to chance or do we take steps to achieve that?

Do we worry about the outcome of our babies teeth early on or do we wait till that first Dentist visit?

I am very particular about my hygiene and always felt and feel so should everyone else. I am clear though that this is not the case and everyone is different.

Teeth are extremely important. They are one of the first things you notice in a person and one that contributes to many things you do in life.
Why not care for them from the very start?

When my daughter was a baby one of the things that I noticed were not discussed often or found articles about was how to care for her dental hygiene. Meaning, she drinks milk several times a day how do I clean that residue on her gums and tongue? I read all about bath time, sleep time, nursing time but nothing about the mouth, the gums or tongue.

So me being very into clean teeth, clean mouth and great breath decided to come up with my own solution.
-boiled water
-honey (because it's sticky and sweet)
-q tips (cotton swabs)
-paper towels

The first month of her life I let it slide but second month to first Dentist visit I did the following:
-Twice a day morning and night I would boil some water and place it in a cup to cool down.
-I would grab some q tips (cotton swabs), a paper towel, bottle of honey and set it down wherever was going to be a comfortable spot
-I would go get my daughter either lay her on my bed or on my lap. Wherever she was going to be straight facing me. Also wherever me gently holding her cheeks would be possible.
-I then would proceed to wet a q tip (cotton swab) and swipe it across her gums, top bottom insides and all around her cheeks. I would do this a few times till I didn't see any signs of milk in her mouth.
-Once that part was done, I would take another q tip (cotton swab) dip it in honey lightly and swipe her tongue with it.
-I would then use a small piece of paper towel, wrap it around my pinky, hold her cheeks and swipe her tongue a few times. The paper towel is hard enough to be like a brush but gentle enough to get wet quickly. You can't use tissue because it will fall apart and it breaks off easily in babies mouths, which we don't want.
-I would go over the tongue again with a new paper towel piece and water and all done!!!

Between this trick and only using the pacifier (some call it binky) when absolutely necessary, which to me meant and means as little as possible and in no way shape or form during the time they are asleep.
Do you know how much saliva is accumulating in their mouth? Yuck!

Our early months of so called teeth brushing together was a success, I was very pleased with my daughters baby breath and her mouth was prepped and ready to go when the time came for her first Dentist visit which was right after her first tooth came in.

When you come across an issue that no one has addressed, don't be afraid to try your own method or tweak one that is already out there.

As of today my daughter has perhaps two cavities, if that much has never worn braces, goes to the dentist twice a year and brushes her teeth twice a day.
Great habits start early.

What tricks have you come up with to tackle some mommy and baby issues?

Time to Shave

Reveal Thursday

So my reveal today is about Shaving. Why this topic, because I saw over this past summer a few young girls while in my volunteer projects that had on shorts and had hair on their legs, I see some women in my Yoga class with hairy armpits and I ran into a post on Cafe Mom but most importantly, because not a lot of mom’s talk about this.

These observations bought to mind when I was about 10 or 11 years old, playing outside one summer afternoon and a neighbor of mine, a boy came over and asked me “why do you have hair on your legs?”
I was shocked and embarrassed. I had never thought about the hair on my legs until moment he bought it up. Then I started to think “wait but none of the women I know have hair on their legs!!!”  I started to look around and noticed that only the young girls had hair and the older ones and the women didn't.

Since I already knew my mother would not allow me to do so I ran home, went to the bathroom, got in the shower, turned water on, used my step fathers shave cream and my mother’s razor and shaved my legs. I only knew what to do because I had seen my mother do it hundreds of times.
What a revelation!! The smoothest most beautiful legs I had seen yet. I couldn't believe the difference it made.
I put lotion on and went back outside to show off my “new” legs.  It felt great when I sat down on my stoop and looked down at my hairless legs just like all the older girls.

That night was another story because when my mother saw my legs she flipped. She said I was not old enough to shave and that I was trying to “grow up” to fast.  Really? Shaving my legs was trying to grow up to fast? Needless to say I continued to do it regardless of her comments and I had to anyway because I learned as time went on that shaving wasn't a onetime thing…the hair grows back!!!!

When my sisters were at the age where the hair started to become “to noticeable”, I vowed I would be the one to assist them in the journey of shaving because I didn't want them to have to hide. I bought the Nair lotion so they wouldn't have to use razors and my mother would feel it was “safer” at their age. With my daughter she was about 12 yrs. old and we did the same thing. She didn't care about it as much so I followed her lead for when she was ready. Shaving isn't about “growing up” to fast, it’s about appearance! I must have said those words to my mother about 50 times in the course of my teens, my sister’s teens and my daughter’s teen years. Talk about old fashioned!!

Through my many years of shaving I came to a belief that it wasn't so much my mother didn't want me to grow up to fast as it was she didn't know how to approach something so simple as teaching her daughter how to shave or better yet to be aware that at some point hairy legs was not the look I may have wanted anymore. It wasn't that shaving was for the “older’ girls it was that the older girls knew how to shave, perhaps due to years of watching their own moms as I had mine.  Puberty hits every child and parents need to prepare, adjust and address the different needs and concerns. Communication.

This is my opinion; this is my preference and the preference of many. With that I am also aware that to some women or even different cultures etc.., hair on the legs, armpits or any other place for that matter is no big deal. What a great thing that we can have options and respect.

With this reveal what I want to bring to light is mothers and fathers are Teachers of Everything. There is no subject matter that we must not touch or be aware of.
If you have a preteen or teen interested in shaving, go ahead and teach them. Really it is not a big deal. Pick your battles wisely.

What would some have considered a “grown up” move that you engaged in at some point in your life behind your parents back? Going down memory lane.

http://www.cafemom.com/group/advice/forums/read/18996345/Should_I_teach_my_daughter_to_shave_her_legs