{If you get my song reference you’re my new favorite person.}
It’s Pin Party time again! {Here’s Pin Party #1}
Wanna play? Leave a link to an image or post you want pinned/re-pinned! Be sure to visit Lindsay’s pin party for lots of ideas and inspiration.
For the next 2 weeks I’ll be participating in Bliss & Aveeno’s Beautiful Change Challenge. It includes a series of four challenges focused on renewing and revamping my beauty routine.
*scccreeeetttcchhhhhhh*
Hold up.
My beauty routine? I’m pretty sure most of you know I don’t have one. But a big part of my life right now is figuring out who I am and want to be outside of being a mom. Now that I’ve officially graduated from “new mom” status, it’s time to remember what it’s like being a wife, friend, and late 20-something girl. It’s the little things that make a difference. They’re also the easiest to let slip away. I’m perfectly comfortable letting my neighbors see me at noon in my pj’s or going to the grocery store without a stitch of make up on, but it’s also nice to feel cleaned up and pretty and put together. Sometimes taking a few minutes to pull yourself together is all it takes to make you feel like you can tackle the world…or at least the day.
The first task bestowed upon the participants for the Beautiful Change Challenge is to focus on cutting down the time you spend primping in front of the mirror in the morning and spend that time on something more productive, like heading to the gym, making breakfast, or simply catching a few extra zzz’s. I’m going to redefine the challenge just a bit: GET a morning routine. A 3 minute morning routine. 3 minutes I can spare- the rest of the time I can continue to use more productively.
I leap reluctantly crawl out of bed before the sun even thinks about making an appearance in the morning, awakened to the sounds of a baby crying for his mama. From that moment until his morning nap 3 or 4 hours later, it’s all about him. I nurse him, then make and feed him breakfast. Change his diaper, get him dressed. Play with blocks, read books, give him a snack. And so on and so forth. On school days I consider myself lucky to make it to drop off wearing a snot-free, clean hoodie.
But since I’ve given up being a martyr mom and not taking time for myself, I’m also challenging myself to put myself together for the day- before the day is half over. It doesn’t need to be more than 5 minutes, but brushing my hair, swiping on my favorite BB cream and some mascara, and putting on clean, non-pajama clothes will be a big change for me- a good change, I’d say. 
A note from a Aveeno, the sponsor of the Beautiful Change Challenge:
Now, it’s actually healthy to wash your hair every day. AVEENO® PURE RENEWAL lets you renew your hair to its naturally balanced state daily. Unlike ordinary shampoos, these sulphate-free formulas have Balancing Seaweed Extract; bringing hair back to its naturally healthy, most balanced state with each wash, for beautifully healthy-looking hair.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Aveeno via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Aveeno.
Do you take time to put yourself together in the morning? What does your morning beauty routine look like?
Today I have a fantastic guest post for you by Chaunie Marie Brusie of Tiny Blue Lines. She teaches us all a lesson about self-confidence, owning your beauty, and just saying “thanks”.
The other day, I stood in the bathroom, getting ready to hop in the shower before I turned into bed for the night. As I turned to remove my earrings, my husband happened in.
Stopping dead in his tracks at all my naked pregnant glory, he kissed my shoulder and said simply, “Wow. You’re beautiful.”
Disdainfully, I shrugged him off. “Yeah, right. Stop it.”
Sighing at this all-too-typical exchange, he trudged out of the bathroom, leaving me alone and feeling guilty.
Why is my response to my husband always the same? I am lucky enough to have a husband who tells me, almost daily, that he thinks my six-month pregnant self is beautiful—so why can’t I believe him?
The simple truth of the matter is, my husband thinks I’m beautiful.
But I don’t.
I know it’s bad for our marriage. With every kiss I brush off or compliment I vehemently deny, I am hurting not only my husband, but myself, and my daughters too.
Why is it so hard? Why can’t I believe that he thinks I’m beautiful? I know he is sincere. For some crazy reason, he really thinks I am the most beautiful woman in the world. I don’t know what he sees when he looks at me, but it certainly isn’t the mess of stretch marks, back fat, and loose, saggy skin that I see when I look in the mirror.
I grew up with a mother with chronically low self-esteem. In fact, I’m pretty sure almost every single female member of my family has displayed the same behavior I now exhibit. My childhood was filled with a litany of bodily complains from my mother and aunts…
“I’m so fat.”
“Oh, stop, no you’re not, I’m the fat one! Look at these rolls!”
“Please. Do you know how much I weigh right now? Do you??”
It was a constant, constant back-and-forth. A sworn oath to diet and exercise one day, a binge and remorseful body bashing the next.
There was never a healthy body image or appreciation for the female form in my household. And while I’ve tried to combat that now as a grown woman and mother, with exercising (I just ran my first 10 mile race this summer!) and introducing fresh and healthy foods to the girls, I still find myself focusing, over and over, on the flaws of my body.
-My arms are too big.
-My stomach, no matter what I do, or how much weight I lose, will never shake its bariatric-surgery-rolls of loose-flesh-hanging look.
-My legs have cellulite for the first time in my life.
-My hair is flat and thin.
-I’m pretty sure I have a double chin.
-I have one black hair that insists on growing right on the bottom of my chin, threatening to turn me into that old lady in the nursing home, sporting whiskers and yelling at people from my wheelchair.
Why can’t I see past the imperfections of who I am?
I am not my arms, or my stomach, or my cellulite-y legs; I am not even the whisker on my chin.
I am more than that.
I am a mother.
I am a sister.
I am a daughter.
I am a wife who is beautiful in her husband’s eyes.
Maybe you’re not like me; maybe you always believe it when someone compliments you. Maybe you don’t push your husband away when he comes home and you’re covered in milk, baby poop, spit-up and the remnants of your toddler’s lunch.
But just in case…
Here is my challenge to you:
The next time your husband, your boyfriend, your partner, or even a stranger compliments you, do not, I repeat, do not, deny, protest, or otherwise reject the compliment. Instead, I want you to try the two following simple tasks:
1. Say “thank you.”
2. Believe it.
Because we all really are beautiful. Whiskers and all.
Chaunie Brusie is a writer, mother of two (and counting!),part-time labor and delivery nurse, and an advocate for young women facing unplanned pregnancies. She blogs at www.tinybluelines.com.
