NATIONAL LIKE YOURSELF DAY

When's the last time you looked in the mirror, and saw those dark circles under your eyes as a status symbol-- a beautiful indication of the hours you put into your family and life, instead of a sign of exhaustion and stress? Or when's the last time you looked down at your breasts (literally DOWN at your breasts, as they now fall below the equator) and considered their (dis)placement as a rite of passage, instead of "the shitty thing about breastfeeding?" OR when's the last time you looked at your ass in your not skinny jeans but alllmost 2 sizes CLOSER to the skinny jeans, and thought it looked perfectly fine...instead of a fat blob of once hot goodness?

Though charming, delightful, and entirely inspirational, let's be honest: those love yourself/love your body/ Dove campaign moments are few and far between for most of us. Amidst a divorce, a relationship post divorce, a house foreclosing, a career I wish would explode and a 3-year old who pretty much does explode when I wish he wouldn't--- I spend a lot of time in "woe is me" land. But it occurred to me yesterday, while on the treadmill (for the first time in god knows how long), that I'm not so bad. All things considered, I'm pretty goddamn spectacular. Yep, I said it.... And then I said it again, and again and again... And it got me thinking.... What if for one day, I just LIKED MYSELF. And I'm not even talking about the real "it's the inside that matters" stuff like personality, and generosity and intelligence, blah blah blah. I'm talking strictly superficial. HOW I LOOK. What if for one day, I shouted from the roof tops the things that I seriously, SERIOUSLY like about myself. The things that I can SEE in a mirror that I can always feel good about no matter what. The things that will be there with or without a promotion, with or without a significant other to cuddle with, with or without a best mommy of the year award...

Like my nose... I love my nose.

My ankles... I love my ankles.

My eyebrows... With a little help, I love my eyebrows.

Now it's your turn. It's NATIONAL LIKE YOURSELF DAY and I'm challenging YOU to like yourself today too. Choose three things that you love about yourself physically. Share them in the comments here and/or on your own blog. Be sure to leave a link and link back to me too. Tweet it, facebook it, share it with your community and spread the like yourself love....

Who's in?

CHANGE OF PLANS!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to fly to Toronto for a behind the scenes set visit of the family friendly, made for TV movie "Change of Plans," produced and sponsored by Walmart & P&G. I was quite honored to be asked to come to travel to Canada, (the home of my beloved Michael Buble) just to see what was doin' on set and meet the stars- Joe Flannigan and American Idol's Brooke White. (You know one of those just super natural, super sweet, super pretty, perfect wavy hair that doesn't frizz, cute hoarse voice type people-- Yah that's her.) Anyway, the hosts from P&G, Walmart and MS&L Worldwide couldn't have been lovelier and more gracious. Though I was there for literally 36 hours, getting the chance to visit a city I had never been to and meet other bloggers from across the country (like Jyl Nipper, Janice Croze, and Paul Banas) was a treat. Flying Virgin definitely helped (still can't get over how good looking the flight attendants are) as did eating at an awesome brewery and trying Poutine, a Canadian staple (that I'm pretty sure made mark on my cholesterol... in the bad way).

All in all it was a fun trip and I can't wait to see the finished project which will air in January on FOX.

We got a chance to do some interviews with the cast and crew. Here's some clips from an interview with me and Joe F. that the good people at MS&L put together. Is he your quintessential Malibu (cute) Daddy or what? (For those of you that have never visited Malibu, take my word for it. He is. They make a lot of them like him by the beach. Come visit. You'll see.)

A GIRL WALKS INTO A FARM...

This past weekend, we took a little trip with a bunch of friends also with kiddies to Underwood Family Farms. In Los Angeles, "pumpkin patches" are usually hosted out of a parking lot behind a supermarket, with paparazzi lurking for "Stars, they're just like us" moments. (God forbid the world shouldn't know that Marcia Cross also "picks. out. a. pumpkin.") So when we finally got to Underwood, approx. 50 miles out of town, I have to say I was beyond delighted that this was a far cry from your itty bitty overpriced city pumpkin patch. Nope, this was a full fledged overpriced country farm-- replete with real tractors (oh yes, there was even a tractor parade!), animals (a pig race to be exact), and more corn products to eat than humanly possible. (Not true, actually. If there was a corn dog stand, then my day would have been perfect. But kettle corn and roasted corn on the cob definitely hit the spot for the time being).

Anyway, it was one of the best days I've had in a long time. Jonah was in absolute heaven. Some of the highlights...

Like I said... There were tractors. And there was corn. $10 to the first person who can guess who had corn stuck in their teeth on this tractor....

Jonah walked around saying, "Mommy, why does the farm smell?" Well, the horses, goats, pigs and damp hay from all the rain may have had something to do with it. Or, could have been the massive trough of dried beans that for two tickets, children could sit in and sift through. Apparently beans are a magical fruit...

Our trip to the "country" was the first time we were taking this potty training gig on the road....

Though I appreciate "Farmer Jon" for equipping his Jon with a child seat, I wish the "Junior Jon" that went potty before us, would not have left a poo ball, yes a little poo ball, right on said child seat....

Ever try explaining to a potty training 3 year old with an insatiable curiosity for EVERYTHING that "honey, there's poo on the seat, don't touch anything... it's okay, just go pee pee now... yes... poo... no, don't touch... I don't know why there's poo, I don't know who's poo... please don't touch... I don't know why it doesn't smell... please make pee pee....NOW!" Yah. Good times (and yes, that is my butt hanging out of my jeans. It was the least of my worries during what felt like a hostage standoff with a bomb about to explode. Pressure!)

Finally, we ended the day with another treat... fresh smoothies. Nothing too terribly witty to add here. Just a couple of darling kids with their drinks. It was a great day at the farm-- a fun Halloween/ Fall/ Country experience...

Of course, it might have been nice to leave with an actual pumpkin... DUH.

THE POOP PRIZE

Since the inception of this blog, I have affectionately referred to my son as "Baby-Ko." But alas, the time has come to not only acknowledge the fact that though he is forever my baby, he is in no way a baby. He is a little boy.... A little boy with an infectious smile, incurable curiosity, and an ability to produce bowel moments on a moments notice.

Yup. I simply told him that I had a Buzz Lightyear motorized motorcycle that would be his in exchange of 3 poops on the potty, and I saw in his eyes a "Noooow we're talking, lady," smirk that he never gave with my lousy M&Ms and Skittles offerings. The drawn out, exhausting, and tactical negotiations that I had been dealing with for a month suddenly ceased. He threw me one last, "Holy shit, this bitch means business," look and it was game on.

Of course, I had no idea that only 2 hours later, he would have met his goal (and then some), but a deal is a deal.

Congratulations, Jonah. Drive safely.

MOMMY GUILT

As I get more and more entrenched in the "mom space," I'm starting to wonder if some moms have a stronger genetic predisposition to the "MG" (that's: Mom Guilt) more than others. Is it regional? Is it an age thing? Is it an environmental thing?

Until recently, I would say I was your quintessential Californian/ Westside neurotic mom. Perhaps it was a divorce, a full time job (in said "mom space"), and some personal drama sprinkled here and there that made me loosen the reigns... that made me able to laugh at myself more and truly embrace the "whatever works" attitude that I desperately wished I lived by. Of course, connecting and following other moms online, like our lovely panelists on Momversation, has helped the realization set in too: There is nothing therapy can't fix. No seriously, the realization that no one is perfect and all you can do is your very best... And truly, you'd have to be a pretty bad mom to screw them up pretty bad.

Anyway, someone sent me this video, and I thought it was too funny not to share. Do you have any friends like these? (Please don't say me!)