This image shows both the skirt and dress I scored at yesterday’s launch.

The skirt really is adorable and will be perfect for spring and summer days. His line definitely skews young. So, it’s up to the over 30 crowd to know how to mature-it-up a bit.

I do like the look of some of the dresses and the coats look great. Unfortunately, my Target didn’t have any of the trenches on hand. All in all, I’d say the Jason Wu line has a few great nuggets of lovely. And quite honestly…there were some sort of ugly stuff too. Sorry Jason.
Take your time, try everything on and have fun with it.

It’s the “sorta-sick” day, and for me it’s the harder of the two.

When my kids are really sick… barfing and aching, and running at a high-fevered pitch, I bag my day and play nurse. And it’s all good. Sometimes I secretly enjoy how lethargic and snuggly and needy thay are. It makes me feel needed and loved. Don’t judge.

But when they’re sitting up in bed, calling “MOOOOOOM! I’m bored”, “Can I watch TV?”, “I need more ginger AAAAle”, “Can you make me a Snaaaaack?”. Well, I beg to start barfing too, just so I can go back to bed and hide.

So this post is dedicated to all you moms trapped at home with kinda-sorta sick, can’t go back to school til the fever is ALL DANG GONE, driving your mamas coo-coo, adorable little kids.

Here’s a round-up of ideas that will help keep your sorta-sick kids entertained so you can get your laundry, e-mails, dinner, work, and Pinterest ON!

1. PRE-produce the moment. Before you are stuck at home with the sorta-sick, create an arsenal of goodies to keep them entertained. I use a Charlie Brown pillow case that was my husband’s when he was little. We call it the “sick-day sack”. And my kids have been known to fake coughs and nausea just to get a piece of it. I simply stock it full of fun play-in-bed kinds of things whenever I come across them, and then hide it in my closet til I need it.

Stuff to do in the sorta-sick bed:

Throw-back comics. Stock pile those small Archie/Veronica comics you find in the grocery store check-out aisle. They’re simply perfect for some light reading and kids these days love em.

Bizu…two little toys in one.
I’ve vlogged about this beading meets toy product before and I think it’s PERFECT for sorta-sick little girls. Think hours of beading/playing all in one. done. Sold at all major toy stores.

Check out the whole Bizu collection right HERE!

A video you’ll feel good about popping in:

I was just sent this new video series called “The Tuneables” for review and I came away wishing it had been available when my dudes were small. It’s a beautifully animated series that teaches the fundamentals of music to children. It’s part of The Music Intelligence Program and won a Dr. Toy “Best Product” award. And you’ll enjoy watching it too. You can check out the series at thetunables.com

The Library is your friend.

I don’t know about you, but every time I go to the library with my kids, I mutter the same mantra. “Why don’t we take advantage of this place more often”. If you haven’t been in your local library lately, you might be surprised at how they are rolling these days.

Many libraries have a huge selection of book on disk, as well as the amazing new “playaway” devices. If you feel a sick-day coming on, skip on over to the library for a pile of audio books. PERFECT for the sorta-sick patient.

There’s an app for that.

Here are a few great apps that won’t melt your kids’ brains.

1. Cupcakes: this one’s adorable. Just witnessed my 2 year old neighbor navigating this “make-your-own-cupcakes” app. all by herself. Creative and fun.

2. Tales2Go: hundreds of stories read out loud.

3. Plants vs. Zombies: fun and strategic

4. Free Fall Math: fun with numbers

5. Cocktail Flow…for you

6. Where’s My Water: another fun and strategic game

7 Real Steel: okay this one might melt their brains, but it’ll be fun to watch.

8. Paper Monster: Cause the name alone is awesome.

9. Pet Town: Free and fun

10 The Night Sky: older kids will dig it.

Tell us about YOUR favorite “keep-em’-entertained”, sorta-sick day ideas.
It takes a village to raise a mom:)

If you want to score a Hoodie pet of your very own, just pop on over to Hoodiepets.com

And to find out more about Brick Stix, you can find everything you need at Brickstix.com

*I received no compensation from Hoodie Pets or Brick Stix for this feature

Hope you all make it through Cold and Flu season unscathed. Now go make an emergency kit for YOURSELF, with all your favorite sick day stuff. I’m definitely going to be a little more prepared next time.

BIG thanks to the folks at Vicks for playing along and sending us sick mamas some love.

See you tomorrow for “Look What I Found!” Friday,
xo

*No compensation was received from the folks at Vicks. They’re just cool peeps to provide the fun give-away.

I’ve posted before about how hard it is to be the mom when you feel like death and your kids still feel like super-heros. As awful as it sounds, it’s easier when they’re the ones knocked out by these nasty little cold and flu bugs.

I’m all about pre-producing the moment now as we enter these months of barf bowls, snotty noses and spiky temps. Go check those expiration dates, make a little sick-day survival kit of your own, and let’s take care of ourselves shall we?!

Now… go ahead and tell us what always makes YOU feel better on days that you’d like to dig a deep, sound-proof hole and crawl your cute self in. I take like three warm tubs a day, wrap my soft scarf around my neck and buy the softest most lotion packed tissues I can find. And then there’s the Ramen noodles. Just one comment, and you’re entered to WIN a “Feel Better Kit” from the lovely people at Vicks.

I’ll pick the lucky winners first thing Wed….so GO! Go comment, and tell your yucky feeling friends to comment too.

Now back to bed.

If you couldn’t quite see the bottle with me dancing it all over the screen, here’s a closer look. (You can find it anywhere you typically find Dove soaps).

So good, you'll use up all the hot water.

Here’s a closer look at the yummiest lip balm on the block

Oh golly, are you gonna love this.

Hope this helps smooth your rough edges and makes ya feel better about this Winter madness.
Now back to pretending I’m still in Park City…

Buy a vibrant jacket and use the rest of your neutrals to help make it the star of the show.

Remember…white is lovely for Winter, just keep the fabrics thinker and warmer. Start with a blank slate, then choose one good solid POP of color to make it go “Boom!”

You can also use all that gray you’ve got going on in your closet as the perfect back drop for some YELLOW!
Gray and Yellow is beyond good.

I have never had a “weight issue”, never really been on a diet except for when I went on Slim Fast when I was 21 and getting married in two weeks, just to be sure I would fit into my size 2 gown. But I’m a wee bit older now and although I fully thought that the whole slower metabolism and weird weight gain thing would NEVER effect me, here I am staring at a scale that clearly needs to be balanced to account for the 4 extra pounds it’s showing when I gently step on…I always think that if I get on really gently it won’t notice me so much.

So as I take a good look at what I need to change moving forward, I wanted to share a new book by my friend Beth Aldrich. It’s called “Real Moms Love to Eat…How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose weight, and Feel Fabulous”.

It’s a new way of approaching the “get healthy lose weight” resolution many of us make each Jan.

This is a fun, real-mom guide to taking notice of how great food is, and making the right choices and decisions regarding what and how you eat. Beth has put her philosophy into an easy-to-implement 10 week process.

It’s not really a weight loss formula, but more of a healthier way of life guide. The fact that many of us will end up losing a few pounds in the process is just icing on the cake…or hummus on the pita.

You’ll adore the way it’s written and be able to start doing little things right away that will have big impact on your health and jean size.

I highly recommend Beth’s informative and humor-filled book for any girl looking to really shift her perspective and jump-start a healthier way of life.

You can get it on Amazon now by following THIS LINK!

Let’s face it, real moms really do LOVE to eat, and Beth is here to show us how to stop thinking of food as our worst enemy, and start showing it the love it deserves.

So…come on mom pack, what are the snacks you secretly steal from your kids?

I am also quite guilty of scarfing down my kids’ Goldfish and Nilla Wafers and Cheez Its, but those miraculously shrink the seat of my office chair a little too quickly.

Enjoy your count-down to Friday super mamas.
Long live snack time!

m

*GIVE-AWAY ALERT!!!!* After shooting the vid, the fine folks at GoGo Squeez would like to give someone a chance to try GoGo for themselves!!

SO, if you comment and tell me “I WANT SOME yummy GoGo Squeez applesauce too!”, you’re entered to win a Go Go prize pack. Love surprise give-aways, don’t you?

If you want to get yourself all “shadow blasted” too, you can find this product in its full array of colors anywhere Cover Girl is sold. Or on-line right HERE.

I’m def. going to try some more shades and see what happens. The color I showed in the vlog is called Platinum Pop and it definitely makes your tired eyes “pop” and appear a bit more caffeinated.

I also LOVE that this product comes with a built-in “primer”…something I just recently discovered and must say, helps with smooth coverage the older ya get.
It comes in 6 lovely colors as well.

If you’ve recently discovered a FABULOUS new beauty product, tell us about it! It takes a village to raise a mom.

I am NOT being paid by the lovely folks at Cover Girl for this feature. I like it all by myself.

Happy Happy New Year! And as always, thanks for continuing to come back to the Hoo-dee for a little playtime for Y.O.U.

xo
xo