Life with Twins

Plastic Surgery After the Twins, Wishful Thinking & Bikini Dreaming

The other night as I was scrolling through my overflowing DVR, I stopped to watch the Wendy Williams Show. (LOVE her! We're friends in my head! How you doin' Wendy?!) I had tuned in just in time to catch Patricia Heaton, from "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Middle", sitting on the couch discussing the plastic surgery she underwent after having her 4 boys.

*Side note: If you haven't already, add "The Middle" to your scheduled DVR recordings! It is hilarious! So funny that sometimes I have to pause the show, get out all of my giggles and resume play lest I miss any comedic anecdotes that make me stop and say to Kit, "That's me! I totally do that!" Like the episode where Frankie (Patricia Heaton's character) is given the entire day off for Mother's Day and ends up fixing the toilet while her husband and kids have fun at the fair, or when Sue (the teenage daughter) goes bathing suit shopping with her mom and ends up buying a bikini that never sees the light of day underneath her oversized coverup. And if you're worried that you won't have enough space left to record much less time to watch it, go ahead and pull the trigger on canceling your scheduled recording of the upcoming season of Two and a Half Men. Admit it! You know Ashton Kutcher is only going to make that show worse!

Forgive me, I digress! Patricia Heaton has spoken out many times of the plastic surgery she had years ago (a.k.a. the "Mommy Makeover"), but for the first time, as she was speaking of her experience, I began to see the cosmetic procedure not as a vain attempt to seek perfection by morphing one's body with bits and pieces modeled after "the most beautiful woman" of the year according to People magazine, but instead as a (sometimes necessary) means to lift one's self-esteem by rediscovering who we once were before we became mothers.

I don't think I would have ever fully understood the state of mind of a woman who has chosen plastic surgery had I not experienced my twin pregnancy. Don't misjudge me! I was not delusional nor in denial of the ways our bodies change during and after pregnancy, however (not to sound cliche') nobody told me it would be this bad! Now my body seriously looks like an overexaggerated caricature of an 80 year old woman that you might see in the Sunday Funnies "Cathy" comic strip! ACK! Meanwhile, this is how I'm trying to keep up appearances!

Patricia Heaton speaks of a plastic surgery heaven where I could have a full figured bust that requires no assistance from underwire bras and a flat stomach that I won't have to slave over hours and hours crunching at the gym to have. *Sigh* For now, I can only dream of a day when I don't think twice about the muffin top that is spilling out of the jeans that are somehow far too baggy for my legs yet almost impossible to button shut across my hips. Or the day when I don't require 2-3 sports bras to hold in the jiggle while I jog.

But until that day comes, I can only fantasize about wearing swimsuits like these!

So how do you feel about plastic surgery? For or against?
Pros? Cons?

Summer Reading

There is nothing my boys love more than reading books! And by "reading", I really mean "flipping through the pages and pointing out the few words they've begun to recognize (thanks to My Baby Can Read!) Kit and I also very much enjoy reading to them before they go to sleep at night. But our bedtime routine has become a bit too monotonous for me, so I think I'll load the boys in the stroller and walk to Barnes & Noble this afternoon to grab a few books off of our summer reading list. Here are some suggestions that might be perfect for your family this summer!

 

I also have to take a moment to plug my cousin, Emily Howse's, new book, Zitface. It was published this spring and is a great read for pre-teen and young adult readers! I am so proud of Emily for accomplishing her goal and realizing her lifelong dream of writing a children's book. Please check it out, it is so great!

Thirteen-year-old Olivia Hughes knows what she wants to do with her life—be an actress. And she’s already on her way. She just landed a national ad campaign that should get her noticed.
 

But then her luck runs out. A little pimple turns into a full-blown case of acne, with serious side effects for her career, relationships, and budding romance with J.W., the new guy at school.

Now all Olivia wants to do is hide, but she can’t. She goes from being the girl at school everyone wants to be…to Zitface, a girl who is teased, dumped, and even fired.

What do you do when you’ve lost control of everything in your life? Olivia has to find out the hard way. And maybe, what she finds isn’t so bad after all.

If you'll be adding any new books to your child's library this summer, these bookplates are the perfect complement! Get your kiddo excited about starting their summer reading list. Kids absolutely LOVE to peel and stick labels on their books, especially bookplates that are custom designed with their name, favorite color and likeness in silhouette!

 

The bookplates also make great gifts for high school graduates moving into their first college dorm or college graduates starting their teaching careers and building their classroom library!

Check them out at the shop!

Updates!

First, congratulations to Jamie Watson, winner of the random $20 giveaway! I posted that info on the facebook fan page for Pop Heart Press on Wednesday. I'll always post the most up-to-date news on the Facebook status since it's quick, easy, and cuts me off and 250 characters!

Second - my weight loss...

Well, I think it's been about 2 weeks now? I've been fluctuating between a 3-5 pound loss for the past couple of days, which isn't as good as I know I'm capable of, but all I can manage for the time being, especially considering the fact that Kit is in Las Vegas for the e-n-t-i-r-e weekend! I'm just now asking myself, "How did he get away with that?" Maybe as a reward for future weight loss, I'll schedule my own mommy getaway to Vegas! Any mommies out there up for a trip?! I haven't taken any progress pics as of yet, but maybe around the month mark there will be a slightly noticeable difference.

Third - A new poster!

So, I'll admit that part of the reason my weight loss hasn't been that great is because I am exhausted! Kit has been working from 6:30 in the morning to 8 at night for days and days on end and is now out of town, only to come back and return to the grind on Monday, leaving me with all of the chores and responsibilities of raising these boys who are now teething... again! (What a run on sentence! That might be a record breaker!) I know that I have time to workout when the boys nap, but I just can't seem to muster up the energy! So instead, I sit in my bedroom designing educational art prints. And though I'm not proud to show the little progress of my weight loss, I am totally stoked to unveil the "Counting a Dozen" art print, just listed today in my shop! It is a bright, bold and modern design that can fit in with any decor! However, if you're searching for a more subdued color palette, just send me your swatch choices from the color chart because this art print is completely customizable!

A random giveaway!

So, the craziest thing happened today. A random guy pulled up next to me at the gas station and handed $20 bills to everyone there! I believe in paying it forward, so I am giving away a $20 gift certificate toward anything in the Pop Heart Press shop! 

To win, become a facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pop-Heart-Press/125675174177291 

and leave a comment telling what you would buy with the gift certificate. 

Check out everything you can win at www.popheartpress.etsy.com! I just added a new set of prints titled, "You are my sunshine". If you have an idea of a custom quote you'd like printed for your home or office, just let me know and I'll create it for you!

A random winner will be chosen Wednesday at 3 pm! Good luck!

Design Crush!

I am totally crushing on this week's Etsy feature seller, Dirtsa Studio! The home decor accessories are playful and smart, and with a "wink and smile" references elementary school nostalgia. Brilliant!

You can find her shop at www.shopdirtsa.etsy.com

 

We're Up and Running!

Yay! Our website is finally up and running and I absolutely LOVE it! I don't think anything about the process of starting this business has given me as much stress, frustration and pride than building the site and pointing it to our domain! However, I did learn SO much from the experience, so if any of you guys need advice building your own website, I'm happy to help!

I haven't had much sleep the past two days. I think I was on the computer, typing in www.popheartpress.com, waiting for it to go from "under construction" to LIVE, about twice every minute for the last 48 hours! While I was waiting, to help tide my anxiety, I designed this animal counting poster. The color palette can be custom designed to match any nursery. Here are some examples.

In celebration of our website's grand reveal, I am giving a free shipping coupon for a custom designed animal counting poster to anyone who visits our website! Just let me know you dropped by the site by clicking on the "Contact" tab of www.popheartpress.com and sending the message, "Free Shipping Coupon!"

My Very First Customer!

Woo hoo hoo! I am bouncing off the walls excited! I have just printed "Splish Splash Birthday Bash Invitations" for my very first customer, Yarett! Her baby boy, Jacob, is now a big boy, turning two this summer, and we'll all be celebrating with him this June! Gosh, I can't believe it's been two years already! It seems like just yesterday I was holding baby Jacob in my arms, my pregnant tummy stretched to ..... there with the twins! I can't wait 'til the party when all of the boys get together and splash around! So much fun!