Moms With Marbles: Ilina Ewen on Guilty Pleasures for Moms

This week's Moms With Marbles comes to us courtesy of the great Ilina Ewen, who you may know...(oh who am I kidding? We all know this lovely lady! And if you don't yet, get to clickin'!) from Dirt & Noise, Deep South Moms, and Foodie Mama. Here is what she has to say about Guilty Pleasures for moms!

Guilty Pleasures

A day in the life of a mom is hard. It seems that we shoulder many burdens and responsibilities, whether at home, school, work, church, or Junior League. How can we possibly keep our lives well oiled when we are feeling squeaky ourselves?

I have a few guilty pleasures I indulge in just to keep the threads of sanity I have from shredding. Guilty pleasures do not mean gobs of money. There are no Manolo Blahnik boxes or shopping bags associated with my guilty pleasures. It’s all about taking time for yourself. Not stealing time, scheduling time.

A few things that help me take the edge off (and wine isn’t even on this list!):

A simple bath. Toss the kids’ bath toys into a cabinet. You don’t even need expensive bubble bath. Some Epsom salt from your local drug store and a few drops of lavender oil (or even peppermint extract if you’re feeling stuffy!) will do the trick. Whatever you do, do not use the kids’ Curious George bubble bath. Immerse yourself, relax, let yourself go limp. Think about five things that rock your world.

Grocery store check out aisle magazines. Oh, the joy a People or Us Weekly magazine can bring! What’s important is to view these magazines as a voyeur. Don’t start comparing yourself to those air brushed celebrities or worrying about why you don’t own the latest “It” girl trends. Just enjoy the fashion, gossip, and superficial nonsense. If anything, you’ll think your life is way better than those rock stars you read about.

Exercise. I mean it. I actually hate to exercise and have yet to find something that makes me want to throw off the covers and hit the gym. However, I force myself to go because I always feel better when I’m done. Always. If crunched for time, I go for a quick 30- minute cardio work out. A little is better than nothing, right? Plus, the gym’s childcare is great fun for my boys and a huge convenience for me!

Nosh. Quit worrying about kid fare and prepare some of your favorites at meal time.

Dessert. Just a dish of dessert make me instantly relax. Maybe it’s just the muffin top expanding. In any case, a taste of something sweet after the kids go to bed is an indulgence I look forward to all day. Lucky for me we still have a stash of Halloween candy to dig into! May I also recommend Dibs ice cream bites. You just need a bite to do the trick, not the whole package!

An at-home pedicure. I personally do not have a pedicure budget these days. I do have a drawer full of dime store nail polish. Just a simple trim, buff, and polish will do the trick. When the polish is dry, slather on some yummy scented lotion and admire your tootsies. No matter that it’s winter. Your little secret.

So that’s it. A handful of simple, guilty pleasures. I wish I could indulge in all of them everyday. Let’s be honest, I don’t even get one a day, but at least I have some things in my hopper for when I make time for me. My kids’ well being depends on my sanity.

If you are interested in writing a guest post for our weekly Moms With Marbles feature, just drop us a line at MomsMarbles at hotmail dot com!

Making Faces

Halloween has passed and though we can still whip out the costumes for the occasional dress-up session, what do you do when your little one wants to be something they don't have a costume for?

Here is a fun activity to get their imaginations going! Take a close-up picture of just your child's face. Print it out on a piece of paper as large as you can and get out a few crafting supplies like construction paper, markers and colored pencils. Then let them decorate themselves to become whatever they want!

Do they want to be princesses? Glue a paper crown and rhinestone earrings onto the picture! A clown? Draw on a huge red smile with markers and glue some yarn on for crazy hair!

A fairy? Glue on some glitter! A cowboy? Use your construction paper to make a cowboy hat and a bandanna to go around their neck. Eye patches for pirates, whiskers for cats. The possibilities are endless.

Don't forget to send in pictures of what your little ones create for the Mom's Marbles Reader Picture Album!

Handmade Turkeys

The hand-print turkey is a November craft staple! I have seen many of the cute little birds this month, and I think this is a great way to make a keepsake. I make simple hand-print turkeys like this one by painting my son's palm and thumb brown and each finger a different fall color. Then I help him gently press his hand onto the paper. After the paint is dry, we add eyes, a beak & wattle, and legs with markers, paint or glued-on additions like a googly eye or extra feathers. It is a sweet and easy craft, and when my son was a baby, we made a whole batch of turkey cards to send out for Thanksgiving.

This year, we also tried a different hand-print turkey. We made three rows of brown hand-prints to make a nice full half-circle for the turkey's feathers. After the brown paint was dry, I painted the side of the kids' fists and arms to make the head and neck shape, and we added eyes, a beak and wattle too.

Do you have any favorite November crafts?

Saturday Sound Off: Video Games At Home

I have heard a wide variety of parents' opinions on video games in their home.

Some see them as just another fun activity to add to their children's pile of toys. Others see them as a fun educational tool.

And some parents see them in more of a negative light as something that may lend itself toward a sedentary or anti-social lifestyle. And along those lines, others see them as a gateway to games geared at older children and adults that desensitize the players to acts of violence and rage.

Now it's your turn to sound off!

What are your opinions on video games in the home? Do you fall into one of these categories?

Has your opinion of video games changed at all due to the growing popularity of educational and physically interactive games?

What gaming systems do you have in your house and what systems would you suggest to parents considering buying one?

Or do you not have any video games in your house? What helped you make the decision that video games just aren't the right thing for your family?

Be sure to comment on this one. It should lead to quite an interesting conversation!

Starbucks Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and tweeted the word around the web about it, too!

And congratulations to our winner, Jackie at Our Moment, Our Memories!