Photo Source: TMZ

Have you seen Star Magazine’s exclusive with Nadia Suleman highlighting her body 1 year after giving birth to Octuplets? She claims that she hasn’t had any plastic surgery. Oh please! Do you hear that sound? It’s the collective LOL from all mom’s everywhere. You can see the stretch marks in the photo where she is pregnant, and then miraculously they are gone in the Star Magazine photo spread. Absolutely ridiculous and physically impossible. Stretch marks fade but they don’t fade that quickly and they never totally disappear (I have some faint ones on my hips from puberty still). Also, where is all the excess skin? At the very least we have another case of photoshopping off the baby weight but I’m thinking there is also some tummy tuck action going on here. I just don’t think it’s possible to bounce back like that after only 12 months, especially considering how large her belly was – look at that photo!

I personally have nothing against plastic surgery (in moderation) and I do think she looks really fabulous for what her body has been through, but why not just admit that the photo is doctored and/or you’ve had plastic surgery? I told my husband that I would want surgery if, when we were done having kids, my boobs were at my waist and my waist was at my hips. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case…yet. But if it was, I’d admit to it.

I like wine and I like chocolate. I also like to be able to fit into my clothes. What’s a girl to do?! Well, I’ve heard that keeping a food intake journal can help. If I have to admit to eating it by writing it down, I’m far less slightly less likely to put that tablespoon of nutella in my mouth. So, I recently went on a mission to find a good calorie counter website and came across MyPlate by LiveStrong. It’s awesome! The basic membership is free and includes access to their calorie counter and you can even keep an account that will track your weight loss, both in pounds and inches. It will also track your workouts and calories burned, and also provides a nifty pie chart of your daily intake of carbs, protein and fat. Now, only if it had a built in lie detector.

1) Take care of your body.
2) Take care of your mind.
3) Give yourself permission to say no.
4) Appreciate yourself.
5) Don’t take your children too seriously.

I struggle with #5. When Muffin has a two year old tantrum or acts out with his friends, I take it personally. I feel whenever he has bad behavior, it’s always my fault because I haven’t done a good enough job or something. I need to not internalize it like that. He’s two! He’s going to act out and he’s not going to be perfectly behaved all the time.

Good wives and mothers have their own needs and interests and seek their own fulfillment. Of course, there isn’t always time to satisfy your own needs or interests! Sometimes you have to beg, borrow and steal that time. Since Madam Poopsalot was born, I have had an internal battle with myself three mornings a week to drag my tired carcass out of bed and hit spin class. The baby has woken me up several times during the night and I just want to sleep! But I also want my body back! And the gym makes my mind feel good once the workout is over. I come home to my kids and I’m a better mommy to them because I’ve been good to myself.

So, I spent the better part of the last half of my pregnancy researching double strollers. I had a few criteria that I wasn’t going to waver on:

1) had to accommodate our Chicco keyfit infant car safety seat.
2) had to be sturdy and yet be able to fit through a standard doorway.
3) had to have an adjustable steering handle (my husband is a foot taller than I am).
4) had to have a big and easily accessible storage basket

After much online and in-store research, I finally decided that I definitely wanted a side-by-side (the tandem are boring for the kids and a pain to push when they are so long) and I wanted the Bumbleride Indie Twin. At $659 plus tax, it’s not an inexpensive stroller BUT it’s a good one with all the bells and whistles and very functional. When Madam Poopsalot was 3 weeks old, I finally broke down and ordered one. The price-tag was giving me serious fright since I wasn’t even sure if I needed a double stroller at all! However, since baby girl was early and small it would be a long time before I will be able to put her in a baby carrier while I stroller my son since my Becco is for 8lbs minimum (Becco BTW is THE BEST baby carrier out there!!!!). I was going stir crazy not being able to take them both out for a walk down to the grocery store or out and about. My son isn’t the type to just walk nicely beside me or stand nicely on a wheely board attached to a stroller. The Bumbleride shipped quickly and I was so excited to receive it. Unfortunately, it had a manufacturers defect and we had to ship it back and order another one. The second one also shipped very quickly and this time it was in defect-free! My husband was able to quickly and easily assemble it and I’ve been enjoying it for the past 2 weeks! My son even likes it and he’s been very anti-stroller (another reason why I was scared to shell out several hundred dollars for it. Well, in the end it was well worth it and it’s only been 2 weeks. I love it! It steers beautifully and the basket is awesome! I love the versatility of the stroller and just today when it was a balmy 82 degrees in San Diego in mid-December, I was able to unzip the back portion of the stroller cover to let some air in for my 6 week old preemie and yet still have her completely shielded from the sun (and from peoples germs) while out and about. I even went for a walk and jog down to my gym to pay my membership dues and it worked great as a jogging stroller! Now, granted I haven’t tried to fold it up and take it anywhere yet so I’ll report on that when the time comes. I’m a little afraid!