Stretch Marks or Tiger Stripes?

Entering motherhood means entering into change. Everything changes in every aspect of your life the moment that little creation begins growing in your body.

I heard it every time I turned around: "You're body will NEVER be the same!" "Enjoy being skinny while you can, because it will be impossible after you have kids!" "You'll never get your butt back!"

I could have backhanded some of the people who shared these lovely insights with me. Not because they were wrong, but because they said it with such unkindness. The things they said WERE true, to some extent, but these things need to be shared with love. Especially when you are speaking to a hormonal ball of crazy wrapped in six layers of irrational.

I want to share with new moms and remind moms that have been around a time or two (or five) how our bodies have changed or will change, and why THAT IS OK!

My face is one of the places I notice quite a bit of change. I'm getting older, although I'm by no means old. I thought acne was a thing of adolescence. I thought it would disappear with scrunchies and Boy Meets World. It didn't. I break out worse now than I ever did in highschool. I blame hormones. Also, the fact that I get to wash my face about as often as I pee alone.

My face doesn't have the copper glow it once did when I could make weekly trips to the tanning salon. I never went a lot, but I liked looking like I had blood flow to my head. When I stopped tanning because I, frankly, had no one to watch the kids while I went and layed down for 15 minutes, I would have people ask me if I was feeling ok...(and let's face it, if I DID have 15 free minutes, it wouldn't be spent driving to the tanning salon)

I don't care if you breast fed or not, your boobs will NEVER be the same. I did nurse, and I know that takes an even bigger toll. Remember a long time ago when your breasts sat perky on your chest like a couple of ripe grapefruits? (Some of you may have been blessed with something more the size of canteloupe, sorry, I can't relate on that one.) No longer is that the case. Instead, you have tube socks that have an origin somewhere around your mid-chest and hang down to just below your rib cage if left unbridled.

Your belly? Ahhh. I know a woman who just had twins, and she has her 6 pack back after only 3.5 months. She rocks. I do not. I gained too much during my pregnancies. I got stretch marks. I am thin now, but my tummy isn't tight and toned. I have sagging skin and stretch that will keep me out of a bikini for the rest of my years.

My poor booty also faded away, just like "they" warned me it would. It got REALLY big during pregnancy, then, along with my sanity and sleep, it drifted away, never to be seen again.

My toes...Oh I remember the days when I used to sit in a massage chair and have someone rub my feet, gently sanding off any trace of a callous. These days my toes are covered in 4 month-old lime green nail polish and callouses I could scrub the stuck on macaroni off my floor with. They get trimmed when it is no longer comfortable to put on my shoes, and filing them is out of the question.

My finger nails are in a little better shape than my toes, simply because I can see them. They don't EVER get polished, but will get the occassional filing when I realize I'm scratching my kids during diaper changes. I can grow them to a decent length, but they are usually all varieties of lengths thanks to breaking one here and there while doing dishes, giving baths, opening barbie boxes and being a pack-mule.

Ok. So you get it. Your body has changed or will change. You will never be the same. When these women shared this with me, they simply left it at that. The part they left out is that IT IS OK!! It is ok to have more zits than you used to, to be pale, to be saggy, to be out of style. All of that is ok because you are a MOM! Being a mother is the hardest job I have encountered, and I don't know a single mother who would disagree with that.

I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't take care of yourself. I run. That is my "me" time. I do it for my health, for my sanity, and for the exercise. I do it because I love it. It is the one thing each day that I allow myself to do for ME. That is important. You cannot put yourself at the bottom of the priority list. That being said, there are some things that you have no control over, and things that WILL end up at the bottom, or not even make, said priority list. AND THAT'S OK!

The reason it is ok is because I have two gorgeous baby girls that bring more joy to my life than a six pack EVER could. They brighten my day more than a tanning bed. I focus on them, not on my zits. I'm no longer concerned about my nice tight rump, I'm making sure their's are clean.

I'll leave you with this last thought:

Until next time,
Lady Runner

Pinterest Fail: Wine bottle decorations

By now, most of you have either heard of pinterest or are an addict considering the 12-step program. I definitely fall into the latter category. I love trying out different ideas I see, but I don't follow directions, well, ever. I see something and think I can figure it out. Or I won't have the right materials, so I try to make due.

This is a play-by-play of my most recent pinterest fail.

We've all seen them: the gorgeous up-cycled wine bottles. Someone has written "Peace" "Love" and "Joy" on three separate bottles in gorgeous handwriting. They have painted them and have them sitting front and center in their entryway.

I thought, "Those are SO cute!" and I was flying high from my cute "twine bottles" from last week.

See twine bottles here: http://naptimebloggers.blogspot.com/2013/11/pinterest-project-how-to-twine-bottles.html


1) I gathered some supplies:

Elmer's Glue to write with

Paints for each wine bottle.

These are acrylic paints. These are the paints you do NOT want to use. These are the paints I used.

Three "wine" bottles.

None of these were wine bottles, but I had bought some bottles from someone so I decided to just use what I had. You do NOT need to take off the labels. The paint will cover all of that up.

The paintbrush on the left is the first one I used. It caused the paint to be much too uneven, so I switched to the brush on the right.

2) The second step was to choose what I would write, and transfer it from my brain to the bottles.



It looked a lot prettier in my head.

At this point, the Elmer's Glue had started running and was beginning to pool in certain places. I'm sure this is from the rounded surface. The glue wiped off easily with a dry paper towel.

That is when I decided to use my trusty ol' mini hot glue gun. I'm not super patient, so instantly drying hot glue is right up my ally.

This is what it looked like after the hot glue writing session. At this point, I was not a fan, but I had high hopes that the pain would make it better. I did two layers of hot glue. You have to go slowly so the glue doesn't glob up on you.

This is what the bottles looked like after the first layer of paint...not loving it, but I know you have to wait for the final product to see the full picture, so I kept on trucking.

After the second coat of paint, I noticed the first coat was pulling off with my paint brush. You can see in the "S" and the "N" where the paint has pulled away from the bottle and at he top of the blue bottle.

I found that to keep it from doing this:

1. Make sure the paint is completely dry

2. Even if the paint is completely dry, if you paint over the same spot more than twice, it will get the first coat wet again and undo all of your work.

After the third and final coat of paint, this is the final product.

I do not like it for home décor, but it would be a fun project for the kids!

I have some ideas for my next round, and the hubby had a few pointers, so we WILL be successful eventually :)

Until then, don't use acrylic paint on glass.

Also, in case any of you were wondering how in the world I do projects with two kids at home, I always distract them with something new. Once it was aluminum foil.

Today it was brown paper sacs. They had a hay-day.

And mommy had a pinterest fail.

Fair trade.

Pinterest Project How-to: Twine Bottles

I love Pinterest, and I love making home made gifts for Christmas. Here is a step by step guide for my first Christmas project.

Today I am going to show you how easy the "Twine Bottles" are to make! And some pointers on what NOT to do. (I learned these through trial and error)

First off, you will need some supplies:

1) Twine or Hemp. I used the Hemp pictured below. You can make two Twine Bottles out of one of these rolls.

2) Gather your wine bottles. Choose one to use. You do not need to remove the labels.

The large wine bottle we will be using to make a Twine Bottle lamp. I will post those directions at a later date.

3) You will need a hot glue gun. I use a mini glue gun that is high temp.

4)This is the bottle I chose to work with.

Start a couple rows down from the mouth of the bottle.

Make sure you start at the top. I learned this the hard way. If you start at the bottom, when it comes to the wine bottle getting more narrow, it becomes hard to keep the twine from spacing out.

You only need to tack the twine every few rows. Just use a small dot of hot glue, and wipe the extra with your finger, JUST MAKE SURE NOT TO BURN YOURSELF!

Make your way down the bottle, keeping the hemp/twine as tight as possible. this is the point where it gets a little trickier because you no longer have the slope of the neck working with you. I found that I had to tack it more often to get the tight look I wanted.

This is what my first attempt looked like when I started at the bottom. It was too difficult to keep the twine/hemp tight.

Tacking the twine/hemp 

Pull the twine/hemp tight. 

 I found it easiest to hold the neck of the bottle against my stomach for some leverage.

 Keep going until you have done one row on the bottom so the end is hidden.

This is what it will look like after you have finished the body of the bottle, then you want to go back up and do the very top of the neck. I found this easiest to do by cutting a small piece of twine/hemp and tacking the entire piece.

The bottle on the left is our finished product. The bottle on the right is my first trial. You can see that it has a lot looser look to it.

There are a number of ways you can finish these off. You can use a wooden letter (the first letter of a last name, for instance), you can cut a piece of fabric and tie a bow around the top, or stick something inside like a festive flower.

However you choose to finish them off, they will be a great gift for anyone you know!!

-Lady Runner

*if there is anything that does not make sense or that needs clarification, please don't hesitate to comment!!

No One Told Me....

My mother wrote a book when I was younger titled, "The Things No One Told Me About Motherhood." I loved reading that book, over and over again, smiling at the parts that I knew were about me and reminiscing about stories that I had almost forgotten. But my mother didn't forget.

One of the really cool aspects of memories is that no two people remember the same thing in the same way. We can go through the exact same experience and leave with memories that are barely comparable. Isn't that a beautiful thing?

I had started a list a while back about all the things no one told me. I think I deleted it off of my computer during one of my many "decluttering" phases. They happen quite often. The subject of my crazes vary from a jam-packed closet to my facebook friends list. Once it was my Documents folder, and one of the many casualties was my "No one told me..." list.
So I'm starting from scratch, and there will be multiple continuations of this post. A constant work in progress. Just like Motherhood. Just like life. It seems fitting.

• No one told me that pregnancy is miserable. I had beautiful pictures in my mind of a glowing woman who looked like she swallowed a watermelon. Smiling. Energetic. Just plain lovely. That, unfortunately, is not reality. Pregnancy sucks, at least mine did. Both of them. The closest I came to glowing was my greasy face thanks to over-productive oil glands. My watermelon was more like a small hippo that was distributed throughout my thighs, arms, butt, ankles, fingers, and boobs. Smiling, well that was a pretty sporadic occurrence thanks to my hormones that turned me into a pubescent 14 year old again. Energy. HA!! I had enough energy to exist and that was about it.
• No one told me that I would hate my husband while I was pregnant. I was pissed. About what? well, that just depended on the day. I was either mad that he wasn't pregnant, too, or resentful that he could sleep on his stomach. Poor guy. He never knew what was coming next. Heck, I didn't really, either.
• No one told me that the last few days of pregnancy would last for years, or so it would seem. I would have to do breathing exercises so I didn't completely lose my mind lying on the couch thinking I would be pregnant forever.
• No one told me that I would look into the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, and, instantly, 44 hours of excruciating labor would dissolve from my mind. Those sweet blue eyes extracted any pain, frustration, and exhaustion from my body, and I was instantly in a blissful cloud of love.
• No one told me that I would come home with this beautiful bundle and be completely lost. I realized I had no answers, that I really didn't know how to raise a baby.
• No one told me that I would question God. I would ask Him why on Earth He trusted me enough to lend me this beautiful being. How did He have enough faith in me to believe I could give these girls everything they deserved? Why did He allow someone as undeserving as I was to care for, cherish, and love these perfect creations?
• No one told me I would cry. About everything. I was happy-I cried. I was sad-I cried. I was pissed-I cried. I was tired-I cried. My poor husband....
• No one told me how much I would cherish waking up 4 times a night to nurse this fragile little child. As I would be ready to pass out on my face, I would catch a glimpse of those gorgeous little eyes, the corners of a tiny mouth curving into a grin, those fingers that clung to my shirt as she drifted back off to sleep. There was nothing like it.
• No one told me that I would screw up. I would regret certain actions on a daily basis. I would make mistakes. I would be the one telling my 2 year old, "I'm sorry." And you know what she would say? She would say, "No biggie deal, Mommy!" And that reminded me that it was all ok.
• No one told me that my body would never be the same (ok a couple women did and I called them choice words under my breath in my hormone induced crankiness). And it's not. And it will never be. But the thing no one really told me is that I'd be ok with it. The reason my body is so imperfect is because of the perfect little creatures that roam my house like tiny tornadoes. I'd say it's a fair trade.

There is so much more. I really want this to be in chronological order, but I will end with this:
No one told me I would be 25 years old, sitting in a recliner blogging, a tiny tot right beside me eating pretzels while her sister covers her legs in stickers.
And if they had told me, I probably wouldn't have believed them.

-Lady Runner

Sunday! Sunday! Sundayyy!!

Sundays here at The Naptime Bloggers are reserved for guest bloggers!  Are you interested in being a guest blogger?  Awesome! 

Here's what we're looking for:

• Sharing your experiences
• Topical posts you're familiar with
• Recipes
• Funny stories about your kids
• General advice

If you think you're the right fit, send us a message on our facebook page!  Don't have a facebook?  We'll forgive you!  Send us an e-mail (NaptimeBloggers at gmail dot com)! 

We will post guest blogs in the order they are received, so if you don't see yours the Sunday after it's been sent, check back, or feel free to ask us where you stand in our queue!  Also, if you're a guest blogger and have a cause or home-based business, we would love to share links for our readers to be able to check out!


We love hearing from our readers and love when they ask questions, share their opinions and are involved in conversations!

Here's what we have coming up this week!

Monday and Tuesday we have our last two introductions from Lady Hurricane and Lady Sunshine, followed by Wednesday-Saturday with awesome blog posts coming from Lady Luck, Lady Runner, Lady Imagine and Lady Bug, leaving Sunday for, you guessed it, a guest blog!

See ya tomorrow!

Member Question: Jogging Stroller Advice

We LOVE getting questions from our followers! The most recent one aimed at me was advice on running with a jogging stroller, specifically a double jogging stroller. Here you go:

First of all: SAFETY

This goes without saying to mothers, but sometimes we don't know all the steps we should take to maximize safety.

• If the jogging stroller offers a wrist strap: use it! I'm sure I'm not the only one that foregoes the safety clip on the treadmill, but this is not an area to skimp on, especially if you are running in a semi-hilly area.
• Run iPod free. When running with your children, you want to know everything going on around you, not be sidetracked by your throwback Thursday playlist of N'Sync and Hanson. (oh, just me?) I have friends who use a blue tooth speaker. That is a great compromise, and chances are, your kids will like it, too.
• When you stop, lock the wheels. Jogging strollers come with wheel locks for a reason. If you are bending over to tie your shoe, you don't want to stand up to your stroller rolling away.
• Run where there is room for you. Jogging strollers, especially the double-wides, take up a lot of space. A paved bike trail is ideal, but we all know ideal isn't always reality. For the life of your stroller and the necks of your kids, at least find somewhere without too many jolts and jerks. A quiet side road with a wide walking/biking lane is great.
• Pay attention to the forecast. Remember, your kids aren't running, they are sitting. This can mean that a warm day isn't as hot for them or that a cool day is much colder. Bundle them accordingly

Make sure you run with water. You are going to pushing quite a bit more than you realize and really busting out a workout. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.

Let go of our pace expectations. I am a somewhat obsessive runner when it comes to pace. My Nike+ app is always glowing on my armband and I check it at least 4 times/mile to see my pace. Knock that off. You aren't going to run fast. You're pushing a load of bricks on wheels. Go you.

If you are pushing a jogging stroller, chances are your kids are at the age of having the attention span of a goldfish. Take things to keep them occupied. I have friends who use bubbles, books, snacks, and the aforementioned music. Anything to keep you from regretting leaving the house.

Because of their short attention span and your Hercules-like effort, it may be helpful to do a "destination run" to a rest area, such as a local park. Let the kids stretch their legs, and let yourself recharge.

Running posture is much different with a jogger. For a single jogger, it can be helpful to push with one hand and pump the other to give your run a more "normal" feel. This can be a bit more tricky with a double jogger, and, quite frankly, I wouldn't suggest it unless you have the biceps of Hulk Hogan. In that case, push with both hands, but DO NOT lean into the handles. Keep your posture as close to a non-jogger run as possible.

Because every child, parent, and jogging stroller are different, this is just a guideline, but it is a good idea to not take your infant on a run before 8 months old. The reason for this is because their neck muscles are fairly weak before then. If you have an awesome, smooth bike trail you an take, chances are, baby will be fine to start a little sooner. If you are running on a sidewalk that resembles a miniature version of the Rockies, wait a bit.

Finally, if you are running with a jogging stroller: Way to Go! You are allowing yourself to take care of you. Kudos.

Until next time,
Lady Runner