Natasha Chiam

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Wardrobes and Well Intentions.

I used to watch  TLC's 'What Not to Wear' a lot. And I promised myself that I would never be one of those moms that they ambushed on a weekly basis. You know the ones, the "sweat pant wearing, ponytail sporting, UGGs on and out the door" kind.

I promised myself that I would be the yummy mummy with the great casual wardrobe to match. Smashing jeans, cute tops and fab shoes!  And I managed this for a while, really I did...see, I even have evidence...
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Oh wait, that is baby C.

Hmmm, I swear I have some hot MILF pictures of me somewhere in iPhoto.  Just a minute, I'll be right back....

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Well, that was a bust. I can hardly find any pics of me at all, let alone the hot MILF-y ones in my cute outfits. Lots of babies and Daddy ones, but as with most households, I am the one BEHIND the camera more often than not.  Natural Urban Dada tries, sometimes, but he really is a bad photographer!! And trying to get one and then two babies to cooperate long enough for the self-timer to kick in, well that is a different story (one with lots of blooper pics)!! I guess you will have to take my word for it.

So here I am. Wife to a hard working man with a great professional wardrobe (that I buy for him of course!) and Mama to a four year old who insists on wearing only his 'cool' shirts and a two year old 'skirt-wearing-regardless-of-the-weather' fashionista. I am a small business owner and sadly also the owner of FAR TOO MANY pairs of Lululemon sweatpants. Which I wear on a regular basis and (don't tell Stacy and Clinton) sometimes out of the house! Okay, okay,  I admit it, more than sometimes.

What is it with motherhood? When did 'wick-able' and 'contains 10% spandex' become the new black?  And no, Mamas, just because we are paying $90.00 for a pair of sweats, it still does not make them fancy pants! Even if you do get the cute matching hoodie and built-in-bra top too! This is not and should not be our mama uniform. At least not the one we wear out of the house.

Which brings me to a conversation that I had with a friend and fellow mama blogger last night.

How many of you made all kinds of plans and promises to yourself before you had kids and now find yourself doing just the opposite of said best laid plans?

  • I will not be the sweat pants Mama...uhm...CHECK
  • I will not buy UGGs or where them with skirts or shorts....also CHECK
  • I will not let my kids watch too much TV...oops, I forgot about that one.

  • I will not bribe, cajole or otherwise do crazy things to get my kids to do what I want, when I want. Well, I can explain that, you see......
  • And the list goes on and on...

...you get the point right?

It's one of those life lessons that hits you smack dab in the face.

Motherhood (parenthood) does not follow a plan, no matter how hard you try to make it so.

You really do need to go with the flow and not fight against it.  Babies don't know about feeding charts and schedules, they just know when they are hungry. You need to be dressed to accept company after baby is born and nothing is more comfy postpartum than that great pair of Lulus.  You do what you have to do stay sane, whether that is letting the kids watch some Treehouse so you can have a moment to yourself, or giving them the chocolate chip cookie BEFORE the chicken parmigiana that you just spent an hour and a half preparing, because that is what it is going to take to get them to eat it!

So I say don't sweat it too much Mamas (hee hee)!  Be one with your new 'black'. Try to find your zen within all the chaos of life as a mama and know that plans are just that, and can be altered by you at anytime (without any accompanying guilt, I might add)!

Maybe just limit the trips to the mall in the full Lulu gear get-up! And when all else fails, wear fancy earrings and sexy underwear!!

You'll have to trust me about the underwear!

Much love,

Natasha~