Ok. I have a huge confession to make. Remember when I gave up all chemicals in my skin care products and rued the day where I’d touch a paraben again?

Yeah, well it’s over. It’s called adult-onset acne and it put me over the natural/chemical-free edge.

Amidst the mix of rose tip cleanser and mango citrus moisturizer, I noticed something creeping beneath the surface of an otherwise smooth face. A zit. A big nasty zit.

The first one I didn’t mind so much. It’s stress I thought. (Those damn kids.) But when the second and third didn’t abate after my grapefruit exfoliating wash treatments, I started to worry.

Did I have acne again, I wondered?

A trip to the dermatologist confirmed my 13-year-old 34-year-old’s worst fears: I had acne. I hadn’t heard those words since I had braces, two rounds of Accutane and a few strange incidents with a UV-lamp in my parents’ basement. (Don’t ask.)

Acne was my worst enemy, and it was back with a vengeance.

“But I use all natural products!” I exclaimed to the doctor in shock of my recent diagnosis. When I told her I’d been using tea tree oil to cure the pimples I thought her non-wrinkled, supple jaw would drop to the floor.

It was time to ditch the natural stuff, she told me.

Bring on the chemicals.

A new regime was in order and it wasn’t pretty. Two different face washes one for morning and night, two different creams, one a Retin-A derivative, one acid-based that was impossible to say. My own, non-oily moisturizer was fine (Thank you Bare Escentuals) and some good, mostly-chemical-free acne-prone sunscreen.

It wasn’t time for oral medication just yet, she assured me. Gee, thanks. I’d been spending the last year or so eradicating my house of parabens and fake dyes and proselytizing these changes across the internets and now I had to bring Blue dye #2004343 into my house, my life and my face.

But it worked.

It f’ing worked and now I’m not going back. Never. I may be a flexitarian-semi-vegan, but I’m dousing my face with chemicals galore and I’m loving it. My face didn’t even look oily after trekking through a soccer game, a bball game and incident with a lemonade stand in 85 degree heat yesterday.  I love my skin’s new texture, feel, and look. People comment on how good my skin looks. (Who, me?)

It even prompted me to get some new makeup. Of the non-organic kind. Hello, Benefit!

I didn’t say I was perfect. At least until I contract some rare disease that only people who have a mad obsession with anything “oil free” contract, I’m sticking with my natural diet and unnatural skin care regime.

Herewith are my favorite skincare products. Please contact your very own non-wrinkled, supple-jawed doctor first before trying any (or all) of these. Thank you. Comments and questions welcome.

Skin Prep:

Sumadan Sulfur Wash (morning)

Glytone Wash (night)

Finacea cream (morning)

Atralin (night)

Bare Escentuals moisturizer

Silk or Chemical peel every 3 months for a touch-up

Elta MD sunscreen for the face

Burn Out Clear Zinc for the body

Makeup:

Oxygen Wow! Foundation

Boing Concealer

Oo La La lightening cream

Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil

Hervana blush

Make Up forever eye pencil

They’re Real mascara

Alison Raffale all over dusting powder (the only natural one of the bunch)

And, voila! You will look as good as Tammy Faye Bakker now.

This post is dedicated to Betsy, Tracy, Aimee and all women who endure the annoyance of zits and wrinkles. 

If you’re like me and on Mother’s Day you seek ways to escape your children (because isn’t Mother’s Day supposed to be about the MOTHER not about the kids, hello!?) you might like to pick up this little ditty of a book I managed to get my hands on at the Mom 2.0 conference last week – Sh*tty Mom. I mean, seriously, the title alone was enough for me to put down 50 Shades of  Porn Grey. That’s saying a lot. My husband was not pleased.

Girlfriends, this sh*t is funny. Almost as funny as how bad the writing is in 50 Shades of Porn Grey is.

Sh*tty Mom, written by the ever-fabulous TODAY Moms team and comediennes and writers Laurie Kilmartin and Karen Moline, is the perfect anti- “Are You Mom Enough?” – brouhaha book. These ladies certainly didn’t carry their babies around in a sling breastfeeding until they were wearing braces.

Cool by me. Sh*tty Mom is the perfect book if you’ve texted excessively at the playground, left your kids in the car while you went into get the dry cleaning because it’s too big of a pain the ass to get them in an out for a 5 min errand – GEEZ! and all around lazy-ass parenting moves that we probably all do once in awhile and just don’t admit it. Yes, I beg to have the kids sleep out and tomorrow I plan on taking the afternoon to be by MYSELF doing something non-kid related, and possibly with alcohol. I can drink while shopping, right?

Favorite chapter title of the preview copy I got – “Organized Sports May Be Great for the Kids but They Suck for You” – because in honor of Mother’s Day tomorrow is the ONLY day in the foreseeable future where I won’t have to adjust teeny jock straps and smelly soccer shin guards and cleats.

Because I love my kids, I do. I just don’t like them when they smell.

Yes, I can be sh*tty, and you probably are too, so read the book when it comes out, k? Let me know what you think – you can even pre-order the book for next Mother’s Day – it’s totally not a sh*tty gift.

This Mom 2.0 must have been the best blog conference I’ve been to in my nearly six years of blogging. Maybe not for the content I learned (a little more on that later), but for the comfortableness I felt amongst my peers. I think it’s taken a long time to get here, but finally I think I’ve found my place in the world of don’t-call-them-mommy bloggers.

When I started blogging I didn’t struggle with what to write or who my target audience was – it was the working moms I felt solidarity with – we were banded by our guilt (or lack thereof) and of our purpose balancing young kids and life.

Then, when I left the big agency, I went adrift. I never wanted to blog personal, any attempt at me blogging about being frugal was an all-out farce, (have you met me?) and I felt adrift in an ocean of popular mom blogs.

But this time around, Mom 2.0 2012 I think I figured it all out. I’m now my own business owner with a plan and a purpose. I have a role professionally and felt that would benefit from the energy of my longtime blogging peers and new friends.

And that’s why I enjoyed Mom 2.0 so much this year. I had a room filled with fun and laughs (and loud hilarious partying from the boys next door) and meaningful conversations that pushed me beyond worrying about page views and site progress.

Not all the discussions had purpose – I personally felt there were too many inspirational keynotes (I’m not one for motivational talks, shoot me now) and not enough break out learning sessions, but overall I got the gist of what the intention and purpose of the conference was and I got something more for myself. The confidence again that I make sense in the mix. That I have a renewed purpose for my blog. That I belong. Maybe it was the Jew thing. But I’m thinking not. I’m thinking it’s because I’ve found some peace between the struggle I’ve always had with my blog and work. No more. My blog has led me to many interesting places with interesting people and I continue to be grateful for its presence.

Just don’t expect me to start blogging every day or anything now.

Seeing that I’m leaving for Mom 2.0 tomorrow, I thought I should actually update my blog before I go, right?

A few random thoughts before I head out the door and leave the whirlwind of a recent stomach flu attack at our house behind. Wish me luck.

I’m going to this conference with my PR hat on for real for the first time. And, it makes me nervous a bit. I’ve been blogging for a long time now, but now I think of myself as a PR professional first and blogger second. I wonder how that will make attendees feel? I hope the brands vs. PR vs. blogger discussions are productive and not duplicative of the same old issues over money.

I’m going to this conference excited as ever to meet new faces, see old and new friends and relax in the sun. I loved New Orleans, but there’s something about the Florida sun and sand… ah…. (I mean can you believe that pool scene?)

I’m going to this conference because I’m excited to learn what’s hot. I’ve been stuck in my media relations hole, which pays the bills, but I need a good dose of tech trends and I look forward to interesting industry conversations. I’m thinking Stephanie should be able to help with that.

And, as I promised to from last week’s post (sorry for the massive delay, again, blame the stomach flu), I have a new hope for blogging.  I loved chatting with new, local bloggers looking for advice as they start in the space. And, they actually read my blog! It gives me hope that our voices will continue on and I love the new blogger excitement and enthusiasm. It’s good for me.

I promise to report as much as I can from Florida. Please send me any questions or thoughts you might have!

I’m thrilled to be speaking tonight at  JUF discussion about blogging – specifically on the topic of food, family fun, and parenting (can you guess what topic I’ll be covering?).  They asked me to prepare a short speech (12 minutes, yikes!) about why I started my blog (the guilt!), and maybe what to tell young, unsuspecting women about how to start a blog (use WordPress!).

With me in the discussion are the lovely Beth from Mommy on a Shoestring (love her) and Jaclyn Kolber who I look forward to meeting.

I’m looking forward to a lively discussion and I’ll try to post my thoughts about it here tomorrow.

Some people have friends with benefits. Since I’m so unfortunately beyond that point in my life, all I can say is that I have friends that blog. Oh yes, I do. Are you jealous? And I don’t mean the friends that I met through blogging, I mean old-school-before-there-was-that-twitter-thing friends. IRL friends who have started awesome blogs.

Meet Monica! Of course you’ve probably heard by now as her blog has totally taken off in the year or so that she launched it. She actually had a blog before me, but it was called Kitty Time, and it was on the old Blogger platform, so we are all trying to forget about that. But her new, fabulous site, Wired Momma is a true inspiration. Monica writes “a daily jolt of parenting from the nation’s capital” and is now a contributor to the Huffington Post DC, DC Moms, organizes some amazing local blogger events and so much more.

I was lucky enough to meet Monica back in 2002 while we were sweating it out in grad school working on what we thought were the most important assignments in the world for a foreign car company, dressing up silly for Halloween parties and celebrating engagements. Now, we laugh about the silly things our kids do, wallow about our lives before kids and make each other laugh online. Well, she clearly makes me laugh more because I never update my blog. Monica, I’m so proud of you!

Now you have to meet Mandy. Mandy is my daily, go-to BFF who I speak to every day about every nonsensical thing from what yoga class we might be doing to when we are scheduling our next play date. She’s my mom-in-the-trenches rock, who used to be my friend-before-kids-rock. So you get the point. You also might get why I was so excited to hear that Mandy decided to write a cookbook and blog of her fabulous healthy and recipes that she makes with her kids all week long – Healthfull Ever After. She just started it a few weeks ago and is already blogging away like a pro. I feel like a proud mama of a third child that I didn’t birth, but love. She’s like my blogging prodigy.

I don’t know how she does it, but her recipes are beautiful and delicious. I can’t wait to try this granola recipe. Go Mandy go!

Do you all have “friends who blog” or did you meet your blog friends through your sites?  

(Revision)

I did, sadly forget one of my IRL BFFs here and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I think of this particular person as the super-volunteer-extraordinaire, freelance writer superstar and overall enthusiastic about everything person. In the back of my head she’s a blogger, but she’s also so much more than that. Meet Jo!! a.k.a. Mommy Brain – don’t you love it? Jo and I are connected by the most important thing in the world – our husbands, who became friends so so long ago, and I’m so fortunate and lucky to have made a dear friend through that connection. And one that’s damn funny too. You can read her work on Nickelodeon Parent’s Connect (I told you she’s rad!) and her dish on celebs will make you pee your pants (especially after childbirth, it’s a lot easier to pee your pants now, *wink wink*). I love Jo and I’m so sorry she didn’t make the first iteration of this post. For that I’m going to some sort of blogging purgatory or something.

I don’t even think I’ve announced it yet here, but after four years of writing for Chicago Parent, I finally got a column in the monthly magazine! It’s a “Best of the city” column called “Best in Chi” and I’m having SO much fun writing it.

This month, I’m really proud of my story on best bites for busy moms. Because how often do we find ourselves on the go with nothing good or healthy to eat? Story of my life, especially now with my wacky new diet.

Hope you enjoy the story. Would love any ideas or thoughts you all might have!

I don’t cook much, but I have dabbled in holiday cooking occasionally and some of my recipes aren’t so bad.

Herewith, my next recipe to share – my mom’s awesome sweet matzah kugel. I won’t be able to eat much of it this year (thinking of substituting all that butter with… uhm… something else) but for you non-semi-vegans, this is one for the Passover books – I literally ripped the recipe out of mine to scan it today. Enjoy, and Happy Pesach!

I rarely post about local happenings (or anything anymore, right? I’ve been so busy!), but I’ve been doing some outreach for this sale and well, I just think it’s genius so I had to write about it.

Bump Couture High End Pop-Up Shop for Moms and Moms-to-Be
1943 West Division (future home of Sprout San Francisco)
Saturday, March 31, 2012 10a-5pm
Sunday, April 1, 2012 11a-3p

I have a huge confession to make right here in public on my blog.

I’ve given up red meat, dairy and almost all animal protein all together. I’ve become what Caitlin is calling a flexitarian, and what Mark Bittman says is “semi-vegan.” Whatever you call it, since it’s been over three months since I started it, I thought I should get out into the open about it.

So here I am.

Here’s the rationale:

My new diet started after a conversation with a dear friend of mine who survived breast cancer said “it’s easier to prevent cancer than to cure it once you have it.” And it sort of clicked – what am I doing in my daily diet that could contribute to illness? If you know me, you know the answer – LOTS. I’d down a bag of sour patch kids a day. I’d eat fried food til the cows come home (more about cows later). I’d eat and drink without care. Luckily, I’ve never had to worry about my weight, but I should always worry about my health. Because prevention is the best medicine, right?

So my friend alerted me to this book by Joel Fuhrman called “Eat to Live” – it says how we can use our diet to alter how we feel instead of taking medicine and that we should move away from animal protein and live on plant-based  products instead.

Now I’m not saying that I’m “Living” by Dr. Fuhrman’s book. I accept some of his premise (we are over-medicated as a society), but cannot be as strict as he suggests. Soups are great, but eating raw veggies can get old…

Enter the “semi” part of the diet – I’ve made some major changes – no dairy – it was making me very congested (there’s some evidence on dairy and congestion and even my ENT dad couldn’t cure mine). No red meat. (I’ve not had it for some time and recent studies confirm my decision further to give it up.) I was eating chicken until I read this about their lifecycle and what the environmental impact they have on our world.

I’m not giving up animal protein all together. I’ve had turkey meat that I buy from a local store that’s been humanely slaughtered. I’ll eat fish as long as I check with Seafood Watch first. And, I will still have my extra hot chai latte from Starbucks because it’s the one thing I cannot live without. But now I have it with soy milk. (Don’t start with the soy on me, it’s just once a day.) I still eat out (you’d be very surprised how the best restaurants are incredibly accommodating when it comes to my strange diet!) I don’t let it bog me down and I’m flexible when I need to be. I pack lots of snacks.

And if you’re wondering, I’m not implementing this regime on my children (the #1 question people ask me when I tell them). No, they still eat cheese and milk and yogurt and…)

I’ve been feeling really good since I implemented “the change.” Besides getting rid of my post-nasal drip, my skin has cleared and I’m less bloated. However, I’m  not here to preach to you or anyone about what you should or should do with your diet. Diets are so personal. And I won’t lie – I miss cheese and I miss butter and sweets and maybe one day I’ll have them once in awhile.

I don’t know if this is permanent, but for now it feels right – it’s a semi-new way for me to live my life. Just as I’m about to speak to a room of dairy farmers. (G-d help me!) I’d love to hear your input and if you have suggestions (and recipes, please) or if you think I’ve gone just bat sh** crazy. Or just semi-crazy.