Today, I'm Wearing Mascara.

Y'know how some days are just not Friday enough?
It's Thursday.
The most frustrating day of the week.
Alllllllllllllmost there...but not quite, sucker!!

From the moment my beautiful children got up today, the first sweet things out of their mouths were whining and screaming.
Yay.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!  I WANCHOOOOOO!"
"I no want enfing fo bekfest."
"I'm tired of school!  Why do I haaaaaave to go?!"
There was also a crying baby in the background, because no day is complete until everyone is crying.
All at once.

I could actually visualize a me-shaped hole in the wall where I was planning to run through it to escape.
And then I had to suck the boogs out of someones head and the tiny paper filter who's ONLY job it is to keep those boogs out of my mouth, failed.
Friggin' gross.

Also, I've got dried, crusted oatmeal on my shirt - which isn't a huge deal, except that I don't actually put real pants on everyday, and when you put real pants on, you have to put on a nice(ish) shirt, and so I did, and then when I was feeding my almost-one-year-old, he gave me a big smooch with his oatmeal face.
On my chest.

Can't complain too hard about that because it was super cute when he dive bombed me with affection.

Damn kids!

I need an escape.
I need a workout.
But I'm not scheduled to have another one til next week and it's too cold to pack these guys up and go running...
OHMIGOD!!!
*sigh*
Deep breaths.
We will get through this!
Sober!  Workout-free!

GAH!  My middle literally just came upstairs from where she was decompressing in front of the TV and reached her little face, complete with cracked and scabbed chapped lips, up for a kiss.
My heart is melting into a puddle.

And there ya have it.
The universe always comes through for me.

D'you think there's a kiss quota?
Like, can we kiss our kids too much?
'Cause I kiss mine a lot.
I'm talking, envision Pepe le Pew(sp?) smothering that poor cat while she's trying to pry him off of her.
It can be kinda like that.
What if I meet the quota?  And I can no longer smooch them?
I really, really hope there's no such thing.
Because I think all Momma's love to kiss their littles.

At least I never have to worry about getting lipstick on their faces.
Because I've never worn lipstick.

I don't actually wear makeup all too often.

I wear it so infrequently that my girls have no idea what to do with it.
Ellie, the middle one, will take an EOS lipbalm and apply it to her entire face.
You go girl.

I want for them to do whatever they like when the time comes that they are able to make the choice about makeup.
(Also, when is that time?  In my head, it's around 18, but I have a strange suspicion it's much sooner than that...)
If they want to experiment, cool.
If they want to go au natural, that's cool too.
If they never want to shave.
Ever.
That's alright.

But I can't say I don't worry about how the world will receive them based on what they choose.
There is no "right" way, and no matter how they'll choose to present themselves, they will be judged, and I hate thinking about that.

Do they get to judge others' appearances?
No way.  Nope.

I need to let that stressor go, because it's useless to worry about something that hasn't happened and even more useless in that I will have no control over that situation.

What I can control is how I teach them about beauty.
If you want to wear makeup, g'head!
It's fun!
But...do you have to wear makeup?
Of course not!
Do you have to fit a certain size to consider yourself beautiful?
No, no, no, no, NO!
Just be yourself, girls.
You are beautiful, just as you are.

They need to know that.
From us.
Forever.

I need to know that too.
For myself.