The Daily Fuss

{TOP 5 FRIDAY} REASONS TO LOSE THE BABY WEIGHT

Oh the vanity of the early post-partum, hunker-down and laze-about-in-jammies-and-get-to-know-your-baby days.

As if I needed a reason other than NOT looking like a raggamuffin or aging not-so-hipster, I went poking around online for inspiration to get moving. 

Mr. William was 10 lbs when he decided to join us last month. And, as you might expect, this took a toll on me. For example, I have a herniated belly button. It's not terrible, but I can't shake the thought that my insides are trying to escape, so I am anticipating that this will pose a challenge in terms of working out. 

I also have a few stretch marks which I did not get from the girls. They do little more than just completely piss me off ... but hey... as long as I'm griping, I thought I'd mention it.

So here are my top 5 reasons I wish there was a magic way to melt off baby pounds and give me the excuse I need to drop a few dollars five rather comfy, but cute, wardrobe items.

I'm a dress girl - always have been - so shockingly, I am drawn to frocks and such. Enjoy!

5. J Crew Sunburst Skirt - $118

4. Althelta Tee Racerback Dress - $69

3. Boden Amelie Dress - $148

2. Nanette Lepore Sand Castle Jacket and Shoreline Skirt - $478/$228 

1 . Anthropologie Coco Mesh Dress - $448

{Top 5 Friday} Why It's Great to Be One of My Kids

Dearest Leighton and Mairin,

Here are 5 reasons I believe it would be most excellent to be you, in reverse order.

5)   You spend more time with my iPhone and iPad than I do. You are adept at working these items and we rarely deny you the apps you desire. Plus, we don't charge you for them. Your piggy banks are safe .... for now.

4)   People applaud when you sing at the top of your lungs all day long. Two words for you: "I WISH." I would support this as a career someday in case you're wondering.

3)   SPF 100 smells so unbelievably good on you. So much so that you don't need to bathe every single day. Or, you bathe in the kiddie pool. In the midst of our "private" slice of nature.

2)   You are not modest, nor are you shy about being naked. You love to run about in the buff. And, bless you for it because you look damn adorable, happy and supremely satisfied with your nude little selves.

1)     You get to sleep. A lot. Even though you find naps and bedtime to be somewhat of a punishment from time to time, please know that we know sleep is important. We know, because we don't get enough. Largely because we love spending so much time with you.

Happy friday! What makes it great to be one of your kids? Please post a comment and share your fuss with us.

{Top 5 Friday} Summer Anthems

I got to thinking about what this summer's anthem should be. While nothing sums up sun, fun and goofing off quite like Call Me Maybe did last year, a few formidable contenders have surfaced.

1)      Cruise - Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly

2)      I Love It - Icona Pop

3)      Lucky - Daft Punk featuring Pharrell

4)      Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke featuring T.I and Pharrell

5)      Closer - Tegan and Sarah

Of all of these, my girls love Cruise, I Love It and Lucky, so those get the most play around here. Closer is catching on and has a fabulous '80s appeal and I just can't get enough of it.

Blurred Lines is a catchy tune worth listening to in its own right. However, the video for this song is something to behold. Robin Thicke (Jason Seaver meets George Michael circa 1991), T.I and Pharrell appear to have a great time dancing with naked women, hash tags and farm animals.

So of course, I clicked on it.

Well played Robin Thicke. Well played. 

What's on your summer playlist and what tunes do you think will leave an indelible mark on the season? Post a comment and share your fuss with us.

{Top 5 Friday} Beauty Products:Treats and Treatments

This Top 5 list is really eleven products from five different categories of items used to treat various beauty woes.

Each product on the list has been in my rotation for years and made the grade because it works, and it works really well.

You can't buy all of these products in one place which can be a logistical shopping pain. But to me, beauty products are like tools or golf clubs. I don't have a full set of Craftsman everything in my tool chest nor do I have same brand of clubs in my bag.

Who needs a matchy matchy line of products? Not me. So here's my list.

1) Wrinkles, spots or fine lines? Try Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel. It's a two-step process for daily use. I use it once or twice a week or when I want to burn some of the ick off my face. Wipe on A. Wait a few minutes. Wipe on B. Done. I also use Philosophy Help Me Retinol Night Treatment once in a while. It's your standard retinol treatment to be used before bed. Be careful with this one if you have colored towels. It will bleach them.

2) Blemishes? Aveda Balancing Infusion for sensitive skin or Mario Badescu Drying Lotion. Totally different approaches. The former is a laidback remedy. The latter is bringing in the big guns.

3) Rough Skin? Exfoliate with St. Ives Invigorating Aprioct Scrub, and lube up with Neutrogena Body Oil.

4) Dehydrated? Use Kiehls Midnight Recovery instead of moisturizer before bed and wake up a new person. Also good for a boost: Dermologica Skin Hydrating Masque or Aveda Tourmaline Charged Radiance Masque. As I've mentioned before, I can't live without the Kiehls Midnight Recovery oil.

5) Self-Surgery? Tweezerman Ingrown Hair/Splintertweeze and Tweezerman Rock Hard Cuticle Nipper. Just be careful.

Have a wonderful weekend!

{Top 5 Friday} My Favorite Apps

This week's Top 5 friday is dedicated to my favorite iPad apps. I've been enamored with a handful of apps for months. Here are my top 5, as well as a few honorable mentions.

1. Flipboard

Flipboard morphs your shared content into a dynamic personal magazine. Flip through your Facebook feed, tweet timeline, photos sounds and more. This app is thoughtful, clever and slick.

Flipboard is a gamechanger. Best app EVER.

2. Map My Run

Map your run, capture your metrics and share your successes with friends.

This app is addictive. You can figure out how far you've run after the fact, track your routes and times and post your bests online. PERFECT.

3. TED

TED's official app presents talks from some of the world's most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. Find more than 1,100 TEDTalk videos (with more added each week) on the official TED app.

TED  brings genuises and gurus to you. It's like graduate school on demand. BRILLIANT.

4. Houzz

Called the "Wikipedia of interior and exterior design" by CNN, Houzz has the largest database of home design ideas on the net, with over 400,000 high resolution photos. Browse photos by style, room and location and save them to your virtual idea book — it's the equivalent of clipping design magazines to a scrapbook — making ideas easier to search, save, and share.

This is the app for daydreaming, inspiring, designing and mentally renovating your home ten times over every month.

5. Singing Alphabet

They’ve turned the alphabet into cute characters who sing. MARVELOUS.

Honorable Mentions: Instagram, Dragon Dictation, Nighty Night and Little Fox, and WSJ House of the Day.

Enjoy!

{Top 5 Friday} Reasons to Avoid Chicago for a Few Days

1. Some people need a "movement" to hide behind. A number of them are in the loop until tuesday in the mood to kick up some dust. The auspice of NATO may not encompass Wall Street, yet the Occupy Movement protestors are all over the city looking for a purpose.

2. People who cannot distinguish between local, state and federal government just hate authority in general. And frankly, they freak me out in a "wreckless disregard" sort of way.

3. Protestors have been warned for weeks as to the manner in which the police will respond if provoked. While most are peaceful, many are not. Either they are out looking to catch a beating for sport or to catch a glimpse of themselves bleeding from the head on the ten o'clock news.

4. The networks are hoping for mayhem to fill the news hours. It's like betting against your own team for ratings.

5. The city has basically shut down for business. And, it's 80 degrees and sunny in the suburbs.

{Top 5 Friday} Garden Variety

Seeds have sprouted beneath my grow light and I can't wait for the next few weeks to pass so I can get to planting my crops for the season. I've mapped it out and I'm not sure which of my choices excite me the most. No need to squint, that's a pumpkin and squash patch on the right.

We've got quite an assortment planned, and as of today, my top 5 garden prospects are:

1) Tye Dye Tomatoes: This is my favorite heirloom tomato and likely to be my most prolific producer again this year. Of my 14 tomato plants, I'm planting two Tye-Dyes.

2) Jarrahdale Pumpkins: Jarrahdales are 10" pumpkins with blue green skin. I'm also planting some Rouge Vif d'Etampes, the pumpkins after which Cinderella's stage coach was modeled.

3) Goldetti Spaghetti Squash: We eat this regularly throughout the year, but this is my first year planting it.

4) Lemon Cucumbers: Lemon cucumbers are cuter than other cucumbers. They taste great and are plentiful. I'm considering pickling them this year.

5) Sweet Chocolate Belle Hybrid Peppers: Choco Belles are basically purple peppers and the sweetest of the lot. This is my first year planting these. Of my 10 pepper plants, I am planting two Choco Belles.

Do you have a garden? What are you planting this year? Please post a comment and share your fuss with us.

Top 5 Friday: Shameless Network DVR Lineup

We had a busy week. Ryan traveled, I worked endlessly and the kids took up every space in between.

As far as married people with a suburban house, two little kids, a minivan and a dog are concerned ... we are spending this evening catching up on some recorded tv.

A number of shows are on hiatus so we're scraping the bottom of the network barrell a bit. We can't get up the nerve to start Game of Thrones because it will likely lead to a marathon and we need to get up early to train for a real half-marathon.

So, here it is - our not so cool friday night:

1) Preview of Girls (new show on HBO starts tomorrow - can't wait!)

2) Modern Family (funny as per usual)

3) Up All Night (hilarious and I cried)

4) Grey's Anatomy (stupid as per usual and the whole Christina/Owen thing is absurd and annoying)

5) American Idol (keeping me up way too late)

Have a great night!

What shows are on your DVR list tonight? Post a comment and share your fuss with us.

Top 5 Friday: Kid Dance Jams

We have at least one dance party every weekend.

Our playlist is predictable, but fun for a 3 and 1 year-old.

1)   Stronger: Kelly Clarkson

2)  Kingdom Dance from Tangled

3)  Katy Perry: Part of Me

4)  On The Floor: JLo

5)  LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem

Are these songs on your dance party play list? What else have you got? Post a comment and share your kid dance jam fuss with us.