HELLO REALITY, GOODBYE MAKEUP

Remember a couple of weeks ago (in “Mondays,” July 10) when I wrote (read: fantasized) how as working parents, all of our time with our kids can be fun time? Well, that little foray into LaLa Land is over.

This past weekend, we were home for the first time in almost a month. That meant errands to run, piles of laundry to tackle, cleaning to catch up on. Not much fun for us, the parents -- and pretty boring for the kids who had to sit around and wait for us while we did those chores.

On Saturday afternoon, my 3-year-old son woke up from his nap screaming, walked into the bathroom where I was taking a long-awaited shower and threw up on the floor. Poor little guy. His fever was nearly 102 and he didn’t sleep at all that night or the next – which meant I didn’t sleep at all either.

(And my husband and I cancelled our first planned dinner out with friends in MONTHS.)

Monday came and went. I barely survived. It was one of those days when everyone asks “What’s wrong?” or “Are you OK?”

I felt like I needed to make an announcement: “I didn’t get a blink of sleep and I’m not wearing a stitch of makeup -- that's why I look so terrible!”

Of course, not wearing makeup has become the norm for me since baby number two came along – and to think, I NEVER used to step out of the house without it. But something's got to give when your time is limited.

Tuesday came and I started to recover. Wednesday, I felt better and even put on some makeup!

Today, I’m finally feeling like myself again. No makeup -- but hey, my skin looks better since I stopped wearing it every day. And I don’t have to put on a pretty face to post an entry.

News Mom “V”