Portrait of a yummy Mama

"It's a bird!"

"No! It's a plane!"

"Hey, it's my neighbor!"

I guess my furtive dash toward the sliding automatic door at - shhh - Walmart did not go unnoticed. There's a teensy possibility the reason was I had all three kids plus Tweenie's BFF in tow. And I was hollering at all four to settle down and walk nicely across the tarmac-length parking lot.

Normally I am not a Walmart shopper, but Halloween is mere days away and I procrastinated. I had some vague idea that maybe the kids would want to dress up using old bedsheets or maybe my prom dress from 1993, and deluded myself by thinking I wouldn't have to brave the pushy crowds jostling between the checkouts, (Clearance!) seasonal merchandise, and McDonald's.

Being that I was out in public, I was in uniform - Mama style. The first (and most important) component are my grandpa shoes.

Actually, they're from Joseph Seibel and if I could sleep in them, I so would. Even Husband knows they don't conform to standard female guidelines regarding appropriate footwear and begged me to go shoe shopping. Begged. I returned with some sweet Brooks cross-trainers. Don't think me fashion-backward; I just know I need the comfort and support of quality footwear when I'm running across the parking lot after Rascal and Kye screeching like a harridan.

The second component of my ensemble are my pre-Rascal jeans with a with a 28" waist and 32" inseam. I may have to shoehorn myself in, but jeez they make my butt look good.


Not so much feelin' the wrinklies on the thigh, but I refuse to go up a size. Categorically refuse, because those last pesky 5 pounds are coming off any day now ... after the holidays (and by that I mean next Easter). Also for some reason, the leg seems a bit too long now. Have I shrunk? Does carrying around two toddlers compress my legs as well as my spine?

But I digress, since the important thing is that I caught a few glances while I picked through the last of the costumes. And once you've had 3 kids and are over 30, getting the odd once-over is really nice.

Add to all this my deliberately tousled, highlighted mane (ok, so I didn't have time to style and just fluffed it upside-down in the car before getting out) and my edgy makeup (again, a rushed job) - I was hawt!

And being a yummy mommy is hot.