The Not-So-Glamourous Mom

I told my husband the other day, “I officially am disgusted with myself.”

For so many years, I prided myself on the fact that I, on a daily basis, managed to put myself together and look presentable. I’ve always enjoyed clothes, despite being a horrible shopper (a trait inherited by my mother), LOVE makeup, shoes, etc… I read magazines weekly like an addiction and feel as though I’m at least on top of the latest trends.

However, over the past few years, despite the fact that I’m still reading the magazines, it appears I rarely can pull myself together. My wardrobe is now a hodgepodge of black, gray and brown colors, jeans, most of which are too long and therefore frayed on the bottom, my shoe collection is pathetic and although my makeup is still current, it goes on my face maybe ¼ of the week.

The reason for this glamour downfall? There’s one common denominator and his name is Ryan Scott Suhy, age 2. I love this little boy more than life itself, but he has successfully overtaken the majority of my time and attention, some of which used to be reserved for “getting ready.” I replied to a Tweet by Kourtney Kardashian the other day as she proclaimed, “Nothing like a morning blow dry.” I told her, “I’m envious. With my 2 year old son, I usually get to hair OR makeup. This morning was makeup. Hair’s a disaster.”

Thank goodness the work I do is mostly done at home, or Panera or Starbucks, and on most days I only have to be seen at Ryan’s school. Today, I was running errands wearing a baseball hat and bumped into the fitness trainer at our local rec center (no, I don’t do that anymore either). When I did work out regularly I always wore a baseball hat. I told my husband she must think I never wash, or do, my hair.

This week, I have a couple of busy days that will start before dawn (thanks to morning news opportunities) and end later in the evening (courtesy of grand opening and fundraising events). In order to guarantee my appearance will be appropriate for, at least, the evening festivities, I scheduled a hair appointment in the middle of the day. This is what I’ve resorted to, although I won’t complain.

Fortunately, there are some great resources out there to help the many moms like me go from totally a mess to presentable in a dress. One of my favorite Mommy Bloggers, The Mommyologist (Editor's note: site includes some profanity), hosts regular Vlogs showing women how to be #MomSexy—like literally throwing on a trench coat (or pea coat depending on the season) over your spit up on t-shirt and pairing it with jeans to run to the store or take your children to school. These “looks” are often the majority of my styling these days, and I am jealous of the Kardashians and other celebrity moms who do have stylists that not only shop for them, but pair clothing and then have a “team” to make sure they are dressed and ready for the day. Granted, these women are paid to look good and I’m paid to make others look good (from a PR standpoint), but it still would be nice.

As I sit on the couch in my frayed jeans, black t-shirt and gray cardigan, with my hair in some sort of bun and ZERO makeup on, I will not only plan and vow to, but also dream tonight that tomorrow I will have enough time to dress myself accordingly, as well as do my hair and makeup. Odds are, it won’t happen.