Are you Yummy Mummy Enough?

I've seen the term Yummy Mummy tossed around a bit, some to more deserving mommies than others. I've also seen the opposite effect that motherhood has on previously glamourous ladies; the toll of baby fat that never got lost or the stress of just handling all the kiddies with absolutely no me time to get a proper haircut or self-manicure. I call her the Frumpy Mummy.

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I sympathize because on some days (more like most days) that could be me.  The matted hair that didn't get defrazzeled or hot-rollered, the 5 minute makeup-application with smudged mascara, the really icky chipped nail polish from last week, and the really really bad fashion ensemble: a perfect model for the What Not to Wear episode. If I'm wearing my glasses, I am the super geek I would call ``instant birth control``.  If I am wearing contacts I guess I have to say all the factors I listed above seem to melt away somewhat (minus the bad clothes). I don`t have baby fat because I never gained more than 13 pounds for each birth, but I do not work out and I have a gut.  The gut is invisible to me but supposedly quite obvious to my husband, however I am pregnant right now so the gut is actually a baby for now.

My inspiration for this post about the Frumpy Mummy is inspired by my someone I've actually seen in real life, her real name will not be used but I know her peripherally as the mom of my daughter's classmate. I met her last year and I really liked her long blond hair with amazing highlights, her hot pink sweatshirt and casual jeans and her dazzling smile. We chatted at the park about the girls in school and piano lessons and she was super nice! And she had really cool designer sunglasses and she was wearing her contacts (I presume). I saw her again at the Meet the Teacher night the other night.  She recognized my daughter and said hi, so I politely said hi too but I did not have a flash of recognition. She had her glasses on looked exactly like the "Instant Birth Control" woman (see photo below, but 10 years younger) Later she said hi to me again and said that too bad Maggie was not in the same class as her daughter, so I just asked her if her name was Rae Lynn (not her real name but close).  She beamed yes so we chatted some more and I was glad that I remembered her name!

Momma at Walmart

The Frumpy Mommy
Please, please, please take care of your hair and makeup and your clothes. Please even if you are walking around aimlessly at Value Village looking for the best deal on used kids clothes and yard sale quality toys (like I am) or shopping for groceries at Price Chopper, Food Basics or Walmart please do not wear pyjamas or ugly fat looking jogging suits and ski jackets from the eighties.  You are the mother of one, two, three or eight beautiful children and your husband still loves you very much so you should love yourself and still try to look hot and sexy, even a little bit.

J Lo and Twins Source

The Foxy Yummy Mommy
She drives a mean sports car or luxury SUV, in apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur... everyone's looking at her. She's got Gucci hand bags and the Versace sunglasses and some really, really sexy looking hair and perfect makeup and nails. The goddess you probably see on the cover of magazines and the perfect stay at home mom.  I guess it would be pretty awesome to be her too,  but this may be someone I don't see too often at the places where I shop. 

I have a friend at work who is not yet a mommy, but she owns a closet with a 1,000 pairs of shoes and a diamond studded cell phone protector. She's a really nice and generous person and fun to chat with when we go out with the girls. She knows alot about kids because of all her extended Italian family and all the crazy stories we share about kids, so I figure that when is going to be a mom, she will still look and dress and drive the same way.  Think J Lo.

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The Working Professional Mommy
I believe there is something different about a mommy working professionally outside the home and a stay at home mommy.  She may be on mat leave or just home on a one day break from the office out with her kids, but there is something very different with the neat sleek look vs the frumpy look.  It could be less time spent outside in the beating sun with kids at the park and having the more responsible choice of an expensive Shiseido or Christian Dior brand of UV 45 protected daily moisturizer and night time routine that makes the skin that much clearer and more polished.  Perhaps the daily grind at the office working with other professional men and women is less stressful than the fast pace of life with kids at home (in my opinion).  Anyway I am a more calm and level headed person at work, and I am nicer to my kids and husband after I come home from work instead of the times when I was at home with three kids on mat leave. I seem to age faster and have more wrinkles and grey hair with each year that I am home on mat leave.

What about you?