<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#">
    <channel>
        <title>Low Maintenance Mom - Musings on Motherhood - twogirlsmama&apos;s Blog - Raising Bakersfield</title>
        <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316</link>
        <description>&amp;nbsp;
The other day I gave my girls manicures and pedicures, much to their delight. This may not sound too unusual for the mother of two girls, but if you know me, then you know it&#039;s a rare occurrance and a completely sacrificial act. I am what you would call, low-maintenance, at least when it comes to primping. That is to say, I can be ready in 15 minutes. Or at least, that used to be the case. 
Earlier that day we were trying to get out the door and it took over an hour and a half to motivate my girls into putting on clothes, brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Partly, I suppose, because they are hard to motivate in general. But partly because now I have to get three people ready before I can go anywhere. Used to be I&#039;d roll out of bed, throw on my jeans, brush my teeth, throw my hair in a pony tail and be on my way. But gone are the days of speedy exits. 
Now everything is painstaking. And I fear it will only get worse the older they become. I mean, if it&#039;s this hard to get a 3 and 7 year old ready, imagine the time they will spend in front of the mirror once they&#039;re teenagers. Sometimes I wonder whose children they are. I mean really!-- frilly dresses, nail polish, playing with make-up? That is not my modus operandi and never  has been. But to each her own&amp;mdash;I don&#039;t want to stifle their personalities, as different from mine as they may be. And who knows, there&#039;s still a small chance they&#039;ll grow into tomboys, right? Think of all the money I&#039;ll save on clothes and hair products if someday they&#039;re content to shop the Goodwill with me, all while sporting a pony tail.</description>
        <itunes:summary>&amp;nbsp;
The other day I gave my girls manicures and pedicures, much to their delight. This may not sound too unusual for the mother of two girls, but if you know me, then you know it&#039;s a rare occurrance and a completely sacrificial act. I am what you would call, low-maintenance, at least when it comes to primping. That is to say, I can be ready in 15 minutes. Or at least, that used to be the case. 
Earlier that day we were trying to get out the door and it took over an hour and a half to motivate my girls into putting on clothes, brushing their teeth and combing their hair. Partly, I suppose, because they are hard to motivate in general. But partly because now I have to get three people ready before I can go anywhere. Used to be I&#039;d roll out of bed, throw on my jeans, brush my teeth, throw my hair in a pony tail and be on my way. But gone are the days of speedy exits. 
Now everything is painstaking. And I fear it will only get worse the older they become. I mean, if it&#039;s this hard to get a 3 and 7 year old ready, imagine the time they will spend in front of the mirror once they&#039;re teenagers. Sometimes I wonder whose children they are. I mean really!-- frilly dresses, nail polish, playing with make-up? That is not my modus operandi and never  has been. But to each her own&amp;mdash;I don&#039;t want to stifle their personalities, as different from mine as they may be. And who knows, there&#039;s still a small chance they&#039;ll grow into tomboys, right? Think of all the money I&#039;ll save on clothes and hair products if someday they&#039;re content to shop the Goodwill with me, all while sporting a pony tail.</itunes:summary>
        <language>en-us</language>

                
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 22,  2008 at 02:04 PM : My 3 year old is the...</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;My 3 year old is the exact same way. That&#039;s why my husband and I are so thankful to have only ONE girl.&amp;nbsp; LOL&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228148</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228148</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;My 3 year old is the exact same way. That&#039;s why my husband and I are so thankful to have only ONE girl.&amp;nbsp; LOL&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 22,  2008 at 04:04 PM : Wanna read something...</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;Wanna read something&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.phillymag.com/scripts/print/article.php?asset_idx=223113&quot;&gt;scary&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p&gt;?&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228217</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228217</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;Wanna read something&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.phillymag.com/scripts/print/article.php?asset_idx=223113&quot;&gt;scary&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p&gt;?&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 22,  2008 at 05:04 PM : Jason that is just......</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;Jason that is just... I can&#039;t even fathom it. Really? People are really doing that? I&#039;m speechless.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228256</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228256</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;Jason that is just... I can&#039;t even fathom it. Really? People are really doing that? I&#039;m speechless.&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 22,  2008 at 08:04 PM : OMG! That is beyond...</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;OMG! That is beyond scary! CPS needs to go after&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt; those &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;people! LOL! Okay, maybe not, but can you say &amp;quot;negative body image&amp;quot;?!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have an almost 8 year old and I cannot imagine subjecting her to that--heck, I don&#039;t even subject &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;myself &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;to that!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228321</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_228321</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;OMG! That is beyond scary! CPS needs to go after&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt; those &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;people! LOL! Okay, maybe not, but can you say &amp;quot;negative body image&amp;quot;?!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have an almost 8 year old and I cannot imagine subjecting her to that--heck, I don&#039;t even subject &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;myself &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;to that!&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 24,  2008 at 10:04 AM : Well, I must admit I...</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;Well, I must admit I take the kiddo with me when I get a pedicure.&amp;nbsp; That&#039;s because I usually can&#039;t find a babysitter.&amp;nbsp; Now, she doesn&#039;t get a full on pedicure, but she does get her toes painted just to keep her occupied while I pretend I&#039;m having adult time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My adult niece was adamantly anti princess/girlie girl with her first daughter, and it completely backfired.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_229014</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_229014</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;Well, I must admit I take the kiddo with me when I get a pedicure.&amp;nbsp; That&#039;s because I usually can&#039;t find a babysitter.&amp;nbsp; Now, she doesn&#039;t get a full on pedicure, but she does get her toes painted just to keep her occupied while I pretend I&#039;m having adult time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My adult niece was adamantly anti princess/girlie girl with her first daughter, and it completely backfired.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
                    <item>
                <title>Apr 24,  2008 at 10:04 AM : Yeah, I&#039;ve taken...</title>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;Yeah, I&#039;ve taken the girls to Lyle&#039;s for a mini-mani--only $2.50 and so much fun for them. :)I&#039;m not anti a little pampering, I&#039;m just not too keen on having to paint their nails myself! LOL!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
                <link>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_229016</link>
                <guid>http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/twogirlsmama/25316/#c_229016</guid>
                <itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;Yeah, I&#039;ve taken the girls to Lyle&#039;s for a mini-mani--only $2.50 and so much fun for them. :)I&#039;m not anti a little pampering, I&#039;m just not too keen on having to paint their nails myself! LOL!&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>     
            </item>
            </channel>
</rss>