Juicy Couture, you go too far.  I am all for lush, plush items of all varieties, but I had to laugh when I recently saw an ad for a $68 pair of Juicy Couture crochet knit pair of slippers.  The word “homely” comes to mind.

First, they looked like something my grandma could whip up with her plastic canvas and yarn on a cold Saturday afternoon.  Second, they don’t even look comfortable, they have a hard plasticky looking inside, not like a real slipper at all.  Three, um, the price!?!?

Granted, I typically spend between $6 and $8 on a pair of slippers, so $68 just blows my mind.  I guess if I were a celebrity and had money to just sort of spread about, I may buy a pair, but I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather do with $68.

Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods is a fantastic cookbook by Cynthia Lair. We moms often become interested in a whole foods diet once we get pregnant. Whereas before we might be mostly interested in maintaining our weight, once we’re responsible for another life, it becomes more important to maintain our (and baby’s) health.

But once the little one starts eating solid foods, we’re thrown a curve ball. How do you prepare meals for baby, you, and a hungry husband too? And what about your older kids? It’s all a bit too much some nights. But fear not.

Thankfully there are many awesome cookbooks available that make the job of preparing and cooking food for your family a little easier.

Feeding the Whole Family is one such cookbook. It’s not strictly vegetarian nor does it advocate any kind of strict eating regimen. It’s just what it says – a whole foods recipe book. You won’t find fake foods or boxed stuff, yet the recipes are simple and easy to prepare, are tasty and appeal to everyone in the family – even the toothless wonder baby!

What makes this cookbook unique is that each recipe has a recommendation for feeding a baby who is just starting solids. This cookbook has simple instructions for preparing solids for your baby without making separate meals.

The first section of the book provides an overview of what whole foods eating actually means, provides suggestions for alternative ingredients (such as healthier fats and sweeteners) to healthy up your existing recipes, and other tips for pregnant and nursing moms who may have questions about their diet. It gives instructions on how to prepare whole grains including some that may be unknown to someone new to whole foods eating.

Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods is available on Amazon.com

When you’re expecting you look forward to the day your new bundle of joy arrives. The last thought on your mind is getting back to work again at the end of your maternity leave. It may be something you want to consider, however.

How do you prepare for returning to work after maternity leave? Here are some things you may want to think about:

1. Before your baby arrives, begin to research your company’s policies about maternity leave. Find out how long they allow you and whether there is a difference between that and how much time the Family Maternity Leave Act allows. If you’ve been paying for long-term disability insurance, maternity leave may be covered so you receive at least a partial paycheck while you’re at home. Talk with your human resources department to find out what you qualify for.

2. Keep communications open with your employer and your immediate boss. Let them know what your plans are, if you would like to use part of your vacation or sick leave for additional time, and when you plan to return. If your plans change for any reason, be sure to let your employer know as soon as possible.

3. If you’ve recently had your baby, start thinking about child care before you’re ready to return to work. Of course, you want to place your child with people you trust, so start by asking family or friends if they would be willing to provide child care. If that’s not possible, take your time finding the right day care. Nothing is as important as your child, so don’t forget to ask for and check references. Visit each potential day care a minimum of two times before deciding.

4. Talk with your boss about how you intend to handle those occasions where your child is ill and you have to stay at home to care for them. Discuss the possibly of being able to do some of your work from home during those days.

5. Begin to prepare yourself for actually leaving your child for eight or more hours a day. Ask your spouse, other family, or friends to care for your child while you go out for a little while. This will make being separated from your baby easier when you return to work, but realize that leaving your child is never truly easy.

6. Consider asking your boss if you can reduce your hours to working part time for a while after you return to work. This will give you more time to adjust to being away from your child and could actually increase your productivity since you’ll be a happier employee.

7. Don’t start back to work on a Monday. Plan to start back to work toward the end of the week so you’re not back to the grind too quickly. It may be too difficult to be away from your baby for five straight days. If you know you only have a day or so to be separated, it might make things easier for you.

Getting back to work again after maternity leave is going to be an emotional time for you. Planning ahead of time may make the transition easier, but you will still have an emotional tug of war going on within yourself. Don’t belittle yourself if you cry when you leave your little one – it’s perfectly normal and to expected.

Becoming a mom – it’s the most life-changing event we go through.  Our children become the center of our lives, and we must make adjustments to in our schedules and priorities make sure they’re cared for.  Instead of hiring nannies or using day care services, more and more moms are choosing to start their own online businesses so they can be there for their kids and still contribute to the family income.

This is especially true right now during the tough economic times we’re living in. Even if you’re comfortably existing on one income, you may find yourself on no income soon enough if your husband gets laid off, downsized, rightsized, outsourced or whatever they’re calling it these days. Do you have the recommended 6 months’ living expenses tucked away in savings in preparation for this event?

Statistics show many of us do not. This is all the more reason for mom to look for ways to make money online before the disaster strikes.

Starting an online business has a number of advantages for moms.  These include:

* Start-up costs can be kept low.  So even if you are not currently working outside the home, starting an online business is usually within reach with small adjustments to the budget.  Setting up a website means acquiring a domain name and hosting space – and with tools like WordPress available at no cost, you can literally be up and running for around $20. You will also want to invest in some education. Learning the basics of how to market your website online are not difficult, but be careful where you get your information.

The Natural Mom Business Guide is one solid source of info. It includes an ebook with detailed information about researching your target market, the various ways to make money with a website, and how to get the traffic you need to earn income. It even has video and audio tutorials as well as printable “cheat sheets” you can keep by your computer to remind you of the essential steps you need to take in your business to build traffic and make more income.

* Doing business online doesn’t require one to keep regular hours.  You can work early in the morning before the kids get up, during the baby’s nap, or late at night when everyone is in bed.  And with the automation that the Internet has to offer, orders can be processed and virtual products delivered while you are sleeping or taking care of the kids.

* You can get some work done with the kids right by your side.  Older children may even be able to help you with simple tasks.  Did you know that the IRS allows you to deduct wages (up to a certain amount) paid to a child who is age seven or older to work in your home business from your taxes? I have even trained my oldest son to add articles to my websites. He earns a nice wage for doing so, far more than an allowance, and is providing a valuable service to me.

There are all sorts of online businesses that are great for moms.  You could sell your crafts or start a recipe website, or you could start a podcast.  You might offer services such as writing, transcription, web design or virtual assistance to customers around the world.  Or you could create and sell information products.  Even blogging offers impressive money-making potential.  The possibilities are many, and there’s sure to be something out there that’s just right for any mom.

Moms make up a large portion of the people who are making money online.  This allows them to take a hands-on approach to raising their children while still making money to support the household.  They don’t have to count on a sitter to take care of their children’s needs, and they don’t have to make a commute part of their daily routine.  It’s no wonder that the number of moms starting online businesses is growing in leaps and bounds.

If you need some assistance choosing a niche, get some coaching from an experienced online marketer. Take the leap – you’ll be glad you did!

Rihanna got a new tattoo! I don’t personally have a problem with tattoos, I have one myself (although I regret it, not getting one, but the placement – just above my knee – and the character itself – a frog).

To me, Rihanna is so talented, so pretty, has her whole future ahead of her and her new tattoo is on her right hand. At first glance, it looks like she has a dirty hand or at least got in a fight with a black bic pen.

The tattoo is Maori and represents “strength and love” according to Rihanna. I wish she would have found a different way to express herself instead of permanently marring her otherwise perfectly nice hand.

Fortunately, this new tattoo won’t affect what I REALLY care about – her singing – so I can continue to enjoy her music.

So deeper on my journey into the world of mineral makeup…I recently stumbled upon the smooth mineral line from Avon.  Their prices for the product were outstanding (a mere $5 for a generous 2 g jar of eyeshadow) and they had a nice selection of eyeshadow colors.  The rounded tip eyeshadow brush to apply the mineral eyeshadow with was a steal at $2.99.

I also adore the sifting dispenser on the top of the jar.  Instead of being a plastic disc with a bunch of holes in it like most mineral makeup, it is a circle disc with a smaller hole in the middle where the rounded tip applicator fits perfectly.  This enables you to have more control over your eyeshadow, use less, not waste as much, etc.

Here’s my “other side” on this eyeshadow.  First, maybe I ordered the wrong color, it barely shows up on my lids.  I ordered bronze-stone.  Second, this eyeshadow does not last “all day” like other mineral brands of eyeshadow.  Within a couple hours, it had worn out of the creases of my lids, etc.  Third, my left eye had some sort of “reaction” to the shadow and began to weep and otherwise become irritated.

After further researching the product, I discovered it contains bismuth oxide which many women are sensitive to and can have reactions including, watery, itchy, swelling, red eyes, etc.  I quit using the eyeshadow for a couple days, it cleared up, I tried using it again, same thing happened.  Because of this, I’ve decided to switch back to what I have been using which is Smoky Mountain Minerals makeup.  Smoky Mountain does not use bismuth oxide and I have yet to have a negative reaction to their product.

I think the best advice on trying new products and/or mineral makeup is to keep in mind that you can have a reaction to any makeup at any time, if you normally have extra sensitive (I typically do not have sensitive skin) then I would use extra caution when trying anything with bismuth oxide in it.