Pink and Undecided

Nail Diary 08 : Etude House X Disney XOXO Minnie Collection (Minnie in the Nails #3 Minnie White Face) + Essence 86 (A Lovely Secret)

Hello hello!

I'm finally at the last leg of my four parter sub-series of Minnie in the Nails review (read the other ones here, here and here), i hope you're not fed up yet! But wait! This is the last part for the top coat type only! I just remembered that i also have the pink base color one and will definitely do a review on it as well hihihi! Anyway, this is the other version of the very first one i've reviewed, #3 Minnie White Face (as opposed to Minnie Black Face. I read in a some blog that the names sounds really racist *LOL*, i cannot get that comment off my brain!)

#Minnie White Face (photo from Google)

I was so in love with the last combination of very soft peachy baby pink+the topper (the soft, pastel color seemingly to be the perfect partner to these nail flakes top coats) that i made up my mind to come up with a look using my second favorite color of all times : baby violet! And here's the final result :

I LOVE it!

Here are all of the polishes used to create the look :

Will never miss my Revlon Top Speed. I've stopped buying backups though (i always have like, three backups of this base/top coat!) because i decided to try out other brands (because being a beauty blogger does that to your brain)

I actually almost forget about this Essence nail polish i got a while ago in Singapore. Reason why was because when i first use it, it was not a very good experience. First, i couldn't even open the bottle no matter how hard i tried, in the end my dad (or was it my hunny) had to pry it open with a plier (yeah, i had a long convo with #Undecided via Skype looking for this word! Tools names are definitely one thing i am NOT smart about)! Apparently there were some nail polish splattered all over the neck of the bottle, when it dried it became glue-like and was impossible for mortals (but maybe super strong Jong Kook Oppa might be able to open this? LOL) to open with bare hands! I'm guessing someone opened the bottle (just my luck, out of all those bottles available i had to choose the one that someone already opened! DAMMIT!) and didn't close it back properly :( why do people do that anyway? Such disrespect to the next shopper!

Anyway, not only the not-closing-the-lid-properly messed with the lid, it also messed with the consistency of this polish! I read everywhere that Essie's nail polishes are easy to apply and there were no complains about it being gloopy and took forever to dry, but that was totally how my experience with this nail polish the first time round went down! So even though i really LOVE the color, i kinda neglected it and never touched it anymore (it was just too much work to apply and i'm too spoilt with better performing polishes already) until this time.

Essence Colour & Go : 86 (A Lovely Secret). I love how the little (their polishes are small sized, 5ml each) topper comes with the same color as the varnish itself! See how the topper had a "scar" from the plier yanking it open? Hurts my heart seeing it zzz

Upon closer look it was iridescent with tiny pink specks of glitters but it was not very visible at all once applied

When i wrote my review on Prestige's nail polish in Intuition, one layer of it reminded me of something i've already got in my collection. I thought it was the Sally Hanson diamond nail polish (and it was, but not entirely) but apparently it reminded me of this nail polish! Just like Intuition, this polish looked iridescent and sparkly on the bottle but applies mutely. The color also reminded me of Intuition, but the pastel version-obviously.

Even though the bottle was small, they did not compromise on the brush. It was normal sized (not mini like some mini-sized polishes are), the shape also ensure even and easy application

1 coat of A Lovely Secret

I can't really see the glitters at all, but it created a kind of grainy look. Pretty!

I was pretty surprised because application was half as hard as i remembered it to be! Either my technique gets better or the consistency settled back after being closed securely (i think it was the latter *LOL*) but it was not a very hard work at all! It was still quite thick *but not so gloopy anymore* that one coat was enough to evenly coat my nails. It was opaque enough and i dreaded smudging them (because i kept on doing that the first time round since it never properly dried!!! So much for a "quick drying nail polish" zzz) so i stopped at one coat. It dried a lot faster than last time i think, but still not fast enough. Accidentally bumped into a finger after it seemed to be dried but of course it smudged immediately *(@#&)@&R(*!

Since my applications sucks and my photography also sucks, you might want to check out this review if you want to see it in all its glory #yesihavenailsenvy! Anyway, i got this Essence nail polish in Watson's Singapore and it was very cheap (can't remember how much, around SGD 1.99 or 2.99. I read it's only 99 P in England), after my second attempt with it, i won't hesitate any longer to buy more of them :p.

Now moving on to Minnie White Face :

It looks so pink in the bottle i thought it'd have some sort of color, but of course it was bonded with clear gel-polish

Hunny broke the sticker on the previous bottle before i could do it, and i got sooo annoyed! Didn't he know one of the real pleasures in life is opening a new, NEVER been opened before, thing? Breaking the seal for me was like, a crime!!!

It was the most festive among the four! With tiny hot pink and white flecks, tiny confetti looking hot pink shreds, round white flakes, hot pink octagon flakes, small white Minnie heads (i think it was smaller than the black one) and square multi-colored holographic flakes.

It was the easiest of all four to apply evenly, as in the festivities inside were the easiest to catch (maybe because there were so many of them compared to the other three). At first i only caught a few heads but once i did, they kept on coming up! So much that i had to put a few back in as not to make the nails looked too crowded!

One coat of #Minnie White Face

2 Coats of Minnie White Face

Right hand : 1 coat of Minnie White Face where i caught only one Minnie head at first

Caught a lot more with a second coat. See the Minnie head on the inner edge of my middle finger? Yeah, you'd want to avoid that if you're using this. Tiny part of it was outside the nail bed, and it snagged off right after i showered (and washed my hair). No such problems with other heads that were firmly attached on the nail beds

Definitely the most festive looking, yes?

I absolutely LOVE the color combo, it was so girly and cute! It also reminded me my new pony bag... Like the others, this flakes top coat also kept my nail polish intact for 6 days, and then on the 6th day one of the head snagged off. The next day the base started to chip. Since my Essie was quite thick (i dunno if this is the case with all of Essie's nail polish or just mine which seemingly been exposed to air more than it should), they also started to peel after the 8th day.

I also noticed that the Minnie heads (this one and the black version as well) snagged off easier compared to the ribbons (which never snagged off until i remove them myself, and not with ease either!) but it only happens after 6th day so, still very good staying power!

After trying all four of these nail glitters/flakes top coats, i must say i am very impressed with Etude House! Sometimes their stuffs can be super cute but the quality can be quite so so, not the case with this line obviously! They are equally cute and high quality! I can't recommend this enough!

I got all four of my Minnie in the Nails, glitter type from Beauty Bar on PO, but i noticed a lot of online shops have ready stocks of them now. Some even already gone on a huge sale (i got these four at IDR 39.000 each (? around that), but i got the pink one from Intenscorner.com for IDR 21.000! It was on a 50% off!), so... What are you waiting for? Grab them while you still can, it's a limited edition so it might not be re-stocked once all sold out!

Rocking the nails with my furry sweater (it's from Mango and i hated it because it kept on shedding and the fur was everywhere! Mainly got into my mouth and eyes WTF). I really hate my super long bangs that keeps getting in the way, but i'm getting them chopped tonight! YAY!

#Pink

PS : As you might already know, i'm not the sweetest, most patience person out there. I'm very hot headed and loud, i do not take craps from anyone. And i said it once and i'm saying it again : I DO NOT tolerate any crappy comments from anyone. Not in in this blog (that i always view as my virtual home) and certainly not from cowardly anonymous (you do not go to a stranger's house and start throwing shit around, do you?). I initially didn't want to ban anonymous comments because some of our readers doesn't have accounts and still want to leave comments. But after one too many of those stupid comments, i can't take it anymore. I do not want to be angry even more often than i already do, i admire and in awe of how the "big bloggers" deal with stupid comments that come to them from left, right, up and down at all times! I guess it's part of the risk of this blog growing, but since i have a choice-i am taking it. Sadly from now on the comments would be moderated as well because i do not want to lose it and start cursing non-stop in reply. Thank you for understanding!

5:39:00 PM
6 Comments

Pocahontas 2014

fotd

Hello!

I am aware that Pocahontas' supposed to be decked in all neutrals and tribal looking stuffs (not to mention tanned and athletic instead of pasty white and chubby *LOL*), but ever since i first cast my eyes on this peacock feather tasseled headband from Stradivarius, it just screamed Pocahontas to me and no matter what i pair it with, i feel very Pocahontas-y in them.

So here's how i'd imagine Pocahontas looks, if she is living in a 2014 metropolis city, Asian, and maybe discovered cupcakes :p.

Since i am this little matchy2 princess, of course i put on a matchy2 make up too :p :

Developed new habit of using a new lipstick and stick to it for a while *sigh*, been wearing this pink lipstick from Collection non-stop since new year!

Stupid story about this headband, see how in some of the pictures it was half hidden in my hair? It frustrated me because... What the hell's the point of wearing a tasseled headband if people wasn't be able to see the tassle, right??? I have this habit of letting some front hair loose because i want to conceal my chubby cheeks as best as i could, but apparently it's a big no no if you are wearing tasseled headband!!! I only discovered it when i got back *LOL*, just tuck your hair behind your ear and it would be very visible (like the very first photo)!

Wore the whole look out to GM with #Undecided and A (and our hubbies and babies, well my baby's 6 but he's forever my baby), fussed the whole time trying to show the stupid tassel with #Undecided and none of us realized we just needed to tuck the strand of hair back *sigh*.

Can hardly see it in in this pic *double sigh*

All of the accessories i wore that time (decided to keep it at least earthy and tribal inspired. If the make up and dress weren't typical Pocahontas, at least i think the jeweleries were more suitable hahaha):

Tasseled Headband : Stradivarius, Rings : New Look (from a set of lotsa rings!), Wooden Butterfly Bracelet : Gunung Kawi (it was IDR 5000 or something), Butterfly Studs : Genting, Malaysia (RM 10 for 3 or cheaper!)

OOTD :

Black Inner : Qoo10, Tube Skater Dress : Arithalia

Whoops, please ignore my security shorts peeking out!

It actually got an interesting laced up back, but unfortunately having tiny boobies meant i had to tied in tightly (even then they still kept on sliding down the entire time, and i was already wearing my thickly-padded bra FML) and it looked kinda unsightly after a few hours out so i didn't take pictures zzzz.

Purple Bag : Bonia

I actually went through a lot of trouble for this tasseled headband, i first saw it in Stradivarius in GM but i am not used to spend more than IDR 100.000 for a headband (it was IDR 129.000 i think), at least not the non-bejeweled ones!!! I was also worried that it'd look too much for conservative Indonesia *i get a lot of stares whenever i go out as it is*, i even went back a few times still contemplating it (yes, i am annoying that way). Then i made up my mind that i WANT it, and it's gone. LOL. It was sold out! The BA told us to write down our number and they'd contact us if the re-stock arrived but it never happened.

I was pretty much given up on it *very reluctantly* but when we went to Singapore sometime after that, i actually found it in Ion's Stradivarius! With the SGD going cray cray, it was actually slightly more expensive *sigh* (i almost didn't shop at all except in Watson's and Guardian back then) but since i couldn't stop thinking about it i just grabbed it before i even had a second to change my fickle mind again. No regrets!

I absolutely love how cute it is and find myself wanting to add more to my collection (i mean headband collection, not tasseled headband collection. I only have one so far :p). It's also a lot more subtle than i thought it would be. Problem was the headband was a bit too big for my head (weird, i have a big face and a big brain, but my head's kinda small) and it kinda slide down (so it couldn't perch properly on top of my head) at all times and was uncomfortable, but i am one of those vain girls who'd brave small pains to look good :p.

A little advice if you're thinking of donning one yourself, i think it'd be wise to skip necklace because the tassel already hung down to the shoulder, it'd be way too busy if you put on any necklace. I was afraid to wear dangly earrings too for fear of making the whole look "too much", but looking back i think a tassel earrings with the same color family with this headband *preferable brown or black. But blue works too with the feathers* would make the whole look even more tribal and Pocahontas-y!

Showing off my NOTD but the stupid pic turned out blur so you can't see it anyway *LOL*

So here's a closer look at my NOTD (that matched my bag perfectly) with Essence nail polish in 86 (A Lovely Secret) topped with Etude House's Minnie in the Nails #3 Minnie White Face (review coming up soon!)

Do you like tasseled headbands too? Or you would never be caught dead in them?

#Pink

9:24:00 PM
6 Comments

Hair-O-Logy 02 : Sunsilk Co-Creations Shampoo Frizz & Weather Defense

hair products

Heyyllowww!

So, here i am, ready to talk about hair stuffs again! What an improvement, no? While i still have no intention to blog about the usual hair stuffs i use daily (yes, i wash my hair daily, i cannot stand even the thought of a smelly scalp, IYUCCCKKKK!!!), you know... Whatever shampoo and conditioners Pantene or Dove has (i tend to buy whatever's on a promotion, anything from those two brands works well for me), at least not for now (i am entitled to change my mind sometimes y'know...) but whenever i'm using something (a variant i mean) new-ish, i decided to review it. And this time it's :

Sunsilk Co-Creations Shampoo Frizz & Weather Defense (Picture courtesy of Google)

Now, even though i've never tried this variant before, Sunsilk is definitely not a new brand for me. Not by a long shot. Sunsilk is one of the best known drugstore brand in Indonesia for their shampoo and hair cares, so much that plenty (including myself when i was younger) mistaken it as a local brand (or at least no longer recognize it as non-local). It performs well and very easy on the pocket, i don't think there are any Indonesian who have never heard of Sunsilk!

I myself used to be their super loyal user (of the yellow one, was it Soft & Smooth?) for YEARS. I never even dreamed about trying something else for years and years (i think it was for more than 5 years). Until one day, it stopped working for me, my scalp became super oily and itchy whenever i used it. I guess my hair got too used to it (apparently it's a common thing that can happen if you've been using one product for a very very long time) so i gave up and moved to Pantene (until i discovered Dove and now i alternate between the two brands while recently began trying other brands as well). I didn't dare to purchase any Sunsilk shampoo anymore (i still use their conditioner and hair treatments once in a while) because i was too traumatized by how the yellow shampoo made my head so itchy in the end until i saw this in the supermarket.

Yep, the trick to get me to buy stuffs : feature an interesting bonus. LOLOLOL. I know, super kiasu right! I was a bit hesitant to use it at first but i was like "Ehhh what the hell, i already bought it! Let's try it anyway! If it's horrible i can always pass it to my maid or something." So i did.

Comes with the usual, boring looking bottle with slanted top

Yeah... i'm not into hair trends or whatever so i have no idea who Teddy Charles is and if he's even remotely any good hehe

I really hate the bottle's color hahahaha. I usually quite like blue, you know... baby blue, robin's egg blue, navy, whatever. But this blue, seems to look very cheap and fugly for me

The usual flip cap, which closes and opens easily. i have bad experiences with flip tops (too hard that it hurts my fingers trying to open it, too loose it won't close properly, material too frail i snap it off after the first use, the list goes on) but this one held itself pretty well until i finished the last drops

First thing i noticed when i used it? How PRETTY the actual shampoo was!!! LOL. It was iridescent baby pink!

Yep, i'm a little girl at heart as you know, i pretty much squealed happily when i tilted the fugly blue bottle and beautiful baby pink liquid poured out! It actually made me happy whenever i used it *LOL*. And the second thing i noticed? How good it smelt! It's very cheery-smelling, and to my nose it smelt a lot like fruity candy! I think it's one of the yummiest smelling shampoo i've ever used (because i'm used to a regular, boring smelling ones of Pantene and Dove that pretty much all smell similar)!

Consistency was runny, it lathers up easily and heartily. Didn't have to rub so hard to create a full head of lather! It didn't say anything about being suitable for oily scalp hence my further worries upon trying it on, but it actually works pretty well for my oily scalp! It even left my scalp oil-free longer than Dove and Pantene that i can stand not having it washed longer (okay, by longer i meant 1.5 day, or 2 tops. But i really very rarely leave my hair unwashed for more than 24 hours though!). Another thing that i noticed was that it left my hair less limp (makes it feels very lightweight) and a teeny tiny bit more volumized than usual! It wasn't sticky and didn't cause any itchiness to my scalp (my scalp can be quite sensitive, i got bumps all over it when i first used Dove because it was a bit too rich for me).

It stated to control frizz for 24 hours, my hair's not frizzy at all in the first place so i can't really say anything about it, but i also see nothing but good thing of its performance on my hair! Weather defense's also quite fitting since it helped me go through super hot weather better than my usual shampoo (you know, keeping them fresher for longer) so i was actually very satisfied with this shampoo! Totally performed better than i expected. I'm no so sure that it would be very suitable for very dry and damaged hair though. When i used it before adding up conditioner, my hair felt a bit dry and straw-ish, and my hair is very fine and straight to begin with, i imagine it'd be worse for dry hair!

Would recommend this for people who are looking for a cheap, sweet smelling, great performing, fuss free drugstore shampoo that works for oily scalp and limp hair who wants more lightweight and volumized hair. Not recommended for people who hates candy smells on their hair hehe, also in my opinion-not suitable for people with dry hair.

Please note that i am recommending it in lieu with my own experience, therefore i can only tell you how it's working on my hair type (oily scalp, very fine, colored hair, dry at the end). Sadly i cannot tell you if it'd work for very frizzy hair or not.

Will i repurchase this? I think so, if it's on promotion or better still, comes with a bonus again! LOL. Lemme show off the little bonus that the main reason why i purchased this shampoo in the first place!

You actually get to choose out of the three but i only spotted the bracelet. I have lots of freebie nail polishes from Veet and i don't wear bandana (they won't stay on my slippery hair!) so even if all three choices were available i'd still go for the bracelet!

Half golden metal and half yellow rubber band with Sunsilk's logo as the hook


Pretty unique looking and good quality for a freebie! And the shampoo's price already very cheap in the first place

That's all for now, hope i'm not so horrible at reviewing hair stuffs :p, i think practice makes perfect so i will do another one (hopefully) soon haha. What's your favorite shampoo? Are you a drugstore/supermarket brand hair care user or more of a high end hair products lover?

#Pink

PS : I want to thank everyone who took their time to read my photo-less and very wordy (and probably whiny) last post about mummy guilt, i've also received a lot of sweet and encouraging responses that makes me feel even better! Since my heart-pouring posts seems to be received well, i will try to do that type of posts more often, but maybe not too often because it really requires me to have a specific kind of mood and determination to write. It's always easier to talk about trivial stuffs and just paste lots of pictures you know haha. Thank you for being such wonderful readers! Virtual hugs for everybody!

12:01:00 AM
4 Comments

Mummy Guilt

family

Lemme take a break from all my superficial diary type and beauty related entries.

I want to talk a little bit about parenting today (NOT an article to teach you how to parent okay, i'm still learning and figuring out myself) and what people call as "mummy guilt". If you are a parent yourself, i'm sure you know what i'm talking about at some degree... I mean, i'm sure even super moms and super dads do something to make them feel like they are not good parents sometimes, right?

I am NOT a perfect mother. I never said i was, i never say i will. I LOVE my child to death, i'd gladly given up my life for him without a second of hesitation. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. But nobody would say i'm a model mom for sure *LOL*. I yell at my son when he's misbehaving, i leave him on romantic trips with only my husband (yes, and get judged a lot for this, which is the main reason why i came up with this post in the first place), i sometimes get annoyed at how expensive his clothes/toys/shoes are (more expensive than mine and hubby's combined :p), i watch movies at least twice a week and let him play at the arcade with the nanny (and get judged some more for this), i get angry at him at trips where we don't take our nanny with us when he's being difficult, i let him sleep with his grandparents and at times feel grateful for not having the distraction. And that's just a touch on the surface.

Thing is, who are those people who dare to judge me when i'm pretty sure they are not perfect parents themselves (oh, trust me they are NOT. I'm not gonna go all cheesy on you again and say "Perfection only belongs to God" or all that crap, no-i just know personally that they are not. They have parenting flaws, visible ones, as well. Maybe not as much as i do, but they sure make up for it in other department, i.e : being assholes to other people) and i wouldn't even dream about commenting on their imperfections, let alone judge them for it.

Like i mentioned earlier, the main focus of this entry is the "I TRAVEL WITHOUT MY BABYYYY" part (i might talk about the other guilts in other blog posts to make sure nobody spent a week to finish reading this post) that lots of other parents (i'm not gonna go and point fingers, but *cough* CW *cough cough* CL. And lots of my old friends-NOT BFFs because they do not judge me-especially those who are parents as well) seem to frown upon.

Do i feel guilty leaving my son at home with my parents (who seem to love him even more than they love me, who scold me like crazy whenever i scold him, who sleep with him everyday since he was just a few months old) for a foreign country to enjoy being ME, a COUPLE with my husband, a young person again, for a few days (the longest was about two weeks when we went to Europe)? Yes, of course. Some of you might not believe me, but on that trip to Taiwan with #Undecided, i even avoided talking to him via video call because i got upset from missing him.

And why did i still go? Because as much as i LOVE my son, i also LOVE myself and and my husband (in which people with Super Parents syndrome, including my mum, seems to look down onto. Apparently you should stop having romantic feelings towards your husband once you have a baby and only have love for you baby. No wonder the rate of divorce is going up up UP).

Let me tell you about an article i read once, about what people who are dying regrets most : one of it was not to travel enough. You know how life is, and when you're young you have the energy but mostly don't have money or time to travel, and once you are old then you have all the time in the world (until your time is up, that is) and most probably the money as well, but no energy to do so. Maybe this does not apply to people who dislike traveling (#Undecided) but a true blue sufferer from a wanderlust like me? Of course it does. Number one on my bucket list is to travel all around the world and visit every continent. I am lucky enough to have the time, the money and the energy all at once. Why shouldn't i, then?

I know that i can always bring my son, but let me tell you my side of the story. First of all, a family trip with young children will never be the same as a trip with your spouse or your friends only. They are equally as satisfying and important, but for me-i have to have both. Call me selfish, and i will call you jealous. Second of all, i like to go very far or to a very non-child friendly countries and places (like Vietnam with their crazy Chu Chi Tunnel for example) when i travel with my husband, even if i go like to Europe last time, it was not suitable for a pampered 6 years old like my son (i stumbled upon another young parents who brought their around-the-same-age as my son with them only to watch him get sick and needed to go to the hospital during the trip). I do not like to bring him somewhere that he would not enjoy, what is the point of that? Isn't the point of a vacation is for you to enjoy yourself? I'm pretty sure you can't if you need to constantly soothe a sick child! (and the sick child most definitely won't be enjoying him/herself either!)

And before you start (again) on how selfish i am, let me tell you that i bring my son on vacations as well. I just separate them with our couple trips, and make those family vacations ALL ABOUT MY SON. We take him to theme parks, museums, places that are child friendly and will make him super happy. As much couple trips i have planned, i have equally as much plan for family vacations (in fact i have one planned, we're off to Hong Kong in less than a month).

Why do i feel the need to go on a couple trips without bringing my son with me? Like i stated above, i love myself (which is NOT a bad thing, contrary to popular believe, especially among my family) and i want to be happy too. Of course, i am happy spending everyday with my son, what do you know-my mum asked me to give up my job (i was an independent and proud boutique owner once) so i can keep an eye on my son all the time (yes, i know, i'm not qualified to be a stay-at-home mum because i have a nanny and a battalion of maids who do the hard things like cooking, cleaning, bathing him). I just need some adult time from time to time, and also to connect with my husband on another level.

A like-minded mum like me, my own cousin L, suffer from the same judgement people throw my way, she travels even more than me without her kids (some for work stuffs, some for pleasure) and she told me "I also want to chase my own happiness." To which i agree wholeheartedly. Don't get us wrong, of course our children are our happiness itself, but let's not be hypocritical here, even the best of parents need a time out from their kids and enjoy being themselves too. I am a mother, but i am a person first.

I made a wrong move of telling CL once about L's second pregnancy and how i amazed i was. Why? Because L is a free spirit like me, and yeah... I guess free spirited people doesn't make the best parents *shrug*. She's very open with her frustration (doesn't mean she loves her son any less, mind you!) so i think she won't mind me sharing this story here. I was just making a casual remark on how on earth she'd juggle two kids when she seemed to be as flustered as me with one and "runaway" without her kid all the time, to which CL made a snide remark "As if you don't (leave your child on trips)". I don't know if she was joking (i don't think so), i never get her jokes anyway. But that is a lame thing to say to someone (i can think of a lot of mean things to say about her parenting style but i won't). I only say those things because I UNDERSTAND L. I was just putting myself in her position. I was happy for her for the second child, but i understand her needs to runaway from it all at times.

Which brings me back the topic : why is it people thinks you are bad parents when you go on trips without your kids? I was just voicing my concern about her being even more frustrated than she already are (she's an even bigger adventurer than i am, you know, the daredevil type. She'd climb mountains and hike and go to scary jungles). But of course, it was a mistake to say stuffs that sounds judgemental (which was never my intention) because people might mistaken your tone and then turn and judge YOU instead.

And i also go on a couple trips because i get to know my husband even more when we do. We manage to fall in love over and over again with each other with each trip. We discover new things together, we go to places we never went together and make them "our place". We create memories as a couple. For a second there, we forgot (not in a bad way, please) that we're parents and let go of responsibilities. We're young and carefree again. Is it so bad to enjoy that for a few days within a year? After all, our son's never far from our minds. In another second we'd scramble to shop for things for him, i'd start making plans about bringing him here and there on the next trip, and we see stuffs that remind us of him in every corner of the earth. Of course we LOVE him and always want to be with him, he is OUR son. That's why i think it's super stupid to judge people who go on trips without their kids! (POINT : Nobody love their kids any less just because they love themselves too)

I often question myself, if i am really such a bad mother for wanting to travel around freely every once in a while after being stuck at home most of the time with my son (yeah right, going to malls counts. NOT!) , then i'd notice my other friends would take such travels as well and then i'd feel a little better. I believe you need to always assess the situation before you judge people, if the kid (s) being taken care of relatives that are close to them (i.e, the grandparents, or the aunt and uncle), there's no harm in going on a kid-less trips once in a while (or in my case, once or twice in a year).

If you choose not to do it because you cannot imagine a single second of being separated from your kids (or there's no one to take care of them but that's another case altogether), then it's your call. That's your choice. We, who chose otherwise, can call you paranoid parents, suffering from separation anxiety, etc. But of course, you're the saints, so we can't-otherwise we'd be called assholes. But you can call us names, and we're supposed to be okay with that.

I even Googled this topic before i wrote this piece and found so many articles dedicated to this particular guilt (or even just mentioning it), that makes me feel better. Less alone, less confused, and less condemned. I am not alone in this world, and i am normal for wanting to have these kid-less trips. If you suffer the same feeling as i do, you might want to check out those articles, just type "mummy guilt" on you search engine and you'll find plenty. Here's one that touch on the subject briefly (and other type of mummy guilts) :

http://www.parenting.com/article/31-reasons-you-shouldnt-feel-mom-guilt

And another one that gives you tips to handle kid-less vacations :

http://www.babble.com/mom/parents-traveling-without-kids/

Bottom line, i'd like to say : without you judging, the guilty feeling would already be there. There is no need to make other people feel like they are crap parents (even if that gives you a superior feeling upon them). And guess what? It's NOT a sin. Even if you think so.