I brought my son and his friends to the movies the other night. They were all perfect gentlemen. Then, on the ride home, the M&M’s kick in. They are talking louder, faster and giggling. One after the other, they ask if I can turn up the radio. Before I know it, they’re singing, dancing and talking about girls. Every one of them is talking about girls except my son, whose lips are sealed. Not with mom in the car, right? Let’s just say, I caught another glimpse of what it’s going to be like when he becomes a teenager.

You forgot to sign your son’s school forms and you have to hear about it from your kid and his teacher the next day.

I swear I just had my roots done a few weeks ago, but it is winter time in New England. And you know what that means? Your dark roots will start to show a mere three weeks after a highlighting. I love my hair stylist. Patrick is the best. It’s not his fault I have dirty blond hair and I live in Rhode Island. This never happened when I lived in Texas, and I digress. I’m here to let you know it’s OK to let your roots shine, girls. It happens from time to time. Do you know how many moms out there don’t even have the time to get their hair done professionally? They’re lucky to fit in a shower in between all the night feedings and toddler tantrums. One of my dearest friends brought my roots to my attention to my surprise when I was working full-time. At the time, my son was three and my daughter was six months old. Oh my, I remember those days. A shower was an accomplishment. I have a mommy friend that shares pictures of her dark roots on Facebook, God bless her! Here’s a thought: The next time your friend shares her root rage with you, offer to take care of her kids for a couple of hours so she can have some time for herself and get her hair done.

You get “called out” by your daughter for not remembering to iron the little patches on her Brownie sash because it’s two days before you have a house full of visitors and it was the last thing on your mind but if visitors weren’t coming and you didn’t have a mound of Golden Retriever fur in every room, it would be the first thing on your mind.

My friend recently shared a dessert recipe with me that’s so easy, it practically brought tears to my eyes. Not only does it include Oreos, but cream cheese too. Actually these are the only two ingredients you need. I’m totally serious. I’m a sucker for an easy recipe that tastes great. My son and daughter are huge fans. For those times when you just don’t have enough time to bake, make up a batch of these and I promise you won’t get made fun of by even your most Martha Stewart-like friends. (If you prefer all natural ingredients, try using all-natural sandwich cookies as an alternative or make up a batch of homemade cookies and follow the recipe below.)

Ingredients:

-1 pkg of Oreo Cookies – crushed

– 1 – 8 oz. cream cheese – softened

Directions: Mix crushed Oreo’s and cream cheese together. Roll into bite size balls. Chill in freezer and serve. Chill leftovers. Waa laa!

Here’s a brainstorm: Pop a wooden stick in each ball, place them in the freezer and waa laa, you have Oreo Cake Pops. You can also drizzle frosting, melted semi-sweet chocolate chips or white chocolate over them to make them even more fabulous.

Do you suffer from discount addiction? Red tag retail therapy? Check out my guest blog post on scary mommy today, where I share one of my own scary mommy confessions. Famous Scary Mommy blogger, Jill Smokler, has written a new book, Confessions of a Scary Mommy. Check it out!

I recently ran into a mommy acquaintance at the grocery store. I call her that because I honestly don’t know her name and I don’t know much about her, except the fact that she lives in the same town. But she always walks around acting like a snotty you-know-what. Hello, we’re not in high school any more.  So, we crossed paths every other aisle. I always smile at her, but she never smiles back. When we get to the deli section, she acts rudely to the woman working behind the counter and doesn’t even pretend to be polite. She honestly acts like she has a stick up her butt. The last straw for me was when I tried to make small talk with her at the check-out line. When she blatantly ignores me, I know I’ve hit my limit. When was the last time you encountered a mean mommy? Share your story here, without naming names, of course.

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Like the movie Mean Girls, there are mean moms out there who don’t know how to play nice. They thrive on bullying other moms by making them feel inadequate. Although I can be sarcastic, I like to consider myself a nice mom. I can’t stand it when other moms act like brats.

Mean Girls movie clip.

Do you have mommy friends who ONLY make desserts from scratch? I know a couple who would probably have passed out if they ever saw me running straight from the bakery to my kids’ school birthday parties. I adore my friends who are gifted in the kitchen, but there are some mommies out there who I believe have a mission of making other non-from-scratch-baking-mommies feel inadequate. What’s up with this? Hello, aren’t we all living in the 21^st century? Aren’t we all crazed? Aren’t we all trying to just get by? Get over yourself. Share your rants and recipes here.

Here are some easy cupcake recipes.

So my son and I are listening to the radio on the way to school the other day. We’re both singing along to one of his favorite pop songs (one that I’m beginning to like now to my friends’ dismay). As soon as the song ends, the DJ starts rambling on about something. Before I know it, the DJ announces that Lady Gaga’s secret to younger-looking skin is spinach and orgasms. I felt like I was in slow-motion, reaching for the off switch. I hit that button so fast, you could barely hear the “O” word. But OM goodness! I’m no Tipper Gore, but really? It was 8:15 a.m. and my son is 10. He’s too old for KidzBop, but WAY too young for this stuff. Thankfully, it was over his head. He didn’t even suspect a thing. Had he caught on, I would have resorted to leaving the radio off until he turns 15. (Or maybe simply asking him to put on his proverbial “ear muffs” just as Vince Vaughn did in Old School.)

Ear Muff It For Me, Old School.

Brownies alone (even without the SNL Brownie Husband) are like a cross between chocolate cake and fudge, and that, my friend, is all this mom needs.

Check out this recipe for amazing brownies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan or casserole dish.

2. In a large saucepan over moderate heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat.

3. In a small bowl, lightly whip the eggs. Stir sugar and vanilla into eggs and set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, shift together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.

5. Add sugar mixture to melted butter and mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix just until combined – about fifty strokes with a wooden spoon.

6. Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Do not over bake!

7. Frost brownies while they are still warm with Frosting for Brownies, and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Serves: 24 generous brownies

The Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups butter
• 1 ¼ cups cocoa powder
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar

1. Over low heat in a small saucepan, melt butter.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients and beat to combine. Pour warm frosting over      brownies while they are still warm, and allow to set. Allow brownies to      cool completely before cutting.