yummy cupcakes . . . .

that are fat free and you'll never gain a pound. Sounds pretty nice. Plus they smell awesome and they look mouth-watering, right?

• You could eat them. You totally could. I wouldn't suggest it though, because they're bath bombs. Yup, they're soap and would taste awful on your tongue. They're very pretty to look at and awesome to use. They fizz in your bath and smell amazing. And they are a lot of  fun to make. We call them cutie bombs.

These mini cupcake bath bombs are part of the business venture B and I have started. We're making and selling beauties like these, and I'm in the process of working on a web page for it. We're also going to sell them at flea markets. If they do well, we're going to add more bath products.

These purdy little things are perfect gifts and make for great treat to put in goodie bags for any special occasion. *ahem* Not that I'm promoting this or anything. :)

But . . . . if people are interested in having their own to buy that we just happen to make and sell. . . . well, we won't say no.

be a trendy parent

This is what the Today show told me this morning as I was getting ready for school. Be a trendy parent. Go read "50 Shades of Grey" so you can be one of those super cool party people parents. Buy this certain make-up because it'll make you hip like those other hipster parents out there.

I must be weird, because I put my foot down at being trendy. I can't say I've always been that way, but I just don't feel like being trendy is worth it. Why can't I just be myself?

First off, I won't touch "50 Shades of Grey" with a ten foot pole. Especially after the whole Twilight debacle. Twilight was sooooo trendy and I thought it'd be a good read. A whole lotta hoopla and days of my life wasted I'll never get back. Ever. And I'd really like that wasted time back.

But I digress.

Secondly, it's fine to try and be that trendy parent, but being trendy doesn't help you relate to your kids. There's that stigma today that if you're not that awesome parent that every kid wants as a parent, you suck at life. If you treat your kid like they're your kid and not your best friend, they won't ever talk to you in the future because you weren't hip.

The thing I've come to realize as a mom of kid who'll be a teen sooner rather than later is, one day you'll stop being cool. And trying to be that person that's so hip they can totally relate is not going to help. I used to think by the time B was in high school, I'd be that mom who understood all that new lingo and listened to all the music her kid did because we're so close in age how could I not?

Then I was faced with a reality check: some of her friends don't think I'm cool anymore. Not because I can't relate to them. I understand the things they have to deal with and what's headed in their direction in the future. I get the new clothing that's out there (even if I don't agree with all of it). I can even talk to most of them about their problems with some of their classmates. I've been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the hat. That's not why I'm not cool.

Nope.

It's because I'm a mom and not their age, so of course I would have no idea what's going on. It's as simple as that. I won't be cool or hip in their eyes because I'm not an teen like them. I'm (only) 20 years older and have nothing in common with them. I'll be too old to understand.

And I've made peace with that. I know no amount of reading some popular book with typos is going to suddenly make a trendy mom that's young and hip in B's eyes when she's a teen. In fact, it'll probably embarrass the crap out her.

But for the time being I'm still the cool mom who does her own thing and doesn't give a crap about what other people think. I don't need to be a trendy parent to try and relate to her. I can be my weird self and she's still proudly introducing me as her mother.

Until she hits middle school and realizes she's too cool to be seen with me, that is.