Mommy Manicures

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

13 May 2011 11:59 PM

When was the last time you received a manicure?

A real manicure.

Not streaks of Plum Passion painted on by your 5-year-old. I'm talking about the real deal; professional nail treatment courtesy of a hired hand.

I'm pretty sure the last time I paid someone to push back my cuticles and buff my nails was the day before I got married. That was more than eight years ago.

I remember thinking how nice it would be to enjoy a day at the spa following the birth of our daughter. That was more than six years ago.

Back then I would spend hours breastfeeding in a wooden rocking chair dreaming of having my swollen ankles massaged prior to a pedicure, my winter-chapped hands lubricated and my disheveled nails replaced by shiny, new acrylic ones.

Of course, my dream would always end the same way: with me waking up and realizing that a.) the fake nails would last all of five minutes while I cared for a newborn, plus cooked, cleaned and finished moving into our new home and b.) oh, yeah, we didn't have enough money for a manicure.

Let's see... what's more important to have? Clean diapers, running water, and electricity or a classic French manicure that I could admire when I changed diaper number 23 for the day?

Seriously, how many moms with young children budget for a regular manicure these days?

Oh wait, I know, the girls on MTV's reality show "Teen Mom."

Am I the only one who wonders how these supposedly "struggling" 16 and 17-year-old's are able to walk around with immaculately manicured fake nails?

It's bad enough that the cameras zoom in on the girls' perfectly painted acrylics throughout the 60-minute show--a series that's allegedly designed to "promote abstinence and prevent teens from getting pregnant"--but to have to watch these girls drag their infants into a local salon so they can get a fresh coat of Red Dahlia is not exactly Mom of the Year material.

Are you a financially strapped mom? When was the last time you paid to get your nails done?

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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