Guilty Pleasures: Mom Style

Processed with VSCOcam with t1 presetGuilty pleasures. We all have them, right? Things you do when no one’s watching or habits that might be a little embarrassing to admit so you don’t like to talk about them? I know I do. But, I have no shame. So I’m here today to divulge my deepest, darkest guilty pleasures for everyone on the internet. They’re not that deep and dark, don’t worry, but they’re still things that are silly and potentially embarrassing and oh-so good.

Now, ever since becoming a mother, I don’t get to enjoy these things nearly as often as I’d like. Most of these only happen when I’m alone (which never happens because once you’re a mom you don’t even get to pee by yourself…), late at night (if I can stay awake), or if a full-on miracle occurs and both kids are asleep in bed before 8:30 p.m. Here we go…

Ice Cream
This one might not seem all that crazy – lots of people enjoy ice cream. But I really enjoy it. I want to eat it every day. It must be vanilla with chocolate syrup. It must be slightly melted so I can mix it up in my bowl to a chocolate shake-like consistency, and I prefer to be eating it in bed. Sounds glamorous, right? And super healthy and attractive? Yeah, I know. As much as it pains me, I limit myself to maybe one or two small bowls a week, and it’s usually consumed while sharing with a toddler on my lap.

People Magazine
I’vscocam-photo-2m a sucker for celebrity gossip. I have my aunt to thank for this one. As a kid, I remember reading her People magazine every time my family came to visit her and my uncle in Leavenworth. I loved reading about celebrities, seeing their pictures and trying to complete the crossword puzzle in the back of every issue. My love has never wavered and I’ve personally been a subscriber for several years now. My mom gets me a gift subscription every year for my birthday and it’s my favorite. My People arrives in Friday’s mail – I get mad when the post office screws this up – and I need want to sit down and read it right away. This definitely doesn’t happen now that I’m a mom because my kids demand things like getting their basic human needs met but once they’re asleep, you better believe I’m delving into that bad boy. In a perfect world, I’d have a good hour to thumb through and read each article. In reality, I get behind because life gets in the way and I find myself binge-reading several weeks worth of issues during nap time on a Sunday, which is arguably just as satisfying.

News Magazine Shows
Dateline NBC. Primetime. 48 Hours. 20/20. You name it, I wanna watch it. Give me allllll the crime stories, murder mysteries and hidden camera investigations. All I want to do on Friday and Saturday nights is watch good television news programming. Forget going out to a bar, a restaurant or any type of social interaction, really. If I can watch a whodunnit or two, I’m happy as can be.

The trifecta? Eating ice cream, reading People magazine and watching 48 Hours Mystery in bed on a Friday night. My own piece of heaven. And you guys, this actually happened this past weekend. Granted, it was interrupted 541 times by an infant who started crying every 10 minutes because she lost her pacifier and a two year old who pooped and woke up to tell me about it. But still. It happened.

Sugary Cereal & Snacks
vscocam-photo-1One time when my husband and I were still dating, we went to the grocery store. While we were checking out, the cashier asked how many kids we had as she scanned our boxes of cereal. Um… zero? Those boxes of Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch are all mine, lady. And don’t forget my Fruit Roll-Ups and Gushers while you’re at it. And please, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT smash my Oreos! Also, my husband and I were thoroughly embarrassed by the amount of junk we were buying so we lied and said we had two kids. Now that we actually have two kids, we still buy the same junk and it’s still all for us me. One of these days I’ll force myself to do a Whole 30 challenge or go Paleo, but for now, please let me enjoy my fruit snacks in the bathroom by myself while my daughter reachers her hand underneath the door yelling, “Where are youuuuuuu?!?!”

Sing It, Girl
I’m a terrible singer. I’ve never sang in public unless you count way too many nights in college where my friends and I hit up the karaoke bars. But, it’s karaoke. It’s supposed to be bad. And, because alcohol makes you do things you probably normally wouldn’t do. Really – sober or not – I’m the worst singer. But if I’m in the car, alone, I am the BEST singer. No kids in the car means the music can be cranked up as loud as I can stand it and I will sing along to the entire Sam Smith CD like I’m auditioning for The Voice, American Idol and every other singing competition out there and I will WIN, dammit. Sometimes I even throw in a few hand gestures to add to the performance so if you see me jammin’ on I-35 just pretend I’m waving to you and wave back, OK?

Now, spill it. What are some of your guilty pleasures? And keep it clean, there are kids around!

Mackenzie Oakley
Hi! I’m Mackenzie, wife to Justin and mama to three beautiful babes. I grew up in Sioux Falls, SD and headed south for college in Lincoln, NE where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from UNL. I met my husband while I was visiting family in Kansas City in August 2007 and we've been together ever since. After graduating college in 2008, I landed my first job in Kansas City, Justin and I bought a house in Olathe, got married and started our little family. We’ve called the KC-area home for almost 10 years now! I work full-time for a small marketing firm and spend what little free time I have loving on my kids, attempting a little DIY here and blogging over at Baby By Oakley.