Lady Gaga's 'You And I' Cover by me (Chiki) From my MiniVan!

I've been putting up cover videos and having so much fun doing it. There's a few more on my YouTube Channel. I've been doing about 1-2 videos per week.

Check back for more videos!

-Chiki

Mommy Mush Brain and Books

Photo from Tempe.gov

Want to beat 'Mommy Mush Brain'? If that's a new term to you, just look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you're forgetting things or if you feel a little foggy and can't think clearly. Yeah, that right there-that's 'Mommy Mush Brain'. You must do something to help yourself.





Try:
1) Meditation
2) Drinking Water
3) Exercise

And, this is a must--read! Read more than Vogue or Cosmopolitan. Go to the library with your kids and don't forget to pick something up for yourself. Your brain cells will thank you for it and you will be much more alert and feel renewed for your day.


Remember, 'Pop is best served up as a side dish to life',
Christine Rap

Mom and the Pop Life.

The MILF and Desperate Housewives

Photo from Imagebase.net

With a string of shows like 'Desperate Housewives',  and the 'Real Housewives' popping up everywhere, it's apparent that the trend of the 'hot' mom has hit it's high. While in some ways, it is cause to celebrate that women are still veracious and sensual after becoming a 'mom', there's something that still bothers me about this trend.

I suppose it's the thought that this is not the norm-that after a women has a child, she becomes less desirable. A man, after having children, is often looked at like less of an issue to a woman looking for a relationship. A women after having children, however, is more of a burden. She is less desirable. Similarly, a woman in the workplace is far less likely to get a promotion due to her having a child. A mother, then, is seen as someone who is unable to have a relationship or a strong career because she has the responsibility of a child.

This societal value of what a true woman is supposed to be- maternal, much like the Catholic Virgin Mary. Placed on a pedestal, the woman must remember her place on the 'throne' of motherhood. She is no longer sexy but an icon of love and nurturing. She must pack up her vagina and stop being beautiful because she is above all of the material things. Simply, she must just be 'naturally' beautiful.

Well, then mid-life crisis sets in and a man leaves his 'icon of love and nurture' of many years for a new 'sexy' and beautiful young woman. Unscathed by motherhood, this young femme will give the man what he can't get from his ex-mother.

So when I see shows that promote the 'sexy' woman with botox, fake breasts who are materialistic, I believe they are bucking the system. At the same time, it solidly confirms our need for the 'real' mothers who nurture and aren't interested in all those nasty material things; somehow assuring us it's going to be OK. Yet, when we see so much of the 'MILF' being promoted, it reminds us that this is what is considered desirable.

An alternate view may be that we all have a little of the 'desperate housewives' in us. Wouldn't that turn everything upside down and scare us all to think that women are sexy, just as sexy as men until we die?
Yes, we want the same things as men. We want to be seen as beautiful, as vital and important.

Being a mother is not a sensual death sentence and being a 'Real Housewife' is not something we aspire to be. We created the standard and we are defining it. To be reduced to a MILF suggests that mothers are no longer a part of the sexual world and they don't desire to be.

Adorable Easter Basket Cake

Photo From: http://www.familyfun.com

The Folks at Family Fun really surprised us with this fun, colorful take on the Easter Basket! This would make a really great centerpiece or make you worthy of many appreciative praises at your Easter Party.

Learn how to make it here!

http://familyfun.go.com/spring/spring-recipes/spring-cakes-desserts/easter-basket-cake-685871/



Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Christine Rap
Mom and the Pop Life

Body By Victoria-Super Cute Hip Hugger Panties

Photo: http://www.victoriassecret.com/panties/hiphuggers

Ladies, Spring is here and it's time for some super cute panties! Try the Body By Victoria HipHugger Line. Comfortable, cute, colorful and girly fun. We love these!

Here's more of a sampling of new undies:

Photo: http://www.victoriassecret.com/panties/hiphuggers

Happy Shopping from Mom and the Pop Life!

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine Rap

Mom and the Pop Life

Week Three Menu Plan-Breakfast, Snacks, Lunch Dinner Planned

Photo: http://www.morethymeforyou.com

Well Hello Everyone!


Here's what we're cooking up this week at Mom and The Pop Life. What are you making? Feel free to download the Excel File here FREE for inspiration and time saving! http://www.mediafire.com/?n11fsleqm360vy1

We do the work for you and serve up great food ideas that are healthy and not boring! Enjoy!


Now listening: Bruno Mars, Grenade





Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Christine Rap
Mom and The Pop Life

Healthy Menu Plan-Two Weeks of ideas!

Emeril's Carrot Soup, photo from Foodnetwork.com

Hi Everyone,

We're sharing another week of healthy recipe ideas that's perfect for a family on the go! Mix up school lunches, snacks and dinners. Learn a few new recipes with the convenient links provided from food network.

Have a great week!

http://www.mediafire.com/?oa1yvdytevtdc

Remember, pop is best served up as a side dish to life!
Christine Rap
Mom and the Pop Life.

Would a Squirrel Make a Good Pet?

So I was looking out my window sipping my morning coffee and watching squirrels on the trees. I started thinking, awe, wouldn't it be cute to have a pet squirrel. So, instead of completing my month schedule, I took a quick look at 'squirrels for pets' on google. Here's What I found.




I decided that although this is compelling evidence that squirrels can be a pet and very cute, they are much too spastic for me--especially after seeing it scale the curtains in the video.


Squirrels are much better viewed from the window.


Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Christine Rapagnola

Mompetitors, Competitive Mothers. UGH

Mompetitors and the Competitive Mom.

One of the biggest mysteries I know is the one where friends compete. I'm not talking about a fun competition of lets see how much weight we can lose or who can make the best cupcakes. No, what was once a competition to see who could get the cutest boyfriend in high school has now moved onto a new frontier now that we are older-our children.

Some moms are completely narcissistic about their children-they talk (bragging) constantly about how talented their children are, how smart, creative and sports inclined. Others silently take it all in and make it their mission to outdo all those moms by signing their children up for EVERY class known to man. If there is not a class, then they look up online and create a lesson!

Don't make the mistake of telling anyone about trouble your child is having in a certain area; they mistake it for a weakness. It's sort of like when your best friend goes on a diet to lose five pounds because you've gained weight. This mom you tell will go out and now use you (and possibly your child) to make their child have an even greater perceived competitive edge.

I am not saying all moms are like these moms I describe above. Certainly, I have wonderful friends that are supportive, wonderful mothers that lend a helping hand or supportive ear and it's a reciprocal relationship.

Sometimes when an encounter with one of these moms occurs, I get a twinge of anger and feel that rivalry. And then, I snap out of it. After all, I want to be the best mother I can be to my children but I don't want them to have MY baggage. I am supportive but I follow their lead. The worst thing a mother can do is steal their child's ability to self-motivate and feel their own pride for their accomplishments.

So, my children are doing well and they are doing it mostly on their own. When they do something great, I say 'Good for you'. If they want to talk about their accomplishments, then I am there to encourage and show that I am proud of them and supportive of their dreams and goals. However, I am not going to awaken any sense of competition that didn't arise from their own little hearts!

And, I will not let these mothers awaken any sense of competition in my own heart that wasn't there before I met them. Just like that, these mothers are just a memory-that is until the next PTO meeting!

How about you? Do you know any moms like the competitive ones I described above? How did you deal with them?


pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Christine Rap

Yogi is awesome!

Disney Pictures, Copyright 2010

We went to see the YOGI movie yesterday and our whole family loved it. The Rapagnola's give this movie FOUR thumbs up. For Marcus and I, it brought back a lot of memories of Yogi making us laugh and we thought that all involved in the creation of this movie did a great job at keeping the old Yogi feel!!! We also chose to see it in 3D and have to say it was really cool! The Rapagnola Family recommends this movie. :)

You can check out a trailer (or two) below!


http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/yogibear/



Christine Rap
Pop is Best served up as a side dish to life.

2011 and believing in yourself

We continue to make music, we continue to be inspired. This has been such a long process and we finally feel that our music has hit the point where we're getting the response we are looking for and it's consistent. :)

This past Holiday we had a wonderful time with family & friends. I hope the same for you. I sometimes look around at all the abundance and count my blessings. Other times, I feel that there is so much wasted extra resources (the abundance) that could be given to some people who are starving and have no shelter. Like, when I hear of hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on one person's holiday gift, I can't help but think of how selfish that is when little babies are starving to death.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to 2011 and our video and our single release. We're not divulging any information yet because we just want it to be the best surprise!

For now, you can visit us at http://www.modernkindmusic.net for updates!

Talk soon!

Christine
pop is best served up as a side dish to life

Holiday Hairstyles for your Girls-French Braiding

Hey everyone, if you're a mom like me, you like your girls' hair to stay nice and neat all day; especially when it comes to holiday parties. With a french braid, it's an easy way to keep it off of their beautiful faces all day. My friends are always asking me how I do french braids. Here is a great video to learn. This will teach you how to do a basic french braid and then from there you can become more intricate.

I like to lace a braid right from the start of the hairline at the forehead. It keeps messy bangs from acting up and it makes a gorgeous face frame.



Have fun!
Christine
pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Film Day #5 Completed, Motherhood always being redefined

So we completed Day #5 of filming for our music video last night. We shot one of the 'family' scenes with Paul, Evan and Michelle. You may recognize Michelle from Big Brother, Season #10. She was the 'Portuguese Princess'. We had sooo much fun. They are fantastic group of talented people. :)

In the midst of all the work going on in my life, I've had little time to reflect but the past week, and probably with help from my Intro to Philosophy course, I've been questioning a lot of things. Namely, why I do certain things. I have a tendency to just go and go and never ask myself why I'm on a continuous cycle of repeating things in the same pattern. At first glance, it may seem like your life is random but when you pick apart all of the pieces of your life, you can analyze your belief system, your likes/dislikes and see how your experiences, your family and friends have all shaped who you are today. You start to realize who you are. You may even get the 'aha' moment I had today. I realized in all my efforts to 'be a good mom' and give to the community, that I don't spend enough time with my children just 'chilling out'. I further note that since the television broke, we are able to get so much more done!

I am redefining who I am as a person by analyzing things that I do, changing them and then applying them to my life to put myself into action. I'm engaging myself in a whole new way; to be present and fully aware of myself. Humans are not perfect. I am not perfect and I can't expect that from anyone. I can't expect anyone to change. I can change the way I react to the world and put myself in action. I can notice things about myself and continue to have 'aha' moments and try to make a positive change in the lives in my children. I need to be more present and do less planning.

I am studying courses so that I can rejoin the work force with new inspiration and it's having a positive effect on my life as well. I will never stop learning.


pop is best served up as a side dish to life.
Chiki

Heidi Klum Emmy's-Do You Compare Yourself?

Heidi Klum Little Black Dress: Getty Images

So, since January of 2010, I have lost 17 pounds. I feel so much better, physically and I'm much more confident. And then, I find photos like this one of Heidi Klum at the 2010 Emmy Awards Red Carpet. These photos are ones I am constantly looking at because I love fashion and I'm addicted to looking at cute dresses and dreaming of the day when I'm going to wear them again.

So this dress brings me to two questions. 1) You will note that it is several inches above the knee. Is this OK after thirty? I once watched a show saying that women above thirty should not go more than two inches above knee for dresses and skirts. 2) Is it an unrealistic goal to say that I will rock this dress like Heidi. Probably. Yes. Most Definitely.

So, my question is, why do I have such an obsession with looking at these gorgeous, tall women with designer dresses and say, 'Someday I will look like that.' Someday may never happen. How about I aspire to look like my best me. We have these award shows for celebrities, actresses and actors and none for all of the fabulous people who really make the world go round: Teachers, Doctors, Social Workers and do gooders from around the world. Why do we put people that are getting paid so well up on a pedestal for doing a job they love? 

I see a huge inequity in all of this. I wish that I would just let it all go, focus on my music and live in the joy of that. Why do I feel the need to think 'I have to look better than the average person for people to love me?' This is so unhealthy and I know it.

Do you ever feel like this ladies? Spill it. Be honest. You can be anonymous. :)

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine Sebastian

Mom and the Pop Life: Is All Art Pretentious?

Look at this piece of art above. It's 'modern' and I found it by doing a google search under futuristic art. To me, this particular piece symbolizes how I feel so very often when I think of the media, pop culture, technology and the chaos that is in our daily lives from information overload. It tells me that although we have all of this information, we have yet to find out how we are going to use it. We have technological tools and we have advanced medicine but we can't figure out how to allocate the resources efficiently. We are limited by our own humanity. This generation has the grand task of figuring it all out, protecting our children from open access to inappropriate information and the media attacking us from all angles.

Anyhoo, that's my take on it. ;) What's yours?

The inspiration of this post comes from thinking about art as an ideal. Is art pretentious as a rule? Can it be something more meaningful? Is it a fantasy world thought up by 'crazy' and 'eccentric' people that will never matter to society? If that is true, why do pieces of art throughout the beginning of man take up thousands of square feet at museums?

Also, the definition of an artist can mean two things today. One is sometimes called a 'puppet', an industry pawn controlled by a team of entertainment professionals at Record Labels, Music Production Companies, A&R Representatives, Public Relations Firms and paying lots of money to get people on the radio. Those people are usually mainstream. The other artist is the 'avante garde' artist. This is the artist that is 'breaking boundaries' and is a free spirit. They are rebellious, sometimes in a 'whoah that's weird' kind of way and sometimes they are 'whoah, that is 'so fierce and badass'. They say and do things for 'shock' value and they 'break boundaries' and everyone 'underground' thinks they are awesome. Sometimes those people cross over to mainstream, usually with the help of a team that figures out how to turn them into a product.

Either way, these artists are pretentious and contrived. The media sells them like they are 'new', they are the definition of talent and so much goes into justifying the fact that they make music and want to entertain. The media goes on to explain how because they 'won this contest' or because they 'wrote a song for Justin Beiber or Kesha', they are hot and cool. Because of these things, we should just accept this artist, induct them into stardom immediately, and 'buy into' everything they're selling.

The justification of everything is what's frustrating. It's contrived and being sold as 'a truth'. How about if you have talent, just make some good music? How about instead of being concerned with how much people are going to kiss your arse, how about making music that is going to get me through my day?

There are some artists that are enjoyable today, no doubt. It is the mayhem that is created on the artists superiority over human life that is so frustrating.

The ability to make music is no more special than anything else that people have talent for. Only the best music should make people stand up and take notice and that's where the focus should be on.

Make your rebellious music, do it on purpose but if you do it, remember that anyone listening is not seeing how 'groundbreaking' you are. You are providing a service and a product. Until you realize that you are a pawn in other rebellious person's life, you are a puppet with strings pulled by 'The Man'.

Pop is Best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine Sebastian

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Workout Week, Asics and Zu Zu Pets

It's very earrrllly in the morning. My darling hubby who sleeps in most mornings, had to get up at five a.m. Isn't that just the ugliest hour? Once I'm up, I'm up for the day. Bummer.

How was your weekend? Mine was ok. The rain made it seem fine to relax. My children were not as proactive about cleaning as they were this week. One of them would like more Zu Zu Pets and accessories so that helped motivate the little one to work a little harder too. Zu Zu Pets have earned points this weekend.

This week, I really need to get back on my workout schedule. Last week through me for a loop with a graduation, four music classes and an End of the Year Celebration. I was exhausted by the end of the day and only got to the gym once last week.

But, with my new Asics Sneakers that I got fitted for, I'll be styling in class. I got a running shoe because the salesgirl said that she recommends them over cross training shoes because they give more support. I also have a W-I-D-E foot and Asics come in wide. I have to just say that these are by the the most comfortable workout shoes I have ever worn. I have been buying sneakers that somewhat fit and then breaking them in for years. The sides of my feet would always be in pain. When I told her this, she said, your shoes should fit on day one. Your sneakers will never fit properly if they have to stretch out.

The sales girl told me I should buy new sneakers after four-six months. Sneakers ware. I know I've kept sneakers waayyyy longer than that. All in all a very good lesson.

So, my workout schedule this week will be two days of high intensity cardio, two-three days of weight training and 2-3 days of moderate cardio.

My body is starting to take shape and it's a good motivator to keep going!! Talk to me at the end of the week when I want to crash!

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine

Say Goodbye to Camel Toe Forever!

These new panties called 'Camelflage' will erase those embarassing lines forever!!!

Skip over to http://www.camelflage.com

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Christine

Introducing: LaRoux on Good Morning America

LaRoux has been an artist I've been following for some time. I am sooo very excited that she is here in the states. She definitely reminds me of the Eurythmics which makes her even more fabulous! This British TALENT import is skyrocketing up the Billboard Charts here in the US. 'Bulletproof' isn't even my favorite song of hers. I love 'In It for the Kill'--I listen to her while I am cleaning. :)

Here's her live performance on Good Morning America.

Yummy Lunch Idea--Hummus and Romaine..nom nom nom

So, Lauren Conrad (Of the Hills) inspired me while on the treadmill today doing my own 'Hills' workout to eat 'Clean Food'. One suggestion in US Magazine was to eat Hummus on Romaine lettuce. This is so easy and delicious. Just wash some Romaine Lettuce leaves and dry them with a paper towel, smear some hummus and crunch!

I will definitely try hummus on other things. I am thinking Endive may be nice. I also have been eating a ton of fruits and veggies when I'm hungry. It's a different way of thinking about filling that hunger gap but I'm getting it. When I'm reallllyyyy hungry, I would always go for things like cheese and bulk items to make the hunger pangs go away. Now I'm choosing nourishment, VITAMINNZZZZZZZ. I am starting to feel really good and my skin is looking better than it has in a long time.

Here is a photo I found for hummus on top of Romaine. Yes, it is as delicious as it looks! Try some for lunch. :)

Love,

Mom

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life!

image: Spicebalance.com

Taking away a child's Privileges DOES work

First, lets set out the difference between a privilege and a need. A need is feeding your child. Although, it may be tempting on those not so wonderful days in motherhood, we must feed our children. We must help them with their homework and we must guide, nurture and listen to them even when we do not like them at that particular moment. These are examples of needs.

A want would be play dates, ice cream and/or treats, 'special time' with mom and dad or other relative. These are examples of privileges.

Last week my two daughters had a friend over for play in the backyard. They made lots of messes and neglected to remove trash---food papers were left strewn across the backyard. And so, I held THEM responsible to not only clean it but they lost play dates (their favorite privilege) for an entire week. Today I am happy to report that they are very aware of leaving trash in the backyard and they are even cleaning up with a smile.

Privileges are a powerful tool, ladies. USE it!!

Pop is best served up as a side dish to life.

Mom and the Pop Life