Why I Don’t Get My Nails Did

I see these posts on HelloGiggles and Instagram all the time, with pictures of ladies’ nails with nail art and pretty designs and color and I think they’re giving me nail envy!

Truthfully, as a woman, you want to look pretty and feel pretty wherever you are, but my nails weren’t always a concern to me, until recently. I’ve been going out more lately, more than I have in years and I’ve experimented more with make-up and my look. There’s something about being a mom to toddlers and a kid that’s completely different from being a mom to twin babies and a toddler. When they were smaller, I couldn’t even wear dangly earrings, for fear of having little curious hands pulling them out and ripping my ears!

So, as a mom of sorta big kids, I can wear dangly earrings, and I can sleep through the night without worrying about changing diapers or feedings, and I can probably go back to caring about my nails… right? See, it’s not like I never worry about my nails. Sometimes they look atrocious and I have to do them. But it’s really hard to justify wanting to get my nails done.

First of all, I went to beauty school… for four months. I have a OPI nail kit and I buy a ton of nail polish when I see a pretty color. Yes, I can do my own nails, but I’m starting to realize there’s absolutely no fun in that! I don’t get the special hand massage that they give you, and there’s a great chance of messing them up. I mean, you just finished your nails and all of a sudden you have to pee! I mean, come on! Or that’s the very moment the kids want a juice box or fruit snack opened! Come on! And I certainly can’t do nail designs (remember, 4 months of beauty school? Yep, that was it).

Then there’s the time factor. When do I have time to do my nails?? Between taking the 6 year old to school, the husband working full-time and cooking dinner for 5 people, when do I have time to go to a nail salon?

And then there are the past experiences. There’s that time I had acrylics for my wedding, then a week later I thought they were too long and hated them and tried to peel them off myself. Yeah…terrible. Or that time I got acrylics and went to a nail salon to get them removed, and it took a bunch of soaking and it hurt when the lady pulled them off! Then they gave me a regular manicure, that I then went home and ruined washing dishes! And let me address the dishes situation…why get my nails done when I had to wash baby bottles and sippy cups and everything else by hand?!

2013 has been my year of “No Excuses” and trying new things. Though getting my nails done isn’t a new thing, I wasn’t going to let past experiences ruin what could be fun and make me just a little bit happier.

So today, after years of ‘not getting my nails did’, I got my nails did! And I love it! And if I have something I need to do (wash something by hand), I’ll wear gloves!

Featured image by the author