Kiss Everlasting French Manicure

Ok, so I started this thing on Influenster...and I get free products to try & review! In my first box, I got Everlasting French Manicure by Kiss Products in "Really Short" (among other things). These were really easy to put on...once you find the right fit, which took me a bit. But I was able to put them on in less than 10 minutes. They looked really great! Here is a pic of a close up so you can see better

I only had 2 issues with these - one was the glue. I don't typically put on artificial nails, so lack of experience is probably the root of the problem, but there were some bubbles underneath. The other problem was the length. I was given the "Really Short" to review, and they were definitely that - REALLY short. I cut off my nails as short as possible, but you could still see some of my natural nail underneath some of them. Not a problem from a distance, but up close you could definitely tell. Overall, these would be great in a pinch, but definitely in a longer size. 

Change

Generally, no one likes change. It takes us out of our comfort zones, and it messes with our routines. I had a major change this week. For some, it would seem like nothing, but to me, it was definitely big. For the past 6 years, I have worked for our county system serving students from preschool to high school. I was informed in April that I would be transferred when a local city broke away to form a new school system. And to be honest, I was angry! I didn't want to leave my comfort zone. I didn't want to leave to leave my coworkers who had become like family. I fought it, and had several people fight with and for me. But we lost. I was transferred. And a new journey began. While it was uncomfortable, the phrase that people rarely believe has already started to prove true - change is good. I have changed positions to work solely with preschool and have come in to working with two amazing teams - our preschool team and our SLP team. So while this week has been exhausting and completely insane, I am so excited to be part of shaping these two departments. 

My Naturals Experiments

I've started a new blog about all of my "going natural" experiments...partially to keep up with them myself, but also for all those who kept asking :) I got tired of copy & paste lol. Here is the link if you want to check it out - myhomemadenaturals.blogspot.com

Ireland

Better late than never, right? So after much deliberation on what to do for our 10th anniversary in May, we decided to go to Ireland! I had been once before for our senior trip, and I said then I would love to back. It was our first time for both of us to be without children since Madelyn was born. Thankfully, that's where FaceTime is super handy. Saturday, we drove to Atlanta (much cheaper than leaving from B'ham). By the time we got to the airport, our flight had already been delayed. Our flight plan was kind of crazy anyway...ATL to Dallas to London to Dublin. It was storming in Dallas, so they kept pushing back our flight. We called the airline, and they quickly moved us to a different flight - directly to London! We actually got there early, but they wouldn't let us take an earlier flight to DUB. Oh well, it was only an hour. When we got to DUB, our luggage didn't appear from the magic belt....grrr. We were told it had been transferred. So we found a place to shop after making it to the hotel, got clothes, groceries, dinner, and chilled. We got to see so many awesome things...cathedrals, castles, colleges (which yes, was a site in itself). We went to the wax museum, natural history museum, archeology museum...visited Dun Laoghaire (which I think was our favorite day)...so much to do. There was really only one thing I wanted to do but didn't get to - go to the modern museum of art (all museums there are free, by the way). The Irish president was in Dublin at the time, and apparently he was holding events there and much of it was closed. It was also on the west side of town, where there isn't much else to do/see except visit the Guinness factory. It truly was a wonderful time for the two of us to spend together. I didn't take many pictures on the iPad (even though it went everywhere with us for mapping purposes), but here are a few :)

Our view from our hotel - the "Black" church (never figured out why it was called that), a school, & restaurant. 

The garden if remembrance - it's in the shape of a cross. 

Lynch at the vat house

View from our hotel at about 10:30 pm. The sun rose around 4 & fully set around midnight. 

Time in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced dun leery)

Another airplane out our window....slightly disconcerting. 

Greenland. 

The end!

The Game Changer

I've gone off the deep end. No really, I have. I suppose it really all started several years ago after hearing reports about how bad deodorant was for you (most likely while I was pregnant with Madelyn). Go without deodorant? No thanks. But it did make me start thinking about what's in the everyday things we use. Not gonna lie, words I can't pronounce scare me. That's part of the reason I started using Burt's bees stuff. Fast forward a few years to this little cutie - 

 

This picture was taken on the day he was released from the hospital after a full week of breathing issues. Breathing issues we'd been battling pretty much all his life, but battling pretty hard since December. Part of the joys of this little preemie child has been lung issues. And while I love him dearly, I was getting tired of him screaming while I try to pump steroids into his lungs every 2-4 hours. Or giving him a continuous month of antibiotics. So at church one Sunday, a friend of mine tells me I should try this stuff called RC. It's an essential oil to help with respiratory problems, especially asthma. At a point of desperation, I say, "Ok, order it". I mean, even at $22 it was cheaper than his inhaler. And then it began. Slowly, we were using the inhaler less. And then not at all. The skeptic was amazed. And the researcher in me came out of hiding. I start researching all these things essential oils can do. Granted I have none of them, but still researching. A little over a month later, I take the plunge & order the kit, thinking maybe there's something to this. We start cutting out the chemicals. And slowly, our lifestyle medically begins to change. I haven't had Tylenol or ibuprofen in over a month after taking it numerous times per week. Even Madelyn notices the change in how she feels when she uses them (which is why I've been up since 2:45...........). The boys ask for their "oles". David wants his own Deep Relief roller. And I keep researching. Looking to make the little changes. Homemade shampoo, face wash, deodorant....and I realize how cheap & easy it is. I seriously may never buy that stuff again. Don't get me wrong, I am not completely granola, nor am I sure I want to be, but I do know that I want what's best for the 4 people in my house that I love more than life itself. Lavender stopped an allergic reaction on this critter's face - 

Do I love the scent of frankincense? Not at all! But I put it on M's severe reaction to ant bites last night at 8:45 and could tell a huge difference at 2:45 when she woke me up asking me for more oils. Which I gave her with a threat that she better not ask me for more until I wake up. And of course I couldn't go back to sleep. But I figure if it was a gift for Jesus, there must be something special about it. Could you tell this face no?

And as I continue to be amazed that these things work, I continually hear whispered to my heart, "How unnatural the things that are truly natural seem". Why do we think natural things are weird? Just our society I suppose. Am I anti medication? Not if it's needed. But for some things (for me at least), there's a better way. So if you made it through this blog, congrats! Good job, and thanks for listening. It's been on my heart for several weeks now, so I believe someone out there needs to hear it. If there's anybody still out there. And if you are still out there, would ya comment and let me know? I will reward with some pictures & more blogs in the near future. Oh, and I apologize for typos and layout issues if there are any. I just discovered the ipad app, and since my laptop is iffy, this will most likely be how I post for a while. Thanks a million!

More pics

Ok, let's try this again...for the 5th time...actually more like 15th...

Christmas Eve, we decided to have a family night and go to Montgomery to see the lights at the zoo. It wasn't too cold, and we had lots of fun!

Christmas morning, we opened the presents. Everyone slept extra late, which made it even better =) Braden loved his bear. Madelyn got one too - a lamb of course, and Dalton a frog.

The boys had fun opening their presents...

...and so did MJ (but I think my favorite part of this picture is the sweet little face crawling toward me).

Just after Christmas, of course, brought the boys' birthday. We decided to do "Thing 1 & Thing 2" from "The Cat in the Hat". Madelyn & I read it the other day, and she was so proud of the fact that she could read parts of it.

B was Thing 1 since he was born first...

...and D was Thing 2. Their shirts matched too =)

Despite the look on Braden's face, he did not actually enjoy the cake. Poor thing had been so sick for the past month, and he didn't feel much up for partying.

Dalton, on the other hand, LOVED it. He had to be dunked in the tub after this...

Miss Jewel had to get the first cupcake.

Partying wore this little girl out. She had some good cuddle time with her PawPaw.

So far, 2013 hasn't started out the best. Hopefully some things will get worked out soon & we can stress a little less. Happy New Year!

And then they were 1.

It's hard to believe that just over a year ago, I went in for a regular OB appointment and came out with two little miracle babies. My little boys are such a joy. They are so different from each other! Braden is my cuddly, sensitive, chatty little man. He talks all the time! And he will never pass up the opportunity for a nap. Dalton is my independent, extra active, inquisitive little man. You can often find him with a solemn look on his little face. He is a little (ok, a lot) more aggressive than his brother and will steal a toy in a heartbeat. We had their birthday party over the weekend, which was hectic with it being so close to Christmas (which was extremely busy but wonderful). So many of our friends & family were sick that it ended up being a quiet little event. My poor little B still wasn't feeling well, having an ER trip two weeks prior and ending up back at the doctor the day before the party, all due to breathing difficulties. Poor baby has been sick almost constantly in his short little life. Hopefully he will get well soon!! Anyway, we chose the theme "Thing 1 & Thing 2" from "The Cat in the Hat". I sometimes called them this when I was pregnant. The festivities continued as we celebrated New Year's Eve with friends, then a quiet New Year's Day at home, just us. That's a rare event, and it was nice to spend time just the 5 of us. Last week was an adjustment for everyone...David & I had to go back to work and the kids went back to school, so that was hard. Madelyn was extremely lovey and the boys were very clingy. So...I have now been trying to post pictures for 3 days, so I'm going to give up for now amd post the random ones that made it. Sigh.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions...our Willow Tree nativity scene.

We did our tree differently this year...decided to go sort of traditional Christmas colors. I liked it =) but we have plans for something different next year. I like to plan ahead.

Madelyn very much believes in playing with her food.

These are from MJ's dance Christmas party. Miss Independent working on her passe's & tendus (above)...being the "star" (below)...

Miss Sassy showing off her new clothes on New Year's Eve.

We always love having our Christmas parties with friends, even though each year get busier & busier and it gets harder to do. Here are M & Collin chowing down at the kiddie table...not because there wasn't room at the dining room table, but Madelyn takes every opportunity to use this table, especially with friends.

Cuddling up with Uncle Jacob to watch Polar Express.

After dinner, we made salt dough ornaments & let them cook while we watched the movie. The kids had fun decorating them.

More Christmas decor...we didn't have 5 stocking holders of our Polar Express train, since we never really planned on having 3 kids, so I made our stocking holders this year. We also got new stockings. Oh, and the elf made an appearance this year with a chocolate advent calendar. Unfortunately, M only earned about half of her treats...we went through a rough patch...she decided to name the elf "Prince", which quickly became dubbed as "The Elf Formerly Known as Prince" by David.

So I guess I'll work on getting the rest of these pictures posted...this is why I don't post more frequently!

Overdue

I feel like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland...I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted. Starting back to work has meant limited time for the things in my life that really need to get done. Or things I want to get done...like blogging. So, what all has been going on in our lives? Well, work for one. This year I have been quite stretched (and stressed). And of course 3 kids keep you a little busy too. My little loves are doing wonderfully. Madelyn started 3K and is doing wonderfully. She amazes me at her brilliance. She is ridiculously stubborn though! She loves to make people laugh too. She definitely is a lot like me. Braden is my laid back little man. He is definitely the mama's boy (although Dalton can be a lot of times too). He is a little more behind with his motor skills, but his language skills are ahead of Dalton. Oh, and he is incredibly sensitive. If you get on to Madelyn while he's around, he will burst into tears for her. Dalton is my giggle box. All you have to do is look at him and he laughs. The boy LOVES to jump in the jumperoo. I always worry about him giving himself shaken baby syndrome. He loves pretty much everyone. So I'll start back in August and show you how much they've grown!

This is the beginning of August...

This is the beginning of September!

I did a little photoshoot of my loves at Alridge Gardens for the boys' 9 month pictures...here are a few from it. It was a warm, humid day.

Madelyn

Braden

Dalton

Believe it or not, this was the next day...talk about a cold snap! Happy 9 months, B & D!

In October, we took a trip to the beach. It was a little cool and windy at night, but during the day it was nice out. They all had so much fun playing.

Ready for fun in the sun!

The fall is always busy for us. This is from the pumpkin patch last weekend.

Madelyn wanted to ride the horse, so we let her. She said, "I was a little scared, but I was brave."

I  love how this turned out!

Sunday we had our fall festival at church. Madelyn was Rapunzel...

Braden was a puppy (his favorite thing in the whole wide world).

And Dalton was a dinosaur.

This has been an extra busy time of year, and starting in October, things always get crazier. We have some things coming up every week between now & Thanksgiving, but I'll try to update soon!