A Product Review (& Coming Tomorrow.....)

Every once in a while I decide that I need a switcher-oo in my daily routine. Here recently, that switcher-oo is in my shampoo/conditioner. After having Isaac, I reasoned in my brain that my shower time might be super short and it might be the only "me time" I get during the week, so I allowed myself to indulge in some really great shampoo & conditioner. Like, as in, I'm embarrassed by how much money I shelled out. My hair is colored and I also reasoned that IF a better shampoo & conditioner could help me stretch out the time between salon visits, then it'd be a little more worth the extra money spent.

I went with Bumble and Bumble Color Minded shampoo & conditioner

Source

I've been using it for almost 4 months now and honestly I'm not all that thrilled with it. Maybe it's the price that's got me down, or maybe I just dont think it's done what it's promised me. Here's the breakdown:

Pros: 

• My hair is noticeably more shiny!
• A small amount goes a long way. I balked at the 8oz bottle initially, but it's lasted me a lot longer than I anticipated. 

Cons:

• $$$$ It aint cheap. Have I made that abundantly clear already? 
• Tangles galore! The conditioner seems very light and my hair gets tangled very easily.
• I couldn't tell any difference in the overall color protection. It seemed just as faded & washed out when I got it re-colored this morning as usual. 

So, bottom line is that I probably would not have re-indulged in this combo unless it completely revolutionized my hair. And it didn't. So bye-bye Bumble and Bumble. I shall continue my quest for a new shampoo/conditioner routine. I'm probably equally curious about trying Kiehls and Ojon. I'm taking suggestions! 

What's your favorite shampoo/conditioner combo?? 

Starting tomorrow, I'm doing something really special on here. A Month 4 Moms starts bright & early March 1st and will run all the way until the 30th. Check back here tomorrow to read a little more about A Month 4 Moms and what you can expect over the next month! Tell your friends! Tell your family!! Tell your friend's family! See you back here tomorrow!

PS. I didn't receive any compensation of any sort for this review. Just thought you'd like to know what I think about some shampoo. Over & Out.

Four Months Old!

I say it over and over again, but I just cant believe that my little guy is growing up so quickly! People told me to treasure the moments, because time flies. Well they were right. It seems like he's been around for about 4 minutes, but then at the same time, our first weeks home with him seem like an eternity ago. 

Isaac, you're FOUR months old!!!

This month has had its share of ups and downs, but it seems like we've made it to the other side. A LOT has changed in your life since the last update at three months. At the time, you were going through a little growth spurt, but as soon as we got to the end of that, we dropped a nap and a feeding from your daily routine. It was harder for you to adjust than I thought it would be-- but not because we were feeding or napping less! Losing a nap and feeding meant your whole day got shifted around and trying to sleep and feed at different intervals than you were accustomed to was a little bit of a doozy at first. After about 48 hours of less-than-stellar naps, you got the hang of things and have been happily eating and napping on your revised schedule.

We dropped your latest feeding (at 10pm) and so now you go to bed between 8pm and 8:30pm and sleep until we get you up between 7am and 7:30am. Momma is so happy that even though some of your days were hairy and naps were all over the place, you were a rockstar with the night sleeps and didnt have any problems sleeping through the night. It's a lot easier to tolerate poor day napping when you consistently get 10-12 hours of sleep at night.

Getting your 4 month chair picture was a comedy of errors this afternoon! Here's a little guide to the picture above, told from Isaac's perspective:

1. Just hanging out on the floor blowing some bubbles and this momma of mine wants to take a picture of me. What else is new?! 
2. What do you mean, I'm not supposed to spit up everywhere?!
3. All cleaned up and being a ham again.
4. Well, I just wasnt quite finished yet, but now I feel much better. 
5. Hm. I think maybe I kinda like this nakey thing.
6. Yes, I definitely like being nakey. You should take my 4 month picture like this.

The photos above just dont even do this messy day justice. It was one of those FIVE outfit kinda days, two of which were blow-out poop related. Oh, and a wardrobe change for mom too!

Anyway, back to your update! Mr. Isaac, not only did you change up your schedule this month, but you also are now sleeping totally swaddle-free! Sleeping unswaddled at night was never a problem, but the daytime naps were a little harder to manage. We endured several more cranky days while I was trying to work you out of the swaddler, but now you're doing just fine without it! And it's just in time too, because you started rolling over this month! Such a big boy! Speaking of cranky days, something happening last week seemed to give you lots of problems, but I couldnt ever put my finger on what was wrong. Perhaps it was just one of those phases.

Just yesterday, you came down with what we think is your first little cold. Your nose is stuffy, but otherwise you seem just as happy as usual. We were seeing Dr. Canales today for your 4 month appointment, so she was able to check you out. We'll keep wiping, saline-squirting, and suctioning that little snot nose until you're back to 100%!

You continue to be a big fan of talking and will jabber away at me, dad, and your toys. I've been fortunate enough to get a few giggles out of you, but they're still pretty sporadic these days. I cant wait to hear your little laugh more and more! Its been sweet watching you discover your toys more each day.  You are becoming much more intentional in your playtime and with your movements, which is a far cry from the arbitrarily swinging limbs from a month ago. It seems like you've also gotten very intentional with your thumb! I've caught you sucking it more than a few times and I cant say that I'm thrilled. I was hopeful since you never really got into a pacifier that maybe I'd get lucky and you'd stay away from that thumb too! Looks like I might be wrong, but time will tell.

4 Month Stats:

17lbs & 5oz

26.5 inches long

(90th percentile for height & weight)

Size 2 diapers

3-6 month clothes

You are my joy and sunshine! I love you more than you will ever know or understand! I am endlessly thankful that God chose me to be your momma and I hope and pray that I will always point you to Him.

H54F

Another week has already flown by, can you believe it?! Here's my week's recap, High Five 4 Friday style:

1. This chocolate is quite possibly my very favorite chocolate ever. I've put away 2 bars since Valentine's day and I seriously think that there is some type of ridiculously addictive illegal substance in this chocolate. Once I open the Willy Wonka-esque gold foil wrapper, it absolutely disappears. Nom Nom Nom Nom. 

2. I've seen this face more often than usual this week. I don't see or feel teeth and he's not showing any symptoms of being sick, so I'm assuming his clingy, fragile, poor-napping, thumb-sucking, fussy demeanor is just a little phase. His spot of choice has been in my arms (or Jordan's), so I've enjoyed the cuddles, learned how to do lots of new things one-handed, and built up some major arm muscles. He's deceptively heavy. We'll see HOW heavy on Monday!

3. I've spent a lot of time this week organizing something big and exciting for the ol' blog next month! Too bad I'm going to be a punk and keep it under wraps for just a bit longer. 

4. Toms were on Zulily!!!!  Toms were on Zulily!!!! Was I the only person who totally took advantage of this? cough-Iordered4pairs-cough. Three of those four were for Isaac (including the pair above!) and the fourth pair were actually for Jordan. 

5. Some jerk hit our car in the parking lot. And didn't leave a note. Boooooo.

Post-a-licious

I've become a terrible blogger here recently.

Shame on me for posting a photo with a caption and calling it a day. Finding time to fit in the blog while simultaneously having a life has become more difficult than I'd like to admit to. First, Mr. Isaac has dropped a feeding and a nap from his day (well, I dropped them for him) and on the especially fun days, he decides he wants to skip another nap altogether. This means he's up for much longer periods during the day, which eats away at any sort of time I could devote to myself. Naps have become prime time for eating meals, cleaning up our disaster of a house, and the occasional shower. Blogging takes a big back seat to all of this, as does any other form of social media. I try to "be present" while Isaac is up and playful, which means keeping the computer and iPhone tucked away elsewhere. It was easy to shrug off checking emails and Facebook when he was littlelittle and oblivious, but nowadays he always seems to be seriously absorbing the entire world around him and I want that world to be more than a computer screen or iPhone or tv. I know that sounds like a ridiculously obvious contradiction to my Midweek Confessions post about letting him watch some tv and I have to laugh at myself as well. Because while I want Isaac to appreciate life apart from tv/video games/cell phones, I also don't think a few minutes here and there throughout the week is going to ruin him completely. I'm just hoping to end up with a balanced child who thinks that playing outside, reading, and coloring books are more fun than watching a movie or playing on the computer. Is that so much to ask?

Aside from having less time during the day, I'm also back at work. Since I'm only working part time (about 24hrs/week or 2 shifts), I'm neither fully working nor fully stay-at-home. It's a weird place to be, because I don't seem to fit neatly into either category. The thing is- I'm thankful for both sides. I love being able to stay at home with my buddy 5 days out of the week just like I'm thankful to be making an income. Last week I received my first "full" paycheck since returning from my maternity leave and seeing my hard-earned (physically AND emotionally!) money made me swell up with an almost unhealthy amount of pride in myself. I was finally contributing in a tangible way after spending 13 weeks sitting on the couch in my pajamas. Maaaaaaaaybe I still spend those 5 days off sitting on the couch in my pajamas, but those 2 working days automatically mean I'm not totally worthless. While we're on the subject of work, I would like to say that leaving Isaac for 14 hours was just as hard as I anticipated it would be. And it really hasn't gotten that much easier.

In other news, the postpartum shed has started. And I'm not talking about weight loss.

Oh goodness, don't get me started on weight loss. I cringe.

No, the hair is falling out. Chunks in the shower, when I run my fingers through my hair, when I brush. Its sad. I usually find a few strands in Isaac's baby death grip each time I pick him up, but as soon as I remove it from his clutches, there's more appearing in its place. I find this particularly unfair considering I never had the full, thick hair that is supposed to accompany pregnancy. I guess if I go completely bald, it'll save me a ton of time in showering and blow drying, not to mention money I spend on color, shampoo and product! But, for the record: I quite like my hair.

And for the record: swaddle weaning is the pits.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-from our little sweetheart-

MWC

It's that time again. If ever it seemed like I've got it all together, let me show you that I certainly do not. 

What are your midweek confessions? 

-I let my kid watch TV. Sorry American Academy of Pediatrics and your recommendation for no TV until 2 years of age... more like 2 months of age. I'm not saying I park him in front of the TV for the majority of the day, but I'm not above using 30 minutes from his entire day watching a BabyFaith video. I've also taken to showing him Veggie Tales silly songs (thanks Youtube) during tummy time to hopefully prevent tummy-related meltdowns (not always successful).

-It's only Wednesday and so far this week I've made our bed twice, cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed a majority of the house. I consider this a major victory, especially since it'd been a ridiculously long time since I've cleaned our bathroom. Like, so long ago that I couldn't even remember the last time it was done. Gross.

-I'm not "giving up" anything for Lent.

-I'd love to do some new and different things with my blog, but honestly have no idea about graphic design and HTML. Seriously-- not the first thing. I admit to being technology/digital language illiterate. I've been so flattered by emails from folks wanting to advertise and have had to tell them I just have no clue how to go about setting all that up. I'd love to change up my header and look of everything, but don't really want to be tethered to a graphic designer. Aint nobody got time for that. Or money for that. I shamelessly pulled the MC graphic from E's blog. I'd love to know how to put those little graphics together. Anyone else with me on this?

-I don't think I'll ever be into yard work or gardening. My only motivation to keep the front yard somewhat tidy is the fact that I don't want to be "that house." I cringe at the thought of weeding and planting in our beds, but it needs to be done soon.

Sweetness

Baby Lashes. Pure sweetness!

Those chubby little rolls and toes. Pure sweetness!

Hi Mama. Pure sweetness!

Baby Blues. Pure sweetness!

Ok, ok... So I think my son is the greatest. I also happen to think he's the cutest little boy I've ever seen.

 Is there anything wrong with that?? I think not. 

PS. You still have time to enter the Punjammie giveaway!

International Princess Project (& A Giveaway!)

Today I'm featuring another lovely blogger who has jumped into an awesome and crafty way of supporting an incredible ministry: the International Princess Project. It's pretty easy to think this gal is the cat's meow - she's my sister! Casey has a really great thing going and I wanted to shine a little light on her newest endeavor.

Coming on the heels of Passion 2013, The International Princess project is another incredible ministry which helps to restore women who have been freed from sex trafficking and forced prostitution. The ministry is aftercare driven and in conjunction with physical and spiritual restoration, it also teaches the women business and vocational skills. The Punjammies initiative (one of two IPP initiatives) is a self-sustaining enterprise which provides stable jobs for these women -- and the Punjammies are super cute!

Photos from here, here, and here

But enough from me -- here's what Casey has to say about the International Princess Project and her own new enterprise:

So, surprisingly this whole journey started about 3 years ago (give or take). It all started with the Pioneer Woman. Ree featured the International Princess Project (from here on out referred to IPP) on her blog, highlighting the entry with the punjammies they sell. IPP is a non profit company that advocates for women enslaved in prostitution, helps to restore their broken lives and empowers them to live a free life. You can read about how it started here. So when I first checked it out, I was in LOVE with the PJ pants and the awesome cause they supported. I decided pretty quickly that all the bridesmaids in my upcoming wedding would get punjammies as their gift and I would also splurge and get some for myself. 

  Two years pass and I am excited about being a new auntie to a wonderful new nephew. I got the opportunity to go to Atlanta during Passion 2013 and babysit my beautiful and amazing nephew while my sister and her husband led a group of college students and high school seniors at the conference. While I was up there, I got the opportunity to listen to Gary Haugen, the CEO of the International Justice Mission. Gary highlighted the cold, hard, and atrocious fact that 27 million people across the world are held in slavery this very day. There weren't many dry eyes in the dome at the end of his talk. I wanted to help, and I felt a strong conviction to help, but I had no idea how.  

A week or so later, God gave me an answer. I was hanging out with a friend and we were painting, which was interesting because I hadn't picked up a brush in years. It was just for fun, but it ended up being a big hit! I had a friend who loved the first painting and wanted one just like it. I did that painting too and it turned out even better than the first. I knew then that God was giving me an opportunity to do something to help others. I enjoyed painting for fun and to my surprise, other people liked them too! I decided right then that I would sell custom paintings and give all the profits to IPP. Immediately, I had a great response from friends and haven't stopped painting since. Just in the first couple of weeks, I have raised $160.00 to donate to IPP just from selling a few paintings. I just couldn't be happier. I am amazed at the way God uses us. I never ever saw painting as a strength of mine and I am astonished that He would use that to bring glory to him. I will continue to paint as long as it brings me joy and others are interested in supported me and my mission to donate to IPP. 

Casey is super duper talented and I'm hoping she'll paint me a few things to go up around the house. It's amazing that we've been in this house for 3.5 years and there are still lots of bare walls. I know she would love some additional business, so if you're interested in having her create some custom artwork for you, leave me a comment and I'll get you connected. Here are a few of Casey's paintings:

In honor of her new venture, in celebration of February 1st (kick-off day for the End It Movement!) and to continue promoting the International Princess Project, Casey is going to give away 1 pair of Punjammies to a lucky reader!!! She's pretty much the bomb.com!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Congratulations to Lindsey @ Woods Life Blog for winning the Punjammie giveaway! I hope you enjoy your Jammies!