Stick with what works

Since having kids things about my body have been different...which is to be expected. One of the things that have changed is my hair. Before kids I used to never have problems with it. Now the roots get really greasy and the ends are frizzy and split. I don't know how much money I have spent over the past 6 months trying to find a shampoo and conditioner that would take care of the problem. I have tried generic, name brand, organic, you name it I have tried it I even tried asking people that worked in various salons for solutions. I was getting really frustrated because nothing seemed to take care of the problem.

One day I went in to get my eyebrows waxed and I was talking with the gal doing them and mentioned my hair problem and she said she had a solution. I was thinking to myself that ya, ya, I have tried everything out there. She recommended a brand I have never heard of before, Joico. I was like what the hell I will give it a try. So I tried it and Oh my gosh I loved it. I instantly saw s difference in my hair! I have been using Joico for 2 months now and I won't use anything else now.

So then after finding this brand that I love and will continue to use got me thinking about other things that I am brand loyal to and why I am willing to pay the extra money for them. So here is a short list of some of my "Brands"

1) Shampoo and conditioner: Joico Balancing $11-13 a bottle, My hair is soft, full, not greasy and not frizzy=me happy and not having to spen a lot of time on my hair!
2) Jeans: GAP $35-$65 Jeans are really hard for me to find that actually fit my body. I have a smaller waist and wider hips so I am willing to pay a little extra for my jeans because I like them to fit.
3) Make-up: I use Clinique. $14-$24. I have sensitive skin and Clinique has been the only skin care system that doesn't make it worse.
4) Bath Products: I use Victoria Secret body wash, lotion, and body splash. $8-$10 I love the scents and I love that my skin is soft and smooth!
5) Coke: I Love Coke! Pepsi is to sweet

Are you brand loyal? If so What are some of your favorite brands?

Boys will be Boys!

When we went camping a week ago, Bo learned how to pee on a tree. He doesn't pee standing up yet because he is to short and that is just a mess that I am not ready to start cleaning up. So he still sits down. Our friends Dan and Lizzies son Blake taught Bo how to pee on a tree, and Bo is loving this new "Trick". Ever since we got home he thinks it is cool to pee in the back yard. He just stops what he is doing and pee's in the grass.

At first I am like Boys will be Boys, they pee outside, BUT he took this new found freedom to the next level and started Pooping in the back yard. He just squats down and poops. The first time it happened I couldn't help but laugh...It was so funny and the way he was so excited was hilarious. However, he has continued to use the backyard as his anytime restroom.

If you are friends with Jason on Facebook you may have seen some of the many funny conversation quotes between us and Bo. One of which goes like this...
Bo: "I can pee in the grass!!!"
Jason: "No, do not pee in the grass"
Bo: "Ok I go pee in the pool!!!"

We have been trying to explain to Bo that you cannot just drop your pants and go potty in the backyard. He has been getting better He is not pooping anymore, he still pees sometimes, but I am ok with that. I guess I can't be to mad at him for using the backyard as a bathroom, since I am the one who lets him run around the back yard naked. Again I am ok with that because we have a privacy fence and it is just Bo and Joel. If other kids were over I would make hime wear clothes.

But hey Boy will be Boys, right?

I love this kid! Bo is always so happy, energetic and full of life. You never know what he is going to do next! I love that about him!

Weekly Menu 1

All the mommy blogs that I read tend to publish recipes, menus and shopping lists for a week. I get so many good ideas from these people that I decided to try and do it myself. My menus will include recipes from various cookbooks, blogs, family, and some of my own. It will also include lunch ideas and snacks for the week. If I get the recipe from someone's blog then I will link to it! Anyways, your feedback is more than welcome. I will try and makes things as easy as possible and I hope you enjoy this weeks menu!

1) Loaded Baked potatoes with homemade cheese sauce!
2) Chicken Satay with Balinese Peanut Sauce
3) Lasagna with Garlic bread
4) Tex Mes Chicken and Rice
5) Chicken Garden Pizza

Lunches this week include:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches
Fish sticks and mac and cheese
Chef salads
Deli sandwhiches
Left Overs

Snacks and sides for lunches include:
Fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, apple slices etc..)
String cheese
Pickles (we all love pickles =))
Sun chips
Cheese and crackers
Popcorn
Mixed nuts

That about does it I think. Enjoy and Happy cooking. Please feel free to ask questions if you have them!

Menu for Jason's Birthday Party!

Jason is turning 27 this year and I am throwing him a party laid back style since I know he is not that big into parties. Here is a sneak peak of some of the things on the menu!!!

Meat:
Beer Brats
Cheeseburgers
Hot Dogs

Desserts:
Mini Root Beer Float cupcakes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Torte
Strawberry Angel Food Cake Truffle
Sticky Cinnamon Rolls
S'mores

Sides:
Homemade potato skins and Sweet Potato chips
Deviled eggs
Strawberry spinach salad

Drinks:
MGD keg
Sweet tea
Lemonade
Pop
Water

Then I have some people who are attending bringing side dishes! I am so excited, the food is going to be sooo good!!!

Recipes, menus, and more

I read a lot of mommy blogs! Something that I love about all of them is that they always share their weekly menus, favorite recipes, little tricks to make cooking easier and faster, and shopping lists. I love that they do this because it helps me plan my weekly menus, meals and snacks. When I do this I find that I spend less money and I buy healthier things for meals and snacks. The last couple of weeks I have gotten lazy about planning a menu. Which, fine we were traveling and camping and what not, but now I don't have an excuse not to do it. So tonight I will be working on my menu for the week and I want to start sharing my menus with you! Whether you use one recipe, or the whole menu I hope that it will help you in some way to stay on budget, to eat healthier foods and snacks and in the long run save time and money! I will try and make it as simple and easy as possible for you! I will also be doing some rearranging on my blog, maybe adding some tabs and folders so check back for the changes and menu tonight!

18 and 19 weeks...

I have gotten a little behind in my posts, due to some traveling and trying to get caught up on things around the house. So here is last weeks and this weeks post in one! Last Thursday was my 18 week mark. The baby is about the size of a sweet Potato. I have been having a lot of acid reflux and indigestion lately. Which I hate...but I can manage it pretty well. If it gets worse though I may ask for something from the doctor, we'll see.
As for week 19 the baby is the size of a Mango. I have started to feel a lot more movement over the past week or two! That is my favorite part of being pregnant. I just think it is amazing that this little baby is growing stronger everyday and I can feel it move around...so cool! This week is dragging for me, probably because I am so anxious for my ultrasound next Tuesday. I can't wait to fin out if we are having a boy or girl. Up until last week I thought we were going to have another boy but now I feel it's a girl, Jason also thinks we are having a girl. I guess we will have to wait and see!!! But, honestly I will be happy with either! Babies are so precious!

Other happenings this weekend include more packing, house hunting, planning Jason's birthday party, cleaning my house for a BBQ on Monday, Bo's friends birthday party, grocery shopping, helping friends move, farmers market, Greek festival, Shakespeare festival, Church and shopping. WOW we have a lot going on =)

Friday is my shopping day, I will be going to Trader Joes, Target, Sams, the Commissary and babies r us! It's the only day I can do my shopping. Saturday we are going to the farmers market. I am excited to get some fresh fruits and veggies! I am going to be making fresh home made salsa and guacamole! Then we are going to stop by the Greek festival, come home and give the boys a nap, I am then going to help my friend Laura clean her house, then go to a birthday party, and then we are going to relax in Forest park while enjoying the Shakespeare in the park!
Sunday we have Church and then a big BBQ to go to all afternoon.
Monday I will be straightening up the house and getting ready for our small group BBQ!

Anyways, that's is what I have going on this weekend! Do you have any big plans for Memorial day?

17 weeks

Sorry I didn't post on my official 17 week day, we were headed up to Minneapolis for a wedding that day so technically I am closer to 18 weeks. The baby is the size of an onion, although I feel bigger...LOL... Weight gain is still under control, which I am extremely happy about! I even had a couple people tell me that I look like I have lost weight even though I am almost 18 weeks pregnant! YAY!
I feel great! I finally look like I have a pregnant belly and not just a fat belly. I am carrying very high which I think makes me look bigger than I really am but whatever. I do have a little trouble sleeping at night, not to bad but when I have to switch from side to side I wake up because it is like an 8 point turn...LOL But otherwise I am sleeping well. I am eating well I have my appetite back completely except for not being able to eat or drink a few things, but at least I am not vomiting anymore!
I have my 20 week ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday June 1st! Exactly 2 weeks from today!!! I am so excited to find out if we are having a boy or girl. I really want a girl but I think it will be a boy. Jason thinks it will be a girl.....so we are taking bets!

This past weekend we were in Minneapolis, a high school buddy of Jason's got married and Jason was one of the Groomsmen. The boys and I were not going to go but we changed our minds last minute! We surprised Grandma and grandpa! We let the boys wake them up at midnight when we got in! It was fun!
The wedding went well and was a lot of fun seeing catching up with friends! Everyone was able to enjoy the open bar since I was the built in designated driver!
On Sunday we went to Canterbury park and had a great time! Bo got to ride a pony...Joel did not enjoy it however. It was such a beautiful day and it was so nice to just relax and hang out with family and friends!

This week I am unpacking and straightening things up as well as plan and pack for our camping trip this weekend. So I will be pretty busy, but we are looking forward to camping with the boys and our friends Dan and Lizzie!

Well that about does it for this past week! Oh Ya, I cute my hair! I love it so here is my first pregnancy photos!!!

Time Management

How do you manage your time. Mine always seems to get away from me. I "like" the idea of getting up at 7am and starting my day while the boys are still sleeping but I am such a night owl that I don't. I would rather sleep. So my day really doesn't start until 8 or 9 and then I need to wake up...have my coffee, check my email etc... I do feed the boys and get them changed before I do that, but it seems like we just take it easy in the mornings and really don't get anything productive done till noon. By then half the day is gone and I feel like I am not going to get anything done, everything from chores, cleaning, shopping and errands.
I was thinking over the past couple of days what i could do to fix this problem of getting up earlier and here is what i have come up with. I am going to start slow, but jump in full force if that makes sense. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am going to commit to getting up by 7 and starting my day while the boys are still asleep, whether its putting in a load of laundry, emptying the dish washer or picking up the living room, I will be doing something productive while my coffee brews and once that's done then I can sit down enjoy my coffee and check my email stuff. That way when the boys wake up I am that much more ahead of schedule. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be mornings that we can take it easy, I can sleep that extra hour and start the day a little later. Maybe once i get used to this schedule I can bump it up to getting up at 7 everyday, or if this schedule works then just keep up with it!
Anyways that was my thought for the day, I am hoping that this will stick and not just be another "great idea" that I had. I tend to have a lot of those, I think i get it from my parents....=)

16 weeks and organization

Well tomorrow marks the 16th week for me. I am feeling great! Nothing weird has been happening so that makes me happy. The baby is the size of a large avocado, 4.5 inches long and still only about 4 oz. Really the next big thing is to find out if we are having a boy or girl, then we need to start thinking of names. Any Suggestions? We do keep the name we decide a secret until the baby is born but I would love to hear your suggestions! Give me both boy and girl names since we don't know what we are having yet! I am excited to see what you guys come up with....Now I am talking serious names. Jason always has a tendency to throw out names like Latonya or weird combination names not that there is anything wrong with names like that but I wouldn't name my kids that. It is hard sometimes to tell if Jason is being serious or joking when it comes to names.

Anyways, I feel like I have been drowning again lately in "stuff" that needs to be put away, picked up, or cleaned. I Know I have written about this before and here I go again. This is the thing that I struggle with the most when it comes to keeping an organized house....the fact that I really don't know how to organize my whole house. I do fine with little parts of the house but overall I suck at it. I also am very organized when it comes to planning a vacation or a party but why I can't organize my house I have no idea. I have tried so many different things, all of which have failed miserably except one and that was the way I organized toys.
I know for a fact there are a couple of things that will help with the overall organization of the house I just need to find a good routine to stay on top of it. Some of which include:
Doing the dishes right after dinner
Doing a load of laundry every day
Bringing the "need to go upstairs" pile sitting at the bottom of the steps, upstairs every night
Putting the load of laundry that is folded away once I am done folding it

Those 4 things alone would help a lot. But yet I can't seem to stay on top of it. Simple tasks and I can't stay on top of it...What is wrong with me. I know I get easily side tracked...hehe and that is half my problem, whether it be a phone call, shopping, meeting with friends, finding some project that I started last month and decide to finish, playing with the boys, being so tired that I don't care or just being on the computer. All have become excuses for not getting something done at one point or another.

So again I am going to attempt to try and stay on top of those 4 things. I want to do it for a good week so that I get used to the routine and then it will just be second nature. I want to accomplish those 4 things before I start to make a set schedule for things like, mopping the floors and cleaning the bathrooms. One thing at a time right? One way I am going to try and do this is every night before Jason or I go to bed we will take 5-10 minutes and just pick up the random things that get left out and put them away. The dishes will get done right after dinner. Every night, No exceptions. After I get the boys there breakfast and before I sit down with my coffee and check my email I will put in a load of laundry and then change it out before I take my shower. Then once the load of laundry is done drying I will take it upstairs, fold it and put it away right then and there. With me doing this I think it will cut down on the "to go upstairs" pile so then at the end of the day when Jason and I go to bed we each can take the few things and put them away upstairs.
Thats my plan and I am stickin to it! Let's hope that I can force myself to do these few simple things without getting side tracked. I can always do most of the things that side tracked me when the boys take a nap or go to bed. I will let you know how I am doing come this weekend. Feel free to ask me as well. Accountability! =)