Tired

He fell asleep.

And I didn't move him.

I needed to finish the dishes.

Don't judge.

Random

Well, my two lil' ones are sleeping.
The wind is blowing and I am here with you, 
rather than folding laundry...
WHICH NEVER GOES AWAY!
(as I type, the full laundry basket sits next to me like a dark passenger...I'm selfishly ignoring).


You know what's funny, people always tell me that they think it's crazy that I have 3 boys.
And how I do "it"?
The funny thing is it's not the kids... it's the 8 loads of laundry a day it seems that makes me want to curl in a ball & cry mercy.


And to boot, the love of my life is quite particular when it comes to me washing his clothes.
Probably because I've shrunken far too many Obey shirts,
or mindlessly put a bleach soaked rag into the laundry basket.
Oops.
Mindless mommy am I!


There is no point to this post.
Other than my random thoughts.


So I will leave you now.
Have a great Wednesday.


We have our small group potluck tonight.
Wednesday's are the highlight of my week.
And I am bringing a potato salad. yum.


take care. 

Mommy Beware

I've got 2 new, very sharp teeth.

Meant for biting, crushing, demolishing...

Make no sudden movements, or you might be in trouble!

Ayden likes to "do his shave" with his daddy.

Once he's done he runs in the room to find me so I can say,

"Oh my, your face is so smooth. And you look so handsome."

He replies, "Aw, thanks mom."

Then he runs off, to catch bugs or do whatever he loves to do best.

post blog note:

This picture was taken by request of my husband.

He said to me, "Wife, please capture this moment."

So he gets all the cred.

xo

Reasons why,

I am in love with today.

Billie Holiday has been playing 

all.day.long.

This face.

and the boys picked Wisteria for me from our yard.

so pretty.

have a great weekend friends!

You are my hot dog!

(Ayden, 2008)

Yesterday Kyle & I woke up to the sound of Ayden singing a song from his bedroom:

"Thank you for the hot dog...

Thank you for the a hot dog...

Thank you for the hot dog...

It was really, really good."

He loves to sing.

His favorite song is "You are my sunshine."

We sing it probably 10 times a day.

I think he was making up his own version of 

"You are my sunshine"

but about a hot dog instead.

Sometimes hot dogs are just that good.

Put down that cookie!

Today I am feeling really frustrated with myself.

I have zero will power these days when it comes to eating well and working out.
And I'm getting chubbier by the week.
Thanks to my lethal addiction to sweets & snackin'!


Remember when I told you that Kyle & I had a weight lose challenge?
Well, that lasted for a solid week.
And no one spoke of it ever again.


Being chubby isn't fun for me.
It brings back some not so fond memories of being the chubby kid with a bad perm. 
Yikes! 
And sadly, I was the butt of jokes with my ex-step-siblings 
(wow that's a mouthful). 
They always made fun of me in Spanish, like that made it better.
Bad words always seem to sound rather rough in another language.




Sometimes I think of my chubby kid self. And feel sad. 
I wish I could go back in time & hug me & tell me that being chubby was okay & that it's what on the inside that counts & those kids were just jerks who weren't gonna be around that long anyway.


I'm rambling now.
Sorry.


I just needed to vent.
And maybe since I put my stuff out there it might help motivate me to put down the cookie & start working out.


Ugh. Wish me luck.

Smiles

I was lucky enough to catch this photo.

I don't get very many photos of my man, so when I get a good one I do a lil' dance on the inside.

They look so much alike it's c-r-a-z-y!

Isn't makin' babies fun!

How to fix a broken eyeshadow...

While fixing a few broken eyeshadows today, it dawned on me that I should share this "how to" with you.


Because if you are like me, whenever an eyeshadow breaks...you kinda think about crying. Not anything serious, but maybe a tear of two. 


So for your viewing pleasure, 
here is how you fix your broken eyeshadow.


What you need:  

• Alcohol (the higher the percentage the better. I use 91%)
• A quarter
• Your broken eyeshadow
• An eyedropper
• A piece of cloth (I'm using a baby washcloth)

Step 1:

Take your eyedropper and fill it up with alcohol.

And drop alcohol into your broken shadow.

It usually takes about 5-10 drops.

But if your eyeshadow is broken pretty bad, you might need more than 10 drops. 

You want to moisten your shadow, not drench it!

Step 2:

Take your quarter and place it into your fabric.

Twist the fabric around the quarter. 

(I use the cloth because quarters are dirty lil' things, and you do not want that dirt on your eyeshadow)

Step 3:

Take your quarter twisted in fabric & press it into your broken shadow.

(A quarter fits perfectly in a MAC eyeshadow)

Now press firmly.  

Use all your strength. 

I know you can do it!

Hold it there for a few, you're helping the eyeshadow reset itself & letting the alcohol work it's magic.

Now remove the cloth & your done!

Before:  

After: 

(your shadow will still be wet, so the color will be slightly off. It dries fast, so do not fear.)

And that's all she wrote!

Have fun! 

Friday Favorites

I can't believe it's already Friday.
It feels like just yesterday that we were waiting for Kyle to get home from Arizona.
But here we are. 


Today I realized I'm a tad on the emotional side when I starting to shed tears of joy while watching my boy make his own cheese sandwich! 
So I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend.


Here are a few things floating around my computer in my favorites file from the week:

Doesn't this photo speak to your heart?

I'm loving these owls.

Aren't these cream & sugar bowls so sweet?

And this vintage gardening set is so cute!

Wouldn't these be adorable toppers for a wedding cake?

Wishing this room was in my house...

Oh, and wishing my closets were this organized!

Have a great weekend friends!

I hope it's relaxing.

Spots

I have a serious love of old things. 
I am being honest when I tell you that I am pretty sure I'm a 60 year old prude living in a 29 year old body.


I always fantasize that what I buy at an antique store or flea market was once owned by a really fancy lady with odd taste.


I like the idea of pairing something ugly with something more traditional. And I have a serious addiction to vintage art. 


Here are a few "spots" in my house that house our collectibles.

Porch Before & After

Remember when my porch looked like this?


Before:

Beautiful baby, but seriously ugly porch.

Well I got handy & performed some magic!


I had decided that I wanted to paint the porch a solid color and then do a painted on porch rug. 


I started with sanding down the whole porch.
no picture of that, it was messy!
And then I painted the whole porch a terra cotta color.


After the paint was good & dry, 
I measured off the section where I wanted my painted rug
and got to work free handing my design.

And here is the finished product.


After:

The porch isn't quite finished.
I've been hunting for a small ice cream table 
& it desperately needs some plants.
But, overall I was pretty happy with the results!


Then Ayden decided to draw me a picture:

At first I thought I'd be upset (after working so hard) but I wasn't in the least bit.

It made me happy.

I had a lil' something special that he made just for me.

And how could that not make you smile?

He loves a good laugh

Enjoy!

Beauty Tips

My trusty companion!

A few years back I did beauty reviews on this blog. 
It was pretty short lived but I really loved it.


I mostly shared about products that I used and loved or loved not so much. 
Because what do women love most than to get together and talk shop & beauty secrets?


SO....


I thought I would do the same for you my dear beauties!


I'll start off with a few of my basic everyday necessities that I just can't live without.

1) Eye lash curler. A definite must! They help all of us lash challenged folks out there defy gravity. (Revlon, $5 Target)


2) A creme blush stick. This is good for contouring cheek bones and applying underneath powder blush. Layers are your friend when applying makeup. It makes your makeup last longer. (Peach blush stick by ELF, $1 Target)


3)A good mascara. This one works well for the price. (ELF $3 Target)


4) Eyebrow shaper. This baby is my one true love. It whips by brows into shape in between waxing. It also comes in handy with those lil' pesky hairs that find their way on my chin from time to time. (sidenote, no one ever told me that when you get older you get chin hairs! Yick)($4, Target)

dreamy

Sometimes I dream about having a VW bus.

My dad had a VW bug.

It was blue.

It was my grandpa's.

And I've always loved them.

The noise of the engine & the smell of the interior.

Like gas, dust and pleather. 

mmmm.

When I lived in Joshua Tree as a lil' girl, 

my dad would drive from Joshua Tree to Norwalk everyday for work... in his trusty. blue. VW bug.

Word.

I imagine myself in my VM bus,

loaded with my rowdy boys,

who smell like puppy dogs,

driving with the windows down,

with the warm sunshine on my skin,

in a long dress with dirt under my nails,

after a serious afternoon of digging in my vegetable garden.

A girl can dream can't she?

It's a doozie! (Photo dump)

Well...we did it!


Friday is here, it's beautiful outside and 
I AM EXHAUSTED!!! (to say the least)


Kyle has been gone all week in "Egg-a-zona" (that's Arizona in Ayden talk), and boy what a week it's been.


My dad came and stayed the week with us to help us hold down the fort while the man of the house was away. 
And he brought with him my 20 month old nephew, Noah.


Here are a few highlights:


1) Every light bulb in my house has been officially changed and are now in full working order.
2) I had a perfect cup of coffee every morning along with a full breakfast. Best meal of the day!
3) My dad makes a mean batch of Mexican rice.
4) Lucas is getting both bottom teeth, OUCH!
5) And...figured out how to get out of the Bumbo chair!! 
6) Oh & Ayden decided to have another couple asthma attacks, thank you pollen!
7) I miss my husband terribly. I'm off my game when he's not around. He's my best friend, I feel like I have so much to tell him! 
8) Brandon is a serious sleep walker! 
9) Oh and Noah's 1st molars decided to make an appearance! What!


We are beat!
My dad's knee is shot.
I have serious under eye bags.


But...the week was awesome. 
Spending some serious one on one with my dad took me back to being 7 years old. 
I think he got a kick out of seeing my kids & how much they reminded him of me when I was young.
And we helped out my sister who has been in the hospital with her daughter with a serious kidney problem (prayers are appreciated).


My dad & Noah left this morning.
And now it's just me, coughy & toothy. 


The house feels quiet. 


Here are a few pictures from the week in rewind:

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends!