September Product Favorites!

Tazo Iced Passion Tea

 

I am a person who loves tea and it's very rare for me to go a day without it. I prefer iced tea and decided to give this kind a whirl. This Tazo Iced Passion Tea is the same tea they serve at Starbucks! I paid $3.48 at Wal-Mart for this whole pack and can have it any time I please. It's simple to make and if you prefer an iced tea lemonade simply add half lemonade where you'd generally add the other part water. Yum, Yum!

 

 

 

   Method All-Purpose Natural Surface Cleaner

I have never tried any products from the Method brand sold at Target. I saw a Youtube review on this all purpose cleaner and decided I would give it a shot. I am now IN LOVE! It smells amazing, cleans really well and it's all natural! I've been using all natural cleaning products for the most part since I've been pregnant but they all have smelled horrendous! This bottle was $2.99 which was a little more than I usually pay for an all purpose cleaner but for sure worth it!!

 

 

 

 

 

Bissell Cleanview Helix Bagless Vacuum

Found at Target

 

If you're friends with me on Facebook you probably know my old vacuum took a dump. As a nesting mother I was in a hurry to find the best, most affordable vacuum and quickly! I updated my status and had several comment on their favorite brands/vacuums. I had numerous people tell me Bissell was a great brand and since I was so antsy I picked this vacuum up from Target for $70 and headed home! Again, I am IN LOVE. I swear my favorite thing to do now is empty the filter and vacuum my house to see how much dirt I can get in there! It really is a great vacuum especially for the price! I did have some suggest top shelf vacuum brands but a $600+ vacuum just isn't in the budget right now!  

 

 

 

 

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner



I, surprisingly, have never tried gel liner. I've always used  L'oreal's felt tip liquid eyeliner. Just recently I ran out though and decided to try this gel liner by Maybelline. Again, IN LOVE! So simple to put on and it lasts all day! I still love my liquid eyeliner and would suggest that one also it all just depends on the look you're going for. I find the gel liner is easier to do a thick winged eye which has been my go to makeup look when I'm in a hurry!

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet

 

Do NOT be intimidated by the color shown above! I am pretty sure the computer screen + camera lighting has the color a bit off. First of all, I love the Revlon lip butters! I have like 6 of them and they are awesome! They don't dry out your lips like lip sticks do and are easy to apply. Normally I would have never chosen this color {which is actually more of a deep, subtle red rather than a Cruella Deville red} but again, I was watching Youtube videos and came across a few beauty guru's who raved about this color. Soooo I bought it....they were right! For those of you who love the red lip look but are like me and live in Podunk, USA and might receive some weird looks if you wore red lipstick out - this is for you!! It's a buildable color! Usually I do one application and that's the perfect amount of red I need. It doesn't stand out in the sense like, "oh my god what is she thinking..." but it isn't your normal nude lip either. It's perfect for the upcoming holiday months! Try it!

 

 

 

 

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

Vs.

Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream

 

 

  

 So I'm kind of a late bloomer and am JUST now getting around to trying some BB creams. Evidentally, they're all the rage and again Youtube makeup guru's rave about some of them. I am trying to find several different things when it comes to foundation: a glow-y finish, hydration, coverage, blendability and color match. These are all hard to find rolled into one little foundation!

 

I have extremely dry skin so I need something that won't dry me out but won't make me look like cake face either. {Still love the Revlon Colorstay from the previous month's favorites and am actually am going to purchase their Colorstay Whipped foundation because it's made for dry skin but I needed something that was quick and easy to apply!} I mostly wanted to try the BB creams because I had our hospital visit in mind. There won't be a lot of time to put a full face of makeup on yet there will still be a ton of pictures being taken. I wanted something I could slap on my face to moisturize/cover + add some bronzer or blush + mascara and be done.

 

First, I purchased the Maybelline BB cream which essentially is a tinted moisturizer. It does a great job of blending in with your skin yet it literally {I feel} provides zero coverage. I still had to take the time to conceal the red areas near my nose and the bags under my eyes. I was looking for a slap-on-my-face and go cream remember?

 

So I researched and found several magazines {Vogue, Allure, etc.} had Garnier's BB cream in their top 10 best BB creams. For the record, Garnier was the only brand I recognized in Vogue's - hehe! Soooo I bought it. Yup, LOVE IT! It has just the right amount of color and coverage and leaves me with a semi-glow. I can feel it hydrating my skin! I have been using this with a little bit of powder over top and makes my makeup time last about 5 minutes. I would suggest this product to anyone with dry skin who wants a natural look! For those with oily skin, I would research more because I don't think this BB cream would work for someone prone to oil!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know YOUR favorites or if you try any of my favorites from this month! I'd love to hear. :)

A Letter For the Babybook

I couldn't sleep yesterday {like always} and so I decided to get up and start on the baby book I had bought for baby Lenzen the night before. I got as much filled out as one possibly could without a baby around and ended up writing this letter at the end. I read it to Matt later and cried...especially about the part about him always being his mommy's baby! He's already growing up too fast and I haven't even had him yet! :)

Do you have a baby book? I do! My dad is the one who filled it all out....My mom is horrible at taking pictures and keeping sentimental things like my kindergarten handprint (still mad at her about that!) 

 

I have been up all night because you kept kicking me! J We are 10 days from your due date and mommy is uncomfortable and ready for you to make an appearance! Daddy and I have been doing a lot to get ready for you. Setting up your crib, sorting your clothes and packing the hospital bag. We have also been archery hunting morning and night trying to get mommy’s deer before you arrive!

Anyways, I hope when you read this you smile because we have waited for what seems like so long to meet, kiss and love you. We are anxious to see who you grow to be (which I’m sure will be nothing short of perfection). You are already mom and dad’s pride and joy!

When times get rough I want you to remember that life will be difficult sometimes and not everything will come easily. I want you to do everything you can though to work hard and never quit at anything you set out to do. Remember we only live once and happiness and hard work are the keys to success. We will always be here for you and you can come to us with anything. We love you and are so grateful to God for sending you to us.

We love you to infinity and beyond and no matter how old you are you will always be your mommy’s baby!

xoxo,

Mom and Dad

 

 

Girl's Gone Child: 37 Weeks

 

How far along? 37 weeks (38.5 weeks actually as I write this late!)

Total weight gain: 15 lbs.

Maternity clothes? sweatpants :)

Stretch marks? Yes! My stomach is completely destroyed!

Sleep: Cannot sleep worth a darn! Toss & turn. Go to the bathroom. Mind races. Toss & turn. Can’t get comfortable. Braxton Hicks contractions. Go to the bathroom. Heartburn. Etc. etc. etc. That’s the routine of basically every night!

Best moment this week: just enjoying feeling you roll around in my belly for the time I can! J

Miss Anything? being comfortable!

Movement: all the time!

Food cravings: gas station cappuccinos!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I throw up here and there but not for any reason.

Gender: BOY!!

Labor Signs: cramping/back pain!

Symptoms: heartburn like crazy, cramping, back pain, peeing 8 times a night.

Belly Button in or out? out

Wedding rings on or off? on!

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy and sappy! Tear up easily over sentimental things but still laughing quite a bit! J

Looking forward to: meeting my lil guy!

Girl's Gone Child: 36 Weeks

How far along? 37 weeks tomorrow!

Total weight gain: 15 lbs.

Maternity clothes? sweatpants :)

Stretch marks? Yes! My stomach is being demolished! haha.

Sleep: Matt is still sleeping on the couch and I'm sleeping like a baby! 

Best moment this week: Seeing baby Lenzen on the ultrasound yesterday!! :) cutest lil thing.

Miss Anything? being comfortable!

Movement: all the time!

Food cravings: sandwiches are a hit this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I throw up here and there but not for any reason.

Gender: BOY!!

Labor Signs: mild cramping/back pain!

Symptoms: heartburn like crazy, cramping, back pain, peeing 8 times a night.

Belly Button in or out? half out, half in...haha!

Wedding rings on or off? on!

Happy or Moody most of the time: fairly happy - matt would answer moody : )

Looking forward to: opening of archery this weekend and meeting my SON!

Facebook & All it's Glory! **politics, beachbody, religion, football, etc!**

I decided I had to write a blog post on this topic because a status update only gives me like 5 characters. ;)

disclaimer: THIS IS ALL IN GOOD FUN! MY MOM IS PROBABLY GOING TO YELL AT ME BECAUSE SOME MAY CLASSIFY IT AS "RUDE" AND I SAID SHIT!

 It seems everyone has something to say – whether contradictory, intelligent, dumb, hilarious, etc– and it’s being said on Facebook. It’s that time of year when the political/football/beachbody/check-into-a-gym /countdown-to-baby-or-wedding Facebook statuses are at an all time high and we must admit that we will always – for as long as Facebook lives – have these kind of updates.

We will also continuously see the “whiners”-  the ones that primarily complain about those who update too often and about things they think are stupid {politics, religion, gym, etc.}

& This is what I think

– & everyone is entitled to their own opinion –

I think my pregnancy hormones are a little raging so enjoy and here we go!

Politics: Yes, it may be annoying to have to read or see a status from 72 of your friends about Romney vs. Obama, conservative vs. liberal, etc etc. but regardless of your political party or how irritating you find these updates at least we have people in our country who WANT change or WANT this or that for our nation, right?! If you don’t pay attention to who is going to LEAD our COUNTRY and just NOT VOTE you have to be – hate to say – ignorant. It’s important! Some may post informative links, blogs, etc. that HELP others get educated so they can vote for whom they believe is the right candidate to lead the US and not just based on a political party or race!

Ohhh and Beachbody: I am very annoyed with myself for ever being a part of this company and annoying everyone on Facebook about it! Although I feel they have great workout programs {p90x, turbofire, insanity, etc.} It is, once again, aggravating to see so many updates about it. Honestly, eat right and exercise daily – you don’t have to be a freak about it, have someone help you, spend umpteen dollars, have a person “coach” you through it, etc. It’s called WILLPOWER – look inside yourself and find some and get your ass outside.

But like I said, it’s Facebook and we can post whatever we want on our own pages right?!

The only thing I find annoying {the rest is just plain entertaining} is when people who are continuously voicing their opinion {about fitness business or politics or what they ate for breakfast} COMPLAIN about others who update about something that person {who is updating about dumb shit in the first place} defines as “stupid”

– Ah? What? –

You literally post 12 times a day about how much money you make with your biz, your busy day of laundry, picking up dog shit, taking care of the kids or hash tag 120,000 things. You rant about how you don’t care about politics because you’re over there #self #helping or whatever and you have the nerve to say that someone posting political statuses is #annoying? That doesn’t make any bloody sense!

And for the football statuses – ya know, I wouldn’t have known who won what games {not that I really cared} if it wasn’t for all 120 friends who let me know! I don’t have regular TV {abc/pbs/cbs} or cable so I’m a little out of the loop. If you don’t like it, go eat some crackers and cheese until the smack talk settles, okay? Football is an American past time {or maybe it’s baseball? Haha} so get used to it!  

If you want to let people know it’s 629 days until your wedding – that’s awesome! How else would I keep track?! It’s an exciting time in that bride or groom’s life and they damn well have the right to post how much they love their significant other if they please. I mean, most people that complain about how annoying love is are the ones that “hate love” and wish they had a boyfriend or I guess find it just plain irritating. I, again, find it humorous and entertaining! I live in the middle of nowhere! I have to keep updated on people ya know. ;)

Same with baby countdowns…Trust me, I KNOW! Before I was preggers I would say to myself when someone told me they were knocked up, “you’re pregnant…….congrats on never sleeping.” But now that I will be a mom I’m like, “hell ya! You had your kid! He’s so cute!” or “how exciting!!” So…yeah. Gotta keep the world updated…and yes, people really do want to know how much a baby weighed and how long they were.

Ahhh – religion! If you’re a believer in Christ, Buddha, science, atheism, etc………yay! You at least stand for something, right?! If you want to post someecards about priests raping little boys you go right ahead – it’s YOUR facebook! If you want to thank Jesus for all your daily blessings – please do! Believers or not we all need to stop and be thankful daily, right?! Post whatever you want people! Just don’t expect others to not say anything if they don’t like it! Haha! Again, that’s what keeps Facebook {and blogging!} so darn entertaining!

Hunting – we all know my fiancé and I love it. We post pictures of our hunts and are proud of them! It may bother some of those animal lovers out there but you know what my argument WILL ALWAYS be? My fiancé loves animals more than probably any person out there! Literally! He cares for them and loves them and never shoots more than we can eat. You may be offended by our European mounts, dead doves or our walleyes butttt we may be offended by your tofu burger. It’s a vicious cycle and we’re never going to solve it! So let’s just all agree to disagree! J  

So to wrap things up let’s revise everything I just ranted and raved about:

It’s YOUR Facebook – post what YOU want. If you’re posting stupid stuff – don’t post about how stupid other people’s stuff is and ENJOY all the comical updates posted by your favorite lunatics {most likely your closest friends} because life is too short not to just giggle! RIGHT?!

 

 

Pre-Mom Jitters

As I’m on my last leg of being what I call a “kangaroo mom” {where I can haul my little buddy around in my belly} I am starting to get nervous to be a real life mom! Maybe all soon-to-be first time mothers feel this way, I’m not sure. I just feel so unprepared, uneasy and unsure of myself. Kind of like it’ll be the blind leading the blind.

Don’t get me wrong I am looking forward to meeting baby Lenzen! My mom said I will never love anything more {I said what about Matt?!}. She replied that since I made this miraculous child with the person I love and adore most that baby L will be the branch of our love that will be a love that blows all other love out of the water. And from past experiences, mom’s are always right.

I guess it’s not that I won’t love baby enough {because I love him already} or that I worry that I won’t be a good mom I honestly just worry about EVERYTHING.

“How will I still manage to cook supper, brush my hair, start exercising, keep my house clean, go to school, breastfeed, shave my armpits, fill my deer tags, wax my eyebrows, spend time with my friends, have sex, go to the movies, mow the lawn, save money, etc.?”

I know many moms and dads sacrifice their time because it’s no longer just themselves they have to think about anymore. They move the times they would normally do things to when the kids are asleep and what not. “but can I do this?” I often wonder. “Can I be all these things? A mom, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a student, a lover, etc?” – I guess I should have thought about this before I got knocked up, huh? Haha, just kidding! but seriously...J

I just overwhelm myself with thinking! I texted my older sister the other day and I said, “I have no idea how the hell you managed to be a single parent having to take care of Gabby 24/7 {thinking to myself: bathing her, feeding her, taking her to daycare, playing with her, teaching her, disciplining her, etc}, work 20 hours a week, attend college full-time, get your homework done, see your friends once in a while, make time for family.” I feel like I would have gone crazy – but maybe it’s one of those situations you just don’t over think and you just do!

I honestly feel like moms are the super heroes of the world now that I’ve seen a glimpse of how much sacrifice all awesome moms {and dads} have done for their kids. I think after having kids or getting preggers you really have a new understanding and love for your parents. You don’t even realize how much they’ve done for you over the course of your life. I feel like a brat after those nasty teen years!

And I worry about other things as well when it comes to raising our little Hammy:

“What if he doesn’t make it through labor? I would literally want to die. What if he is blind? Or deaf? What if I don’t raise him right and he turns into a mass murderer? What if he struggles in school? What do I do if I catch him smoking weed in high school? What if he chokes on something as a toddler? What if he gets West Nile camping next summer? What if he doesn’t eat his veggies? And God forbid, what if he doesn’t like hunting!? What if! What if! What if!”

 Isn’t my mind just crazy!? I just want to keep him in my back pocket safe from the world J I am going to be the Mom sending her kid to school in bubble wrap and calling every 5 seconds to make sure he’s still breathing. Haha, the teachers will call me "the bat shit crazy mom" All this worry reminds me of this very true quote:

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

-Elizabeth Stone Anyways, I just hope these pre-mom jitters are normal and I don’t have something psychologically wrong with me! I haven’t even really given labor or a “birth plan” a thought. It’s more the raising aspect and the, “what the hell do I do with this thing?!” when we get home from the hospital that frightens me. I’ll be alright though I suppose, I’m not the first woman to be a mom. I am just so grateful Matt is going to be such a good, helpful dad because I can already see myself worrying myself sick when the baby’s first fever comes and crying myself to sleep when I send our baby to his first day of school. Ahh! Any parental advice I am open to!

Girl's Gone Child: 35 Weeks

sweet shirt, right?

How far along? 35 : )

Total weight gain: 10-12 lbs depending on when ya weigh me!

Maternity clothes? athletic shorts and t-shirts!

Stretch marks? Yes! My stomach is demolished! haha.

Sleep: just woke up from a nap : )  

Best moment this week: there are several: doing my homework in my underwear, spending so much quality time with matthew, my friend's shannon's wedding food!! omg, so good...(chicken cordon bleu!) 

Miss Anything? being able to lay on my back, touch my toes, eat more than one meal a day, etc etc.

Movement: slowed down a tiny bit but he's still pretty active! and if he isn't active for a couple hours Matt lays his head on my belly until he kicks him! haha, the only time he'll be able to kick dad in the face w/o being in trouble I guess!

Food cravings: Indigestion has kicked in horribly. I eat once a day...

Anything making you queasy or sick: smell of dead doves in the back of matt's pickup. he never gets rid of them after he cleans them and it drives me bonkers!

Gender: BOY!!

Labor Signs: nope!

Symptoms: heartburn like crazy! nervousness...I'm getting incredibly scared to be a mom.....I often think, "this is the last time I'll do this or that.....how will I manage to keep my house clean, go to school, breast feed, actually put make up on, cook supper, workout, etc. with a child?!" It's always just been me I've had to really think about (Matt's pretty self sufficient...well, he can at least go to the bathroom on his own even though he can't make his own god damn sandwich...haha) Maybe this is normal to feel this way.

Belly Button in or out? ALMOST an outty!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy or Moody most of the time: oh dear jesus - depends on the minute! haha

Looking forward to: being able to clean my house on friday! ...i know right? it's a mess and messes drive me bonkers!