Valentines Weekend Review 2/12/16 - Father Daughter Dance

The days leading up to and the actual Valentines Day were perfect!  I couldn't have thought of a more perfect way to celebrate "love" than all the ways we were able to celebrate it this year!  Parent/kid date nights, Hayden accepting Jesus into his heart, and a fun, festive Valentine's dinner to wrap it all up! 

Friday, the 12th, Hayden had an unexpected snow day, so we were happy to have him home all day!  I baked while the kids played and watched movies.  Kevin took half a day off work, so he could take Allie and Krissy to our church hosted Father-Daughter dance that evening.  The girls look forward to this all year long!  I gave them baths, did their hair, put on their dresses and sparkly shoes, and waited for grandparents to come by and see the three of them off.  They had O'Charley's for dinner and were at the dance by 6:30.
The boys and I planned on having a date night too. A family friend had a family member pass away, so before we started our date, we had to make a stop at the funeral home.  I made some treats for the family and we dropped those off.  Hayden suggested Chinese for dinner and I'm always up for that!  Austin loved his food, and Hayden was a bit more picky, but still enjoyed his.

Kevin got both of the girls heart necklaces to wear to the dance.

 Both girls had crowns but Allie didn't want to wear hers.  We also left her glasses at home too since we had an accident with them earlier in the week!

The food tray I delivered to the funeral home.

Austin working on cleaning his plate :)

My Favorite Shampoo/Conditioner

I've been on the hunt for a great shampoo and conditioner that doesn't break the bank.  It started about 6 months ago when I tried the Wen hair care products.

They smelled fantastic but my results were very inconsistent.  (Not to mention I was scammed into a three month supply when I thought I was ordering a one month supply.). They suggest you double wash with their "cleansing conditioner".  The idea of a cleansing conditioner seemed interesting to me, but it wasn't easy to use like a typical shampoo and conditioner.  I'd frequently think my hair was well washed only to find a random spot that didn't get completely rinsed and it would look almost wet/greasy/and gross!  It's a little pricey considering the amount you have to use each time you wash your hair.  Also the bottle suggests you won't have to wash your hair as often with their products but I found this to be the he exact opposite.  Plus there are horror stories online of the company being sued because women experienced major hair loss.  So, if you've thought about trying Wen, just wait!  And try....

Ken Paves You Are Beautiful collection of hair products!  The bottles say they are made with 100% essential oils.  My hair has never been softer!  This is a big deal because I have such course hair.  I've also had hardly any frizz... Talk about miracle product!  Typically I wash my hair every other day, but since I've been using the shampoo and conditioner, I could easily wait three days (maybe more!) before washing.  I've only tried the purple bottles for normal/dry hair, but there are other bottles for different hair types.

I bought these at my local Walmart for about $17.  They are a little more pricey than the commerical brands but the extra is worth every penny!  I also purchased the same brand hair spray and dry shampoo.  I've yet to try the dry shampoo because my hair has stayed so clean!  

The only con is the essential oil smell is pretty strong.  It reminds me of an herbal tea.  Some of you may love the smell, and it's grown on me.  With that said, my hair on day 2 (or 3) still has a clean smell and I love that! 

Next time you run out of shampoo or conditioner, try these!  I can't imagine anyone not loving their results!

"Towels On The Floor" Solution!

When we first moved into our house (can't believe that was 6 years ago!) we gutted everything.  One thing to go was every fixture in the house.  In the bathroom, that meant towel racks and sinks and flooring.  Well, we never replaced the towel racks.  I had grown accustom to throwing the towels over the shower doors.  Here the problem.  My kids couldn't ever do that.  They'd try, sometimes, but most of the time towels littered the floor.

Last week after I had finished a sewing session, I laid in bed trying to think of a solution to our "towels on the floor" problem.  I decided the next day I'd go on a hunt for a towel rack.  But my mind kept processing that thought, and I didn't want to waste the money on a new rack if the kids wouldn't even use it!  So I was trying to come up with a fool proof way that was guaranteed to work.  And then it hit me.  Button holes.  Yes!  I'd sew button holes on my towels, and he kids would know how to exactly hang their towels.

I found a cute rack at TJ Maxx for $20.  It was a little more than I was wanting to spend but I had no luck at the first few stores I had tried before.  We finished our shopping at nap time and as soon as the kids laid down, I hung the rack.  Next I got out my sewing machine and started sewing red button holes (I wanted them to be easy to spot) on my white towels.  [I folded the towel in half lengthwise, determined the center, and let my machine sew the button hole. Easy peasy ]   

I showed the kids the new towel hanging system and they thought it was so cool.  I'm happy to report that in the last week, there's not been a towel left on the floor!  They've been so excited to hang them perfectly all by themselves and I've been so excited to have a towel-less bathroom floor!

New Glasses For....

Last week I made Hayden and Allie eye appointments.  It's the first time since we've been married that we have good vision insurance (normally they cover an exam, but this year we get credit for contacts or glasses as well)!

Our eye doctor recommended seeing the kids when they were 4-5.  Even though Allie didn't seem to be having any problems, I decided to go ahead and get her eyes checked before she starts kindergarten this fall. 

I predicted before this appointment we'd be getting a pair of glasses for Hayden.  He doesn't complain of not being able to see, but at his last checkup a couple years ago, they had said he would probably need glasses in the future.  I watched him read the letters.  He was missing C by saying O and E and saying B.  After the doctor looked at his eyes, he said he is just starting to need a little help seeing but wouldn't recommend glasses at this point.  He said if he complains of not being able to see, then we could take action, but since he's not having problems and he's doing well in school then we should just wait.

Next up was Allie.  They had her look at pictures (car/horse/duck/hand/cake/phone) instead of letters.  First she covered her left eye and breezed through the pictures.  Next she covered her right eye and I could tell she was struggling to name the pictures.  I couldn't tell if she was getting confused by the pictures (the car didn't really look like a car and the cake was a little wonky too).  The lady switched the screen to where it was just one picture at a time and when she was still missing them I began to think maybe she's having problems seeing!

The doctor came back in to check her eyes.  She struggled through the same set of pictures with him.  He said her right eye was 20/20 and the left was 20/40.  He said she's using her right eye more than her left and for that reason he recommended glasses.  She was SO excited and Hayden was SO bummed (like he was crying in the van saying it's not fair).

We tried on lots of glasses.  She wanted bright pink but I convinced her 10 years from now she's be mad I let her have her way.  I suggested several cute, neutral pairs.  The plastic brown tortoiseshell were my favorite but they weren't as comfortable as the metal ones with nose pieces.  And the metal ones have bright colored hearts on the side and I think she was sold on them!  

Her glasses will be in by the end of next week and she asks me hourly how many more days until her glasses are here.  I'm so glad we had her eyes checked and I'm thrilled she is excited about her new glasses!  

Austin 2yr Checkup

Austin had his two year checkup this past week.  He helped me push buttons on the elevator, he greeted the fish in the new aquarium, and he got weighed and measured!  He's 32.2 lbs which is 88% and 36 5/8 inches tall , which is 95%.

The doctor brought him in a new book about opposites and he was really excited to get it!  We were thrilled he didn't need any shots this time!  She said everything looked great except for a left ear infection.  I didn't even know he had one!

Austin is definitely experiencing some terrible twos (Ex: Squeezing tubes of toothpaste everywhere, emptying my purse any chance he gets, sticking his head in the toilet, dunking my phone in the bath tub...), but I'm trying to daily refresh myself so we have some terrific two moments as well!  And once you finish reading this just say a little prayer for my sanity ;)

 

Snap Shots of January

Here are some pictures from my phone I took the month of January (that I didn't share on Instagram!) 

On New Year's Day we went to CLV and Allie found this little ducky in the toy container.  She fell in love with it, we switched out its old batteries, and now she sleeps with it every night (and usually carries it with her during the day.)

She's so pretty when she sleeps!

I updated both of my chalkboards with designs I saw both on Pinterest.  Kevin saw the first one when he got home from work and said, "You dare so loved?" And I rolled my eyes and said, "You ARE so loved!" And now the chalkboard is forever ruined to me. 

Kevin and I both had headaches and stomach aches one day this month.  As soon and he felt better I felt worse.  He offered to go to the store to grab some groceries and came back with some pretty roses.  They lasted a whole week!

Harry has been doing anything for attention these days.  His favorite thing is when I start to meal prep, he sits in the dishes and bowls.  He always hisses at me when I make him move.  Dern cat!

Kevin gets lots of pictures like this while he's working.  The kids love sending him videos too.

All this cold weather killed my van battery.  Kevin had to work several days in a row, so my dad came over and changed it out for me (in the rain I might add). I made him one of his favorite snacks as a way to say thanks!

We had dinner at Mr. Gatti's with friends. The kids loved watching tv while eating their pizza, then playing games and earning tickets.  Austin loved putting the coin in the machines!  

Twice this month I caught Krissy with a spoonful of peanut butter.  I didn't object because I knew it was a good snack.

Charlie is definitely bigger than Harry!

We went to Rural King (to get the chickens a heated water container) and fell in love with two baby bunnies.  I really don't want anything else to take care of, but I almost threw any hesitation to the wind and said yes.  Thankfully Kevin was with us and said no! Maybe one day! Look at that fuzzy black and white one! #hearteyes

Three musketeers!

It's true Charlie... I love you!

The chickens were not a fan of all the snow we got this month!  The head hen, Sandy, was the only one that braved the snow.  She kept kicking snow off her rock.  The others kept watching from the coop.  They surprisingly had great egg production during all the snow!  We have still been getting 6-8 eggs a day!  We also turned off their heat lamp this month (we were worried about a coop fire) and thought that would make our egg production plummet, but it didn't!  

I made Valentine cookies.  They are a harder cookie with hard icing.  I love them and so do the kids but Kevin hates them.  I shared with 5 different people so I wasn't tempted to eat them all myself.

Charlie sits on my legs every night when the kids go to bed.  I look forward to this way more than I should.  #crazycatladyalert

We've LOVED having Kevin on day shift.  He's been running errands and grocery shopping with us and he noticed Austin was building a tower in our shopping cart.  We both laughed because Hayden use to do this too!

Another perk of day shift is we can go on dates just about any night we want!  Kevin got off of work and we headed out for the evening.  He always requests I wear a hat or something in my hair (which I don't normally do) so I had to take a picture to commemorate!

I bought new leggings that Krissy used as arm warmers!

Hayden and Allie made "snow babies" with our second round of snow.  They wanted to constantly go out and check on them.  Made me laugh.

Because he's so cute...

Krissy wearing Allies shirt and my slippers.

Austin snuck in the cupcakes I made and was pretty proud of himself!

I surprised Kevin with his favorite cookies to share with his bible study group.

When Kevin isn't home to wrestle with the kids, Hayden happily takes over!

One of my best friends was in town and we had a girls night.  She ordered a piña colada at our first stop (Hacienda).  I'd never had one so I tried hers. Yummy!  I'm not much of a drinker but this sure was good!

And yesterday, the last day of the month, I decided to end it with a bang... Or I guess a cut. I gave myself bangs!  I sent this pic to my sis and mom to get a feeler for what they thought.  They both (and my dad) gave me good feedback!  Allie told me, "You're a new woman," and Kevin liked it too!  Krissy and Allie both asked if I'd cut theirs.  :) (which I have no plans to do!)

Goodbye January!  I LOVE the month of February and can't wait to enjoy all the Valentine festivities!