Lookie what I got

My spin for perfect skin just showed up can't wait to review this for you guys. If it's good it will be a great deal at 40$

Monday mani

Finally got to do a Monday mani this is inspired by miss Jenn fabulous
Easy Nail Art For Beginners!!! #11: http://youtu.be/4PA0MTw6iAY

best purchases (most worth the money) for babies.

I thought I would write a post to show what we used with Max.  It is always good to know what was worth the money and what wasn't.  What to grab second hand and where to not.  Lets get started.

The jumparoo: Max loves this thing.  You aren't supposed to use rockers anymore and this gives you a few minutes to get something done with out worrying about them getting into things while they strengthen their legs and entertain themselves.  This also doubles as a exersaucer. so if you have this you can skip on that, save room in your house and some money.

 The vibrating bouncy seat: while Max wasn't a huge fan he is the exception and not the rule.  Every other baby in the family has loved these.  They have saved more then one life through out the 15 almost 16 years our family has used them.  They are pretty easy to find at garage sales this time of year.  Hold out for one that is in good condition, and make sure the vibrate and music have different switches so you don't have to have both on. buy it.

 Bumbo all three of my babies have loved the bumbo.  It has seen allot of use but it look new still.  It is a good thing, portable, and can be used as a booster seat to feed them in a pinch.  It helps them to sit up and later on holds them in one place.  It is compact so good for those who are space challenged. So it can go either way but was a must with all three of mine.  It is a perfect price point for a baby gift throw it on your registry and if you don't get it you can decide if it is a priority then.

 Boppi.: I love my boppis.  I have used one with all three of my kids and Fire Monster loves hers soo much still and sleeps with it every night that she wouldn't hand it down to Max.  He had to get his own.  They aren't meant for sleeping I realize but we are weening max off of the rock and play and he is always trying to sleep on his belly now that he is a crawler so I feel that it is the lesser of two evils.  He is 7.5 months and I keep a close eye so don't shoot me.  They are to help with breast feeding which saves your back and arms but I have been leaning toward the laid back nursing method, but this guy still gets plenty of use for little thing like this.  Buy it.  If you can get one second hand handed down or something jump on it!  Just grab your self a different cover. :)

 breathable bumper if you are going to do a bumper it is the way to go.. buy it. (they are a pain to put up at least with this crib)

 Rock and play...YES YES AND YES BUY IT BUY IT NOW!!  RUN TO THE STORE AND GET ONE.  I think I wouldn't have had any sleep to date it if I didn't have this.  It is one of the few things that I bought first hand (it was around 50$ at target) and was worth every penny. It is like a cradle with straps that go front to back and not side to side. Max would only sleep in this for ever.  He napped in it during the day and it went by our bed at night, it got collapsed and brought to the cities to sleep in when visiting family.  It folds pretty flat to pack up and fold easy and is easy to drag around the house where ever you need it plus you can save on the play yard and bassinet.  BUY IT.

 High chairs:  I never spend much on a high chair because I trade my kids to a strap in booster seat pretty quick because I want them to be used to eating at the table like the rest of the family.  That being said I bought this one on clearance at walmart for 30$ and I love it.  It collapses flat and tiny so it goes to the cities with us and it is great.  If you are going to make your kid eat in it until they are like 3 sure spend big money but I don't believe in that.  Plus then you have to store a big high chair when you are done with it! Nope this is a save for me.

 Swing:  these are very black and white.  Either babies like them or the don't.  They are either a waste of time or huge life saver. I would say before rushing out to buy one (which can be expensive if you want a new one) try a girlfriends on your baby first or borrow one to see if they like it before spending big bucks.

 One thing I say is a splurge is their skin care.  Their skin is so sensitive and they regular stuff is soo harsh.  It really gave my kids skin issues, really brought out problems with eczema and cradle cap.  When I first changed fire monster to burts bees.  I was at my wits end she had cradle cap soo bad her poor hair was just matted to her head.  I bought some at the co-op and it was immediate drastic change.  I have sworn by it ever since.  Max has a small patch of cradle cap and I just max a bit of sugar with it to make a gentle scrub for that area or brush it with a baby brush. 

Well those are this 3 time mamas thoughts.  Have a great day guys.

down stairs family room progess.

 This part of the house was definitely one of the most changed.  The before was dark and icky.

 We painted and new carpet went in.  This area is also one of the last to be finished it isn't quiet there yet.  It is mostly a place for the girls to hang out and play and watch tv.  I just got some wall art yesterday for this area.

 To the left of there is my craft area (it needs to be organized and set up better but we are getting there)

 From this angle you can see the girls room down the hall and the hall to the bathroom and laundry room.

 Here is the family room area.  They have the old couches down stairs as well as some bean bag ottomans. 

 We still have a dinosaur t.v. (we are like that commercial where the people get robbed and they leave their electronics.) We have the tv secured up there well btw too.  So you don't think its going to fall on the kids lol.  We have all their movies and some wii stuff and a bin of toys for max there on the shelves.  We also have the desk top on the left waiting to be hooked up for the kiddos.

That is it so far not bad considering it started as this..

 and so far we ended up here.

Have a good day guys.

10 cute easy spring manicures

 It has finally warmed up here in minnesota and I have the itch for some cute spring nails.  Here are some cute easy spring nail designs.

This is super cute mint with silver glitter from kimberly maranan

 cute pastel colored polka dots from willpaintnailsforfood.com

 These are a cute different take on both polka dots and half moon nails.

 This is a very sweet soft look for nails.

 This has four thing I am loving jade, coral, sparkle, and chevron whats not to love.

 This is a very cute alternative to the common pastel colors.

 Stripes and hearts this would work in any colors you love.

 Can't chose? You can always go multi colored.

 Or take that one step further with a sparkle accent nail!

 Or if all else fails and you are in a hurry throw on a great spring color like this coral and a bit of glitter over one for a accent nail.

girls day haul..

 I got the rare chance to get away for the day this weekend.  It was my first time away from Max for more then a few hours so I was on the fence but I decided last minute to go and I had such a blast.  It was me and two of my girl friends on a road trip to soiux falls s.d. for the whole day.   I thought I would share some of my goodies with you.

I got this great little throw pillow cover for my couch.  It matched the blue in my others perfect, it was inexpensive, and it is super cute.  I might need more when I go back next month!

 I was on the search for something for this wall.  My hubby told me he wanted a big clock for there with roman numerals.  For him this is both unusual because he generally has no input to give and very specific. I had searched high and low went to no less then 7 stores and found this one right here in town at kmart for 10$.  I needed something to go on either side and after much deliberation at hobby lobby we chose the two things on either side.  I am pretty happy with them.

 I grabbed the little mirror to add to my gallery.

 Its cute, gives the wall a pop of color, and gives me some thing to throw on some lip gloss with out going to the restroom.

 I needed some where for the girls to hang up their coats in the entry way. It had to be cute because it was right when you walked in.  I found this little thing with all the cute knobs. I had just picked out a bunch of knobs for my hubby to do this and put them back because this was less expensive and matched perfect.

 These cute flip flops were calling my name at T.J. max. I just loved them too much to leave them behind.  Aren't they adorable.  They remind me of my knit guru Jean.

 When I first walked in T.J. max I saw a purse I loved that would have enough room for my stuff plus a couple Max essentials, But it was 130$ and that wasn't in budget for the day.  I kept looking and found this guy that was super similar just different brand for 24$!  Yes please.

 We also hit Teavana.  I had no intentions of buying anything except maybe a bit of tea.  Then I saw them demonstrate this guy..

It is the teavana perfect tea maker and here is a video on how it works.

It is too cool to pass up and was 30% off and brought it down to 14$.  I am drinking a cup of tea from it right now.

Last but not least are my cute pants from target.. I got some mossimo ankle pants (I am wearing them today  rolled to make more of a capri) 

 They are cute on bright color full and a different fit and color from anything I own.  Here is a pic of the way they fit (not me obviously)

There are a few more things but nothing worth mentioning right now.  I had soo much fun and I am so glad I went.  It really did me some good to get a break from the cutest little boy I know and spent some girl time. Well time to trade loads of laundry and get on with my day while the monkey naps.  Have a great day guys.

kitchen progress.

While I am still not done in my kitchen it has made enough progress I feel like I can share it.  This is the look from the dining room.  It is a galley style kitchen.  We will be getting laminate flooring through kitchen and dining room once the weather is warm enough they can cut it outside.

 

 Now agains the far wall is my drafting table that used to be in my craft room.  I also ordered a cabinet from target.com to get some more storage for food in the kitchen since there isn't much cupboard space.

The drafting table is now sort of a work station  I have our bill sorter on the left.  Up above I have some magnet boards, some pictures the I love, and a frame that I use as a white board.  My lazy suzane has some office supplies, pens, tape, paperclips..what not.  I have my ikea bar with its bins hanging above and it needs sorted through big time.  It has been a bit of a catch all latley and needs some organizing.  I have a wax warmer on the corner and it needs changed out to something more springy. :) 

There is the progress so far in the kitchen besides a bit of organizing and the flooring going in this is pretty much how it it will. I hope you guys are having a great day and have a great weekend.  :)

great new drugstore beauty products.

 I know I have been neglecting the beauty lovers here on my blog but I have two great new drugstore finds for you.  First off is herbal essences came out with a "cleansing conditioner".  Now a cleansing conditioner is what the brand wen claims to be.  I used to be obsessed with wen.  Since I have eczema on my scalp and am constantly trying to find the best thing to treat it.  I also am hypothyroid and that also causes dry skin between that being off and the crazy below zero temps we have had in Minnesota this winter my skin has been awful. 

 I love this stuff so far and it was around 5$ instead of the 50$ I was paying for wen!! Have to love that.  I have been doing a scalp treatment with coconut oil where I run the coconut oil in and wait a while to let it absorb then scrub it.  I then hop in the shower and when I go to shampoo I make a scrub out of sugar and my shampoo (don't stir it much or the sugar will dissolve you can also use baking soda.) This is also how I treat max's cradle cap.

 This winter I have also been trying to step up my skincare.  I am over 30 now and I need to start being a bit more serious about my skincare esp since I have been dry and dull all winter it seems like.  But the world of anti aging can be very expensive, confusing and intimidating.  To me I always feel like the creams are soo much and you don't even know if they work So I ran a video series on of my fav new youtubers was involved in and it was 21 anti aging tips from women over 30!!  Right up my alley.  

This video esp spoke to me.  For one she is cute as a button with her southern accent and for two who doesn't want every thing that she mentions! 

Her tip is microdermabrasion.  She said that this kit from neutrogena for 20$ is awesome and she shows how she does it and everything.   It is supposed to make your skin baby soft and take away the dullness while diminishing fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage...Well I went out the next day to search this guy out.

 

She is soo right.  It is soo good.  My skin feels like slippery silk after using this baby and I do what she suggests and do a great mask and serum after.  I love love love it.   I highly recommend it.  There was lots of other tips too if you want to check out the play list.  I hope you guys are having a great day and now that things are settling down with the move I am hoping to post more often :)