Throw back Thursday - We are Family

As I have posted several times I am ALL about my family!  They are the heart and soul of my biggest blessings from God!!  I feel like recently life has been a vapor because it is going by so fast and every now and then I like to go back to some of my favorite photos!  I must admit that no photo seems complete without my child in it, but here are a few family photos I couldn't resist that I had to share with the world! 

My fav photo of my Hubby and I - I know it is not a professional pic but it is the real deal and shows how much in love we are to take a photo of ourselves in the cold :)

Fav photo of my Father and I because he supported me in doing something that he really wasn't into, but he was there for me

Fav photo of my Mother and I on one of our adventures together!

Fav photo of My Brother and I :) love my baby bro that was always taller than me it seems :)

OK sorry I couldn't skip my fav person :) This is when my sweetie was only 2 months old :) look at that LOVE

Creating Life

This week was beautiful and we took every opportunity to get some sun!  It is also the week I picked to teach my child about nature.  We went to WalMart and purchased some flower kits so that we could talk about how we can help plants grow then tied that into how we grow too!  Plus we had a good discussion about how we created life because plants are alive and no matter how small they are a life is very important.  Here was our setup:

This was a fun project and the seeds germinated in just two days in both kits so it went really well even with dirt getting everywhere and some leftover dirt making some mud pies later that day too!

Also even though it is March we played in the sprinkler and went to a playground to slide on the slides!  After all of that we went to a local park and looked around the lake to see what kinds of nature and life we could find around there too!  Such a good week!! 

Monday = NO FUN DAY

I cannot sleep, but what is new, and that is why I blog to get sleepy enough to go to bed. I think sleep will not happen because Monday my sweet baby has to go in for his third operation on his ears. When he was 10 months old we got his first set of ear tubes because he had chronic ear infections for months then one popped out a month later therefore we had to go back into surgery to replace that one. Tomorrow we have our third and prayerfully LAST EVER surgery to remove the final ear tube which has come out properly however it is stuck in his ear near his ear drum. Praying a lot today and I am a nervous WRECK! We appreciate and prayers or thoughts about us as we go through this procedure!

10 Months old right after his first ear tube surgery :( so little and still has the cotton in his ears to help them for that first day.

Click to learn more - What are ear tubes from an ENT

Throwback Thursday - Tribute

On this beautiful Thursday I am brought back to my childhood when days like today were for fun in the sun!  Mostly we spent time either playing basketball or riding our horse.  Our horse was amazing!  He is a Paso Fino with a gate that looks like a dance rather than a walk or a trot.  This breed is also very spirited and exciting to ride!  My Aunt and Father taught us how to ride which created a lot of wonderful memories that I will never forget!  Even cleaning the stall, which wasn't fun, was a good lesson to teach us how to work hard.  As you can see from the photos below we loved to go to various show arenas to let him show is stuff and we had a great time getting ready for the show too!  A big thanks to my Aunt for letting us follow her horse when our boy was acting like a wild cat! 

The reason I have our horse on my mind is that we sold him when I was in college because we didn't have time to give him the attention he should have therefore he went to a great home in South Carolina and my Father received a phone call from the lady that bought him stating that unfortunately he has cancer.  In respect to him they have decided to put him down and donate his body to science research.  I am greatly saddened and I am thankful for my Parents allowing us to have this horse be a special part of my life!  Love you fast one!!! 

The Fast one - We love you!!

Showing our boy I think we got third that time!

Together = Anniversary Celebration

Today is the day I went out with my now husband for the FIRST time 11 years ago. WOW 11 years is a long time! We were still teenagers during our first meeting and we have been through a lot together so it is time to celebrate our anniversary of being brought together!

For those of you who do not know me you need to know that family is my number one in life and my family has shown me an enormous amount of love throughout my life. They have also given me an example of what a family should be and I pray everyday I am following that example so our family will grow with more love each and everyday! Just for fun I thought I would show you some photos over the years of the love we have shared!

Above you will see a photo of my amazing parents on their wedding day with my paternal Grandfather. My Mom and Dad are so good to me that I couldn't measure the amount of love they have and still give to me!! LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!!

Another wedding photo above is of my Mother and Father In-law hope they don't mind me sharing this on my blog, but they have also been together for a long while proving that the test of time is not a match for love!

My Brother and his beautiful wife recently got married and we all were in their wedding which was wonderful!!  Love you Bro and also super excited to say now I have a sister :) even if it is in-law :)

Above is the day I married my sweetheart back in 2006!  It was a beautiful day that overflowed my love tank to the max!!  If I had to do it over again I would change some things but NOT the man!! :) LOVE YOU HONEY!!! 

BEST day of our life when we had our son!  The feeling of being a Mother is the most powerful and humbling feeling on Earth in my opinion because this sweetheart is a gift from God that I will cherish and love forever more!!!

:-)LOVE FOREVER :-)
HAPPY 11 YEARS!!!

Spring It...

Excited about Spring because I LOVE this season! I just started my Spring cleaning list with cleaning out all my makeup products.  It is so important to clean out your makeup stash because you wouldn't want to get an infection in your eye or get bacteria anywhere on your face for that matter.  I clean out my stash about every month because I use a lot of cream and/or liquid makeup therefore they go bad more often especially your mascara I replace that every month because I have seen someone that received more that awesome lashes from old mascara!

 

I also love love Spring because it is a great time to hit the open road running! I just bought some new running gear and I am excited to plan out my goals for this year. Last year I did my first 5k, 8k, and I was running 6-7 miles by the end of summer each time I ran .

My sweet child and I enjoy Spring by planting plants, playing ball outside, grilling some pineapple with coconut milk, bubbling our neighborhood, and MANY other outdoor activities. Plus, I do not know about you but, I love dressing him in cute little Spring clothes!!

My Husband also loves Spring because he can put us to work on making our yard look better plus he gets us into at least one major outside project. This year we have selected to get our front porch redone and take out our deck putting in a bigger wooden deck or replacing it with a concrete patio! Excited to post photos after everything is done!!!

Last but not least on our list for Spring is cleaning, which oddly enough I love, AND traveling some!!!

Hope you are having an awesome sunny first day of wonderful Spring!!!!! 

Source: marthastewart.com via Sprial on Pinterest

Winning Wednesday -- Travel to Vegas

Vegas was amazing for the food, shows, nightlife, and most of all just to look around. It is a different place that you almost feel like you are on another planet! The environment makes you feel like a beautiful millionaire!!  Vegas can easily suck you into the life of a spender and make you a night owl. It was amazing to me to try to figure out all the incredibly intellectual ways to make sure you are blissfully happy to the point where you forget you are not a beautiful millionaire!

Where I stayed:
Planet Hollywood Resort Link

Above photo is what I took from our room such an amazing view! 

I was looking online about how many different ways that Vegas tricks your mind and being there I could really tell how it can happen.  They do mess with the oxygen levels in the rooms, the floors are wacky colors/shapes so you cannot find the exit (so true), they have very beautiful people strolling around smiling at you like you are that hot too so you feel lucky, they will give you a taste of a win to get you coming back for more, and tons of other things that are really sneaky. 

Being aware of all of this I did play Vegas a little and tried to learn tricks so I could get out without losing anything but gaining a good experience.  I did a lot of planning before I packed up to make sure I had coupons for some awesome restaurants plus I researched the ways to get good things without gambling.  I only gambled $5 and that was just to see what it felt like and I only took that much cash with me into the casino because I wasn't planning on being a big spender or a thrill seeker I just wanted to say I did gamble in Vegas.  I did take advantage of the spa and the workout facility.  They had some coupons online plus I knew the event I was there with had a special discount that I used too.  Again I am not an extreme coupon person but I do like a good deal! 

I would certainly like to go back to Vegas, but I would not bring children because at night you do see some ugly situations due to people having a different kind of fun sometimes with the police!  I would also recommend that you research how to avoid common pitfalls of Vegas and make certain for safety purposes stay on the strip and try not to be alone at night.  I had an amazing time with no problems what so ever and loved it so hopefully on your trip there you will too!!!

UPDATE:
Tons of people have asked me about some of the sites I used during planning my trip to Vegas and some of them are gone now, but here are the main ones that are still active:
Trip Advisor
Vegas Show Deals
More Vegas Show Deals
Smart Vegas Tips
Vegas Coupons
More Vegas Coupons
We do it all Vegas

Ok I haven't tried these sites in a while so I am not sure how reliable they are about purchasing deals at this time, but I would suggest calling the hotel that you are staying at or want to stay at to see what deals they might be offering plus at check-in don't be affraid to ask about coupons or discounts they have at the desk!  They ALWAYS have something up there!! :) 

Organizing

I LOVE to organize! NOT to say everything in my life is organized but when I have time I love organizing and cleaning because it makes me feel more relaxed.

Since Spring is here I am already getting the itch to SPRING CLEAN plus reorganize EVERYTHING. As I am doing that I am also getting in the mood to decorate and for those of you that know me you know I am a minimalist when it comes to decorating. Not sure If I am a minimalist because that is my style or if it is where I am totally lost when it comes to doing it. In addition, I hate spending a ton of money so I wait till things are on sale that I like or just buy nothing at all.

I do have a few tricks when I organize and I'll share them with you:
-use a fishermans lure clear container box or boxes to organize earrings, extra earring backs, extra buttons, pins, and even some less expensive rings

-use shoe separator racks to keep track of all of your shoes then place shoes you may only wear on special occasions in clear shoeboxes to store in the top of your closet

-clean out your makeup drawer often and keep the drawer clean by putting all of your makeup in a plastic clear shoebox - this also helps you pull it out to put it on daily!

-organize your payments, income, and other financial paperwork by either purchasing a file cabinet or using a portable file box containing hanging file folders labeled with each expenses and income name - this is also helpful if you are going to have your taxes done by someone other than yourself

I have a ton more but those are a few that are on my mind now! Happy organizing!!! :-)

Baby in Arm Travel Prep - GO

The BEST thing that ever happened in my life is that I became a Mother. 

I didn't believe it at first when everyone would say it is the best thing and the HARDEST thing that you will ever do.  TRUE... so true!  My heart is torn in one million directions everyday with every step my child takes because it is so hard to know you are a good Mother and that you really are doing a great job!  Today I was reminded that I need to give myself a break of being so critical of everything I do when I called to make my baby a doctors appointment.  The nurse I was speaking with asked me if I would consider keeping her family members 8 month old twins.  Mind you she doesn't really know me THAT well and we only visit this Doctor every so often and that is the only place I see her, so when she said that I was blown away.  She said you really are a great Mother and I can tell you are all about teaching children so that is why I was thinking you would be great at keeping these babies!  WOW what a complement!!  Then she told me that just from the time she was around me and my sweet baby she could tell that I wanted an army of them (which I do!) to surround myself with the unbelievable love that comes along with it (YES!).  I thanked her A LOT and of course I started thinking about one thing I DO think I do well as a mother - traveling with my baby in arm!

My husband and I love to travel so when we had our child we were cut off from that for a short time, but then the first trip we really went hyper planning on making sure that our life (aka baby) was 100% a travel lover too!  In doing that we started figuring out what would make it easier for sweat pea to travel.  We even took a 5 hour trip across the US testing how far we could travel with a child.  It was a difficult and stressful process at first because we wanted to make sure it was going to be a smooth and happy experience for us all.  To start out we researched and researched getting as much information from other people with children that we could, calling the hotel asking a million questions about everything they could offer (such as a refrigerator in room), really investigating what was in the area to do with a small child, planning our daily routine with allowing naps/downtime, and most importantly what to pack.

Flying with a child especially a child under 2 is interesting because the TSA does allow more items when you have a little one to try to make it easier on you! TSA Site traveling with Children list link
I was still nursing our baby on the 5 hour flight so I didn't need to worry with the guidelines for milk and such, but I did take a the few following items for the flight:

• Thin blanket serving 2 purposes (1 cover up the baby 2 covering both of us while nursing)
• Wrapped new little toys that he had never seen 1 per 20 mins of the flight so he would be entertained
• snacks
• diapers/wipes/Vaseline/disposable sacks
• Little jacket
• Portable DVD player with DVD's
• Small pillow to rest arms because we didn't purchase him his own seat
• extra set of clothes and things I carry on in case the one checked bag is lost
• Car seat - it is a must no way around it (you can rent, but we had a good travel lite one)
• Very lightweight stroller

Such a success with our little travel lover sleeping the entire flight :) dealing with the time changes and everything well too!! 

Day travel see above we packed a day back pack with:

•  Water
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Little monkey had a few toys and such for him to have
• Wipes/Diapers/rash cream/disposable sacks
• Hand/face germ wipes
• Snacks
• Money etc
• Camera
• Bib
• Wash clothe
• Table topper (little plastic sheet so the food doesn't hit dirty dining tables - kids put food all over the tables so if they are not use to a plate this is a good way to keep it all clean)
• jacket just in case of weather

As you can tell in the pic above the DVD player and blanket packed were a BIG hit when we were trying to get ready for bed plus he loved the different hats I had for him as well!! 

We are preparing for a trip to Tennessee this weekend so I am filming a crazy video on how I try to prep for a trip just to show you what I do in greater detail!  I will post it below after we get back so I can add a review of some things I wish I wouldn't have packed and things I wish I would have packed just so you know what worked! 

HAPPY TRAVEL TUESDAY TO YOU AND YOU BABY!!! :)

Happy Less Stressed Monday?

Since Monday seems to give everyone a feeling of stress because let's face it most of you would rather be doing something that you want to do rather than working for the money that lets you do it.  I thought today being Monday would be a great day to discuss our stressed out skin. 

Why is our skin stressed out?!? We as a Nation are getting more and more stressed therefore we are eating poorly, working long hours, having more sickness in our families due to the stress bleeding into our home life, rushing around with no time to wash our faces, and being in recirculated air filled buildings most of the time. 

Ahhhhh.... what are we to do?

I cannot help with the stress of course because it is there and to quote one of my fav movies Christmas Lampoon "I don't know what to tell you we are all in misery", but I do know that we all need PT, personal time.  EVERYONE needs those few moments to yourself locked in your bathroom EVEN men!  How can you find time for it?  Make and appointment on your calendar just like you would to go to a business meeting or to meet a friend or family member.  Put it on the books now because you are not getting less stressed and you are not getting younger so let's all make a date with our at home DIY spa! 

Prepare to use your time wisely.  Go to your local store where you purchase your everyday "luxury" items to pamper yourself or if your appointment with your DIY spa is several days away order some really glam pampering products online!

Here is a list of Allure's Best of Beauty that you can try.  I always try a few products from their list every year when I run out of certain products and it never has disappointed me!

Here are some of the products I am loving right now:

Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream - great way to hydrate those stressed out cuticles that we give little attention

Source: allure.com via Sprial on Pinterest

Gel Nail polish kit - AHHHHmazing they really do last more than two weeks and this kit will save you the $$$ going to a salon to get it done!

Source: sensationailgel.com via Sprial on Pinterest

Alba Unpetoleum - Great for hydrating tired stressed out skin!  Only use if you are getting ready for bed or not planning on putting on makeup for a while because this stuff is thick and really plumps up your skin for a nice glow.  Make sure you clean your skin really well before using this as well.

Source: diapers.com via Sprial on Pinterest

Burt's Bees has some great natural products and I love to scrub my face/neck at least one time per week, if not more, with this just to remove any build up in my pores plus get a refreshing clean feeling!

Source: soap.com via Sprial on Pinterest

In my opinion you always can relax with a bath so get some awesome bath products from LUSH! They will make your bath smell like a dream!  This is one of my faves the LUSH bath bomb in twilight (crazy name I know) but it is wonderful:

Source: lushusa.com via Sprial on Pinterest

Tons of other products I love, but these are a few to get you thinking about what you might want to try!  These are low end products so if you wanted to try them they will not break the bank either which might cause you to have less stress about trying to relax!

Happy less stressed Monday!! :)

St. Patricks Day Ideas

With the St. Patricks Day holiday fast approaching I wanted to put some of the ideas I found on Pinterest here so maybe you could make your to do list this weekend to prep for next weekend during the holiday!!

For Breakfast:

Source: iammommy.typepad.com via Sprial Bound on Pinterest

Tasty Treat:

Source: ucreateparties.com via Sprial Bound on Pinterest

Table Decorations:

Source: itswhatmakesmeme.blogspot.com via Sprial Bound on Pinterest

For Kids Projects:

Source: meetthedubiens.blogspot.com via Sprial Bound on Pinterest

Hope you have a great time picking out things to do with your family and find a lucky rainbow with a LARGE pot of gold!!!!  Make sure looking for that is on your to do list for sure!! :)

Travel - Zaragoza Spain

My Husband and I lived in Spain for about three months which allowed us to travel around Europe.  Our lovely home away from home was in Zaragoza Spain.  We loved experiencing a different culture, but during our trip we found that the people there really are not much different than the people we love at home.  Everyone that helped us worked with my Husband and they were all very welcoming.  Here is an official description of all that Zaragoza has to offer at - Wiki Travel Information .

Our experenice was amazing!  We took many walks in the beautiful city center (Free WIFI too) around the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Pilar and the Ebro River:

We traveled everywhere throughout Zaragoza by the City bus and it was a wonderful way to really take in a lot of sites plus easy to pay with a city bus card pass.  We also were there during one of their festivals called Festival El Pilar which is packed full of entertainment, bull fighting, amazing food/drinks (TAPAS), and such an amazing display of love of their culture.  Here is a photo taken of the amazing floral arrangement in the middle of the city center that was in tribute to the Virgin Mary:

I could go on and on about this trip because it was fun to try new foods, try a new language, and have so much fun while learning a LOT!  If you are in Spain during the week of October 12th especially stop by Zaragoza to check out the Festival El Pilar, stay in the city center so you are near all the action, and enjoy a fun time!!  

Travel - Bahamas

My Husband and I LOVE to travel.  One of our favorites destinations was our honeymoon when we visited the Bahamas for a week. 

This is a link of the resort where we stayed:
Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort

These are photos we took of the resort that was like a postcard:

Not only is this location beautiful, but you get so much when you stay there all included in the price.  We had as much food/drinks and fun that we could fit into just a weeks time.  It was really wonderful.  One of the activities that we took part in was snorkleing and after the shock of being put into deep water with tons of fish wore off we had a great time looking at everything under the water!  Of course we played hard, but we also relaxed while eating some really great food each day at all of their on-site restarants and buffets!  Our room was always stocked included in our price with food and drinks as well.  Here I am chowing down on some of the good stuff they had:

Off of the resort we had an adventure by bus to the straw market where we purchased one or two things to take home with us then we got on a fun water taxi to visit the beautiful Atlantis Resort which has all kinds of things to do in and around their grounds!

All in all I would for sure visit the Bahamas again because they are a big tourist hot spot and they depend on money from tourism there so everyone is more than hospitable every step of the way!! 

Some travel tips for the Bahamas: Make sure you have a small day backpack for short trips if you plan to leave the resort, sunscreen, light clothing that will dry fast, good sandels because you do a lot of walking around on different surfaces, fun dancing dress clothes that are comfortable, address book because believe it or not we made some great friends there, and a water proof camera so when you do water sports you can take some photos!

It is whats for dinner...

Wendy's chili - yes I said it and I love it!!! http://m.wendys.com/product.jsp?family=7&product=28

I promise I'm not going to take a photo of everything I eat BUT it is good and semi good for you!

For dessert my child and I made some very pretty rainbow cupcakes - so much fun making these! Not good for you but oh so good!!!

Gel nail polish 2 weeks old

Update... I LOVE GELS!!! After two weeks they have grown out from the bottom due to normal nail growth BUT totally amazing still no chips or splits!

I also found that you can go to Wal*Mart and get a DIY at home kit called Sensationails that I am going to try because then you would have no need to spend as much money plus be able to change colors more often!!

Video tutorial:

Here are my nails two weeks later:

We will we will pin you

Just got into the new craze of pinning on Pinterest. Such an interesting idea and I love it. I actually use to take photos and web addresses and put them in a word document so that I could keep track of ideas and things I loved.

I have also wrote list after list with items we needed or wanted in my journals with their approximate costs because if you own a home you know where I am coming from when I say you ALWAYS have some part of your house you need or want to change.

Anyway I think Pinterest is a wonderful tool to organize all the things you like so when you are ready to buy you can click and go for it.  Check it off your to do list!! I wasn't paid to say all of this but I had to share that I do love this new app!
Watch out pinning is addictive but here is the website to see what I am talking about: http://pinterest.com/  or you can get the app on your smart phone or ipod touch too