I Grew Bangs

Awhile ago I noticed something weird going on with my hair. 

I'm not the best at doing my hair, but I can calm it down.

I couldn't figure out what these frizzy pieces were doing or where they came from.

I finally realized that I had grown some bangs.  Most people cut bans - but I had actually grown them.

From the beginning I had been straightening them so they would lay flat.

Apparently I had fried them and they just wanted to stick out.

I asked my hairstylist friend, Rebecca, what was going on. 

She immediately knew that I had been straightening them. 

I loved that she knew what was going on with my hair right away, so I went to her to get my hair trimmed.

It had been doing something really strange, and I couldn't get it to lay right.

I had gotten it cut at a really nice salon, but when Rebecca cut it she noticed that one side was 2 inches longer than the other.  No wonder I was struggling to get it right.

She gave me some heat protector for my hair, so hopefully that will help.

My bangs have grown a little more now.  I'm not a bang person, so I can't wait until I can tuck them behind my ear.

Spring Cleaning Part 1 and Part 2

This year I am taking my Spring Cleaning seriously.
I usually sort of clean things, but not deep clean them.  Except the window screens.  Every year I take those off and clean them in the shower. 

PART 1:  Bathroom
I have been spending about a week on each room. 
I am not that far along.
I started with the bathroom. 
I took everything off each shelf in the closet and cleaned it.  I went through everything in there and was able to throw away a bunch that we didn't need.
The girls were really helpful.  Not really helpful, but really cute!

I've never washed the walls before, but I felt like it needed to be done.  One morning before school I told Ariel that she could help me was the walls.  Annabelle was really bummed and asked if we could do it when she got home from school.  So we did.  All three girls really enjoyed helping me wash the walls and they did a surprisingly great job.  We were done in no time.

 

Yes, Ariel is wearing a swimmy diaper (2 of them actually).  She found them in the van when we were cleaning it out and decided to put them on.

 

PART 2:  Laundry Room

I only spent one day on the laundry room. 

I cleaned out all the cupboards and got rid of a bunch of stuff.

I dusted the top of the cupboards, which was actually more of grabbing a pile of dust and throwing it away.

I super clean the floors, even under the machines where I usually ignore.

I ran the cleaning cycle on the washer. 

 I cleaned the lint trap in the sink.  I unscrewed the lint trap inside the dryer and cleaned that all out.

Then I had James move the machines.  I knew I had some lint back there, but I had no idea what I was in for.

So in this picture you can see that area to the left.  That is where the machines aren't, so I can sort of squeeze in there and clean.

It appears that I have 5 years worth of lint back there. 

I don't think that lint tube thing was attached and the lint just stayed in my laundry room.  I was also able to find some great treasures.

I wasn't sure how to go about cleaning this. 

I thought I could just dust bust it up, but it was actually stuck to the ground. 

I had to get a wet cloth and scrub it up.  I also had to scrub the walls.

Now it is nice and clean.  I hope to clean behind there a little more often. 

I would imagine a clean laundry would be a good selling point someday.

 

 

My grandpa made me this board to go over top of the machines so that stuff (like new packages of tissue paper) wouldn't fall behind.  I have had it for one day now, and I really like it.  I put some of those things you put on the bottom of chairs on the bottom so it would protect the machines.

 

Arianna is always helping me with laundry.  She loves to switch it over, hang up the clothes to dry, and turn it off mid cycle so I find damp, stinky clothes. 

 

I have these (what I like to call) old people oak cabinets in my entire house.  My mom painted the bathroom ones (stayed tuned for that, you will feel like you are looking at pinterest!)  I am thinking a bright color for these cabinets would be fun. 

 

Happy Earth Day

I just wanted to take a few minutes to remember my tree that lost its life on Earth Day last year.

I had this beautiful flowering tree.

Then one day there was a piece of something tied to it. 

There was also a huge, ugly rock in our landscape.

I thought my grandpa brought it for the girls to play on.

Annabelle asked if she could take it off.

It was a little chilly, so I told her it was fine.

Little did I know that that little ribbon would determine the fate of my precious tree.

A few hours later, I heard this horribly loud noise.

Much to my dismay, there was a many hacking down my tree.

I could hardly believe my beautiful tree was gone.

When we bought the condo, the tree was overgrown.

I took a saw and cut off all the branches myself.

I have enjoyed its flowering beauty every May.

Now, it is gone and replaced with a rock.

I actually lost sleep over my tree. 

I had trouble sleeping for a few nights as I mourned the loss of my tree.

I never realized I was a tree or nature person,

but know I have a great appreciation for the beauty that God made for us to enjoy.

The girls do enjoy playing on and with the rock, but they do miss the pretty tree too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy Earth Day!

Even if you aren't a eco-friendly person like me, maybe think about what you can do that's is eco-friendly today.

God gave us this beautiful world, we need to look around and appreciation all the beauty he has given.

Today I will honor our Earth and remember my tree by doing these things:

Recycle things that are easier to throw away

Bring donations to Goodwill instead of throw them away

Bring my own bag to the store

Reuse the plastic bags I got at Meijers yesterday

 

Did you notice I really really loved my tree?  I will plant one for each of my children and my next house.  And maybe 5 for myself :)

 

 

 

My computer has been really touchy about uploading pictures, which limits my blogging.

Once I get that problem resolved, I will be back to blogging more often.

 

My Favorite Lunch

I used to just eat a turkey sandwich for lunch everyday.
Then I decided I didn't want to eat bread everyday so I made a quesadilla with lunchmeat and cheese.
Then I remembered the recipe for Mexican Caviar that my friend Diane gave me.
So for awhile I was just having that with chips.
Then I remembered I liked avocado, so I started buying that more often.
So for awhile I was eating chips and guacamole (my simplified version of mashing an avocado and adding a couple spoonfuls of salsa).
Then I decided to add my guacamole to my turkey quesadilla and I had the Avacado Quesadilla.  My sisters made fun of me, but then one of them made it and really liked it.
AND THEN I got really smart and added my Mexican caviar to my turkey quesadilla.

Here is my recipe.  I am sure you have one you like, but this is the version I really love!
Mexican Caviar Recipe
1 can black beans
1 can fiesta corn
A bunch of tomatoes, cut up
Cut up avocado

1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes

Mix dressing together.  Pour and stir.
Add the avocado before eating

I make this at the beginning of the week and it lasts me most of the week.
I add however much avocado I think I would like for that meal.  That way it won't get brown for the next time.
You can freeze avocados and they hold up great.  Just cut them in half and then thaw before you want to use them.  That way they won't go bad before you can eat them.

Pin-spired Outfit

I'm not great at putting outfits together, but I have learned a lot since I started pinterest.

This is what I have learned:

1.  You don't really need to match
2.  A scarf makes any outfit look good
3.  A cardi also makes any outfit look good

I have fully embraced #2 and #3.  I have tried #1 a few times when I wore my stripe shirt with my leopard scarf.

I have 148 pins on my Outfit Inspiration board.  I have tried less than 10 of them.

I recently pinned this outfit and felt that I could create this outfit pretty easily.

It turned out to be much easier than I thought.  I got the pants and shirt at Meijer's (I never ever look at clothes there, but why not?  They are pretty cheap.)  I got the shoes at Younkers, and my accessories at Charlotte Russe.

This is what I came up with

 

 

 The back of the shirt is all lace-like so I wear a tank the same color as the shirt. 

I have a pair of pink pants that I will post about soon.

Silly Girl

Ariel is our silly girl.
She filled her jammies and this is what we found inside.

 

One day she covered her legs in stickers

 

She played outside and carried a towel around to dry her hands after she touched the snow.

Annabelle's Pajama Party

My sweet Annabelle Rose turned 6 on February 10th.  We had her birthday party on the 16th.
We decided on a pajama party.

This was her invitation.  I made it with Microsoft Publisher.  I bought the clipart from an etsy shop called CocoaMint
We had the guests come dressed in their jammies.

 

We served French Toast, Strawberries, Bacon, Chocolate Milk, and Orange Juice for dinner.

 

I didn't plan any games because I knew the girls would just end up playing.

I was right.  They found the dress up clothes and had a little fashion show.

 

We had a craft, which didn't take as long as I had planned, but thats okay, the girls had a lot of fun playing in the basement.

For the craft, the girls decorated the first letter of their name.

 

We stuck with the pajama theme with the cake and skipped the traditional cake.  We had donoughts!

I just bought a bunch and stacked them up and stuck a candle in the top.

The girls seemed to really enjoy them and it was the easiest cake I have ever made :)

 

We had a little bit of time at the end, so we cuddled up in blankets and watched Strawberry Shortcake