Hair Style on the go

If you are like me, you have to get 3 kids and yourself ready for school in the mornings then you appreciate all the help you can get. So, I will share a hair tip that I learned and I have to say I am pretty surprised.

I have to have my hair done before I leave the house, if this means combing out my hair and putting a barrette in to make it look cute. I cannot just put it in a pony tail and leave the house (that is just not me). I have long (just got 2 inches cut off Tuesday), straight, fine, stringy hair that goes flat no matter what I do.

I came across this quick hair style in a magazine while watching my son at swimming lessons. I thought I would give it a try.

Right before bed, wash your hair (or just wet it really good), put it up in a bun and sleep on it. In the morning take out the bun, put mouse or whatever hair product you use in you hair and you will have curly hair all day.

If you need to refresh your hair, just wet your hands and scrunch your hair.

After. Makes it look more full 

Before: My hair is stringy and straight

Aden's 4 year well child check

Well, Aden had his 4th birthday on September 9th. He's such a big boy and has really matured into a fine young man in the last 6 months.

His height is 38 1/8 inches tall and in the 11th percentile. His weight is 32.4 and in the 19th percentile. His blood pressure was good.

He had to have four shots today. He is actually in a controlled research group for his shots. I could have chosen to give him all 4 shots separately or 3 shots with 2 of the shots in a single syringe (so he had to have 3 shots instead of 4.) I decided to do the 3 shots and put him into the research group. The problem is I have to keep a diary of his activities, any reactions, his temp. every day, if his arm swells or if there is any red marks or welts by the shot area. Even if he has no reactions to these meds, I still have to keep this diary. They will call me 8 days from the shots and see how he is doing. He has to go back in 4 weeks and they will check his diary and do another check of his body. They will keep this going for 6 months to see how the shots are reacting together in his body. He seems to be doing pretty good. He hasn't had any fevers or swelling. I was a little hesitant at first, like I'm going to just put my son in a research group that I have never heard of. His doctor, who I really trust, if I didn't trust her, my kids wouldn't have been going there for 5 years (since Keira was born.) said I would recommend it.  I asked the nurse if there had any bad reactions to the drugs, she said no. I asked for the other diaries, unfortunately, those are private and not just anyone can see them. I then asked Aden's pedi to come back into the room and told her to give me all the facts and side affects again and she gave me some of the statistics. I felt pretty good about it. She knows how I feel about flu shots and she said this procedure was safer than the flu shots were!!!

I talked to the doc about Aden's stuttering and she said that is pretty common in children between the ages of 2-5. Which, I agree with because Keira had a stutter just like Aden and she out grew hers. I am not too worried about his little stutter. On the other hand, he does have to see a speech therapist. He talks great, he has good vocabulary, he just can't articulate the words correctly. His socks are cocks, not funny, he's just a boy and doesn't even know what that means. When he says talk or talking it's cocking. His L's sound like Y's. When he says alligator it sounds like ayyagator. When he says mask it sounds like macks. When he says I am, it's Im am. He doesn't separate the I and am part. That I am trying to work on him with. If we stop him and tell him s...o...ck...s then he can say it, but if he says it fast then he can't do it right.

He is doing great in school. We haven't had his parent/teacher conferences yet, but I will definitely do a post about that.

Morning Face!

I have been hearing and seeing a lot of celebrities and just "normal" people taking pictures of themselves in the morning as they wake up so everyone can see their natural side.

I love seeing women with hardly any make up on or none at all. If they can do it, good for them.  I like the confidence that they have and at the same time I am jealous. I cannot go out of the house with out make up on. I don't know why, it's just the way I have always been. Even when I am working out, I will put mascara on.

So, hearing and seeing all these people taking pictures of themselves in the morning while they are still laying in bed gave me an idea to take a picture of myself so I can see what I look like as a morning person. I think I can get used to this look. If I am going to go out of the house without any make up on (foundation, eyeshadow, etc.) I have to at least put on mascara. My eye lashes are so blonde that it looks funny if I don't have any mascara on.

A letter to Keira on her first day of Kindergarten

A Letter to Keira on her first day of kindergarten-

Hi Keira,

Today is the first day of kindergarten for you! I am so proud of you! You are my big girl and have made me very proud. I'm tearing up as I'm writing this for you. I am hoping that on your first day of college, we will look back at this and read this together. 

You have turned out to be such a bright, beautiful big girl! It's going to be hard letting you go to school everyday. You have been in my life for 5/6 years now, so it's going to be hard for me to let someone else take care of  you for 7/8 hours of the day. This will just make us stronger and make us cherish the family time that we have from 4 p.m- 8p.m. 

You will not have to worry though, you will make lots of friends. You have a big, beautiful, funny, caring personality, so everyone will like you! I won't be worried about you because I know you can take care of yourself. Just remember the book that aunt Jackie gave you...The Kissing Hand. Remember that mommy will kiss your hand every day and when you get sad or scared you can press your hand up to your cheek or your heart and remember that mommy, daddy and God (because God knows everything that happens and He can guide you through your tough times) will be right there beside you. 

There are a lot of things I will worry about today as I leave you for 7 hours. I wonder if the kids are being nice to you. I hope you are not scared. I wonder how you are doing today by yourself. I hope the teacher is being good to you. I wonder if you are having fun. I hope your day is going fast. I will not be able to watch over you all day anymore, but I know God is watching you for me and he will keep you safe!

I love you baby girl...I guess I can't call you baby girl anymore, huh? So, I will say, I love you big girl! I hope you have a good day at your first day of kindergarten.

Remember to use kind words and use your manners (Keira wouldn't want me to leave that out ;) ) I love you, big girl! Have a good day at school!

Smoking while Pregnant

I have been thinking about this subject for a couple of weeks now. Every where I go, it seems like all I see is pregnant women or girls. I see them light up a cigarette as if it is candy. It is usually the people who are first time parents and think it will not happen to them because it is their first child or parents who have multiple children and have smoked in the past with their children and says, oh it will not happen to me. It happens to everybody, the signs may not show up until the child is older. I know this is a touchy subject for both pregnant and not pregnant mothers and non mothers for that fact. I know that it's not that these mothers do not care, well, maybe some of them really don't care, but that is pretty sad! Anyway, These mothers are usually not well educated on these facts. Many of them really do not realize the damage they are doing to their babies.

Some facts about smoking while pregnant that I found from American Pregnancy Association.

• When you smoke, your baby smokes! The poisons that you inhale, carbon monoxide, nicotine, lead, and arsenic can harm your baby. These poisons get into the placenta and this causes your baby to lose oxygen. 
• Preterm labor, DEATH, and low birth weight can be caused by smoking while pregnant. Your baby can weigh too little and have health problems, even mental problems through out his/her life. Or worse, your baby could be DEAD! 
• Smoking during pregnancy could cause physical growth problems, learning disabilities, and lung problems. 
• The baby can get more pneumonia and bronchitis through out his/her life. 
• Your baby does not receive the oxygen or nutrients that he/she needs to survive. 

Some people think the risks are not that bad because they know people who have smoked during pregnancy and their baby was just fine. It doesn't always show up at birth. These babies will have long term affects. ADHD, lung problems as they grow up, behavioral problems, and learning disorders. 

I know it is easy for me, as a non smoker to say that you cannot or are not supposed to smoke while pregnant because I have never had to go through the steps or pain that it takes to stop. But, you are having a baby, THE most precious thing in the world (to most people) so this should be cause enough to make you quit smoking. You don't necessarily have to quit smoking, okay, you do for 9 months. But remember, your baby can get second hand smoke, or even third hand smoke and can acquire cancer, lung problems, sickness and ear infections through out his/her life. 

Here are some tips to help you stop smoking while pregnant... Make a list of some of the benefits...your baby should be on the top of that list. 

Some benefits for your baby should be...

• Lowers the risk of your baby being born underweight or too early. Most people don't see this is a problem and those people are the ones who are not very educated on the subject. Low birth weight or underweight means that the baby may not survive because there was not enough oxygen to the baby and may have to be put on oxygen in the hospital for several days, weeks or even months and even then the survival rate is not good. 
• By quitting, you will know that your baby will receive the proper nutrients and oxygen.
• Lowers the risk of your baby having health problems
• Increases the chance that your baby will go home with you from the hospital

Have a strong support system. Keep your mouth and hands busy, chew gum, take up knitting. Ask your doctor for resources.