ombre, hombre

i totally stole that title from Heatha!  while i'm so behind on blogging and trying to reintegrate myself, i figure i'll catch up with my summer (which absolutely flew by).

around my birthday i decided i wanted my hair highlighted.  i have never highlighted my hair before- although I am no stranger to a box of hair dye (unforch) all over my hair- and not because i want to try something new either...  i deciding i was getting my hair done- professionally- and that was that.  I was a real good girl, and i saved my birthday money, and i got a couple of awesome gift certificates from dave & my bro- and it was off to the salon i went (nervously) for my consultation. 

i had never been to this salon before (only passed it, longingly), so i was matched with someone over the phone.  this girl was my soul mate- she loved my top- and we had the exact same idea of what we wanted to do- we went through a few magazines- found the right coloring and we were ready to schedule the appointment!  she loved the ombre and had just done one a couple weeks back and wanted to do another!  yay!

the appointment was a week out and i was on pins and needles with excitement.  all i had to do was color my roots and she'd do the rest.  during this time- my phone was acting a completely fool- first, i broke a piece on it- so i had to go all 2005 with the moto razr.  second- we renewed our contract and my new phone arrived- only to not work.  so i arrived at the salon to be greeted with a surprise- my stylist was sick- and they had someone in her place- didn't you get our voicemail?

no i did not, phone.  and sure enough, while i sat and waited (now anxiously), i checked my vm and i had 4 messages.  by this point, i felt like i had to let the new stylist do my hair- wouldn't she be insulted if i didn't?  and wouldn't my other stylist be insulted if i just let someone else do my hair?  so off with the other stylist i went (yes, i get i can say no- but i'm just too nice- i can't do it). 

things started bad- first i couldn't find the photos we used as a reference- then the girl didn't think that the number of the color i was giving her was right.  at this point we were both nervous, and probably a little edgy (i know i was).  we walked to the front in defeat- ready to reschedule with girl 1 when the receptionist pulled up my account.  girl 1 was so smart.  she put extensive notes on my account- we all felt relieved and i was ready to just get it over with. 

so, ombre highlights are different than regular highlights- first, they have to tease the ever loving mess out of your hair.  next- they put the foils in.  and finally- you sit forever looking like you're picking up a signal to mars...

ground control to major tom

but, if you thought sitting in one place for 45+ minutes was bad- no one even told me what was coming next- and that was COMBING all of my teased hair.  after the color was rinsed, the stylist had to comb through all of my hair, and i have a lot, and it was all teased bigger than a toddlers & tiaras episode.  that took another 45 minutes.  at one point in the combing- the poor stylist was treating my hair so gingerly b\c of all of my cries of pain- i asked her if I could comb it myself and save her the trouble.  she practically threw the comb in my face.  after that, it was just the dryer, some oohing and aahing from her fellow employees and i was on my way.  and in love.

this is definitely not this best picture, as the lighting isn't great- but you can definitely tell it's lighter.  i actually have some super blonde pieces underneath too.  i definitely spent the first week or so doing a double-take at my reflection- oh yeah, that's me!  

i wish i could say i have more photos of it... but... i don't ...   i will say that next time i won't waste so much time before getting pampered again- although i haven't had my hair or my eyebrows done since... so... 

my first consignment sale

after some nudging from my friend kristen last week, i decided i would join her for a consignment sale adventure.  this was one of those serious sales that started at the ungodly hour of 7:30 and had a limited time frame.  i somehow managed to pull myself out of bed at a quarter to 6 and get myself looking halfway decent for kristen's arrival at 6:30.  we're both not morning people- but get a little starbucks in us and we're not so bad.  the sale was crazy when we arrived- it's at the dupage county fairgrounds- and they have several sales going on all at once spread out through the buildings.  we tried to hit up one sale to start with, but could barely squeeze in the door- so we moved on to the big sale.

right away we wanted to grab a couple big items- a new baby gate (that isn't made of wood and barely holding on) for both of us- then we quickly perused the toys (i found a goody on the way to the toys).  i found this cute little combo baseball/football/basketball toy- and i dropped that off with my gate to be held.  then it was on to the big show- clothes.  i decided to skip over most of the 2t (maybe foolish) and head straight for the 24 month stuff to procure more summer clothing (we got started at his birthday, and i just wanted to flesh the wardrobe out a bit).  basically you find a clear spot to nudge in, put your laundry basket on the floor by your foot and start flipping through clothes- you find something you like, you toss it at your feet. when you finish with that pile, you scoot your basket and keep moving.  once you've grabbed what you can (doesn't take long for boys- there just aren't as many options)- you head to a sorting area and sort- where you can get the opinions of other moms and maybe pass long what you don't want to them!  after sorting, we stood in line for 30-40 minutes, but i found myself something else + it didn't seem like the line took so long- they're pretty efficient.  fun times.

here's my haul:

 - plastic swing baby gate (sadly not wide enough for where i want it)

- sports toy

- 7 pairs of summer pjs

- 1 swimsuit/t-shirt combo (looked brand new)

- 1 l/s shirt (cookie monster)!

- 4 pairs of shorts

- 9 outfits (8 rompers b\c i love rompers on little boys and this is the last summer for them & 1 dress outfit)

- this dress

yeah, you saw that.  someone put a forever 21 dress in the girls size 16 dress section- you'd be crazy to think i wasn't going to be all over that action.  it's loose and comfy and perfect for 80 degree days (like TODAY)!!! 

so i got all that goodness for only $60!!!  so awesome!  but that's not all.  i got one additional "big ticket" item.  it's something i had been wanting for a while, but definitely couldn't afford!  

i got this bag, which normally retails for almost $200 for only $60!!  yippee!!  it holds stuff more comfortably than my old diaper bag, plus you can wear it as a backpack.  it's a super cute bag!  

the consignment sale was definitely a success- i spent a little more than i was expecting to, but got a lot of great steals, plus ian is outfitted for the summer (minus sandals)!  i'd definitely do it again.  

have you shopped or sold at a consignment sale?  successes?  horror stories?

a date night in my future?

i honestly cannot remember the last time that husband and i went to see a movie... sadly it may have been winter 2008- we caught 2 movies with husband's best friend- gran torino & the curious case of benjamin button.  or maybe it was public enemies.  who knows.  sad times.  i'm not really into movies much anymore.  most movies seem to just be remakes of others with few new original ideas.  i live for classic film though.  i can safely say that most of my favorites were made prior to 1970- most way before that.  there have been a few movies that have caught my eye lately- so i'm hoping to somehow finagle a date night in my near future!  here's what's on my list of "like to see" movies.

love & other drugs:  i am wishy-washy on the rom-com genre.  some i like, and some are just way to much cheese for my liking.  this looks like it could have potential.

burlesque- i love singing and dancing and costumes and flashy!  i'm hoping this has modern-day moulin rouge potential.  plus, kristen bell is just so cute and little!

and finally

black swan- a psychological thriller (more up my alley) about ballet with gorgeous costumes by rodarte.  if i could see one of these movies, this would be my choice.

what about you?  do you make it to the movies often?  have you seen any of these movies- or are any of these movies on your list?  if not, what's on your list?

mommy reads: book review- can you keep a secret?

i was lucky enough to participate in a book swap over at a pretty place to play.  i was eventually paired up with elsie from little sprout growing, and i anxiously and excitedly waited for my book to arrive.

the book i read for the swap was can you keep a secret? by sophie kinsella.  i hate to admit this, but i am going to start off by saying this:  i was very, very nervous when i first opened the package and saw this book.  my husband had bought me confessions of a shopaholic (also by sophie kinsella) a few years ago- and i read it and i really didn't like it.  it was supposed to be a cutesy story, but i found myself absolutely loathing the main character- i was totally unsympathetic to her plight and it ruined the entire book for me.  i dreaded i would feel the same way about this book..

about the book:  can you keep a secret centers around the main character, emma corrigan.  emma is single (but with a "perfect" boyfriend), working for a marketing company (hoping to get a promised promotion), and always living in the shadow of her cousin.  after blowing a big presentation on her first solo business trip, she boards a plane back home, feeling pretty dejected.  fate finds her bumped to business class- and when the plane experiences turbulence, feeling that she's going to die, emma shares every last secret from the funny to the serious with her handsome seatmate.  emma's world is turned upside down when that stranger turns out to be the ceo of her company.

my thoughts:  i needed this book.  i have acquired a lot of  books about babies, and my rule has been to alternate those books with books of my choice.  my last 2 personal non-baby/parenting picks have dealt with really serious subject matters, and i needed something light.  i also enjoyed that it was a quick, easy read (it took me a week instead of months to finish).  once i started, i had a hard time putting it down!  i found myself reading a couple nights after 1 am... oops.  i thought the book asked some good questions- what would you do if someone divulged every one of their secrets to you?   would you tell all your secrets to your spouse/best friend/significant other?  do you keep secrets from your spouse/bf/so?  is it safe to keep secrets like emma kept because she knew that telling the person would hurt their feelings?  is anyone without secrets?  while i can only answer these questions for myself- i do think that everyone has different answers to these questions.  i don't think that anyone can ever be "secret-free" for too long.

so to elsie, thank you for sending me this book!  i really enjoyed it...  and i learned (again) to not judge a book by its cover author!

mommy reads. book review: babywise ii

on becoming babywise book ii is the follow up to the successful/controversial on becoming babywise.  people can say what they will about it, but it is a healthy and for me a very successful parenting method.  people hate it, but whatever.  i don't criticize your parenting, so keep your nose out of mine. although i don't find as much controversy on it now as in the past, there are still people who are very anti-babywise.  i don't agree with other people 100%, and i don't expect them to agree with me 100%, but claims that these books are "child abuse" are immature and outlandish.  i have a very happy, healthy 9 month old who sleeps and eats better than most babies i know (maybe i'm just lucky)!

with all that said, now for the book review.  this book definitely didn't have all the information that book one has, but by the time you are at the point to move onto book two, sleeping and eating habits are most likely set in stone.  the book goes back and reviews the basics, reminds you the importance of keeping your marriage a priority and not just making the baby #1 while completely neglecting your spouse.  it then gets into information that you will need to parent your "pretoddler" which it considers to be 5-15 months.  yes, 5 months old is way too early i would say to consider your baby a pretoddler, but around 5 months they are no longer considered a newborn, and considered an infant, and an infant is indeed a pretoddler.

there are 5 main chapters in the book.

1.  mealtime activities.  this chapter talks about when to introduce cereal, how to do it, and how to introduce fruits and vegetables into your child's diet.  it also talks about finger foods, juice, snacks, weaning your baby and dealing with finicky eaters.

2.  highchair manners.  this chapter covered verbal instruction, methods of correction, common highchair problems (flipping plate, hands in mouth, raspberries, etc).

3.  waketime activities.  alone playtime, starting roomtime.

4.  thoughts on discipline.  how to consistently discipline and setting boundaries.

5  naps and nighttime sleep.  basically a refresher on common sleep issues.

to me, the most helpful chapters were the chapter on highchair manners and the chapter on discipline.  meals are a time where your child just doesnt' know what to do and they need the proper instruction.  i followed some of the methods in the highchair manners chapter from the get-go and ian is very well behaved while eating.  we don't have a lot of problems that parents seem to have.  he is pretty good about eating and staying clean.  we usually only have to correct him once or twice during a meal.  the discipline chapter was beneficial because i have a very curious baby.  ian is into EVERYTHING.  now that he's crawling, he's all over the place, so we have had to really set boundaries on where he can be, what he can touch and not touch.  this book provides correction methods that are safe for young children.

the book also contained an appendix, which was probably the most helpful section of all, and made reading the book worthwhile.  the appendix contained a section on child language development and teaching your baby sign language.  there were 14 signs with written and illustrated instructions.  so helpful.  i have been working on some with ian (please, all done, more, i love you, hungry, thank you, no and stop) and slowly integrating in the rest (eat, drink, thirsty, mommy, daddy, and milk (not in the book)).  as i said before, this section alone would make the book worth the buy.

so overall, it was just a reiteration of babywise, but there were a few helpful sections in dealing with your child as they get older.  it wasn't a must read, but for any babywise moms out there, you would probably find it very beneficial!

3 out of 4 stars (just for the sign language section) 2.5 or 2 without!

**special thanks to lulu from lulu in los angeles for sending me this book!! 

mommy reads! book review- all this and heaven too

if you know anything about me at all, you know i love classic movies.  in fact, i prefer them to new movies.  maybe it's because we don't go to the theater a lot.  who knows.  but i'd much rather see a movie on tcm than anything new.  drives husband crazy.

 

so i had seen the movie all this, and heaven too a few years ago.  i don't remember much about it now (i know i really enjoyed it), but i remember that the acting was good, and the story was very compelling.  it features bette davis, charles boyer and barbara o'neil. it was through watching the movie that i found out it was based on a book.

i actually received the book from husband well over a year ago, but it got packed away in the move and forgotten.  i came across it recently and decided i would give it a read.  what i found upon reading was much more interesting.

all this, and heaven too is a fictionalized account of actual events.  the author, rachel field, was the great niece of the heroine, henriette deluzy-desportes, and although her great aunt died before she was even born, her story compelled her enough to write about it.  the basis of the story is- mademoiselle d leaves england to return to her native france to become a nanny for the duc and duchesse de praslin.  the duchesse is obsessively in love with her husband, almost to the neglect of her children, and the duc does not return her love.  mademoiselle d and the duc are drawn to each other, but can obviously never be together.  their friendship becomes tabloid fodder, the duchesse ends up murdered and henriette has to plead her case in order to be set free.  this was one of the most notorious murder trials in all of france's history and led to the fall of the monarchy.   

i had a really hard time getting into this book.  it probably took me 3 months to get 100 pages in, but once i hit my stride, i found it easy to keep going, and was able to finish the rest of the book in about 2 weeks.  it definitely made me wish i knew french because i would've had a lot easier of a time trying to pronounce words and names.   once i got really into the book the story was quite compelling, and i had a hard time putting the book down.  i thought that the story ended quite well- and what you thought was going to be a murder mystery ended up being the story of a beautiful romance.  i wish the author had known more about mademoiselle desportes' life, but the way she tells it, you would hardly forget it was fictionalized.  i only wish i could know what had become of the praslin children, but i'm sure mademoiselle desportes and ms. field do as well.  

i'd definitely recommend this if you're into murder mysteries, classic movies, french history, american history, or romance.  not my new favorite book, but i'd probably read it again.

2.5 stars out of 5

happy mother's day!!

mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~author unknown

i hate to say this, but i never realized how important mother's day was until i became a mother myself. i know i'll vow to be a better child from this mother's day forward.  my first mother's day weekend was more wonderful than i could have imagined. it started off on friday when i left work and returned home to some beautiful flowers from my son and husband.  we made a delicious dinner that evening of taco salad with homemade guacamole!  mmmm.

saturday was pretty chilled out.  we had breakfast at home, then i was able to get a long-awaited haircut.  afterward, we headed to church for mother's day service, where ian was a perfect angel.  when we left church we headed out for awesome thai food, where ian slept all through dinner to the soothing sounds of the dulcimer.  it was pretty darn awesome.

sunday when i woke up, there was breakfast in front of me!  while we were getting ready my own mother called to wish me a happy 1st mother's day, and throughout the day i got many sweet texts.  we had lunch over at my mother & father-in-laws house, and then dave & i headed out to see the dairy queen blizzardmobile!  mmm, free blizzards.

we got back to husband's parents house and ian was ready to see his mommy and give her her gifts.  i got some pretty awesome things including Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals.  i can't wait to try it out!

 here's ian giving me my mother's day card (and secretly signing "i love you" at the same time).

of course everyone knows i already had the best mother's day gift of all!  and that's something i can celebrate year round!

even though this was my first mother's day, it wasn't just about me.  i'm so glad to have an amazing mother, and mother-in-law.  plus my amazing grandmothers- one on earth, one in heaven, and husband's amazing grandmother's.  i was also lucky to have an amazing great-grandmother in my life for 12 years.  plus i have many friends who are beautiful moms, and many of them also celebrating their first mother's day as well!  happy mom's day to all the mother's out there!  whether it's your first or seventieth! 

ugh

i have felt like a failure as a mom this week. i certainly hope that feeling is normal. i just have felt at some times this week that ian and i are not connecting, that he'd rather be with anyone but me. it's a sad, lonely feeling. i think part of it come from spending so much time with him, and not always having time for myself, but that's hard because i find it difficult to be away from him. he needs me, doesn't he? who can take care of him better than his mommy?

i am praying for peace this week- that the Lord will give me peace about when i am away from ian- that i don't feel guilty. that i can let go, and let others lend a hand. that i won't see ian's tears and believe that they're because of my shortcomings. Lord, please. give me peace.